Unsure how an interview went..

[blah_blah_blah]

I would like AN's opinions on how they thought my interview went, because I'm not too sure.

I think it went pretty well, but probably not the best ever. This interview was just a general interview with HR, not a unit manager.

She started out going through what I brought with me (my license, resume, etc.) and that was all fine.

Then she started asking me the interview questions that she had on a sheet. She warned me that she does not ask all the questions on the sheet, so don't be worried if I see that she only asked a few.

Anyway, most of the questions were ones that I had prepared for (why peds, where do you see yourself in 5 years, was there a time when you had to deal with a difficult customer or patient and how did you handle it, etc). I had practiced them multiple times and always came out perfect when I was at home alone talking to myself. Of course, when I was actually in the interview, they didn't come across as eloquent as when I had practiced but I still got my answers out, haha.

When she asked me why peds,I told her that I love the diversity in peds. With adult patients, a 5 year age difference between a 50 and a 55 year old might not make a difference in how you interact with them, but I wouldn't approach a 3 year old the same way I would an 8 year old. I told her that I found that diversity keeps things interesting. Then she asked anything else? So I kind of scrambled and said that I loved working with the families as well because they are a great resource because no one knows their kids better than them. She seemed to like that answer too and said "good! because some nurses think they know the kid better than the parents!"

A couple questions she asked that I was not prepared for. For example, she asked what was my best OR worst clinical instructor and why. She pretty much said I could comment on one or the other, not both. So of course I picked my best experience and I talked about the first CI I had in nursing school.

another question I wasn't prepared for was what do you expect from your employer? I said that *the company I work for* has a great reputation as an awesome company to work for (they are actually in fortune magazine's top 10 companies to work for for the past 15 years) and that one thing I always loved about them was that they had a family centered mentality. I also said that although work is my number 1 priority, I also like the flexibility they allow if heaven forbid, something tragic were to happen or if something came up.

She also asked how my boss or CI's from nursing school would describe me or have said about me at end of rotation reviews. I'm not the best at tooting my own horn so to speak, but I did manage to tell her how one instructor told me I had a dynamic personality, my manager would tell you that I was efficient, punctual, and good with time management, and that I once had a patient that told me that if they didn't know I was a student, they would have thought I was a nurse that worked for the hospital. She seemed very impressed about what the patient had said and mentioned that it was a very high compliment.

She didn't ask what my weakness was per se, but she did ask what I thought my weakest nursing skill was. I told her that I feel as though I struggle with therapeutic communication and that using it still seems a bit foreign to me, but that with practice I am sure that it will become second nature. I probably should have given her some nursing skill that I didn't have the opportunity to perform in clinical, but that's okay I suppose.

once she was done with her questions she talked about pay, orientation, benefits, the union, etc.

then she asked me if I had any questions. I asked what she looks for in new graduate nurses. She said that she looks for nurses who are positive, compassionate, and passionate. She said that she saw passion in me when I started talking about why I wanted to go into peds.

I thought I demonstrated my positivity when I chose to talk about a good CI instead of a bad one so at this point I thought I did pretty well. She even said that I did great.

What has me wondering that it didn't go so well was when I asked where I go from here and if I should continue applying for open positions as I see them. She said that there aren't any external openings now, but I am more than welcome to apply for them as I see them. She also said that if she sees there's an opening she will forward my app to the manager after she emails me and asks first. Then she said she has a lot of applicants (she has been interviewing since february) and the market is tough, and that all openings are internal first, then she offers them to students who precept from the local state university, and that she already has some jobs in mind for people that she had interviewed. This is what has me worried that maybe I didn't do so well.

She gave me her business card with her information and told me to email her if I had any questions or if I see an opening that I think that I would be a good fit for.

Sorry this is so long! what do you guys think?

[hopeless romantic]

Hi. It sounds like the interview went well. I think you gave some good answers to her questions, however, I can see how you would be worried by what she said the next steps would be. I cannot tell what the outcome will be but, don't give your hopes up. She seems like a nice lady and someone you may want to keep in touch with as she can forward your app to other hiring managers and she may be able to look out for you when positions come up. Good Luck to you!

[blah_blah_blah]

Hi. It sounds like the interview went well. I think you gave some good answers to her questions, however, I can see how you would be worried by what she said the next steps would be. I cannot tell what the outcome will be but, don't give your hopes up. She seems like a nice lady and someone you may want to keep in touch with as she can forward your app to other hiring managers and she may be able to look out for you when positions come up. Good Luck to you!

Thanks for the encouragement! I'm really hoping I get a call about an opening soon. Everyone's been telling me that it's okay if I messed up because it was just practice but they fail to realize that I truly want to work for them. This is the real deal for me, and I don't have a lot of room for error. haha

[~PedsRN~, BSN, RN]

You did well! Quit over thinking it now. :) It's over. Definitely keep applying to open positions until you are HIRED! :) Good luck.

[blah_blah_blah]

You did well! Quit over thinking it now. :) It's over. Definitely keep applying to open positions until you are HIRED! :) Good luck.

Thanks! I'm just so unsure lol. I will keep applying until she sees my name in her SLEEP.

[DowntheRiver]

Just curious, how did it go? It's been a few weeks now.

[blah_blah_blah]

Just curious, how did it go? It's been a few weeks now.

Nothing yet! She told me when I got the call for the interview that there are not any positions open currently, so we would just get the initial HR interview out of the way so that when positions do become available, my file will be ready to go. This hospital currently has a bunch of OB positions open (of course, no peds ) but I applied for them anyway because I'm very interested in OB as well. She asked me what my second favorite rotation was in school and I said L&D. So we'll see how it goes!