Leaving position after less than 1 year

nightengalegoddess · Feb 22, 2011

Looking forward to the experienced nurses to answer here. I need to know how to interview after coming from an unethical and unsafe hospital environment as well.

RNTOBE_1970 · Feb 22, 2011

Tell them that you are looking for an opportunity to further your nursing career. Tell them that you are looking for professional growth. Make sure that in your interview that you engage the interviewer as well. Do some research about the facility and or department. Dress nice, omit perfume. Bring several copies of your resume (in case they want one, and you can follow along as well). Bring letters of recommendation, if possible. Include your current employer. Would show your experience and you wouldn't have to explain a lapse in employment. Don't bash your current employer, that is the big no-no.

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · Feb 22, 2011

experienced nurse here. do not talk trash about your current or former places of employment. even if the interviewers act negatively and state negative things during the interview, you must always remain positive. focus on those aspects of the company and this floor that you find attractive. this requires you to do your homework. any questions you have about the position must be insightful questions (in other words, they cannot be questions that are general... any potential candidate that will not be a good fit for that floor can and will ask general questions).

of course, you do not want to go from the frying pan into the fire. take notes and ask questions that also address your personal concerns. also, ask for a tour of the floor. i too had bad experiences at a former place of employment and with my current employers. i recently landed a new job with heightened sensitivity to what a bad environment looks like. for example, during your tour of the floor ask yourself some of the following:

are there nurses and staff giving me nasty looks or sitting around and gossiping (two red flags of my current employers that i had ignored when i took my interview tour)?

how do staff members talk to his/her patients (another red flag i ignored... my current co-workers were and are rude to patients and family members)?

notice the patient population... are they speaking a language you do not speak? if so, how does this floor staff to address a language barrier (my current floor addressed the language barrier poorly for nearly a year... patients complained and outcomes were bad so now we are staffed better... however, i am leaving so it is too late for me to care)?

last but not least, look up information on the career websites on how to dress during an interview. some of the sites have a few dozen articles that will help make sure that you are dressed appropriately (right colors, right outfit, right amount of jewelry, make-up, etc.).

hopefully this is of some help. good luck! :up:

79Tango · Feb 22, 2011

They may not even ask your reason for leaving. Nor should you bad mouth or sound negative about the unsafe practices and overloaded nurses. Maybe choose one event that you fixed or learned from and move on to talk about the future. They may tell you the patient ratio during the interview. Do not respond with "We used to have 10 patients at my old crappy facility" a better response would be "I am well experienced in a busy work environment."

prinsessa · Feb 22, 2011

Thanks for the replies! I am going to make a list of some points I would like to mention during the interview. I don't want it to sounds scripted but I would like to be prepared. I already have my suit ready :)