Wondering why you can't get hired or promoted: Resume + Interview hints!
I've been reviewing resumes in my department and can't believe the resumes I've received: misspelling, words crossed off, no cover letter, including personal information about family life. Read to learn "Why am I not getting hired?!"
I was taught in LPN and BSN program how to prepare a resume. Is this a lost art being skipped??
Also agree with our BB members that calling facility and finding out who is department manager, then forwarding your resume to them along with hr is great idea.
I work in smaller organization than hospital but has taken me over two months to get open positions advertised and three weeks to get resumes sent to me...those that sent to me directly have interview same week.
Resume Writing
Resume writing and interview tips for nurses from Univ. of Pennsylvania:
If I called a member of your current staff and asked them to tell me about you, what would they say?
What actions would you take if you came on board?
How do you lead?
What's your secret to getting subordinates to follow you?
How do you motivate employees?
How do you reward employees?
Describe your management philosophy and management style.
Some managers supervise their employees closely, while others use a loose rein. How do you manage?
How have you improved as a manager over the years?
How many people have you fired? how do you go about it?
How would you deal with an employee who broke a policy (ie: late for work)?
How would you deal with an employee who was not open and honest in communication?
It is very hard to attract (critical care, er, or, ob etc.) nurses to this area. What are some strategies you might use to have enough qualified nurses to be sure patients get quality care in the facility?
What single professional event made you most proud to be a manager/leader?
What event made you least proud to be a leader?
In prior positions did you have budgeting responsibilities? If so, what was the size of your operating budget?
Do you know how to figure fte's?
What is your definition of empowerment?
What is your definition of quality assurance (QA), and who should be responsible, for QA?
Tell me about a time when your manager made a decision you disagreed with. What actions did you take and why?
Tell me about a time when you had to handle a disruptive employee. what did you do? what were the results?
Tell me about a time when you had to deal with an irate physician, patient, employee etc. how did you handle it and what was the result?
How have you managed to foster a successful team in your past positions?
What methods have you found successful in determining the priorities when you start in a new facility?
What methods do you use to foster open communication with staff and management?
Tell me about a work incident when you were totally honest, despite a potential risk or downside for the honesty.
How did you handle a recent situation where the direction from above was unclear and circumstances were changing?
Describe how you motivated a group of people to do something they did not want to do.
Who is your most effective subordinate and your least effective subordinate?
What are the strengths and weaknesses of each? What have you done to develop each of these subordinates?
Tell me about some of the people who have become successful as a result of your management. What was your role in their development?
What are the major training and development needs of the people in your department? How did you identify them? What are you doing about them?
Are there any techniques you have found useful in identifying particular subordinates' needs and potentials? Tell me how they worked with a particular person.
What do you do differently than other managers? Why? Examples?
What is the farthest you've had to bend your standards in order to succeed?
What job duties would you like to avoid if at all possible?
Describe a time in which you weighed the pros and cons of a situation and decided not to take action, even though you were under pressure to do so.
All of us have been in situations where we assigned work to other people and they didn't do what we intended. Can you tell me about some of those? What were the circumstances and how did you handle it?
Have you ever had problems in getting your subordinates to accept your ideas or department goals? What approach did you use? How effective was it?
Have you ever needed cooperation from groups that did not report to you? What did you do to gain cooperation? What were the satisfactions and disappointments?
Is there a trait or characteristic about you that you find is frequently misunderstood, that surprises you when you find out that people think that about you?
What 3 things do you hope to accomplish in your first year?
What do you expect of those who report to you? If candidate responds with a one word answer (for example saying, "support" you can probe further by asking the candidate to describe three behaviors that she/he would view as being supportive.
If you had an unfavorable plan (I.e., budget) to implement, what would you do to get the managers' buy in and support?
With the current nursing shortage, what are two solutions you would like to see put in place?
What kind of support do you offer managers, directors and front-line staff, knowing the stress of the nursing shortage and the increasing acuity of our patients?
Tell us about a high level innovative idea/change that you implemented. Was it or was it not successful?
Questions to ask the employer:
What unique challenges has this unit faced over the last year? (I.e. successes, failures, etc.)
What sets this organization apart from it's competitors?
How long is the orientation phase and what can I expect?
Will I work with one preceptor throughout or will I have several different preceptors?
