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 I came across this thread. We're being pushed to put our resume's together and some of my classmates have already lined up jobs! I feel so left behind and very overwhelmed. There's one hospital I REALLY want to work at and would be pretty dissapointed if I didn't get hired there, but I've got 2nd, 3rd, 4th choices as well.
I was trying to find a sort of "resume builder". A classmate of mine found one at www.aftercollegehealthcare.com, but I couldn't find what she found and we're on spring break right now.
I have my resume done, but I have read on a couple of sites that you should not fold your resume. What are your thoughts on this? If I do not fold it, what type of envelope should I put it into and it still look professional? Also, what should be mailed with my resume? Hospital application, cover letter and references all at the same time?
Annette -- Don't think folding the resume is a big no-no. Even if you mail it in a larger size envelope, there's no guarantee that it won't get bent or otherwise damaged (which may even be a more likely result, since it'll be different than most other snail mail, and more easily trapped and "smushed" by the everythng else!).
Always include a cover letter with it. Fold the resume with it neatly.
Wait till the agency asks you to submit an App and furnish references.
hi all,as i am a foreign educated nurse would like to know-which is the best agency for international recruitment?who one can rely upon to get good job?thanks.
hi all!
this thread is really amazing and has been helping me a lot to update and "fix" my resume. it wasn't good (and interesting) at all...
by the way, i'm also a foreign educated nurse and everybody has been posting that we should send a cover letter/ references. how do i do if all my previous bosses only speak portuguese? should i write it when i send my documents or it wouldn't be recommended?
i would appreciate if someone could help me with these questions...
wow! this is a great thread. I am, seemingly, unemployable in hospitals. I have been working as a CNA in home health hospice and/or LTC/SNF for the past 12 years, and thought I was paying my dues, learning the ropes etc. I have sent many many electronic applications to some local hospitals, and never get passed them just tossing the application. Never called, never interviewed. Finally, I called someone in HR at one of the hospitals and was told I was not being considered because I have no hospital experience. Well, my ramp up time is running out ( I am 54).
I am a very hard worker, read and research incessantly (I want to work as smartly as possible). I 'm no rocket scientist, but I am a mite smarter than a bag of hammers. The HR person said I would not be able to multitask because of my history in LTC.
I asked a MD I once worked for what she thought my problem was and she said :"one word:AGE." I fear she might be right!
I have been studying EKGs, medical terminology and ACLS to smarten up a bit.
Thanks for your quick response, but they seem to love my resume. I get a call for everyone I send out. I plan to come back to this site to do some research, but I don't think this is the problem. Would you be interested in seeing it? Please send me a private reply and I will gladly send it to you.
Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
IMO resumes are a waste of time. None of the hospitals I applied to would accept them and insisted that I fill out their long and detailed on-line applications. I actually recieved all the resumes I mailed out back unopened. I was offered jobs at all four hospitals I applied to but none of them ever saw my resume.
IMO resumes are a waste of time. None of the hospitals I applied to would accept them and insisted that I fill out their long and detailed on-line applications. I actually recieved all the resumes I mailed out back unopened. I was offered jobs at all four hospitals I applied to but none of them ever saw my resume.
I only applied to one hospital - applied online, which included BOTH uploading my resume and filling in all the same info in a form. I then had to mail in my resume, transcripts, etc. Then when I arrived for my interview? I had to bring anOTHER copy of all the stuff I had sent in, AND fill out a long paper application, which took me, a very fast reader/writer, a good half hour. Ahhhh, efficiency!
I become nervous at interviews and worry that I will not answer the questions correctly, which in turn causes me to give a poor interview. I tried to follow guidelines from my college's career website, and brought a professional portfolio with me to my last interview. The employer was not a bit intersted in looking at it. I was informed I did not need any type of resume. I was not hired for the position. Any suggestions on improving my interviews?
Thank you so much for these resources. I need all the help I can get. I'm like the trapeze artist .... I've got only my little finger hanging on to the trapeze I am used to and will soon be in mid-air looking to pick that next trapeze with both hands. It's the mid-air stuff that's going to be so scary.....:bowingpur
Specializes in Cardiac, Step-Down, Psych, Recruiting.
I become nervous at interviews and worry that I will not answer the questions correctly, which in turn causes me to give a poor interview. I tried to follow guidelines from my college's career website, and brought a professional portfolio with me to my last interview. The employer was not a bit intersted in looking at it. I was informed I did not need any type of resume. I was not hired for the position. Any suggestions on improving my interviews?
After seeing things from both sides of the interview table, my best advice is to relax and be yourself. I know this is harder than it sounds, but think of it this way -- there are very few interview questions that have right or wrong answers. The interviewer is just trying to decide if you are a good fit for the position. If you are relaxed and answer everything honestly, and they don't choose you, maybe its for the best and the job wouldn't be the best fit for you, either. If you are shy and sensitive and the other nurses on the unit have personalities like barracudas, you might not be too successful on that unit. Managers take that sort of thing into account when they interview. The best you can do is be knowlegeable, upbeat, positive and relaxed. Present yourself in the most honest and favorable light that you can. Everyone has strong points and weak points and interviewers understand this. If you don't succeed on your first interview, you will be that much more practiced and relaxed for the second one. Good luck!
should i write it when i send my documents or it wouldn't be recommended?
Thank you so much for these resources. I need all the help I can get. I'm like the trapeze artist .... I've got only my little finger hanging on to the trapeze I am used to and will soon be in mid-air looking to pick that next trapeze with both hands. It's the mid-air stuff that's going to be so scary.....:bowingpur
NJNursing, ASN, RN
597 Posts
I'm glad I came across this thread. We're being pushed to put our resume's together and some of my classmates have already lined up jobs! I feel so left behind and very overwhelmed. There's one hospital I REALLY want to work at and would be pretty dissapointed if I didn't get hired there, but I've got 2nd, 3rd, 4th choices as well.
I was trying to find a sort of "resume builder". A classmate of mine found one at www.aftercollegehealthcare.com, but I couldn't find what she found and we're on spring break right now.