Interview blanks

[artsmom, BSN, LPN]

So, I am pretty sure I just messed up on a phone interview for a school nurse position. I am by no means a new nurse, nor new to interviews, but for some reason, I go absolutely blank. I am smart, and can articulate very well, except in interviews. I was prepared by another staff member that this interview is normally them asking questions- so I spent the day mentally preparing for that. When they called though, they wanted me to ask the questions for which they would provide answers. That totally threw me. I asked about basic job responsibilities and how many many kids would I be responsible for, but not much more than that. There seemed to many moments of awkward silence in my opinion. He did ask for my references at the end but my confidence is shot. I am basically writing to get it out, but if anyone has any words of wisdom about getting through interviews, even when one is accustomed to them, I would greatly appreciate it. I am so mad at myself too, I spent the day basically on allnurses reading through all the school nurse forums to have a heads up. Oh well.

[MrChicagoRN, RN]

Prepare, prepare, prepare

I go in with a list of 10 questions or so.

Some are answered without me asking. I jot down info as we go along, generating new potential questions, some questions I don't get around to asking. Questions re staffing, census, types of patients, culture of the institution, turnover, and questions about the interviewer: What is your background, how long have you been here, what do You like about working here?

It's really important that you show an interest and participate in the process.