BoRN17

Sorry about the last post, some of the links are missing!!! Career Center Online Resources | School of Nursing at Johns Hopkins University ----Scroll down to Interview and click on Interview Guide https://www.southern.edu/careers/Documents/Nursing%20Interview%20Question.pdf http://www.salisbury.edu/careerservices/students/Interviews/Nursing.html http://www.nursezone.com/recent-graduates/recent-graduates-featured-articles/New-Grad-Interviewing-Tips-How-to-Make-the-Right-Impression_20110.aspx http://www.nursezone.com/recent-graduates/recent-graduates-featured-articles/What-are-Hiring-Managers-Looking-for-in-New-Nurse-Graduates_20152.aspx

Oh my goodness! I can't believe you're coming all the way from California!!! Trust me though, I know how you feel about staying sane and patient with this whole process!!! It's so hard to be on someone else's time! However, I have received a formal offer and accepted approximately one week after my interview! It was funny because the manager had a great poker face and I really didn't know if I was what she really wanted, but when I sent my thank you letter via email that night and a part of her response included "I hope you'll consider joining our team", I knew I had it! Such a great feeling! So speaking of thank you letters and good feelings, here's a list of resources I hope will give you just that! The first two links are the best!!!! Good luck on NCLEX and I hope you get everything you're looking for! Let me know if there's anything else I can help you out with!http://nursing.jhu.edu/life-at-hopkins/center/documents/interview_guide.pdfhttps://www.southern.edu/careers/Documents/Nursing%20Interview%20Question.pdfhttp://www.nursezone.com/recent-graduates/recent-graduates-featured-articles/New-Grad-Interviewing-Tips-How-to-Make-the-Right-Impression_20110.aspxhttp://www.nursezone.com/recent-graduates/recent-graduates-featured-articles/What-are-Hiring-Managers-Looking-for-in-New-Nurse-Graduates_20152.aspxhttps://sites.google.com/site/newgradnursegroup/fly-thru-tough-interview-questionsALSO, think of a time you had a miscommunication and how you resolved it. How important is it to you to solve conflict quickly? Lastly, If I said to you "All nurses are leaders", what would you say to that?

@lucasaurus Thank you! What was your orientation period like? Did you actually have your own patients or did you mostly just follow your preceptor in with her patients and care for them supervised? My orientation will be 14 weeks, but the amount of things we have to do outside of our work on the unit is EXTENSIVE! Which I am perfectly ok with!!!! Also, could you give me some examples of things that frustrated you as an ICU new grad that made you "want to go home and never come back"? I'd just like to anticipate any additional stressors that come with being a new grad AND in the ICU!!! Thanks a lot for your feedback!!!

@detroitdano Thank you so much for your great advice! It really seems like the type of place where everyone is glad to give help, so I'm hoping that will prove to be true. That last piece about coming in with a desire to learn and not just go through the motions is very helpful for me to remember what I really want to get out of this career! Thanks again!

Today I accepted an offer working on a Medical-Respiratory ICU! I got the job that I wanted with the hospital that I wanted! I'll be in a new grad residency program that I have a LOT of confidence and faith in! The manager was AMAZING and the nurse I shadowed was FANTASTIC! I'm so excited to be starting my career here and I hope to stay! It has been a long journey from graduation in May until now and all I can say is that GOD IS GOOD. He may not come when you want him, but he'll be right there on time, and those loans are just around the corner! I'm feeling so blessed right now to be joining the ICU team! If anyone has any tips, information, funny stories, first job memories, or well wishes to pass on, I'm glad to accept them!

I interviewed there about a week ago. I felt very comfortable in both interviews and they asked only behavioral questions. Things about your character like how you handle conflict, teamwork, communication, criticism, and pressure.

Well first, congratulations on landing an interview!!! I'm sorry I'm getting back to you so late. Is your phone interview with HR? Where would you be traveling from for an in-person interview with management? To answer your questions, I've gone through both the HR interview and so far one interview with a manager in the MRICU. YES, new grads can be hired into the ICU in the VCU Health System. The unit I interviewed for last week is looking to bring on about 5!! Both interviews were behavioral questions, never any clinical-based questions so don't be nervous about that. I would say do some online searches about behavioral interview questions. They want to know about your character, how you handle conflict, examples of how you've solved problems and communicated with others. It's also very important to be able to express that you function effectively as a member of a team and that you have leadership qualities. ALSO, come ARMED with clinical examples of conflicts you may have had and how you went about resolving them, times where you worked effectively as a team member, etc. Have lots of questions as well!!!! I have taken boards and passed in July. I would say the one experience that I feel is a prerequisite for me is having completed my senior practicum in the CCU. I am in state, and live about 30 minutes outside of Richmond actually. As far as your concern for being hired out-of-state, where are you licensed? Overall, do some research on questions during nursing interviews, copy them down, and have in your mind what you'd like to say. If you like some sites I visited, or have any other questions, just let me know! Best of Luck!

@Nimble has a great testing plan. I too chose HURST Review to prepare for my NCLEX. It WILL be the best $300 you have ever spent and if you follow their test plan and utilize their resources, you WILL pass! Take time to focus on knowing your CONTENT and strategy will come easier to you as you find yourself ruling out answers that you KNOW are not possible. You can do this!!!! Go to a Live Hurst review if you can and then set aside however much time you need to study the studybook they give you front to back until you know it! I can tell you now, I couldn't believe how much was in the book that was on the NLCLEX!!!! Be encouraged, you got this!!!

I was wondering if any new grads have interviewed recently or in the past for the residency program with VCU Health System. This Friday I interviewed with an external human resources nurse recruiter that went very well. She told me she wanted to leave my application/resume with as many units as possible to get the interview process started and give me a chance to job shadow a few of my options. I did my preceptorship in the CCU and am hoping to stay along ICU lines. Anyway, just wondering if anyone has had experience with this particular interview/hiring process! Any feedback is appreciated! Thanks!

Still Waiting! I graduated with my BSN May 16th, 2013. I passed my boards on July 7th, all the while, applying to jobs. So far I've had 2 interviews in person, and one phone interview in which management didn't call me at all.....TWICE. I recently had an HR interview for a new grad residency program and will have my resume/application passed through several different units in hopes I will be contacted by one. This time I'm confident I'll be back on this post by the end of September with a job offer!!!