Interview Red Flags

[OnyxOrchid]

Hi everyone!

I am still pretty new to the board but I did not see any posts on this when I searched.

I had an "interview" at a well known company for a new grad position. They are hiring through their own staffing services not an outside agency.

During my interview gave me a one page sheet with basic information on the new grad orientation and training then asked if I had any questions. The job was literally handed to me without them asking me anything. I asked a number of general questions and felt very rushed through the process. Everything was very short answers and not a discussion. When I asked which floor I would end up working on and if I could have a tour I was told I was absolutely not allowed to tour the floor and that my orientation would rotate through all of the med-surg floors at that facility. Sounds really shady.

Other people in this program have told me they have had a great experience so I am not sure if I am the exception to that or I am just seeing something they did not.

So I guess my questions here are

Have you even been hired as part of a new grad program at a hospital and how did you like it? Were you hired directly by the hiring manager or through HR staffing?

Have you ever had an interview where you were rushed to make a decision or told you can not see the unit you will work for and how did you handle that?

Thanks!

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

There are basically two different approaches to hiring new grads. Some organizations will hire new grads into specific positions, so the hiring manager for that department will handle all the hiring tasks, including interviews. However, it is not unusual in larger organizations for new grads to be hired into a "training department" that will pay their salaries until they complete their orientation/training. In this second case, its not unusual for HR or the Education department to handle the majority of the tasks related to bringing on new grads into the training program - there also may no be a "guarantee" of a job if they are not hired into a department when they complete the training program.

Make sure you are clear on all the arrangements for any type of training program. You don't want to be taken by surprise - ask questions if you're not provided with sufficient information.