if you suck at nursing interviews, clap your hands!

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in CVOR, CVICU, ER.

For those who love nursing, but hate all the hoops we typically have to jump through just to make ourselves stand out among all those looking for the best nursing jobs...

What do you think is the most frustrating part about the application process?

What do you think is the most painful part of the interview itself?

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

The application process itself is frustrating, especially when you're applying at a big health system where you have to go through HR and never can get your app to the actual manager for the job you want. The other part is the panel interview.....it made me feel like a particularly juicy specimen under a microscope. I also hated those open ended "what did you do when thus-and-such happened in the past and what did you learn from it?" type of questions.

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Everything VivaLasViejas said!!

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Specializes in CVOR, CVICU, ER.

What do you think was the worst open-ended question? I agree, those are awful, but if you prepare well enough, really good answers to those questions can be super useful in helping get the job.

I had a panel of 5 in my recent surgical interview...pressure is definitely on in those situations.

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

By far the worst one for me was "what did you do when you had a conflict with a co-worker and how did you resolve it?" HATED that question.:dead:

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Specializes in public health, women's health, reproductive health.

I do well on interviews. Now when it comes to nursing, getting the interview can be the tricky part. As a new grad, I found the application process to be exhausting, and this is coming from someone who put in applications to only 10-15 jobs. Some applications took me a long time to complete, required essays and/or personality tests and etc. It was draining to spend hours on them, especially when I had no idea if anyone would even look at them. So for me, I dislike the application process. Interviews make me nervous beforehand. But, in my recent job search, I spent a lot of time preparing, so that when I was actually in the interview, I felt rather collected.

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Specializes in CVOR, CVICU, ER.

Thats the ticket...gotta prepare, especially with the fierce competition anymore. I think I saw a poll posted somewhere online that said upwards of 70% of nurses "wing it" for interviews! Not sure how valid the data was, but it wouldn't surprise me a bit.

I think the complex online application process alone is designed to weed out those who are applying en masse to jobs. If nurses spent more time actively applying for only a select few jobs they REALLY want, shadowing, and finding ways to get referrals, I think their success rate would be higher.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
I do well on interviews. Now when it comes to nursing, getting the interview can be the tricky part. As a new grad, I found the application process to be exhausting, and this is coming from someone who put in applications to only 10-15 jobs. Some applications took me a long time to complete, required essays and/or personality tests and etc. It was draining to spend hours on them, especially when I had no idea if anyone would even look at them. So for me, I dislike the application process. Interviews make me nervous beforehand. But, in my recent job search, I spent a lot of time preparing, so that when I was actually in the interview, I felt rather collected.

Agree.

The interviews are pretty easy, and they get easier, in my opinion when one has experience.

I think even as a experienced person, the online process can be a 60-180 minute process; from looking at potential listings, to the choice, to doing the actual application.

The next process can be the personality screening, in some instances sent by recruiters, if it wasn't a part of the application process-that's another process, which takes about 20-40 mins to complete.

Then you have the two step interview, and shadow experience, which could range from 2-4 hours; if you are deemed a "good fit" then you have the job; once you have the job, the hiring process can make the initial interest in wanting a position look like a cake walk! :laugh:

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Specializes in Neurosciences, stepdown, acute rehab, LTC.

I think the application process is a little odd. It seems like they could make it a little shorter and get to the main points so they can weed out people before 100 people spend an hour applying to one job. Or something. I like interviews.

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Specializes in CVOR, CVICU, ER.

agreed. I actually enjoy interviewing...but I do not like the lengthy nightmare of each proprietary application. In an ideal world, what do you think a new process would be?

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Specializes in geriatrics.

I keep a word document containing answers to possible interview questions. I update and review periodically, so that when the interview happens, I'm prepared. The questions are all more or less predictable.

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I actually rock interviews...

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