I left an interview not knowing what to think

you got the job

I really hope so. I left feeling very confused. That was my very first interview after applying to so many facilities (I'm a new grad) so I didn't know if what she was telling me was standard. I didn't think the interview went great... but I also didn't think it went badly. I will let you know if she calls me back. After the interview, I called all of my references to let them know to expect a phone call.

Possibly, but the way the job market is right now, I would not count on anything until you get a formal offer, in writing, in hand. There are too many employers who are not straight with potential employees and I've left several job interviews thinking that an offer was imminent only to never hear from the employer again. I do understand that employers can't contact every applicant for a job but you would think that a small company could at least email who interviewed to tell them they weren't hired and not string them along without any definitive answer.

Possibly, but the way the job market is right now, I would not count on anything until you get a formal offer, in writing, in hand. There are too many employers who are not straight with potential employees and I've left several job interviews thinking that an offer was imminent only to never hear from the employer again. I do understand that employers can't contact every applicant for a job but you would think that a small company could at least email who interviewed to tell them they weren't hired and not string them along without any definitive answer.

Yeah, I am trying not to get my hopes up very high. *sigh*

Remember to send a thank you note right away, and good luck! :)

Remember to send a thank you note right away, and good luck! :)

Oh yes. I mailed a thank you card right after the interview :)

trust me I know what you mean...I had my first nursing interview 8 days ago and still didnt receive any call from the recruiter despite leaving a message on her voicemail.

Yeah, I am trying not to get my hopes up very high. *sigh*

I hear you. I don't mean to sound discouraging but a person just needs to watch his/her back in this job market and not make any assumptions. I do hope you get the job but, by all means, don't stop looking, applying or interviewing until this is a done deal. And by that I mean that you have a definite start date, have gotten through your drug screening and have all the paperwork finished.

I remember one interview I had over the summer with an employer who said they would definitely call me by a certain date to let me know regardless of whether or not I got the job. No call. What a surprise. I found out later that I didn't get the position because I live out of town and the employer had been burned by a nurse who lived out of town, worked there for a short time and left because she got a job closer to home. What hacked me off the most was that I certainly did not hide the fact that I lived out of town and the employer could tell by my application that I lived out of town. So why did they even waste their time and mine by interviewing me in the first place?

It is, quite frankly, crap like this that makes me very cautious. BTW, the employer that didn't hire me---apparently their top choice didn't work out because they were advertising the very same position about three months later. I did not apply. Their loss.

Ha I had a similar experience...she started telling me about uniforms and a few other things...I got a call the next day. My friend got hired on same floor (different unit but same manager) she got a call a few hours after her interview (since the recruiter was going out of town the next week and they wanted to have it done before then) Good luck!

The nurse recruiter who interviewed me said the same things to me..she even told me the date the orientation (oct.13) and she gave me their insurance info...to take it home.She also said she will be checking my references.Then she asked me which position I prefer Labor and delivery or peds? I said either one.She said she will give me a call in a week..guess what it has been one week and one day...Last thursday I left her a voicemail,she never called back,today I left her a voicemail....I bet you she wont respond again!!

Ok now that I think of it I think I made couple of Major mistakes.

1.I applied for peds/labor and delivery and I didnt show enough excitment for the specialty!!!! I was nervous and it was my first interview!

3.I didnt prepare well for the interview!

2.I didnt send thank you note!

3.Third I didnt notify my reference that the recruiter will be calling so they might have given me not so great references.

I almost broke in tears when I saw they listed the job again on their website.I'm like 99% that I didnt get none of the offers

The nurse recruiter who interviewed me said the same things to me..she even told me the date the orientation (oct.13) and she gave me their insurance info...to take it home.She also said she will be checking my references.Then she asked me which position I prefer Labor and delivery or peds? I said either one.She said she will give me a call in a week..guess what it has been one week and one day...Last thursday I left her a voicemail,she never called back,today I left her a voicemail....I bet you she wont respond again!!

Ok now that I think of it I think I made couple of Major mistakes.

1.I applied for peds/labor and delivery and I didnt show enough excitment for the specialty!!!! I was nervous and it was my first interview!

3.I didnt prepare well for the interview!

2.I didnt send thank you note!

3.Third I didnt notify my reference that the recruiter will be calling so they might have given me not so great references.

I almost broke in tears when I saw they listed the job again on their website.I'm like 99% that I didnt get none of the offers

Hey, BHN, try not to take it personally. I figure it's like dating. You kiss a lot of frogs before you find the right one. Similarly, you can interview your heart out and for whatever reason, you don't click with the recruiter and you don't get hired. Or someone else who is incredibly qualified for the position walks in right after you. It's also possible that the recruiter simply did not have a chance to get back to you. I would not necessarily give up hope yet but you are wise to prepare yourself emotionally for the possibility that you won't get this particular job.

You are also wise to use this as a learning experience, to see where you could have been stronger in your interview and do better the next time. You may be right about the reference; I know that I have been very surprised when someone has listed me as a reference and I had no idea he/she was even applying for a job---and I might not have always been as well prepared as I should have been to give honest feedback.

I have to admit that every time I haven't gotten a job that I thought I would get, I've had this little nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach that there was something not quite right about it. Maybe it's been the attitude of the person who has interviewed or something about the institutional culture that made me feel that we weren't a good fit. Maybe it was just a vague, gut level feeling that I chose to ignore because I wanted the job. I have since learned not to ignore my gut and that if an employer cannot keep a promise to get in touch with me regarding a job, perhaps I would not be able to trust that employer if I was hired. I look at it this way---perhaps I dodged a bullet by not getting hired, especially if my guts were telling me "no".

Good grief, are nursing schools even discussing job interview skills with student nurses? Especially when the market is so tight I think it behooves someone in schools of nursing---if not faculty, then the career placement people or the counseling office---to work with students on how to get jobs after they've been through the rigors of a nursing program.