More mayo info, your thoughts and help!!

U.S.A. Minnesota

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We received a call back today and based on her behavior-based interview she is not a GOOD nurse and thus can't apply for for any of the Staff RN positions. During her interview she was given scenerios and she responded with what she does on her unit right now. On her unit now she inserts foley's, starts IV's, keeps track of her pt's monitors, pulls sheaths, she is the lead of the scheduling commitee and does most of the scheduling, rotates as charge nurse, on the code team along with her regular RN duties. She does not have teams like the mayo has, so the way she responds to situations is different than what the mayo is. There is no PCT, IV team, Foley team, monitor tech ETC. She is a CVRN(nationaly reg.) and had many references(some MD's) and not one ref. was checked. The decision was soley based on the 2 RN's interpertation of the answers givin during the so called interview. This was her first interview of this kind and how can the so called right answers for this unit be the same in all the other units. My wife is even more upset now as she was told that because of this interview she is considered not to be a GOOD nurse according to the mayo. I find this so unnerving that a SO CALLED best hospital would base a possible employee's ability soley on few questions where as the co called correct course of action is based on there rules and regulations. They do not take in consideration that you have to act differently when you do not have all the extra team members that they have at the mayo. When they are questioned the only response that we get is"I Don't Know". When asked about checking ref. she was told that would happen after a job was offered. Since she was told no based on her answers if she would have answered the scenerios the way the mayo wanted them answered and was offered the job what would have happened if when ref. checked and was told negitive things like would not hire again or calls off all the time, would that not matter, asked the person at mayo this and again was just told"I don't Know". That is why we are upset. My wife has a spotless work history, has never been written up, has many letters written about her service from family members to the hospial she is at now and according to the famed Mayo Clinic she is not a Good nurse because of a few questions. She thought she would try and better her career by going to a well renowned hospital. Not so sure now if that would have been the case. However we are not going to just sit back take that answer. If anyone has any contact info with some higher up members within the mayo please let us know. We want to talk to them to find out some more on how they can base a possible employee on just some questions and why no one can actually answer our questions with something other than"I Don't Know"

thank you for listening to my rant and rave and helping us out any way that you can..

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OK, first off - I am a student!! So nothing I say is official!! LOL

I live in Rochester and associate with ALot of Mayo employees. With that being said - Mayo KNOWS that they are the best around. Not only hospital, but the ONLY game in town as far as a job. So for every ONE person actually interviewing, they have about 50 hoping to get in. SO THEY ARE CHOOSEY!!! I AM NOT DEFENDING THIS!!!! That is why I will MOVE as SOON as I finish nursing school. Mayo trains the students for MAYO.

Yes, I am jaded - Mayo has such a big head that i am finding alot of the people who work there feel they are better than anyone else too!!

My neighbor is a Dr there and he actually told me that they have to be so "GO MAYO" and out going that he becomes intreverted (sp?) at home. It is a big reputation to keep up.

I did apply for a PCA position and when the interview was over, the head nurse walked me to the front, we hade what I thought was a nice conversation, but I was told that I did not get the job because I was too conversational and would probably talk too much.

So, good luck!! I wil get off my soap box now!! LOL

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While I'm mainly a lurker here, just had to reply to your posts. I am a Mayo employee and have been there almost 9 years. I'm so sorry to hear your wife is having to go through this. I have interviewed a few times and have also been the one doing interviews. From what you said about your wife's interview, I am stumped as to why she wasn't offered a position. If I were her, I would bypass HR completely and contact that nurse manager from the unit she interviewed. I'd ask him/her what she thought of the interview and what areas she needs to work on. It may be that she might need to apply to a general unit to get her foot in the door and then go from there. If she finds a posting that interests her, it's also a good idea to apply the right way, and then AGAIN bypass that darn HR and go straight to that nurse manager. Sometimes doing it that way speeds up the whole interview process. If she does interview again, have her keep in mind that they want answers that are VERY specific. Don't generalize about "times you've done that". Answer with "this one time..."

As for your question about who you could contact now, I don't really have any good HR contacts that I can think of, but I'll see if I can come up with someone for you.

And for the person that replied, I have worked there for a long time and I never thought anyone felt they were "all that" for working at Mayo. You get those personalities wherever you go.

