Surgical ICU Interview

Specialties MICU

Published

I've been an RN for a little over a year now on a surgical unit. Not that I don't love my unit- because I do [most of the time,lol] but I have been looking around at new job opportunities. I've always had an interest in ICU+ PACU nursing. To my surprise, I did get a call back for a Surgical ICU position at a nearby hospital. Now, the interview nerves are starting again. I know the listing said 2 years critical care experience preferred- which I do not have. Could this have been a mistake? I mean, in no way is my resume or application misleading. When I called the woman back to schedule the interview, she seemed so, unorganized. Is it possible she called me by mistake? LOL! Okay I know I sound like a crazy person. I can't imagine there being a shortage of experienced ICU nurses in this area- has anyone been hired to ICU after having similar experience to mine? [this is what happens when you can't sleep and start thinking- sorry for the rant guys :)]

Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
I've been an RN for a little over a year now on a surgical unit. Not that I don't love my unit- because I do [most of the time,lol] but I have been looking around at new job opportunities. I've always had an interest in ICU+ PACU nursing. To my surprise, I did get a call back for a Surgical ICU position at a nearby hospital. Now, the interview nerves are starting again. I know the listing said 2 years critical care experience preferred- which I do not have. Could this have been a mistake? I mean, in no way is my resume or application misleading. When I called the woman back to schedule the interview, she seemed so, unorganized. Is it possible she called me by mistake? LOL! Okay I know I sound like a crazy person. I can't imagine there being a shortage of experienced ICU nurses in this area- has anyone been hired to ICU after having similar experience to mine? [this is what happens when you can't sleep and start thinking- sorry for the rant guys :)]

"Preferred means preferred, not required. Nurses are routinely hired into position where they do not have all of the preferred qualifications. It all depends on who you are competing with for the job. If other applicants have the preferred qualification they it's likely they will be hired over nurses who don't. If nobody with the preferred qualification applied then they will start looking at those who have less than the preferred qualification.

I've known nurses who have been hired into positions with less than the "preffered" amount of experience. If they're giving you an interview- the best thing you can do is go in there with your head held high and let them know why you'd make a great candidate. Don't let the experience thing get in the way. The worst thing they can say is no, but at least you can say you gave it your all. Lots of luck to you.

Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Post has been moved to our SICU forum to amass more responses.

I've been an RN for a little over a year now on a surgical unit. Not that I don't love my unit- because I do [most of the time,lol] but I have been looking around at new job opportunities. I've always had an interest in ICU+ PACU nursing. To my surprise, I did get a call back for a Surgical ICU position at a nearby hospital. Now, the interview nerves are starting again. I know the listing said 2 years critical care experience preferred- which I do not have. Could this have been a mistake? I mean, in no way is my resume or application misleading. When I called the woman back to schedule the interview, she seemed so, unorganized. Is it possible she called me by mistake? LOL! Okay I know I sound like a crazy person. I can't imagine there being a shortage of experienced ICU nurses in this area- has anyone been hired to ICU after having similar experience to mine? [this is what happens when you can't sleep and start thinking- sorry for the rant guys :)]

Did you go for the interview? How did it go? Any tips or questions you remember ? I have an interview soon and trying to get prepared. Thanks

Specializes in Trauma/Surgery ICU.

I got hired into the SICU right out of nursing school, but as you said, your area sounds like it has a greater abundance of experienced candidates to choose from. I got a call-back on an application recently whose qualifications weren't completely clear (BSN preferred vs. required). I asked the manager during the call-back if they hired people with their ADN (even though I'm enrolled for my BSN) and she said not without approval from the CNO. Long story short, I saved both of us the trouble of the interview by being up front about my qualifications. It seems like a lot of times HR screens the applications and forwards them to the hiring manager and the manager calls without an in-depth evaluation of the application/resume. Good luck!

Thanks for all your replies. I went on the interview 2 weeks ago & just got the call saying I did get the job. So excited.

Do you remember any questions you were asked during the interview? Just trying to get myself prepared. Thanks for your reply in advance

Specializes in Emergency.

Hooray!! Congratulations on landing the job! I second Onyi25's question, do you remember any of the questions they asked you? Congrats again!!

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