New grad interview for ER

RegularNurse · Oct 16, 2015

Why Should I Hire You?

A. I am teachable, hardworking, and a team player.

Why do you want to work here?

A. I want to work in a fast-paced environment where I can have many learning opportunities. I think I am a good fit for the ER.

The interviewer knows you have no experience so don't sweat that stuff. Just be cool, pleasant, and acknowledge that you are coming in as a novice but want to learn.

turnforthenurse, MSN, NP · Oct 17, 2015

Know your strengths and weaknesses. Never said you have no weaknesses. When I was a brand new nurse, I said my biggest weakness was that I had no experience aside from clinicals but then I turned it around and said that I am a very fast learner. They loved my answer.

Do your research on the company. It might be hard to find specific information on the ER itself unless it's a very busy department or something but look at the company's mission and how your attributes fit in with it. See if you can find any achievements that the company has accomplished recently and mention them in your interview.

You'll probably be asked some behavioral-type questions, like "how do you deal with conflict?" etc. Be prepared for those. Think back on your previous experiences.

Be sure to also prepare a list of your own questions to ask the employer. Some questions I like to ask:

* what is your nurse-to-patient ratio?

* if I went around to your staff and asked them what they love most about working here, what would they say?

* what are some challenges that this department has faced over the past 6 months/year?

* (for the manager/director) how would you describe your management style?

* what do you love most about working here?

* if I received an offer from another company, why would I want to work for this one?

* how is scheduling handled? (do they self-schedule, have a matrix, etc)

* is call required?

This list is not all-inclusive but that just gives you some ideas. Good luck!