I Get Interviews But No Jobs

[Nurse Beth, MSN]

Dear Nurse Beth,

I am currently a Junior Nursing student in a part time program in Philadelphia for career changers. I already have a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice and currently work full time as a probation officer. I'm really excelling in my clinicals and have been given the opportunity to be in the ICU this semester at a community hospital.

My question is: I have applied to several patient care jobs/tech jobs at many hospitals across the city and am willing to take a paycut to gain experience in the field. I feel like I am being turned down because I don't have any hospital work experience other than clinical. I have recently bought your book to aide in this process, but I am becoming discouraged. I have been given interviews that I thought have gone well, but at the end they say your criminal justice experience does not align with the job title here, even though I have had 4 clinical rotations now! What should I do?

Thanks so much for any advice!

Dear What Should I Do,

Working as a patient care technician (PCT) or a certified nursing assistant (CNA) in a hospital is great experience and can help you to land a nursing job down the road.

The problem as I see it is not that your past experience does not align with the job you are applying for, even though that is what they are telling you. After all, you are landing interviews with said past working experience. Inviting you to interview communicates that they are interested in you on paper and want to take the next step and evaluate you face-to-face. The next step on your part is to seal the deal and convince them you are the right person for the job.

The good news is that your cover letter and resume are landing you interviews. The culprit seems to be the interviews.

You feel that your interviews went well so it's possible you are missing the "tells" or body language at certain points of the interview. They can be subtle, such as looking down or away, raising an eyebrow, showing disguised annoyance. By contrast, when the interviewer is making eye contact, nodding and smiling, they are affirming you. These can be difficult to pick up on, but body language communicates a wealth of information.

After an interview where you were turned down for the job, ask the recruiter or manager if they would give you any feedback on your interview. They may say no, but you have nothing to lose. If just one recruiter or interviewer gives you feedback, it would be very helpful for you to see your interview skills from their point of view.

Let's assume you did your due diligence and learned the mission and values of the organization as well as the major service lines.

How did you do on the "Tell us your greatest weakness" question? You want to avoid cliche answers such as "I'm a perfectionist" and give an answer that is genuine "I'd have to say time management. I love to talk with patients 1:1 and give them extra care, but I have to mange my time to take care of all the patients. In school we are learning about AIDET to give excellent customer service and be efficient."

in this manner you never use the word "weakness"- you frame it as an opportunity for improvement that you are working on, and immediately segue to the positive.

Likewise, let's assume you were prepared with personal examples for the "Tell us about a time you had a conflict with a co-worker or supervisor" along with the rules for how to answer that question from the book.

As a final tip, be humble and what I call "learnable". You have previous experience in a very different system, the criminal system. There are different values in the criminal system and the healthcare system. The best PCTs and CNAs are kind and compassionate- they love people and it shows.

Best wishes,

Nurse Beth

Author, "Your Last Nursing Class: How to Land Your First Nursing Job"...and your next!

[CoreyAlan1]

Thank you Nurse Beth. I really appreciate this wonderful advice! I also have a social work background. I am loving nursing school so far. I decided to pursue nursing because I am very caring and compassionate/kind, which so many in the criminal justice field are not. Thanks again.