Help! Interview for position tomorrow in NICU!

[sasparilla]

I'm so excited and incredibly nervous, I have an interview for a Nurse Tech position in NICU tomorrow that hopefully will lead to a GN spot when I graduate with an RN in June. The competition is fierce, approx. 15 people applying for just a few spots. I don't have too much time to prepare since it is tomorrow (they just called this afternoon) and was hoping that someone might be able to give me some pointers on what to expect from the interview. It is going to be a 3-person panel interview and I don't know who it will consist of. I am reviewing interview questions but was wondering if there are any specific NICU-related questions I might expect as well as what do they look for in a person that would show that person to be a good fit for NICU? Also, what might be some good questions for me to ask them?

Any thoughts or help would be so appreciated, I really want to shine and am nervous about not having much time to prepare since I have school tomorrow. I will go for the interview right after I get out for the day.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

No advice, just wanted to wish you luck.

[nurseangel47]

Same here. Sorry, but not experienced in NICU. I have, however, had the team interviews. Not as scary as I thought they'd be! Guess it depends on the individuals actually doing the interview, tho'. (duh! obvious statement!)

I'm wishing you well as the above post did. Good luck!

[ddoosier]

Be yourself. Be very enthusiastic about learning. When asked about your weakness...turn into a positive. For example, my reply was my weakness is that I have a tendancy to come off as aggressive. However, because I am mindful of this, I am able to tone it down to the level of assertiveness. My NM reply was "good, because you will need that in the ICU". Also, if NICU is your chosen specialty, let your interviewers know. While I was a student, I knocked on the NM door, asked her for a few minutes of her time, and conveyed my experiences as a student to her on her unit. I then asked her to consider me for the Student RN extern position. I knew that this was were I wanted to flourish as a RN. I pointed out all of the positive attributes that I experienced...such as the teamwork, the willingness to teach and how I witnessed the experienced RN's give the new RN the difficult case, yet being there to guide her. As a result, I was hired as an extern and then as a new grad. I love my job and the wonderful people I work with in the SICU. The first year is challenging. Hang in there because it does get better and your confidence will develop. Good luck. They don't expect you to know everything, they are more importantly looking for a good fit in their unit. Hope this helps. Also, I had puchased a book titled "Your 1st Year As a Nurse" by Donna Wilk Cardillo. It is a nice resource and it validates many feelings that you have as a rookie.

Deb

Deb

[Humbled_Nurse]

So how did the interview go?