Working at Seattle Children's

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Specializes in Pediatric Nurse.

Hi all, 

I just accepted an offer to work at Seattle Children's (Feb 2024 new grad residency). I don't know anyone who works there, and would love to hear a current or former employees thoughts about everything- hospital in general, staffing, orientation/residency info, culture, perks, drawbacks, anything you can think of! I appreciate any input, thank you!

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Hi, congratulations on the acceptance! I have also applied for the Feb 2024 residency and have my final interview this Thursday. Do you have any tips or advice on how to prepare for the interview/what types of questions they ask?

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Specializes in Pediatric Nurse.
Caity said:

Hi, congratulations on the acceptance! I have also applied for the Feb 2024 residency and have my final interview this Thursday. Do you have any tips or advice on how to prepare for the interview/what types of questions they ask?

Hi, thank you! It was actually one of the more challenging interviews that I've had, but you interview with an individual unit manager so it may vary. They asked around 10-12 questions and a few were situation based where they asked how I would respond. My interview was a few months ago now (I was initially wanting to start with Nov cohort but there weren't spots open on my unit) so I don't remember the specifics, but make sure to be well versed in their mission and why you want to work at this hospital specifically. Good luck!

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Specializes in NAR / Pre-nursing.

I just interviewed for Feb 2024 cohort this week too! I haven't been an employee but did my pediatric clinical there. It's a great hospital with many perks, benefits, resources, and a good culture for both staff and the pts! You'll love it. A lot of nurses I've met from children usually "grow up" there meaning they stay, it has really good retention for nurses. I have a few nursing friends starting the November cohort for residency. The manager at the unit I interviewed for also said they do a lot of team building events and give an option of a mentor (in addition to your preceptor) I think for the first year. 

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Hi guys! I know this is an older-ish thread, but I've got a virtual interview with Seattle Children's for their NICU on Monday 2/12 & would really love to hear any tips/tricks & connect with others who recently started there or are interviewing! 

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Nicole Reavis said:

Hi guys! I know this is an older-ish thread, but I've got a virtual interview with Seattle Children's for their NICU on Monday 2/12 & would really love to hear any tips/tricks & connect with others who recently started there or are interviewing! 

How did the interview go for you? I also had my interview with the NICU yesterday and I unfortunately didn't get the position ? Trying to debate if I should apply again for the next cohort... but that interview was definitely challenging and nervewrecking.

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aeterna_ said:

How did the interview go for you? I also had my interview with the NICU yesterday and I unfortunately didn't get the position ? Trying to debate if I should apply again for the next cohort... but that interview was definitely challenging and nervewrecking.

Hey! My interview went well & the 2 managers made me feel very comfortable. It was definitely a challenging interview, & tbh it was really hard to gauge how they felt about me & the answers I gave. It's very hard to make an impression virtually ? I got a call from the recruiter today & was offered a position in their NICU. I'm so sorry that you didn't get it, please don't give up! I'm in CA (Bay Area) & it's a total crap shoot right now. I've gotten so rejections left & right & have been applying since September (graduated in December), so I fully understand how discouraging it is. It only takes 1 yes, & it WILL come to you! 

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Nicole Reavis said:

Hey! My interview went well & the 2 managers made me feel very comfortable. It was definitely a challenging interview, & tbh it was really hard to gauge how they felt about me & the answers I gave. It's very hard to make an impression virtually ? I got a call from the recruiter today & was offered a position in their NICU. I'm so sorry that you didn't get it, please don't give up! I'm in CA (Bay Area) & it's a total crap shoot right now. I've gotten so rejections left & right & have been applying since September (graduated in December), so I fully understand how discouraging it is. It only takes 1 yes, & it WILL come to you! 

Thank you so much for the encouragement! I wonder which manager you spoke to. Unfortunately, I didn't get a really good vibe during the interview. There was not much feedback on my responses and they were just reading off question after question... Made me super nervous. I'm from the Bay Area too but came to Seattle for nursing school. I was just thinking about contacting people back to see if they know any job opportunities... If you don't mind me asking, how did you prepare for the interview? The recruiter said the managers thought my responses lacked depth and critical thinking, and I think that's because I was scrambling on the spot to think of scenarios and examples. They also thought I lacked passion for their patient population, which is actually kind of hurtful because I know I'm passionate about the NICU. I might reapply for the next cohort just because I don't think I presented myself well this time around. I would appreciate any advice you can give!

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aeterna_ said:

How did the interview go for you? I also had my interview with the NICU yesterday and I unfortunately didn't get the position ? Trying to debate if I should apply again for the next cohort... but that interview was definitely challenging and nervewrecking.

Definitely apply again, & it's nice since they hold multiple cohort! I read somewhere else on here that they do see if you applied more than once. Do you know how many applied by chance? I'm sure it was a lot. 

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Specializes in NAR / Pre-nursing.

Nicole, 

You're going to love it!! I'm so happy for you!! I ended up applying to a hospital near by SCH and landed a job at their NICU (my preferred unit... they didn't offer NICU for SCH  feb24) and I start in two weeks (((: ! We will probably run into each other at some point in our careers or at the very least, may care for the same babies we transport to each other's hospitals! 
 

The application process as a new grad can be discouraging! I graduated in august and was also getting more rejections then acceptance but it eventually happen and I'm so happy with the offer I got! 
 

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aeterna_ said:

Thank you so much for the encouragement! I wonder which manager you spoke to. Unfortunately, I didn't get a really good vibe during the interview. There was not much feedback on my responses and they were just reading off question after question... Made me super nervous. I'm from the Bay Area too but came to Seattle for nursing school. I was just thinking about contacting people back to see if they know any job opportunities... If you don't mind me asking, how did you prepare for the interview? The recruiter said the managers thought my responses lacked depth and critical thinking, and I think that's because I was scrambling on the spot to think of scenarios and examples. They also thought I lacked passion for their patient population, which is actually kind of hurtful because I know I'm passionate about the NICU. I might reapply for the next cohort just because I don't think I presented myself well this time around. I would appreciate any advice you can give!

I interviewed with 2 managers, & 1 I believe is the unit educator/coordinator. I can't put their names on here unfortunately. It was about 30 min & they went question by question as well. I also felt like I was scrambling to come up with meaningful answers, & def felt like I could've explained some parts better. The biggest tip I would suggest is to write down the questions they asked (if you choose to reapply) & really pull examples from your peds clinical rotation (specifically if you did a NICU preceptorship). I also tried really hard to connect with them on a personal level (we chatted about the Super Bowl, Usher's halftime show, etc). Another tip is to ask really good question's on at the end. I asked about what is their favorite memory from working in their NICU, how they would describe their unit culture, & if there is anything about me that would make them hesitate to bring me onto their team. 

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Specializes in NAR / Pre-nursing.

And my advice for applying (to any job) is being well prepared! Know their mission and values, know the unit (SCH NICU focuses on cardiac more). Some appraisal I got from interviews / recruiters apart from my unique history and skills is how well prepared I was about the unit and hospital and how I was able to be socialable. Times where I didn't have answer to a question, I'd say "can you please repeat that one more time" or "that's a great question, please give me a second to think about my response". I prepared intensely for interview questions and responses by doing a lot of research on interviews. 

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