Please be prepared for your interview...

We have been doing interviews for a new hospital that's opening so we are looking for 50 ED people. After the first day I was really surprised at the amount of people who were not prepared for their interview. We had some well qualified candidates who had no idea who my company even is..yes they were from out of town but I feel they should have at least Googled us...some candidates had no idea how to answer questions about weaknesses or situations when...so I have a few suggestions for you great people who are possibly looking for work.

--Please know something about the company you are applying to...even just a quick Google search.

--Please be prepared to answer questions like, "Tell me about a time when you had a great connection with a patient", or "Tell me about a time when you were unable to give the kind of care you like to".

--Please be prepared to talk about your own weaknesses or what your previous supervisor would say is your weakness. (Everyone can list their strengths)

--Don't be afraid to brag about yourself and for gosh sakes hold your head up high, you are an ED nurse with some experience otherwise you wouldn't have been given the interview.

--We love honesty, if you are trying to portray characteristics that are unnatural it usually looks awkward. (i.e. if you are a quite person, just say that, don't try to be over the top to try and cover it up)

--And please make every possible effort to come and sit for the interview, management doesn't like to do phone interviews :-)

Anyone else want to add anything?

BTW...we had some absolutely great people who applied and were prepared, thinking about 50% will be offered so far (which is great!).

Larry

Now if only I could get past the HR gatekeepers! I know I interview well, but I never seem to get a face-to-face interview. I am hopeful as I approach graduation that being a new grad an ED will take a chance on little ole me, because I am dedicated, loyal, motivated, and committed to being a damn good ED nurse.

Thanks for the tips, Larry!

One question though, if I am asked a question that I never ran into during nursing school, what do I say? Just that? My whole nursing experience is limited to my clinicals and preceptorship. Is it ever ok to say, "I've not personally run into xyz... but if I did, I would..." ???

I think that would be fine, or even how you handled a similar situation in your personal life. My panel is trying to get a sense of what kind of person you are. We did not interview any new grads but if we did we probably would have adjusted some of the questions to make more sense.

Hang in there, you'll be more prepared for your next interview just by going through the first one :-)

Thank you for this post; I believe it to be helpful and I'm going to review the replies. As someone who's not new to nursing but new to ER nursing, I believe my best hope is to interview well. I like to prepare well in advance with potential "behavioral questions," as well as my attire and appearance. Although I will say that in the past, I have both been asked such questions and not asked questions at all - I am usually not asked such questions when my experience very closely matches the job I am applying for. I wonder if this is what some of the candidates expected? Still, I don't think that's any excuse. I think job interviews are the one instance where I am most painfully aware of my need to come across as professional and prepared! And still I end up being very nervous!

That being said, I wonder if anyone has any more tips for nurses who are trying to get their foot in the door to the ED and have been granted an interview?

I am a BSN,CMSRN. 5 years of med surg/ tele experience and 3 years of ICU experience. I applied to Ed night shift= No interview

Thank you for this thread. I graduate in December and would love to start in ED. I'm very much open to other paths, but that's where my heart is.

I have background in teaching and hiring/training teachers for private schools and from what I've seen of interview boards, I think much is similar. To people who think they're bad at interviewing, practice with your friends, especially playing the part of the interviewer-- it might give you some perspective as well as confidence.

Mostly, and many of my classmates could stand to hear this, no one responds well to an entitled attitude. Being able to discuss strengths and achievements without sounding entitled is key. Yes?

A question: does anyone care about if you were on student council or an honor society?

Very good info.! I had an interview early Feb and I thought for sure I had my usual moments of rambling. I was put to ease by one of the interviewers when they said my interview was going very well! :) I got the email this past week with an offer!! I have been trying for about 3 years to get into an ED position. I'd like to think that if I did ramble a bit they saw past it and saw my utter excitement for the challenges an ED brings. Also for the first time I asked them all sorts of questions. There are plenty of good tips in this thread.

I am so incredibly excited to start working there at the end of the month!!

I think that would be fine, or even how you handled a similar situation in your personal life. My panel is trying to get a sense of what kind of person you are. We did not interview any new grads but if we did we probably would have adjusted some of the questions to make more sense.

Hang in there, you'll be more prepared for your next interview just by going through the first one :-)

Thanks for the encouragement! I had a chance to re-interview with the oncology manager and a clinical nurse specialist yesterday morning. I had done research on how to answer tough behavior questions. I had committed to memory difficult situations with patients, colleagues or classmates and family members to help convey my communication style and how I deal with conflict. I feel like I did SOOOO much better. I felt less nervous and I was pleased with my answers. Mistakes are the best learning experiences and my bad interview helped me to see the error of my ways. I hope to get a decision by midweek. Hopefully I can get some good experience and move to ER when the time is right. Thanks again, this whole thread helped tremendously

@ bigsick_little sick: would you mind to share your research on answering tough behavioral questions? Thanks a lot!

@ bigsick_little sick: would you mind to share your research on answering tough behavioral questions? Thanks a lot!

Of course! I did a little searching on AN and found this gem. One of the links no longer works but the others are extremely helpful:

Hello everyone! I am a new RN grad getting ready for my first interview and while preparing I stumbled upon many great links to questions. I read through the forum and didn't find that many questions so I wanted to share these links! I know practicing some questions will relieve anxiety and help me be better prepared.

