Get to Know You Interviews

[***Bonita***]

I was just wondering if there are any wrong answers to this type of interview. What exactly are they looking for? I kind of think that the school wants to leave a good impression for the applicant. Honestly, does anyone know what I am talking about? I just wonder if the interview is significantly judeged vs everything else.

[MALE*RN*777]

what are you talking about??

[GregRN]

What do you mean by "get to know you" interviews? Are they more like "open houses" or are they one-on-one interviews?

I spent 8 years in staffing and recruiting before deciding to change careers and go into health care. I always tell people: you are ALWAYS interviewing. It doesn't matter if you're sending the school an email, leaving a voice mail message, talking to the program administrative assistant on the phone or going to an informal open house. You may not necessarily get into the school based on an informal interview alone but you can definitely ruin your chances with one just the same. Dress, write and speak to impress everyone you come in contact with, regardless of their job title or perceived power and authority in getting you into that school.

[caliotter3]

Twice, when applying to a nursing school, I was formally interviewed. Nothing pleasant about these meetings. One of these schools had a secondary meeting, a "get to know you" meeting where they put on a presentation about the school and answered questions. I remembered this meeting as not being very upbeat also. I was aware during this meeting that the person giving the presentation was the director of the school, and yes, I guess she was getting impressions of the people in the group.

[***Bonita***]

The kind of questions that are asked are:

Why do you want to be a CRNA?

What does a CRNA do?

How do you study?

Describe a typical day at your work.

There were no clinical questions.

[GregRN]

Those are actually pretty standard interview questions, not jus "get to know you" interviews. Very few programs will pimp you on your technical knowledge when you interview. They may ask a few questions in this area but most want to get to know you as a person so they can ascertain how well you will tolerate the rigors of a CRNA program. Get good at answering them. You'll get asked them a lot.

[piper_for_hire]

I think the other thing to consider - besides them being interested in how well you can handle things - the academic, financial and clinical stress - is they really want to see what kind of person you are. Most schools only take a small amount of students each year. They are going to spend a lot of time with you. The truth is that they want to have that "warm fuzzy" after the interview that you'll fit in and not be driving them crazy for 2.5 years. Something to think about.