I recently graduated from a BSN program from Chamberlain. I have 5 years of PCT experience at a hospital and 3 years of home care experience. I left the hospital last year (stupid move but needed something closer to home) to start working at the homecare position but then he was put on hospice over the summer so I have been jobless.
So I guess my interview skills suck. Its been over 5 years since I have interviewed for a professional job. The ONE hospital that did call me back I bombed. The hiring recruiter was very nice and called me back telling me of my mistake. I just get so nervous with the questions. They asked me what my weaknesses were and I told them organization. BIG mistake. I have been practicing answering questions because she is going to call me for more interviews. I just don't want to bomb it again and I NEED to land a job!!
I am going to vent a little bit..it seems that if you are good at bsing then you can easily land a job. I am someone that gets nervous and struggle with answering questions on the spot like that. I suppose I am just honest and don't even think that it might not be the best answer. If you don't tell them what they want to hear then you are not considered for the position. I have met plenty of nurses who I'm sure are great at interviewing but don't make the best nurses.
When they ask about your strengths, it may help to review what you've been praised for in feedback from instructors, and as a PCT, coworkers or patients. e.g. "I've been told in several performance reviews that one of my strengths is communication. My goal is to meet the patient on their level and share information about what is going on in a way that they understand. One patient and his wife even nominated me for a (company recognition award) because they were so happy with the way that I took the time to explain everything to them." This tells the interviewers that you are not simply coming up with internal ideas of what you are good at, but that these are strengths that have been recognized by people whose job it is to evaluate how well you perform.
As has been mentioned, the ideal "weakness" is something where you can demonstrate self-awareness and share strategies you are implementing to improve. The problem, as mentioned, may have been that you admitted to looking up patients off the clock. This is a common but hotly debated tactic, and it is a violation of labor law to work when you are not being paid. Don't admit that you do that when talking to a potential employer.
Each interview is a learning experience. Learn from it and do better next time, and, if needed, the time after that. You don't need to be fake, you just need to learn what employers are looking for, and learn to tailor your answers to aim for what they want.
NotAllWhoWandeRN, ASN, RN
791 Posts
When they ask about your strengths, it may help to review what you've been praised for in feedback from instructors, and as a PCT, coworkers or patients. e.g. "I've been told in several performance reviews that one of my strengths is communication. My goal is to meet the patient on their level and share information about what is going on in a way that they understand. One patient and his wife even nominated me for a (company recognition award) because they were so happy with the way that I took the time to explain everything to them." This tells the interviewers that you are not simply coming up with internal ideas of what you are good at, but that these are strengths that have been recognized by people whose job it is to evaluate how well you perform.
As has been mentioned, the ideal "weakness" is something where you can demonstrate self-awareness and share strategies you are implementing to improve. The problem, as mentioned, may have been that you admitted to looking up patients off the clock. This is a common but hotly debated tactic, and it is a violation of labor law to work when you are not being paid. Don't admit that you do that when talking to a potential employer.
Each interview is a learning experience. Learn from it and do better next time, and, if needed, the time after that. You don't need to be fake, you just need to learn what employers are looking for, and learn to tailor your answers to aim for what they want.