How does the administration view nursing in terms of importance to the hospital?
How much independence do nurses have in being creative problem-solvers?
What kind of professional advancement is available to nurses here?
What are some of the attributes of working for your hospital?
If I were to get a job offer from another hospital, why would I want to work for this one?
What is the criterion you will use to select the person you are looking for?
What kind of support can I expect from the nursing educators and preceptors?
How does the hospital handle new grads that might be slow in becoming oriented to their new jobs?
How long have you been the manager of this unit and what is your nursing background?
How many nurses have quit and how many hired for this unit in the past 6 months? How long have some of the nurses been working on this unit?
Who will be precepting me? Can you tell me something about them? Will I always have the same preceptor or will there be more than one?
Have you ever had a new grad who didn't seem to work out? How was it handled?
If for any reason it seems that orientation is just not going well for me what will happen and who should I talk to about it?
Questions about the following are illegal to ask at a job interview here in the US:
your personal life (married, divorced, children)
family planning
pregnancy
provision for child care
religious preference
club memberships
height
weight
dependents
age (birth date)
ethnic background
maiden name
native language
physical problems
psychiatric problems
spouse's employment and/or earnings
credit rating
home ownership
automobile ownership
Resigning from position
Check your facilities policy and procedures--most require that you give notice equal to amount of vacation provided, often 2-3 weeks; long term employed rns can be 4-5weeks.
Managers often need 1-3 months notice to be eligible for rehire -- Don't burn your bridges.
I'm glad that this thread is still active, for I plan to utilize its tips and hints in preparation for my next interview, which is scheduled for this Thursday.
Sadly, though, I am discovering that spending hours (and days) rewriting a resume, in addition to the time spent in completing an online application, not to mention the money I have invested in a wardrobe to wear to interviews, along
with gas and wear and tear on my car is no guarantee that I will ever hear from
a recruiter again.
I can't help but wonder, too, if some of these recruiters even considered me as a serious candidate to begin with....or were just meeting their own agendas.
Just my two cents (for what it is worth). I feel that my time and money is just as valuable as theirs....and they shouldn't be calling me in for an interview if they have no intention of hiring me to begin with.
Congratulations on the upcoming interview. I totally agree with your sentiment that no one should call you if you are not considered a serious candidate.
There was a period of time after I left a horrendous job with a lot of gossip hitting the circuit, where I got tons of interviews. Most of them, by their tone and how they went, were so blatantly obviously nothing more than sessions to satisfy the curiosity of the interviewer(s). One of the interviewers sneered throughout the whole thing. I wanted to get up and slap her. I was told by the people at the EDD, and also could figure out for myself, that not only were these interviews for the purposes of comparing my story with my contemporaries who quit that place, but also to comply with any requirements to make it look as if I had been given a fair chance. In other words, CYA in case I was contemplating a lawsuit for blacklisting. Nobody was subtle.
In any case, I resent being called for an interview and getting the distinct impression that I was never really a serious candidate. I don't get any better with the practice. In fact, I wish I could send a surrogate because I don't interview well to begin with. There are some things in my background that can't be fixed and I'm tired of having to try to come up with just the right explanation so that this person won't hold stuff against me. I think they should read my resume and my application, and leave me alone if they think I am subpar. So, yes, I agree with everything you said.
Good luck. Hope the interview goes well and leads to a good position.
Specializes in Intensive Care - MICU/SICU/CVICU/CCU.
thank you to everyone for their helpful hints/tips on interviewing and resume writing for the profession. i am in the process of moving to a new state and will soon have to begin the job search process anew.
my concern is that while i have nearly 7 years of icu/ccu experience, it won't be relevant to the types of positions that i want to interview for. i am ready for a change! i want to find a job in a different area of nursing, such as home health/hospice, case management, infection control employee health- whatever. just *something* different from what i am currently doing. i have strong skills in my area, but i don't know if potential employers will consider me for something new.
i have strong skills in my area, but i don't know if potential employers will consider me for something new.
I radically changed specialties more than once. I took the skills set I had and practiced applying it to the new job I wanted.
I was once asked if I could handle a caseload of 70 patients (monthly visits) as a disability case manager. I replied: "I took care of 20 sick children and their parents every night with no MD,unit secretary or assistance. I believe I can organize and prioritize well enough to transfer those skills to a disability mgt caseload". I got the job, based on that example.
hi, i'm just wondering how much money will i have to invest in a nice business attire for my job interview, if i don't have anything yet like pants, shoes, etc?...
