Legitimate Interview?

caliotter3 · Feb 24, 2015

Well, if that's what he told you, it makes sense. I think it puts everyone at an equal advantage/disadvantage. You certainly won't be able to read the other person's body language. Actually, while a phone interview might make me more comfortable, I do not like them because I do feel at a disadvantage. I would have some written notes, a copy of my app by the phone, for reference.

K23RN · Feb 24, 2015

For my current job (which was an internal transfer), I had two telephone interviews with HR before a face-to-face interview with the hiring manager. Either way, this interview is likely to narrow the pool so you may still get that face-to-face interview.

In my experience, the phone interviews asked general questions about what I considered to be my strengths and weaknesses, describe a difficult patient experience and how I handled it, why was I interested in the position, where do I see myself in 10 years, etc. I googled sample nursing interview questions and got a lot of tips that way, including advice on telephone interviews, and jotted down notes for myself. I made sure there would be no interruptions or distractions. During the interviews themselves, I just tried my best to be confident and sincere in my responses. It was nerve-wracking not being able to rely on body language to know how things were going, but I felt like the questions were fair and straightforward. Best of luck!

jeckrn, BSN, RN · Feb 24, 2015

Would not surprise me the way the VA works.

ellieheart · Feb 24, 2015

Thanks for the comments. I'm not thrilled at all about doing a phone interview. I've never been a big "telephone" talker. I think this puts me at a real disadvantage in order to accommodate others.

NurseAaliyah · Feb 24, 2015

I did a phone interview with the VA. Just make sure you are familiar with the Performance Based Interview (PBI) style questions.

elkpark · Feb 24, 2015

I've had the same situation; I applied for a position at a local VA, but was told that, since one of the applicants was from out of state and wanted a telephone interview, everyone had to be interviewed by telephone in order for it to be fair. (I've traveled out of state any number of times over the years, at my own expense, to interview for jobs I really wanted and I would think, if this other person really wanted the job, s/he would make more of an effort, but that's a different conversation). I agree with being familiar with their style of questioning; my experience was a group of interviewers on speakerphone, and they took turns asking the predetermined questions. There was v. little "freestyle" conversation. I don't like telephone interviews, but I wasn't given a choice.

mariebailey, MSN, RN · Feb 24, 2015

I have done a ton of phone interviews, & I always been offered and 2nd, in-person interview as a final candidate. Most people will tell you to dress up for it; I chose to do most of them in my underwear while sitting in bed, which is what I recommend. :lol2: One thing that worked for me was I had an excel spreadsheet on my laptop with potential questions in 1 column and answers in another. I kept that on my laptop screen during the interview, & it gave me peace of mind. You don't want to sound reheorificed by any means, but writing down how I would answer a question beforehand allowed me to clearly express my answers verbally. Side comment: if you have a rowdy indoor pet, try to keep them out of the room during the interview. My cat jumped up on my bed & meowed loudly into the phone during 1 interview; the interviewer was like, "Is that a cat?" I have used this "Top 100 Interview Questions" for years to prepare; you may find it helpful as well. Interview Questions: 100 Potential Interview Questions Good luck to you!

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Feb 24, 2015

Hi everyone,
I have an interview question. I finally got a response for a VA nurse job I applied for. The hiring manager called me and said he wanted to schedule a "Telephone Interview". He said that since some of the applicants were from out of state, he was required to do telephone interviews with everyone in order to comply with VA rules; otherwise someone could file a grievance.
Has anyone else experienced this? I was counting on having a face to face interview. How should I prepare for a telephone interview?

Telephone interviews are quite common, and are designed to accomodate applicants for whom travelling would be too big an inconvenience, or simply not possible. There's nothing strange about it where VA is concerned; different facilities handle these things differently.

Be prepared for the phone interview in the identical manner you would prepare for an in-person interview with the exception of dressing appropriately. No one can see your jeans

PBI, or Performance Based Interviewing, is the SOP for all VA interviews, that's consistent throughout the organization. Do your due dilligence and be prepared for anything that can be tossed out at you in a PBI, and you'll be fine.

Some people prefer phone interviews, some prefer face-to-face. Some prefer a quiet office with only one interviewer, some feel more relaxed in a more open conference room with a few people. Some would prefer to go mid-morning, they're fresh; some prefer later in the day, they could still work or run errands. We can't decide what setting we'd like to interview in, and that includes this experience for you.

Good luck.

jeckrn, BSN, RN · Feb 25, 2015

I was working at a VA hospital while I was in the reserves and applied for a new position for when I came home from deployment. I ended up doing the interview by phone from Kosovo.