How exciting! You’ve built and written your resume, applied
for RN positions, and now you’ve landed your first interview. Getting an
interview means you’ve at least appeared qualified on paper. Now it’s time to
knock their socks off in person. How? By preparing.
I’ve interviewed a gazillion new and experienced nurses and
know how intimidating they can be for the candidate. After all, a stranger is
basically judging you and making a decision about your future. However, careful
planning and preparation can help you appear confident, competent and win over
almost any interviewer.
Follow these tips to ace your next interview:
Know the qualifications – Every
position has a set of qualifications employers look for in a candidate. You want to know exactly what skills
the position requires so that you can speak to those skills during the
interview. As a recent grad, you probably don’t have a lot of skills, however,
you can talk about how your school provided you with excellent opportunities to
develop certain skills or talk about the skills you developed during your
volunteer work, work as a nursing assistant, etc.
For example: If the job
includes, “taking the role of charge nurse,” you should talk about how your
school assigned you in the role of team leader during your clinical rotations
where you got to practice being “in charge.” Be prepared to talk about that
experience or others that demonstrate your leadership skills.
Note: Sometimes the
qualifications are listed on the job posting. If not, ask the employer if he or
she will share the job description.
Prepare for common questions –
Interviewers typically ask the same types of questions. Knowing this makes is
easier for you to prepare great answers! Typically, employers ask interviewees about
three things: Success, failure and how well you work as a team. While
preparing, think of a few examples for each and practice your stories.
Note: Avoid saying the token, “I work too hard,” or “I’m too serious
about my work,” comments. These statements make you sound fake. Be real but
don’t go on and on about your perceived failures! Instead, identify a time when
you made a mistake (failure) and how you dealt with and learned from it.
Prepare questions of your own –
When the employer asks if you have any questions, saying “no” is the kiss of
death! Always, always come prepare with questions. Go to the employers website
and read their mission, vision and values page. Use key words from this page
during your interview. Words such as “patient-centered,” “community
involvement,” “respect.” Read the media stories and ask questions about them
during the interview. Asking pointed questions related to the organization
sends a message that you are serious and that you’ve done your homework.
Note: Avoid asking questions about schedule, money, benefits, etc. on
your first interview.
Experienced interviewers can
spot the difference between candidates who are “winging it” and ones who took
the time to prepare.
Oh, and don’t forget -
throughout the interview, smile, sit tall and act interested! Trust me – it
makes a huge difference!
I hope these tips help you to land your dream job as a
nurse. I’m cheering for your success!
Stay connected
Renee
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