Tell your wife not to give up. Persistence is the key to getting a position there. Although we're spoiled in that we're certainly no where near short staffed as other hospitals, we still need good nurses, and your wife sounds like a definate asset to any unit.

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thank you both for your replies,

Let me just update you on what has happened so far. We finally did get a call from the head of HR and was told that the manager that interviewed her put her down as not being able to respond under pressure. She also said that that the whole interview was so called below score. As my wife explained to this person, the unit she is at and the hospital does not have all the different staffing positions that the mayo has. She does not have the luxery of having a monitor tech,IV team and all the extra hands that they do. Thus making the order of which they respond is different. I am not saying this because she is my wife, however she responds extremly well under pressure. She is on a code team, is charge nurse with a full patient assignment, they do thier own IV sticks and the list goes on and on. This head of HR also said she was misinformed about applying to other positions however she would most likely be flagged for what is written in her file. Since then she has gotten 4 rejection letters to get another interview. They checked nothing except to take the word of how 1 person interpreted her so called interview. The person my wife talked to also said that they get hundreds and hundreds of applications for 1 position, well if this is the case should there not be a little more weeding done before a person is brought 900 miles to interview. Also you would think that they would set up multiple interviews if a person is coming from out of state and has applied to more than one position. this way they could compare what more than persons interpretation of the interview went. Also some people are just not good interviewers, especially when they are nervous and really want a position. Take a look at the persons past history with work, check refrences to see how they perform. They checked nothing however they give her a red flag just because they think she is not suited for the MAYO WAY.

We are not giving up on Minnesota as we think that moving there will be a plus for us. Wife has already spoken with, St. Joe's, North Memorial, St. Cloud and recruiter for the Allina hospitals. Will find out next week when interviews will be set and we will make the trip up there again.

All I can say is the Mayo is losing out on not just a great nurse but a fantastic person.

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Specializes in RN- Med/surg.

Look into Allina. They're a great organization to work for...and treat their employees well.

I went through a phone interview with a Mayo facility in Mankato. It was rediculous. They didn't ask me one nursing question....odd questions like "are you a habitual smiler? Are you addicted to happiness? Have you EVER paid a bill late".....then I was told they weren't interested in me.

I work for Allina now...and love it. I'm very glad I wasn't offered a job at the Mayo facility...as many of my coworkers came over from there.

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Specializes in ED.

I think you just have to accept that they didn't think she was a good fit, for whatever reason. The person who interviewed her did not like her responses and they probably did not have a good rapport. This happens all the time, people who are good people and good at what they do, do not get jobs based on an interview. Obviously it was not meant to be. i'm sure your wife is a great RN but maybe it wasn't a good fit for her. Not everyone will like everyone. And like someone else said, they can afford to be choosy with so many applicants. Just take it as it is, and move on. She will find a great job somewhere else.

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Thanks for the responses. We are moving forward and actually have had more than a few interviews with other area hospitals. There have been a few job offers and a couple more that are pending. Everything looks like we will be moving up there in January.

What really bothers me is this. You give an interview and do not like the fit of the person you interview, So you put in this persons file that they should not be given an interview within any other department. I understand they can be choosey but how can one person interpret what every other supervisor or manager is going to think about that person. That is a form of descrimination, you are being denied because of one persons opinion. It is not that she wants to work there anymore it is more of a large entity thinking they can do as they want without regard for there actions. With this as long as people just let them go, they will continue to act in this manner. All these other interviews, there was comments on how much you(meaning my wife) have so much to offer to this hospital and unit. So in a more positive way we are glad that she did not get an offer from the Mayo, as better plans are on the horizon.

Don't be suprised though if in the near future you don't read about or hear about something pertaining to this type of practice in the news.

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Specializes in ED.
You give an interview and do not like the fit of the person you interview, So you put in this persons file that they should not be given an interview within any other department. I understand they can be choosey but how can one person interpret what every other supervisor or manager is going to think about that person.

I think this is pretty typical. Even nursing clinical instructors can determine if you get a job somewhere (usually where they work). If they do not like you, it will hurt you later even if you are a good RN etc. This happens all over, in all areas of work.

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I think this is pretty typical. Even nursing clinical instructors can determine if you get a job somewhere (usually where they work). If they do not like you, it will hurt you later even if you are a good RN etc. This happens all over, in all areas of work.

