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.
(Be polite to everyone that you come into contact with. I've tossed applications because the applicant was rude to our HR receptionist!):yeahthat:
Always be nice to those in any of these positions. Our receptionist has taught me a great deal about this, "see how far that get's you" as their demands get moved to the bottom of the pile.
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?
Yes! Apply! I'm sure they may be looking for a nurse who has more experience, but I also believe that they would be wise to hire someone who has a passion for the work. If you're honest about your intentions, express your desire to learn and grow in the position, and present a positive attitude then you could potentially be the right person for the job. I'm even thinking that 1 year of beside nursing is enough to understand the needs and qualifications of a prospective new hire.
Best of luck! Be sure to post what you decide and how your application goes!
Karen, thanks so much for the advice for resumes. I am trying to re-enter nursing after a 7 year clinical absence from a terrible MVA that left me with a recent BKA, but now I am walking as good as anyone. I will be taking a nurse refresher course in October, but was hoping I could get a job without it. I have been to one interview but did not get the job. I felt as though it was a great interview and was called two days later asking if I was still interested and that human resources would be getting in touch with me. They did, saying that I would hear from them again after the weekend and that they had the final say. I never got the call. I didn't know quite what to do. The woman from human resources said she would be the one to decide and had called to confirm the reason for my 7 year absence. I did work for one year during my rehab, but it wasn't clinical. This was a pediatricians office and I knew all the doctors from my previous job before I was hurt. I used to work in the local Level II nursery. I thought I was a "shoe in". I sent a thank you letter to the nurse I interviewed with, thinking that might let me know something, but I never heard a word. Very disappointing. I answered all of her medical questions correctly, and I felt that it was a great interview. Guess God has other plans for me and wants me to take the refresher course, $435 later. Thanks so much!
Just what I needed a few days ago, job interview tips.
For all you hiring experts: I had an RN job interview yesterday, it was a panel that consisted of an RN, Case Manager and one more person that (I know I am bad) I sincerely don't remember what position she holds. To make things even worse I was so nervous and focusing on my posture that I forgot their names. I know the case managers name but the other two I have no idea.
What do you recommend I do to find out? Who can I call to find out with out making a full out of my self?
I want to send them a thank you letter but it would be nice to address them by name.
One more question for you.
What goes through your mind when you interview someone that has a good cover letter, a good resume and you've heard from current employees and employers that they would be good candidate for the job but then comes the interview and that person (like me) gets all nervous and doesn't respond as great as you expected or wished for?
:madface:Yes, this happened to me and the worst thing is that I TRULY believe that I can do a great job as a RN at this place. I have the skills and the desire to give it my all and LEARN LEARN LEARN. I hope they sow through my nervousness and give me a chance to show them that I can do the job.
Thank you for your advice!!! Hope to read from you soon.:monkeydance:
This question is directed to any nurse managers/ recruiters that may read this:
Would you ever consider hiring a nurse that is on probation for practice outside scope of license, even if rn is 100% up front about her situation? Why or why not? Is there anything a nurse on probation could do to increase her chance of getting a job? I need a management perspective! Thanks!
I was wondering. I am going to an open house at a hospital I am interested in applying to for a NICU position, and they said to bring a copy of my resume, does that have to include a cover letter? My school has never taught us anything about writing resumes so I am only going from what I have learned on here.
i see this tread has been going on for quite a while but I am in my 4th quarter of nursing school and we are working on our resumes. I've been reading all of the posts about not listing clinical rotations in your resumes so i'm not really sure what I should put. I've been a stay at home mom/professional student for the last 11 years. (My husband is in the military so we move every 2 years or so, so i only get to take a semester or two at a time). I have no work experience and my only training is my clinical stuff. what should i put on my resume?
i see this tread has been going on for quite a while but I am in my 4th quarter of nursing school and we are working on our resumes. I've been reading all of the posts about not listing clinical rotations in your resumes so i'm not really sure what I should put. I've been a stay at home mom/professional student for the last 11 years. (My husband is in the military so we move every 2 years or so, so i only get to take a semester or two at a time). I have no work experience and my only training is my clinical stuff. what should i put on my resume?
Sammi
When i made my resume, I listed my clinicals that were relevant to the position. For example, I applied for a postpartum position so I listed where I did the OB and PP clinicals. I also applied for a NICU job so I listed that I had 2 clinical days of experience in one so they would know I had some idea of what goes on.
When i made my resume, I listed my clinicals that were relevant to the position. For example, I applied for a postpartum position so I listed where I did the OB and PP clinicals. I also applied for a NICU job so I listed that I had 2 clinical days of experience in one so they would know I had some idea of what goes on.
Thanks texas2007! That really helps. since I have no real experience anywhere except med-surg, i'll have to use my "special" days to my advantage. We only do one day in the ED, IV therapy, OR, L & D, etc...I really want to work in the NICU so hopefully I'll have something I can use.
Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.
Since all nursing programs have same requirments regarding clinical training, it is NOT necessary to list clinical experiences on a resume, is viewed as "padding" resume or making one appear to have PAID WORK experience when if fact part of education.
ONLY list clinical experience if extra course beyond program basics.
..... it is NOT necessary to list clinical experiences on a resume, is viewed as "padding" resume or making one appear to have PAID WORK experience when if fact part of education.
ONLY list clinical experience if extra course beyond program basics.
Oh, OK, then I'll be sure not to list my clinical rotations. Thanks for that advice!!! So basically should I just send out a blanket resume with a cover letter for different jobs? My resume will only include my schooling since I don't have work experience. I know most of our new grads get hired before their preceptorship if over but I don't want to depend just on that, especially if I don't like where I'm precepting.
My nursing program did not even mention job hunting, or any related considerations.
Many years ago, I graduated from an electronic tech trade school program, in which job hunting, resume writing, how to dress, etc. were covered extensively.
Since nurses are supposed to be professionals, you would think that how to professionally approach job hunting, interviewing, etc. would be an integral part of nursing programs.
Daye
339 Posts
(Be polite to everyone that you come into contact with. I've tossed applications because the applicant was rude to our HR receptionist!):yeahthat:
Always be nice to those in any of these positions. Our receptionist has taught me a great deal about this, "see how far that get's you" as their demands get moved to the bottom of the pile.