HOW TO ACE A NURSING INTERVIEW

Congratulations! You're applying for nursing jobs (that means the end of school is near OR you're looking for a career switch)! If you've been so lucky to have gotten a phone or in person interview you're probably wondering what to expect. You may wonder... What questions will they ask? How do I answer them? What if I don't have any experience? What things should I mention and what things should I leave out? ...I will answer these common questions in this blog!

First, to inform my readers I like to give some fun facts. I graduated from nursing school (BSN) July 2017, passed my boards (RN) October 2017, and got my first job October 2017. I did not have ANY nursing experience (besides clinical). I started applying to jobs in April 2016 and went on three face-to-face interviews. I was offered two out of three jobs during this time but turned down both of them. I then interviewed for the position I have now in September 2017 and got offered the job shortly after! What went wrong at the one job I did not get? I had the privilege to talk to the recruiter and was told, in short, "they were interested in hiring me but needed to wait for another position to open & they would call me back in a few weeks with a formal offer". The job I have now came first-- which I am very thankful for! I am starting as a Labor and Delivery nurse-- my passion!

So... What are some questions I should expect when being interviewed?

1. Tell me about yourself
2. Why (this hospital) OR (this unit)
3. Can you tell me about this unit
4. Why nursing?
5. What positive things can you bring to our department?
6. Where do you see yourself in 5 years OR are you thinking about going back to school at some point?
7. Tell me about a difficult patient you had and how you dealt with it
8. Tell me about a time you went above and beyond for a patient 
9. Tell me what you would do if you had free time on the unit
10. Tell me about a time you had a conflict with a patient or co-worker
11. Strengths/Weaknesses?
12. What types of things did you do at your old job OR school which helped improve your work/school environment? (i.e. clubs, quality improvement meetings, etc.) 

What are the interviewers looking for and HOW should you answer them? Be honest, do NOT lie during your interview. It's okay to emphasize some things but everything you should say should be authentic.

1. Tell me about yourself
1. Where are you from (this may be relevant to which hospital you're working at), what was your past work experience, what year are you in school (graduation date), what are you passionate about?
2. Why (this hospital) OR (this unit)
1. Why do you want to work at this particular hospital? Why do you want to work in this particular speciality? YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS AND PUT IT INTO WORDS
3. Can you tell me about this unit
1. Research... This will be on their website
4. Why nursing?
1. Why did you choose nursing? Many people will say "I knew I wanted to take care of people from a very young age blah blah blah"... But really WHY is nursing unique to you and why are you doing it for a career? What keeps you captivated? Why is nursing interesting to you? This may relate to what unit you're interviewing for
5. What positive things can you bring to our department?
1. Why should they hire you? Honestly- what are some great professional attributes that you have?
6. Where do you see yourself in 5 years OR are you thinking about going back to school at some point?
1. It's okay to say you'd like to go back to school at some point, after all a lot of hospitals have education programs. This should relate to the department you're interviewing for... For instance, I interviewed for labor and delivery and I'd like to go back to school at some point for midwifery. OR you can say something like "I would really like to become comfortable in my position, I am not sure if I want to go back to school, but I am interested in becoming a certified labor and delivery nurse".
7. Tell me about a difficult patient you had and how you dealt with it
1. You've had them, here's your time to spill and show how well you handled it. DO NOT VIOLATE HIPPA (it's ok to state what type of unit you were on, i.e. med/surg, gender of patient, and pertinent medical info, i.e. heart failture) 
8. Tell me about a time you went above and beyond for a patient 
1. When did you do something that was "out of your job description" or a time you made a difference by doing something unconventional
9. Tell me what you would do if you had free time on the unit
1. They want to hear about helping the team OR anything positive 
10. Tell me about a time you had a conflict with a patient or co-worker
1. What happened (be factual) AND HOW DID YOU FIX IT? What do you wish you did differently
11. Strengths/Weaknesses?
1. Come up with 2 or 3 for each... Weaknesses should have a positive twist. For example, my biggest weakness is my obvious lack of experience BUT I take the time to get every experience I can at clinical. Be truthful... and no cliches (I never say "no" or I am a really hard worker and it burns me out). BE AUTHENTIC. You are human 
12. What types of things did you do at your old job OR school which helped improve your work/school environment? (i.e. clubs, quality improvement meetings, etc.) 
1. Self explanatory 

Be to the point, do not over explain. Let's say that you presented a project to your clinical group for 10 people. This is on your resume as a presentation/written work. It's great to talk about this and what the project/presentation was about, BUT you don't need to say that it was only presented in front of your clinical group. This gives the illusion that you may have presented it in front of a large audience, etc. IF they ask directly, be honest!
Be confident, you've got this!

Thanks for reading!

-K