Hi Everyone... Today was the 1st day of interviews as you all know. Just wanted to stop in here to share my experience so far in as few bullet point as possible...
* I felt like I was at a crowded factory when I walked in to the HR suite. There were dozens & dozens of candidates there!
* They asked each candidate to fill out an essay type questionnaire, which to me was odd. I've been in other interviews and I feel like these are the types of things they should ask you for pre-screening.
* They were running late so I didn't get interviewed until 40 minutes after my scheduled time.
* I had 2 people interview me. One was nice but the other looked bored and kept cutting me off mid-sentence.
* They had no idea who I was--- when I walked in there, they didn't even have a copy of my resume' which goes to show that they didn't read my profile beforehand.
* The interview was way short as expected, which makes it hard for a candidate whose resume' didn't get read by the interviewers beforehand to make his/her case to get hired.
* I asked when I'd hear back, to which they said "Well we're interviewing a lot of people today, but we're gonna keep the job open all of November so you might hear back some time in December. As to when in December, we're not sure."e
So in summary, DON'T LOSE HOPE because they still might call you. Also, it was kind of an impersonal experience. I think it's kinda crappy to go to interviews feeling like you're definitely just a number when they know how desperate the situation is in all of California for new grads.
Thanks Zippy7 for sharing with us your experience! I am very sorry for the way you feel right now as I am sure you were hoping for more of a quality time with the interviewers, given that we are all trying to overly prepare to have a shot at getting a job.
Would you mind sharing what the essay question was about? Did you also take a math dosage calculation test? My interview is tomorrow and anything else you can share would be much appreciated.
Again, thanks for your time posting here and I truly hope that you get a positive phone call from them in December!!:redbeathe
I interviewed for MICU today and I think it went pretty well. There are 2 pre-interview essay questions that you will need to fill out. Make sure you come 30 minutes early so you will have enough time answering them. I'm not going to say what the questions are because I feel it will be unfair for those that went. The questions threw me for a loop because it took me forever to answer so make sure you get there early!! The 405 was so bad!!! it took me 3 hours to drive from OC to UCLA and got there late. Also, there is a math test after the interview. It Was a simple first grade math of adding and subtracting lol! like add $40.02+$23.01= What is the total? You get 6 minutes to answer as many as u can!! i only answered 20 out of 70!! but the lady assured me to do my best.
For the interview: It was relatively brief like 20minutes !!!! He only asked me 4 basic questions..... and he kept asking me if i have any questions!!! I just asked a lot of questions. We just went over my resume and school. I'm not sure if its a bad or good thing but it seems as though he already knows who he is going to pick. He asked me if I applied to other places!! bad sign
For MICU: There are 5-6 positions. He'll notify us next week.
PS: The staff are really friendly and nice!
Tips: Make sure you know your philosophy of nursing like why you became a nurse and what is your future goals in 5-10 years (These are not the essay questions).
Thanks, you guys for giving us the low down. :) "A crowded factory"....hmmm, kinda glad I have an interview somewhere else. I'm not too disappointed now that they haven't called me. I believe all things happen for a reason and we will all end up where we are supposed to be. :)
You're so lucky to know the status so soon! Quick question--- do you know by any chance how to e-mail the interviewers? I feel like my interviewer was so keen at trying to get me out of there so quickly that I didn't get a chance to ask for her business card.
Thanks!
I interviewed for MICU today and I think it went pretty well. There are 2 pre-interview essay questions that you will need to fill out. Make sure you come 30 minutes early so you will have enough time answering them. I'm not going to say what the questions are because I feel it will be unfair for those that went. The questions threw me for a loop because it took me forever to answer so make sure you get there early!! The 405 was so bad!!! it took me 3 hours to drive from OC to UCLA and got there late. Also, there is a math test after the interview. It Was a simple first grade math of adding and subtracting lol! like add $40.02+$23.01= What is the total? You get 6 minutes to answer as many as u can!! i only answered 20 out of 70!! but the lady assured me to do my best.