I can agree that a clinical instructor could determine as they see how you perform, they are grading you on your actual PERFORMANCE, not an interpretation.

I have interviewed a few times and have given interviews many times(was a mangager for 8 years) and never have I nore have I been told that I or the person could not apply for any other position within the company. Even when I thought the person that I interviewed would not fit in my department, I would not tell them not to try in another department. See the easy thing would have been that Mayo says "thank you for applying however the position is being givin to someone else, however you can check for future openings". They did not they said" the results show that you are not a good nurse and you can't apply for any other position. Oh well as I said, we shall see down the road.

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Specializes in ED.
I can agree that a clinical instructor could determine as they see how you perform, they are grading you on your actual PERFORMANCE, not an interpretation.

I have interviewed a few times and have given interviews many times(was a mangager for 8 years) and never have I nore have I been told that I or the person could not apply for any other position within the company. Even when I thought the person that I interviewed would not fit in my department, I would not tell them not to try in another department. See the easy thing would have been that Mayo says "thank you for applying however the position is being givin to someone else, however you can check for future openings". They did not they said" the results show that you are not a good nurse and you can't apply for any other position. Oh well as I said, we shall see down the road.

so, you are saying that if a manager interviews someone and really doesnt' like them at all, they don't ever talk to other managers within the company to discuss this person?? I don't buy it. It happens all the time. Managers talk, and they can't really stop her from applying for another position, she probably just won't get it. I guess I don't see the legal issue, but I'm no lawyer. I agree, they shouldn't have told her that she couldn't apply. But to say that managers don't talk between departments is so different than I have ever seen. I have worked in multiple office and plant type settings and honestly saw this happen all the time. If there is a big reason one manager doesn't like someone, I would find it pretty rare to see the person get an interview with someone else. True, if it just was a case of not being a good fit, then they probably could get another interview. However, if it is a case of them not thinking the person is a good fit overall for the company, then that person probably won't get an interview period. Employers have the right to refuse someone an interview right?? how is that breaking any law?

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I just want to add that even though it was Mayo that you are referring to, the idea of the Behavior Based interview is not Mayo's creation. You can research many many resources and see what they are looking for. Perhaps, just from reading the bit you spoke about your wife is that although she is a hard worker and does several things on the floor...she should downplay those because Mayo does not utilize RN's in that capacity. She needs to highlight her teamwork, collaboration, patient advocacy etc etc...not the I do this, I do that...

Good Luck...

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agirlandherdogs, we knew about that type of interview and my wife did not say I do this, I do that, I, I, I. That was me telling all the kind of work that she does and that was never found out because of the way the one manager asked questions and how that manager interpreted her answers. Then to add insult she was told that she could not apply to any other position within the hospital. Hey as another poster put, Managers and they can say this person is not a good worker or this person seems like they would not fit. I know this goes on, hell I have done it with other managers within different departments when I was in retail. If a persone interviewed at my store, I did not tell them that they could not apply at any other store. Just because I did not liker this person does not mean everyone else will not like them. This manager that interviewed her made it so she could not get another opportunity to interview within that large facility. C'mon it would be different if she had 2 or 3 interviews and everytime it was the same result stating that she would not be a good fit. Then you would have to start looking at yourself. Look at it this way, take 3 different managers within a company give them the persons resume and have them interview the same person 3 different days without getting feedback from each other untill after the interviews. Use the same format of questions and I bet they don't get the same results unless that person is one of two types, either that person is a slacker or a superstar. Everthing in between the people are going to have a different interpretation of the answers. All I have been saying is that she was judged by one person for the whole mayo clinic and that person was a manager of one small department not the head of the whole hospital. My wife interviewed at three other hospitals in MN and two hospitals in WI and was extended an offer at all of them. It has worked out for the better and we will be in MN in a few more weeks.

I just want to add that even though it was Mayo that you are referring to, the idea of the Behavior Based interview is not Mayo's creation. You can research many many resources and see what they are looking for. Perhaps, just from reading the bit you spoke about your wife is that although she is a hard worker and does several things on the floor...she should downplay those because Mayo does not utilize RN's in that capacity. She needs to highlight her teamwork, collaboration, patient advocacy etc etc...not the I do this, I do that...

Good Luck...

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