This link has many ??? specifically towards nursing:

Healthcare Hiring Questions List - Top 10 and moreNursing Job Interview Questions - Employer Questions, Employment Interview, Nursing CareerNursing Interview QuestionsNurse Interview Questions and Answers

Not directly about nursing but about answering tricky behavioral questions:

http://www.hirenetworks.com/RecruitingStaffingConsulting/75/behavorial-interview-questions-article/

Types Of Interviews - Boston College

Interviewing Cheat Sheet: 100 Resources: GREAT LINK PAGE!!

focus.com

RN Responsibilities:

http://www.job-interview-site.com/rn-interview-questions-and-answers-for-a-registered-nurse.html

http://www.job-interview-site.com/nurse-interview-questions-and-answers-part-2.html

Tough Interview Questions

http://jobsearch.about.com/od/interviewquestionsanswers/a/toughquest.htm

The amount of questions linked up here is overkill but pick which ones you want to practice answering....hope this helps!!

@ big sick_littlesick: Thank you so much!

I sell myself short all the time during interviews!!!! Always, always, always!I look up the hospital, learn their mission and values and I wrote down frequently asked questions! I also write down my answers, repeat, repeat, repeat! I get so nervous, my anxiety escalates and this is how I sell myself short!

I am always honest, naive at times and I use simple language when I speak, no fancy vocabulary!

Why are you interested in this position? My honest answer would be, I am a new graduate, although I have enjoyed all clinical rotations, I am still a newbie, it is difficult for me to know my place in nursing at this time, I have not had enough experience on a floor to really know if my heart is in OB, PEDS,ICU, ONCOLOGY etc. As a new grad , all I want is a JOB so I can apply the theories and skills I have learned in school. I just want to be a NURSE, I want to take care of patients, work as a team and in a good environment and this is what makes me happy!

From my experience the honest person never wins anything, always loses!!!!!

One of my friends always wanted to do OB, and could not stand taking care of adults- med surg

It is very difficult to get a job in OB as a new grad, so she applied for med surg position!

She was asked, why are you interested in working in med surg? Her answer: throughout nursing school, I always enjoyed med surg , I want to take care of adults, I want to be able to communicate with them. Med surg will help develop my skills by taking care of variety of pts with complicated history! I always knew I belonged in med surg!!!

Everything was fake- guess who got the job! This girl!

I believe the best way to know someone is to give them a chance, take a risk and get to know them while in orientation! Not everyone is a good speaker, or good at answering interview questions! It is very possible for someone to be a great nurse but not very good at answering interview questions!

Honesty has failed every single time!

Creative liars always win!

Sad truth ((((

I disagree that honesty won't win. Great interviews involve being honest, but knowing how to tailor your answer to be compatible with what they want in a candidate. What you just said is not anything bad to say in an interview, although I might tweak it a bit:

Why are you interested in this position? My honest answer would be, I am a new graduate, although I have enjoyed all clinical rotations, I am still a newbie, it is difficult for me to know my place in nursing at this time, I have not had enough experience on a floor to really know if my heart is in OB, PEDS,ICU, ONCOLOGY etc. As a new grad , all I want is a JOB so I can apply the theories and skills I have learned in school. I just want to be a NURSE, I want to take care of patients, work as a team and in a good environment and this is what makes me happy!

"I am a new nurse, and as a student nurse I enjoyed all of my clinical experiences. I am excited to put my knowledge to use and begin my career working as a team and taking care of patients. I believe that this med/surg job will give me the foundational experience that I need to succeed as a novice nurse." Etc. if it is a medical/surgical/oncology floor or whatever, talk about what in particular you think might interest you in that specialty and try to relate it to an experience you had in nursing school caring for that type of patient. There's nothing wrong with saying any of that IMO. Everyone knows new grads are just trying to get their foot in the door.

I have done several peer interviews of new grads, since my department is one of the only ones that hires new grads. I can tell you that many people have lied - as I have found out. I have spoken to many interviewees who talk about how excited they are to join this department, and how they are committed to working here at least a year, and then the a lot of them leave the department once getting off of orientation for a job on a different nursing floor! It's annoying as a staff nurse because you try to develop relationships with these people and then they're gone in a couple months.

One recent peer interview involved a nurse who couldn't really give one reason why this particular department appealed to her. She didn't have any questions at all about the department and when being honest with her about the particular challenges of the department, seemed disappointed and unable to suggest that she was confident that she could take on those challenges, or that she felt that they would provide good learning opportunities (which they did for me, as someone who went through it as a new grad). She just kind of sat there looking disappointed about the whole thing (and I wasn't really breaking some horrible news to her). I wasn't the hiring manager, but if I was (and I had any clue), she would not be first on my hiring list. Even if you don't know what specialty you ultimately want to get into, at least research the particular place you are applying for and try to find some positives about it - and convey those in the interview. If I were a hiring manager, I would want to know that you were a good fit for the department because I would want you to stick around as long as possible.

But I would encourage you to stay positive about the interview process. It's likely not your honesty, but the stumbling block of being without experience which has stalled the process so far. Eventually you will get a break. I've always felt in my interviews (which is totally a learned art - I've been through so many interviews in my life and really sucked at first), that speaking from the heart is more effective than memorizing scripted answers. Anyhoo good luck!