Interviewing in L&D

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Specializes in Neurosurgical ICU, Emergency, Psych, Art Therapy.

Hi!

I'm a new grad and I'm going on my 2nd ever nursing interview in a labor and delivery unit next week. Any tips?? What should I know beforehand and what should I expect? I loved my L&D clinical and never expected to get a call back when I applied to this position so now I'm kinda freaking!! :D

Thank you!!!

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Is this a 2nd interview at the same facility? Is it with a manager or with a peer panel? What size hospital is it?

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Specializes in Neurosurgical ICU, Emergency, Psych, Art Therapy.

@soldiernurse22 Sorry, that was a weird way of saying--- it's my first interview with this specific L&D unit, but my second nursing interview since graduating from school. My first interview on this unit will be with the manager...

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Obviously every place is different, but when I interviewed, most of the questions for L&D interview were things that either came up or you almost expected to come up during other interviews, such as talk about your greatest strengths, talk about your biggest weakness, or what would your coworkers say about you, talk about a time you went above and beyond for a patient/customer, talk about your best and worst jobs, where do you see yourself in 5 years, etc. Google job interview questions and start thinking of a few anecdotes from jobs or clinicals you might want to share if asked about a related question.

OB-related, I was asked what specialty/specialties most interested me (triage, high-risk pregnancies, etc), reminded that not every moment in L&D is happy and asked how I anticipate handling bereavement, how would you handle patients who have specific ideas for birth but things have changed to make their plan unsafe, etc.

I think a lot of important things about interviewing just relate to interviews overall - be early, dress well, have a few questions prepared to ask at the end of the interview, good eye contact, it's ok to say "I need to think about this for a minute" before answering, don't say negative things about previous employers, don't ask about salary. I don't think I've ever been asked for one, but I always have copies of resume on nice paper handy in a folder I bring. Your nerves will probably be at an all-time high so IMO it's good to take notes, just don't stare at your notes instead of the interviewer(s) through the interview.

Be prepared that there might be other people at the interview or immediate subsequent interviews if you do well with the first one, so your nerves don't get the best of you. Employers don't always forewarn about panel interviews and/or that there are multiple interviews in one day.

Have a really good, thoughtful response ready for the inevitable "Why do you want to work here?" question.

Good luck!! :)

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Specializes in Neurosurgical ICU, Emergency, Psych, Art Therapy.

@elevense Thank you for your response! I had the interview yesterday and it was a lot more intense than I expected. It was more of a panel, which I wasn't expecting. I definitely was dressed nicely in a suit, smiled a lot, but also felt like I was getting tunnel vision from my anxiety. I definitely felt that I came across as positive but sometimes I also tend to come across as "too sweet" which is funny bc anyone who knows me knows I'm strong willed and not a push over... I hope they liked me! I guess I'll find out.

Thanks again!

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Did they tell you when they would let you know?

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Specializes in Neurosurgical ICU, Emergency, Psych, Art Therapy.

Wow, the last couple weeks have been pretty hectic and in a sudden turn of events I accepted a job in the ED instead. Thanks for all of your insight and advice!

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Specializes in Neurosurgical ICU, Emergency, Psych, Art Therapy.

@lavenderskies I actually just accepted a job in an ED instead :)

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@lavenderskies I actually just accepted a job in an ED instead :)

Congrats! :)

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