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Discussion

I have the interview, now what?

Sorry new grads, this is only a CNA interview. Sorry I couldn't provide some hope!

Well, I have a PCT interview for a local hospitals ED and I'm pretty nervous. It's my first "job", I just graduated high school so I've only held boring retail jobs and such. So I need some advice!

1) What should I wear? I have an outfit I wore to a scholarship interview, but it's very dressy. It's a ladies suit, is that too dressed up?

2)Resume, do I bring a paper copy? I applied online so they have all my info, plus I'm just out of high school. I don't have too much of a resume to make anyways. Do I make a cover letter?

3)What questions am I expected to be asked? They know I'm a nursing student will they ask me questions regarding that?

4)What exactly should I ask? Would it be weird to ask for a tour of the ED, I've never been in this hospitals ED so I personally would love to see the potential work place.

5) Any other little pieces of advice that I missed?

Thank you very much!!:yeah:

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    • Featured Replies

    • Experts

    1. You can never be too dressed up for an interview...unless you're wearing a ballgown and tiara, that is. A suit is perfectly acceptable

    2. Yes, always bring paper copies of the resume. Cover letter not really needed as you already got the interview.

    3. Not sure, I never interviewed for a PCT/CNA position

    4. If that is the department you are interviewing for, why not? After all, you're going to be working there :) Now, iIf you're interviewing in L&D and ask to see the ED, that would come off as a little strange

    5. Reheorifice beforehand (practice answering interview questions so you feel comfortable), be yourself, be honest, and don't forget to send a thank you note.

    Good luck with the interview!

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    Don't forget to smile!

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    You NEED to have a nice strong hand shake. I can not tell you how many times I have shook someones hand & it was LIMP and flimsy. It turned me off completely and immediately they lost points with me.

    Also, a hand written thank you note is always a good way to go! You will stand out from the rest!

    Don't forget to be confident, smiling is a must- you are technically selling yourself!

    A suit is wonderful, shows professionalism.

    Bring extra copies of your resume.

    Good luck and let us know how it went!

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    Be very well versed on what a PCT does and know how valuable your role will be to the patient. Show that you are interested in those role for reasons beyond helping your future nursing career. A lot of what a PCT does can be seen as "gross," but to the patient, it means the world and you need to express that you know and understand how much the simple things you do will help out a patient. Be very enthusiastic about the position and the hospital. Any work experience can be valuable. Your retail experience taught you to prioritize, interact with a wide variety of people, listen to their thouhts, wants, and needs and help them out in any way possible, etc. All that is applicable to your PCT position you are interviewing for.

    Mostly they just want to learn more about you. What your background is, what your future goals are, why you want this job, why you want to work at that hospital, why the ED, why you want to become a nurse, etc. You are trying to see if this job/hospital is for you and they are trying to see if you are a great fit as well. Avoid questions about salary/benefits/hours on the first interview, but feel free to ask about your job, the hospital, etc.

    GOOD LUCK!

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    There was a great thread on here about questions that are asked during interviews, you should try to find that.

    A lot of the really basic questions that you always hear about but don't think people ask are actually asked! I remember at my last interviews I was kind of surprised at how basic the questions were: what do you know about this school/company, why do you want to attend this school/work here, what was the best thing about your last job, what was the worst thing.

    Oh, and the most difficult question was "Tell me about yourself." Lol. Ummm?

    Really, there were no questions that made me think, "Oh, wow, I have no idea." (Other than the "tell me about yourself" hahahaha). The fact that the questions were so basic surprised me though.

    But think about it this way: the interviewer does not know anything about you other than the few facts listed on your application/resume. They need simple, basic questions to help open a conversation. From there, you can take the conversation anywhere you want. You're in control and you can steer it towards things that you want to highlight and that make you look good.

    Good luck!

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    Thanks for posting this! I have an interview tomorrow, and all of your comments helped greatly! :)

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    • Experts

    You can never go into an interview too prepared. It might help to read up on some of the common interview questions so that you can have a faint idea of what they'll be asking you. You'll be better prepared to answer if you know what you'll be asked.

    Click here to read about the 23 most common interview questions: How to answer 23 of the most common interview questions | Wise Bread

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