Give me the good, the bad, and the ugly details of your recent interview!

[WakeYourMindUp]

Here's the deal...I want the good, the bad and the ugly of your recent interviews. Quick comments, long posts, whatever you got.

I'll be assisting with a large amount of nursing interviews at our hospital soon, and had some questions for those of you who have interviewed recently. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated...we are always looking to improve our interview sessions.

1.) What did you like about the interview.

2. ) What did you hate or struggle with?

3.) What do you think was the hardest question?

4.) How did you prepare? Do you think you prepared enough?

[jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B]

Just a general thought process--Asking questions like "why did you want to be a nurse" and "tell me how you handle conflict" are just so subjectively awkward questions.

If you decide that your goal is to have experienced nurses that will fit into your team, them ask pointed questions regarding experience, clinical goals, clinical strengths, and if they are on a team, which position are they most comfortable with--this way you can play to people's strengths. If a nurse is an IV whiz kid, is a cardiac savant, prefers elderly patients--all can fit well into your end goal of a well rounded group of nurses. Even the most jaded among us has a nursing love/strength. Question is, can you use that or not?

When you tell someone that there is no tolerance for gossip, being treated like kids, nasty-ness, it can go a long way in opening a nurse up to talk about themselves. And let them know there is no funny business on your unit. Period.

"What is your biggest nursing weakness? Is this something you would be willing to be educated on?"

"We all know and understand that the "customer service model" of nursing is a difficult change for some experienced nurses. It is an important part of our unit culture. Are you willing to use our model of communication? Have you used this type of communication before? What were some barriers that you encountered in the past, and what can we do to remedy them going forward?"

I would think you want an experienced nurse who is willing to at least practice as part of a team. Or a new grad who is willing to learn and grow into an asset to your team.

But I think that all kinds of personality analysis, vague "if you were an animal, which one would you be" and other stuff that can be subjective with no "right" answer is a time waster, and gets you no closer to finding a good fit. Just my opinion.

[WakeYourMindUp]

Thanks for your reply.

I think the creativity questions like "what kind of animal are you", are a waste of time for our industry. If I was hiring web designers, I think that may be a valid question.

However, there are some benefits to personality analysis questions that fit our industry, simply because many people read the forums here, and generally speaking, tend to give answers that are similar and vague. I see value in using personality profile questions to open up my interviewee, so I can get hopefully get better answers afterward for other questions.

I wish nurses in general would prepare better for interviews. I have noticed a trend in attempting to "wing it" more often than I'd like to see.

[BerryhappyRN, MSN, RN]

Can I just tell you the third interview included the ENTIRE team of 15 people?! Me all alone on one side of the room, and them 15 strong on the other three sides of the room. I was so terrified that I do not remember one single question. I do remember sweating profusely and needing a nap afterwards. I did get the job, I love the job and I am now on the other side of the room interviewing others.