For the interview: It was relatively brief like 20minutes !!!! He only asked me 4 basic questions..... and he kept asking me if i have any questions!!! I just asked a lot of questions. We just went over my resume and school. I'm not sure if its a bad or good thing but it seems as though he already knows who he is going to pick. He asked me if I applied to other places!! bad sign
For MICU: There are 5-6 positions. He'll notify us next week.
PS: The staff are really friendly and nice!
Tips: Make sure you know your philosophy of nursing like why you became a nurse and what is your future goals in 5-10 years (These are not the essay questions).
There are only 2 questions like MrNurse said, but I am not sure about posting it just for fairness. But don't worry, they're fairly simple--- just try and get there a bit earlier (20 minutes before) to write them. I wish you luck for tomorrow!
Thanks Zippy7 for sharing with us your experience! I am very sorry for the way you feel right now as I am sure you were hoping for more of a quality time with the interviewers, given that we are all trying to overly prepare to have a shot at getting a job.
Would you mind sharing what the essay question was about? Did you also take a math dosage calculation test? My interview is tomorrow and anything else you can share would be much appreciated.
Again, thanks for your time posting here and I truly hope that you get a positive phone call from them in December!!:redbeathe
You're so lucky to know the status so soon! Quick question--- do you know by any chance how to e-mail the interviewers? I feel like my interviewer was so keen at trying to get me out of there so quickly that I didn't get a chance to ask for her business card.
Thanks!
I didn't see a lot of people interviewing for MICU. I only saw about
MrNurse2011 and Zippy7, were you two interviewing for a position at Ronald Reagan or Santa Monica? I wonder if the process is different depending who you're interviewing with. And thanks for the info! Do you think it would be a waste of time to bring a portfolio since these interviews seem so short?
I interview for SM's ICU... Yes, it definitely depends on who you're interviewing with. Sounds like MrNurse2011 had an interviewer that was not as disinterested like I thought mine was. I also had a pretty technical clinical question thrown at me (forgot to add that on my previous post). It felt like the interviewer gave me a mini shift change report of a patient and the panel (of 2 interviewers) wanted me to walk them through the care, diagnosis, etc., of the patient along with my physiology logic as to why I would administer that kind of care.
MrNurse2011 and Zippy7, were you two interviewing for a position at Ronald Reagan or Santa Monica? I wonder if the process is different depending who you're interviewing with. And thanks for the info! Do you think it would be a waste of time to bring a portfolio since these interviews seem so short?
I thought Santa Monica might be a little less competitive since Ronald Reagan is Magnet and has received all the prestigious awards but obviously there is no method to this madness!!
Did they say if they'll be doing another round of interviews? Or just hiring from this time around? Good luck to you both! I'm sure you did fine Zippy7 :)
Nothing specific was said, other than they're keeping the job open for all of November. From reading the previous UCLA new grad thread, it kinda seems like they called other candidates even from the "reserve" pool and interviewed them. I think it's a process that they keep going through until they feel like they can hire who they like.
As for Santa Monica being less competitive-- is that even true anymore? It kinda seems like everyone's hurting for jobs so I'm sure even the "less prestigious" branch is getting a ton of applicants.
I thought Santa Monica might be a little less competitive since Ronald Reagan is Magnet and has received all the prestigious awards but obviously there is no method to this madness!!
Did they say if they'll be doing another round of interviews? Or just hiring from this time around? Good luck to you both! I'm sure you did fine Zippy7 :)
jenyblond007
31 Posts
Thanks Zippy7 for sharing with us your experience! I am very sorry for the way you feel right now as I am sure you were hoping for more of a quality time with the interviewers, given that we are all trying to overly prepare to have a shot at getting a job.
Would you mind sharing what the essay question was about? Did you also take a math dosage calculation test? My interview is tomorrow and anything else you can share would be much appreciated.
Again, thanks for your time posting here and I truly hope that you get a positive phone call from them in December!!:redbeathe