Peformed poorly in my job interview :(

[Animaniacs, BSN, RN]

Feeling down, I dont know how I did in the job interview for an RN position.. I had a job interview for Orthopedics department in a hospital, its a huge step up in pay and it's also in a big hospital. But I felt like I didn't do a great job with "tell me about yourself" or "why are you deciding to leave for this department" I've been a nurse on the floor for 13 years. I felt nervous and just didnt feel like I did a good job. It was awful.

I absolutely don't like interviews, it's so nerve-racking and i get intimidated easily.

I did okay with giving examples and scenarios from my work experience, but I could have elaborated more and spoken more confidently. i dont even know how i got the job at my previous hospital when i started. I started there as a student extern, and it wasn't too difficult. i did odd jobs in my past such as delivering newspaper or working in fastfood, and those weren't too difficult. sure i was nervous, but they just gave me the job coz they needed me.

If I could sum up my peformance in between A to F. I would rank myself as a C- simply average. On a scaled of 1-10, its probably a 6.5/10. I prepared so much but failed so bad in my opinion. They say the only way to be good at it is to actually experience a lot of interviews, and improve on those failures.

[MHDNURSE]

As a former nurse manager I had many nurses perform poorly on interviews and some of them were still offered positions if they had an excellent resume, had excellent references, and my gut generally told me they were good people who had crummy interview skills. I never had a hire that I regretted. So maybe you will be one of those that performs average in interviews, but has a great resume and terrific references. I remember asking a couple references about candidates who didn't interview well, and they said something along the lines of "she doesn't seem confident in an interview setting but is great with patients and coworkers love working with her".

[icu_newbie]

We are often our own worst critics, and no one likes interviews because they are very anxiety provoking. Your potential manager will see that your work experience says a lot about you as a nurse. I am sure you did well in your interview even though you feel that you flunked it, and I am sure will get that position. If not, chuck it to experience and use it as a learning opportunity for your next interview. Best of luck!

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

I think managers pretty much expect nervous interviewees. As you were confident with the scenario questions, you did very well.

IF you need to interview again, the "tell me about yourself question" is where you give your elevator pitch and sell yourself in 1 minute.

The reason you are leaving your current department is... you are seeking opportunities for growth and ortho (or whatever)... has always been interesting to you.

Good luck, let us know the decision.

[oceanblue52]

Scenarios are the hardest to prepare for that, so if you feel confident in answering those that's great. Do you remember some of the better answers you gave, or are you thinking about how you could have answered others better? Try journaling about them. I did this after an interview (free form jotted down questions and my memory of the answers), and looking over my notes really helped me prep for other interviews later on. I find reading over my notes and then verbally answering some of the more awkward questions out loud before hand is good preparation.

[NightNerd, MSN, RN]

I have always felt better in writing than in interviews, so if I can think of a specific point that I know I could have answered more thoroughly, I'll use part of my thank you note to address it (briefly). Like, "As I reflected on your question about (whatever), I realized I forgot to mention (whatever)." I also see nothing wrong with being honest: "Interviews bring out my nervous side sometimes, but I hope I conveyed how excited I am about this job." Maybe try that?

I agree with other posters in that being able to give examples of your work to answer questions is really good, so don't lose hope! I think as long as you can relate what you've done before to your potential success in the new job, you're in a good spot. Good luck!