I'm a new grad & have an interview on a cardiac unit HELP

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I just graduated about 3 weeks ago and will be taking my NCLEX in about 2-3 weeks :) In the meantime I have been applying like crazy, physically going into the hospital on old clinical units, talking w/ managers and handing out resumes.

Well today I just got a call from HR to set up an interview for a graduate position. I thought it was just for one unit and when I asked her which one it was for because I visited 3 that day. She told me oh its for all the cardiac units on the Ginsburg tower (which is a certain area of the hospital) and about 6 different educators will be interviewing you. The only ones I can specifically remember are a CHF floor, Cardiac Intervention Unit and a CVPCU.

So my question to you guys is what questions should I be prepared for? I am so very nervous to be interviewed by that many people. My love is cardiac and I would be so ecstatic to get any position on any of these floors as I believe it would be my dream job.

Thanks in advance :)

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.
I just graduated about 3 weeks ago and will be taking my NCLEX in about 2-3 weeks :) In the meantime I have been applying like crazy, physically going into the hospital on old clinical units, talking w/ managers and handing out resumes.

Well today I just got a call from HR to set up an interview for a graduate position. I thought it was just for one unit and when I asked her which one it was for because I visited 3 that day. She told me oh its for all the cardiac units on the Ginsburg tower (which is a certain area of the hospital) and about 6 different educators will be interviewing you. The only ones I can specifically remember are a CHF floor, Cardiac Intervention Unit and a CVPCU.

So my question to you guys is what questions should I be prepared for? I am so very nervous to be interviewed by that many people. My love is cardiac and I wouldi be so ecstatic to get any position on any of these floors as I believe it would be my dream job.

Thanks in advance :)

You may get some cardiac specific patho questions, but I would also not be surprised if you didn't get any.

There may be a few critical thinking questions. One I got was, I was given a scenario, I had three patients all of which needed to be seen immediately or right away, I have a nurse buddy and an aid, what do I do? The correct answer was: ask for help. Thats what they wanted to hear. They didn't want a lone ranger.

Otherwise, you can probably expect the usual: why do you want to work here? Where do you see yourself in five years? Tell me about a time you had to deal with conflict in the workplace.

Most important is being upbeat, smiling, making eye contact and appearing confident. I'm sure you know this, but for a grad nurse (basically someone who knows just enough to barely avoid getting into serious legal trouble) I doubt they'll be terribly interested in your clinical abilities, this is what a lengthy orientation is for. They'll find out then. They're probably more interested in getting a vibe on whether you're sane and friendly or not.

Good luck with it, as another Grad Nurse hired into critical care, I wish you the best and let us know how it goes.

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Another question.... would it be appropriate to nonchalantly mention yes I am sure you can tell I am pregnant but I only have 4 weeks left and since it's not my first I don't expect my recovery to be long at all. Besides their critical care nurse training program does not start until October and I won't be able to start on anything else until then any way. So it almost works out perfectly. But I just don't want to not mention it and that be the reason I don't get the job.

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.
Another question.... would it be appropriate to nonchalantly mention yes I am sure you can tell I am pregnant but I only have 4 weeks left and since it's not my first I don't expect my recovery to be long at all. Besides their critical care nurse training program does not start until October and I won't be able to start on anything else until then any way. So it almost works out perfectly. But I just don't want to not mention it and that be the reason I don't get the job.

Well, first off, congrats on the bebby!

If you only have four weeks, it should be pretty obvious. But yes, it's probably not a bad idea to mention your due date...I think.

Not sure, I'm a dude...lol

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Well, first off, congrats on the bebby!

If you only have four weeks, it should be pretty obvious. But yes, it's probably not a bad idea to mention your due date...I think.

Not sure, I'm a dude...lol

Thanks for all the advice. A few of my friends said the same thing about them probably not drilling a new graduate because of course we aren't going to know that much. That's definitley reassuring but I'm studying for the NCLEX this week so maybe I'll start w/ cardiac lol.

It's not that I don't think they will notice that I am pregnant because I am HUGEEE lol I just don't want them left wondering when I am due and if I'll be able to start. Because I know they aren't allowed to mention me being pregnant.... so I figured I would just throw it out there. One of the units I am being interviewed for I actually did clinicals on..... well before clinicals I was a patient there for my SVT for a few days. So me and the nurse manager are on a first name basis she loves me lol and I am pretty sure she got me that interview. But she has no problem what so ever with me being pregnant and knows my situation, so I am pretty confident. I love that unit and I really hope I get it :) Thanks for listening to my ramble, I am just so excited!!! Especially since in my area it is so tough for a new grad to get a job and not many of my classmates have had any luck.

I'll update my post next week if I hear anything =D

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