Interview left me speechless

[loving2]

I finally landed an interview, and was offered the position on the spot, but I don't want it. There are so many problems I don't even know where to begin, but I need to get it off my chest.

First of all the head nurse interviewed me and she literally talked for 2 hours straight, about herself!!! Every other word out of her mouth was "FIRE". She talked about how she was going to clean house, and "hire up and fire down". I'm not kidding, she talked about the firing she plans to do, the firing she's done in the past, etc. She told me all this with a smile on her face. There were times that she bragged. I think she might be a little crazy.

Then she made what I feel are VERY inappropriate and unprofessional racial remarks about foreign nurses. She covered her remarks by saying it's a "cultural thing".

She badmouthed several of the nurses, including head nurses from other units, and she even used names! One nurse was referred to as a "dumb ass". She told me (as she was laughing) that she "tells it like it is". She doesn't understand how some of "these nurses" have 4 year degrees. Here's what ticked me off the most....she was complaining about the "dumb ass nurse" being slow paced and "anal". She suggested she "get a job as a school nurse or work in a doctor's office"! I AM A SCHOOL NURSE and she knows that!!!! Total slap in the face!

Many "stories" consisted of her belittling nurses in front of patients. She had no reservations about sharing these stories with me. I got the impression she thinks it's funny. This hospital is privately owned and I've heard tales about the owner/CEO firing people for no reason. The floor was very dated. No computers...all paper charting. This floor gets all the old, used pumps, while the other "specialized" floors have brand new pumps. They were scrambling around to find coverage (maybe this is common, idk). Three techs for 33 pts. Nurse/pt. ratio is 6:1 on Med/Surg/Pulm/Tele unit. She was willing to give me a lengthy orientation period though.

Is this common? I'm not savvy to the hospital environment. Is this the way most hospitals operate, how they view their nurses? I'm sure staffing is always an issue, but is this how management typically acts? If so, I'm very discouraged and disappointed.

[ChristineN, BSN, RN]

Your interview sounds similar to one I had. The charge nurse would interviewed me belittled my experience (at a Level 1 Trauma center, Top 10 in my specialty field), and told me I probably wasn't prepared for the "inner city hospital" environment she was operating. She also asked about my personal life, and belittled my educational choices, telling me she wondered if I would have trouble socializing and functioning on the unit. I had red flags everywhere, but took the job. It was the worst job I ever had, and I quit after 5 months, to now have a job I absolutely love. Don't make the same mistake. Run.

[eaRN]

Like everyone else, RUN!!! RUN FAR FAR AWAY!!!

[clemmm78, RN]

One good thing about interviews is it works both ways. When I go in for one, I am of the mindset that while they are interviewing me to see if I would be a good fit, I am interviewing them to see if I want to work there. In your case, the interview was a success because you know to stay far, far, far away from there. What a nutcase!

[Meg, RN]

Run far far away!! This reminds me a lot of the job I had as a nurse tech. At the interview, the manager didn't ask me any questions and just proceeded to tell me about "good" nurses and the "bad" nurses and how she would hate to find out if I were one of the "bad" ones. It's like she was already threatening me in the interview before I even worked for her! I accepted the job because I really needed the money, but in retrospect, working in a fast food position would have been preferable (not that there is anything wrong with fast food, i've worked in the fast food industry before). Trust your first instinct, and remember! Interviews are not one-sided. You are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you :-) good luck!

[loving2]

Thanks again for your support.

Hopefully my interview next week at a different hospital will bring me some great news!

[mazy]

loving2, your screen name was familiar so I looked back and saw that you had posted about this upcoming interview and some concerns you had about the facility -- turns out you were right!

I'm really sorry that the interview didn't work out, but just goes to show that you have good instincts about things. I think running in the opposite direction in this case is a very good instinct.

I once interviewed for two hours for a job -- at first when I read your post I thought maybe you interviewed with the same company, didn't think something that batty could happen in two different places. It was for a temporary (couple of weeks) position, and the woman sat there with me as a captive audience for two freaking hours while she rambled on and on about her life, her loves, and her cats and dogs.

I had gone to the interview because they were really backed up on paperwork and needed temporary help, well, two hours later I had a pretty good idea why!

In the end it turned out she took it upon herself to bring me in without telling anyone, so after all of that I didn't get the job (not that I would have taken it) because she had no authority to hire me in the first place, they weren't looking for anyone, and no one knew she was interviewing people!

Sometimes you just have to sigh and laugh.

[Leelee2]

Hope that the interview you had today was a much better experience!:)

[passion4people]

It seems that you already know what you need to do. Follow your nursing instinct and intuition. If you are given the opportunity to discuss or leave an evaluation as to "why you did not take the offer" be honest about it. Best wishes on your next interview.:)

[diane227, LPN, RN]

Run as fast as you can away from this job offer. You don't need a job that bad, no matter what circumstances you are in and I guarantee you that this woman will be trouble for you. Don't work for her.