1st new grad interview and CONFUSED

[sakuragirl24]

Hi everyone!

After 4 long months of applying to new grad positions, I finally landed an interview for an L&D residency program at a large hospital in California. I arrived 15 minutes early, I dressed professionally wearing a grey women's suite, and brought along a leather notepad as well as my portfolio (resume, CL, letter of recs, senior project pilot study information, certifications).

What was interesting was that the interviewers (unit manager & CNS) did not ask a majority of the questions that I had prepared for :X The interview lasted just alittle longer than the 30 minute slot going into about 35mins. They only asked me:

1) Tell me about your preceptorship / with little questions stemming from my answer?

2) Why do you want to work for ____?

3) Tell me about your senior project?

4) What are your short term goals?

I was really anticipating scenario and "what are strengths/weaknesses" kind of questions. I answered their questions to the best of my ability and based on their body language the interview seemed okay. There was eye contact, some nods in agreement to certain things that I was saying, they took some notes.

After they asked me questions, they went into describing the residency program in detail. The unit manager the proceeded to tell me more about the culture of the unit. What challenges I may face as a new grad in their program and that the preceptors are very new grad friendly. I was asked if I preferred evening or night shifts. She appeared enthusiastic when describing her team. She asked about the hospital that I precepted at (L&D) and was also very detailed about her hospital. We have X beds, we have x births , she told me about their doctors and so the type of patients they see. She then asked me if I had any questions. I had prepared 5 questions but only asked three. Their answers were very clear and well thought out.

My last question was of course, "what are the next steps". She told me that they were at the very end of their interviews and that they will be making decisions shortly. She presented a sheet that entailed what to anticipate (reference checks, email/letter of acceptance, background check and physical/drug screenings)--which seemed like onboarding instructions to me. The base pay was also written on that sheet. She said that I would be hearing in 7-10 days and to check my email often. The manager also kept my portfolio O_O

We said our goodbyes and I dropped off a hand written thank you note to the receptionist. I thanked them for their time and that I appreciated hearing their thoughts on what they found rewarding in their career.

I'm CONFUSED. I know I should just wait and see but I can't help but analyze everything haha.

1) They barely asked any behavioral/scenario questions

but

2) I have this sheet with onboarding instructions and a base pay?

Is it normal for HR/managers to do these kind of things? Hand out a sheet with onboarding instructions as well as mention base pay on a first interview? What are your experiences? help please! I have a long wait to go. haha.

[Lev, MSN, RN, NP]

I think your professionalism spoke enough about you that they didn't feel the need to ask those questions. You are a new grad, so you may not have many experiences to draw off from either. Regarding the sheet, it's possible they give it to all their applicants to make the application process easier once they make people offers. Even for jobs that I've been given offers for, I wasn't given paperwork until I accepted the job.

[sakuragirl24]

Thank you for your input :]