Ok - everyone slow down. Hospitals, home health, whatever... hire what they need. You want to work in podunk, XX because that is where you live? That 45 bed hospital that has hired locals for years, knows what they want, need and can get. So you work whatever and wherever to get in, you go back to HR weekly "any jobs yet?, "Just checking, I really want to work here" etc.. You want to go straight to high speed low drag Trauma on Day shift, then you find the hospital hiring for that and let them know you want it so bad you will move 5 states to get there. The point is, you get what you want when you make it work for everyone. Yes, you have to fill out online aps, send in resumes, go for interviews that you know are a waste of time (by the way, why do you do that if you know it is a waste of your time?) and the result is you get what you expect. Match your talent with your opportunity. Run, YES RUN away from employers that do not meet your expectations AT FIRST GLANCE, you will never be happy there. The fluff of resumes gets you to the door, what you do with it gets you consideration, what you end up with is what you choose. Smile and live.
Also who you know counts and age matters are you older or younger - then address it off the top. For example: Objective: Experienced individual seeks growth opportunity to make a difference in myself and the organization or New graduate seeks leadership in developing career. Nurses do talk and knowing someone inside will help. Also you must deliver what you promise.
Although I read through a good portion of this long thread, I didn't see a whole lot on my current situation... I'm about to interview with managers within the same hospital at which I currently work in order to transfer.
Would it be good practice to bring along a resume and list of references? Is it ok to slip the thank you note under their door, send it via email, or would it be best to send it snail mail?
I have a basic idea of what to do, but want to hear from others.
Thanks to all of you for your responses to me regarding my dilemma (new grad but with years of experience in prehospital)
I decided to apply at emergency rooms in a few area hospitals, and to bite the bullet so to speak for full time positions. Two interviews were quite simply nightmares (one manager told me I was an hour late when I wasn't, and one place had three other new grad nurses interview me rather than the manager). Two went really well also so it balanced out. Surprisingly, my paramedic experience is what got me the interviews in the first place!
I didn't hear from my first choice position when I was told I would, so I accepted my second choice position...but didn't get farther than the physical and drug screen before I heard from my first choice place. I did a cost analysis for the benefits, the pay, etc. and decided to withdraw my acceptance at the first place (I know that is considered kind of tacky but my first choice was so far above the second I couldn't even really compare them).
Anyway, thanks to all the tips here, and apologies to HR managers who probably hate people like me.
Specializes in FNP, Peds, Epilepsy, Mgt., Occ. Ed.
hi, i'm just wondering how much money will i have to invest in a nice business attire for my job interview, if i don't have anything yet like pants, shoes, etc?...
I wouldn't invest a lot. You certainly don't have to be designer or the latest fashion, just basic, clean, and neat.
Try consignment stores and/or thrift shops first. You can find some amazing bargains that way. Also, don't get dry clean only, buy machine washable.
Your interview outfit should be comfortable and look good both sitting and standing. Shoes need to be clean and professional but comfortable- you often tour facilities during the interview.
The nice thing is, you can wear the same outfit for every interview, unless you have a second interview the same place. Then you can just change out the blouse and look a little different, if you want.
I am a current medical surgical nurse of about 1 year and 2 months. I have my BSN. My question is r/t a job posting which I feel is right up my alley, a nurse recruiter. I know I don't have experience but I feel I would really like this job. Should I apply? Any advice?
CseMgr1, ASN, RN
1,287 Posts
I'm glad that this thread is still active, for I plan to utilize its tips and hints in preparation for my next interview, which is scheduled for this Thursday.
Sadly, though, I am discovering that spending hours (and days) rewriting a resume, in addition to the time spent in completing an online application, not to mention the money I have invested in a wardrobe to wear to interviews, along
with gas and wear and tear on my car is no guarantee that I will ever hear from
a recruiter again.
I can't help but wonder, too, if some of these recruiters even considered me as a serious candidate to begin with....or were just meeting their own agendas.
Just my two cents (for what it is worth). I feel that my time and money is just as valuable as theirs....and they shouldn't be calling me in for an interview if they have no intention of hiring me to begin with.