Please quit wasting my time: Interview Advice from Hiring Manager

[Teacher Sue]

I have spent the last two days interviewing candidates for an open RN position on my floor. Last week I went through the 14 resumes HR sent over to pick out the ones I wanted to interview. Eliminated eight of these for various reasons ( poor grammar and spelling, history of job hopping, inappropriate email address), and scheduled six interviews. I did the last interview this afternoon, and still have not found a suitable candidate. I know there are plenty of resources online that give Job Search tips, so please, put a little effort into writing an appropriate resume, and learning how to interview. I don't care if you are old, young, fat, thin, new GN or crusty old bat, gorgeous or if you wear a paper bag over your head. Please present yourself in a professional manner when interviewing. You don't need to wear a business suit, but don't come in jeans or shorts. Don't come with overdone hair and make up and tons of bling. Learn to communicate in a professional manner as well. You are a college graduate, you should at least have an understanding of basic grammar and know how to express yourself. Express a sincere desire to work on my unit. Don't tell me that you really don't want to work on a telemetry unit, that you just want to get into the hospital so that you can transfer into ICU as soon as there is an opening. Don't be cocky or dismissive of CNAs and other ancillary personnel when I introduce you to the staff for the peer interview.

I have read numerous posts from nurses who cannot find jobs in the present economy, and I feel for them. But it can be just as frustrating for a manager looking for staff who are professional, caring, and committed to their profession. I feel like the last two days have been a complete waste of my time. Please, if you are lucky enough to get an interview, make sure you are presenting yourself as a professional. If you cannot make the effort to do so, don't waste your time or mine by even scheduling the interview.

[NeoPediRN]

I always wear a business suit when I interview and everyone (RN to janitor) gets a handshake. Can't fathom doing anything but.

[Guest343211]

This original post gave me a smile. Thanks for making my day. Now consider hiring strongly experienced RNs, at least who are matriculated into a BSN program, over unexperienced GN/BSNs. I am all for BSNs getting jobs, but for goodness sake, it's not fair for anyone the way the hiring is going at this time. You do NOT lose your nursing knowledge if it is strong. You may need a couple of weeks to refresh to things, but the critical thinking and judgment should be there if you have STRONG experience. I am all for BSN as baseline; but it does NOT trump strong experience.

Next, understand that many of the floors and units for which many HR people and managers hire, have some unhealthy business going on, and subtle forms or covert horizontal violence occurs a lot--especially when a nurse is on orientation. If the influential few in the crowd--you know, the ones that have management's ear, dislike or feel threatened by a new nurse hire, why there is no limit to how they can spin things. What they should teach nursing students is how to deal with the horrible level of negative politics and gaming that goes on in this field.

It's a great field in terms of what you can do, at least I believe this. I have loved most of what I have done--with all the ups and downs. I have had the pleasure of working with some incredible people. But honestly, there is toxicity that leadership and HR should never allow--especially when people are most vulnerable--on orientation.

I have lived to see some really sad things in this field; but the abuse that goes on, which leads to all the turn over for orientation as well as more stable positions is unreal. Some people think the political toxicity is worse in education. It may be close, but I give the cigar to nursing for more reasons than I have time to discuss.

Also, someone needs to do honest studies about financial waste that occurs because of toxicity and abuse and excessive political gaming in nursing. I believe a ton of money could be saved by hiring the right nurse educators as well as managers--those that understand how to both teach adult learners and mentor nurses. I believe turnover could be significantly reduced through major and consistent efforts aimed at changing the clinical cultures from covertly abusive (looks good on the surface, but it's toxic underneath) to more supportive, nuturing environments. Finally, I have been begging, for years, for places to develop more objective systems of evaluation for nurses during their orientation and thereafter--reducing the subjective nonsense. My head is too scarred over to even feel the pain of banging against the walls.

[wish_me_luck, BSN, RN]

BrandonLPN, I am offended at the comment "don't list jobs you worked for a couple of months". The reason why this offends me is because I just finished an internship/Americorps position that was only for the summer. I listed it on my resume. Rightfully so. So, to OP, please don't discount short jobs because they could have actually completed that experience and also, I had a job I really loved as a tech and gained valuable exp. but my schooling was more important to me (my manager told me she would work with me when I went back, then left me high and dry) and I was also being harrassed by one of the nurses. Otherwise, I would have stayed. My point is, sometimes, there is a legit reason for leaving.

Other than that--atrocious email addresses, pajamas/jeans, etc., I agree. However, I once did wear corduroys and a nice top (somewhat casual, but nice) and sperrys to an interview because I could not afford anything else. Many of us younger people can't afford too much; keep in mind, I think answers can be better than dress because once you hit the floor, you typically wear scrubs. So, you would never be able to pick out who wore what to the interview.

Since you are a manager, I want to know one thing. What do you tell the interviewer when they ask about experience and the position says that it was for people who do not have experience? I am serious. I went on an interview once at the VA that was for people who don't have that much experience, yet the interviewer asked me what experience I had. I got marked down for not having experience. One of the people picked (this person went to the same school I did) had experience in EMT work and she ended up quitting after the program was over because she knew she wanted to work for one of the other health systems.

So, please don't assume people just don't care enough about an interview. Plus, you have to realize that many new grads do not have much interview experience. Mock interviews help but different questions and nerves can get the best of a person.

[mom_coach_nurse, LPN]

Loved this post. And as we all know, it's not just limited to Nursing interviews. My husband and I own a business & recently were looking for a helper, our requirements were fairly simple. Much like you described, we were ridden with people dealing with drug issues but probably wouldn't use on the job, prior DUI's, do I have to work weekends/8 hours a day, I've been arrested 3 times, but am now all good.

Sometimes I fear for my kids futures...

[BrandonLPN, LPN]

Sheesh, I meant don't list jobs that didn't work out that you didn't stay long in as a result. Obviously summer jobs or temp jobs are different.

I think many of us have a job or two that will never make it on the old resume. Sometimes we take a crappy job as a temporary stop gap until we find a decent job. After I left construction but before I became a nurse I worked a couple horrible retail jobs for short periods just to pay bills. Those will never be on my resume cause they aren't relevant to anything.

[wish_me_luck, BSN, RN]

ElSea, to me, if they were making an effort to become clean and change, that speaks volumes to me. I don't think people should ask for weekends and stuff off; but don't knock people who have a past but are legitimately trying to change.

[NurseCard, ADN]

Murseman2011 said:

I loved this post. I pictured people with emails like sexyboy5999 or bigplayer269. It is not hard to make a quality email account.

I do have to say for my own part... after about ten years I FINALLY wised up and changed my email address. It was NOT the most professional sounding address in the world; I created it when I was quite young. It wasn't the WORST in the world, like bigsexymomma or anything like that, but it wasn't great either.

[mom_coach_nurse, LPN]

ElSea, to me, if they were making an effort to become clean and change, that speaks volumes to me. I don't think people should ask for weekends and stuff off; but don't knock people who have a past but are legitimately trying to change.

I wouldn't. Especially if they were legitimately turning their life around. We called his sister for a reference (all he could give) and she told us he's still doing all of those things, and she didn't think it would be a good idea to have him to be in peoples homes. (We do custom carpentry)

The other guy? Well, he's someone I've known since high school and still to this day, 20 years later posts his drunken pictures on FB, hasn't held down a job in years. So I'm not meaning to generalize, it was just these people amazed me.

[Teacher Sue]

I'm not talking about those people who may have had issues with their first job, or who had trouble finding their niche. I understand this happens and will give someone like this consideration. But if you have had ten jobs in fifteen years, I won't interview you. Someone who goes from job to job throughout their career is likely someone who can't get along with their coworkers or doesn't perform well. This is what I consider job hopping, not the nurse who left a first or even a second job for personal or professional reasons.

Just because someone switched jobs multiple times doesn't necessarily mean anything negative about them, maybe they aren't willing to work in a subpar environment or had to move or who knows what. I left 2 jobs where the nursing standards were horrible, employees were treated like garbage, and patient care was not a priority. But if you look at the dates it just looks like job-hopping. In reality though, I refuse to lower my standard of care for my patients, or my self-respect as as a person and as a nurse.

[kabooski]

So if you went straight from high school to college and never worked a job, that is better than an older GN with a job history? What if you disprove of a previous line of work? Is that reason enough to scratch a name off a list?

[mariebailey, MSN, RN]

Don't waste my time either. Nurses leave supervisors/managers, rather than organizations. A manager focusing on weaknesses, rather than building on strengths, sets the stage for low morale. I agree that basic grammar skills, commitment, and a sincere interest in the position are modest expectations. However, opportunities for career growth are rarely found under the supervision of an unyielding critic.

[Teacher Sue]

To respond to some of the comments here:

Yes, I do understand that people cannot always afford new clothes when they are job hunting. Dressing professionally does not always mean business attire. It means clean, and appropriate. Jeans, shorts, extremely short skirts, low cut tops, and sheer or sparkly clothing is not apprpriate.

I also understand that people can have "stage fright." I usually give candidates a tour of the unit before the formal interview to put them at ease before we sit down and talk. And being nervous does not mean you lose the ability to speak. One of the best nurses on our unit babbled and repeated herself during her interview. but she was still able to express her views on patient advocacy, safety, accountability, and communication.

I hire for attitude and not neccesarily for experience. I will hire a newly graduated ADN over a BSN with 20 years of experience if he or she demonstrates the qualities I am seeking. Our hospital's policy is to hire the best candidate for the job. If two candidates have the same experience and do equally well in the interview, then the BSN is the preferred choice. But with the right preceptor and support from management, most people can be taught policies and procedures. You cannot teach a positive attitude and compassion. Those are the qualities I will always look for when I am hiring staff.