Whether you’re interviewing for your first nursing job, changing specialties, or just looking for a change, job interviews are stressful. I was acting manager over labor and delivery, mom/baby, and NICU for a little over a year and hired several people during that time. I ended up leaving that job to go back to my original love of travel nursing, but I gained a ton of valuable insight that I’ll use forever. I’m here to give you a little advice from the hiring manager side of the table so that you can NAIL that job interview.
*Bonus!* I also created a guide to tough interview questions you’ll likely hear and advice on how to address them. Sign up below to have the guide sent straight to your email!
Okay, now on to my comprehensive list of tips to nail your interview. This post is long, but trust me it is worth the read! If you don’t have time to finish it now, make sure to bookmark or pin it for later!
The Most Important Factor In The Interview
I’m here to tell you that no matter how well you answer the questions you’re asked in an interview, the MOST important factor in the decision to hire or pass will be whether or not you (as in your personality) will be a good fit for the culture of the unit.
DO NOT LET THAT FREAK YOU OUT.
Personality and culture fit is so important, but that doesn’t mean that everything else isn’t. You should still come prepared to answer some tough questions. You should still give thoughtful answers and be engaged. I only share this to encourage you to be yourself. Don’t let your nervousness make you feel as if you need to fit into some kind of box. If you have a great personality but your interview answers give the manager concern that you won’t provide great patient care, they’ll probably pass. On the other hand, if you answer every question textbook perfectly, but you don’t share anything about yourself or let your personality shine through, you won’t be very memorable. I interviewed a nurse for L&D with a group of my charge nurses and we spent the entire interview laughing like we were old friends. We hired her on and gained a great nurse, and I will always remember her interview!
The takeaway here is don’t be afraid to let your personality shine. Making an effort to connect with the person interviewing you will give you a leg up! At the end of the day, if the manager decides that your personality isn’t a good fit, you probably dodged a bullet. Fitting into the unit culture is important for your job satisfaction too – but more on that later.
Professionalism In The Interview Goes A Long Way
This is my interview version of “chivalry isn’t dead.” I know that it’s 2020 and we’re millennials in the workforce and things are more laid back than they used to be. That’s all well and good, but don’t give up on being professional in your interview.
Dress The Part
Do. Not. Show. Up. In. Jeans. Read that again. I cannot for the life of me figure out why you would do this, but I’ve seen it happen. You don’t have to come in a full dress suit for a floor nursing interview, but for God’s sake put on some nice pants and a nice top or sweater. Heck, you can even wear scrubs if you’re spending some time on the unit after the interview. Just don’t show up like you’re headed to the gym or a casual happy hour afterwards.
*Another note because it’s 2020 – if you’re doing a virtual interview you should dress EXACTLY THE SAME WAY YOU WOULD FOR AN IN PERSON INTERVIEW. I don’t want to see your dirty tank top just because you’re interviewing from home.
I once held a virtual interview for a nurse who was moving from out of state. She wore a white cami to her interview. I hardly even noticed, but when I ended the interview and asked the peer panel what they thought, the ONLY thing they wanted to talk about was the fact that she wore that shirt. They had no idea what else happened in the interview. Point being, while some people may not care what you have on, it can make a big impact on others. Play it safe here.
Bring Copies of Important Paperwork
The hiring manager should have copies of your resume and will print that out for peer panel interviews and to take notes. However, I still recommend bringing your own copies. It just looks professional and well put together, and you may include things that the manager wouldn’t. I recommend bringing the following:
- Copies of resume and cover letter
- Copies of letters of recommendation – these are almost never shared with staff even if you submit them with your resume so I absolutely recommend these over everything below
- Any rewards or recognition you’ve received (you don’t have to have copies, but it’s nice to be able to reference during your interview or mention while you’re there)
- Thank you notes or recognition from patients (again, you don’t need copies, they’re just nice to show)
- Thank you notes or recognition from managers, peers, instructors, etc. (no copies needed)
This stuff is by no means required, but its shows that you took the time to prepare and that you’re invested in the interview. If you’re prepared and organized for your interview, you’ll likely be prepared and organized at work. Bonus: some of these (i.e. recognitions from peers or patients) may even help jog your memory if you’re stumped on an interview question!
Follow Up
While it may not make the difference in hiring decision, I think a follow up thank you after the interview is important. Grab the hiring manager’s email and send a quick note later or the next day to thank them for their time. This ensures that they have quick and easy access to contact you if needed, and it’s just a nice touch to continue to show that you’re engaged.
I once sat on a peer panel for another manager’s interview. A few days later I received a handwritten thank you note from that person thanking me for my time and the insight I shared during her interview. It was really impressive that she took the time to write down names of everyone who interviewed her and then wrote thank you notes for each one. That’s also a great way to start a relationship with manager and peers on the right foot if you do end up getting hired. This is above and beyond what you ‘should’ do, but something that really stood out to me.
If you don’t have every person’s email (which you probably won’t), you can send notes to them at the hospital. Just address it like this:
NAME OF HOSPITAL
c/o NAME OF PERSON – UNIT NAME
HOSPITAL ADDRESS
example:
Sunshine Community Hospital
c/o Sarah Unicorn – Labor and Delivery
123 Sunshine Road
Sunshine, VA 12345
Come Prepared
You still with me? You wanna grab a glass (refill) of wine and come back? I know this is long, but I promise it’s worth it.
I know I touched on the importance of being prepared a little in the previous section, but there’s more to this than just what you bring to the interview.
Practice Makes Perfect
I know, I know. I told you earlier that personality and culture fit was the most important. Don’t let that fool you into thinking that you don’t need to be prepared for some tough questions. You can be the nicest person in the world, but if you weasel your way out of giving clear answers to interview questions, the manager will be over it before she makes it three questions in. Google “interview questions for (insert specialty here) nurse,” or even just general nursing interview questions. Practice. Find examples of questions and write down things that come to mind. If your first interview is a phone interview you can reference these things and no one will ever know. Hell, if it’s a video interview you could paste them on the wall behind the camera no one would know. But even if you can’t reference your “cheat sheet,” having done this will help you remember when the time comes.
I’ve seen and asked EVERY kind of question in my interviews. Everything from clinical patient care scenarios, to chain of command questions, to questions about how you might handle conflict with staff. Every manager is different, but here are some general tips I can give you on how to answer those tough questions:
- If asked a question about how to prioritize a list of patient needs – PATIENT SAFETY ALWAYS COMES FIRST. Yes, your patient in 223 is in pain and her daughter is yelling at you at the nurses station, but if you see 226 about to fall you should politely excuse yourself and go there first.
- If asked about a time you made a mistake – don’t pretend to be perfect and don’t blame someone else. We all make mistakes. Be honest and show that you learned from it. If you really don’t have one, tell about a time you almost did, but caught yourself.
- If asked about conflict with peers – For me personally, the most important thing was that you tried to handle it yourself in a professional manner first. There’s a lot of drama in nursing, that’s just the way it is. Managers want you to be able to act like an adult, and they don’t want to babysit you every time you get into an argument with someone.
- If asked about conflict with a doctor or disagreement with plan of care – again, patient safety always comes first. Demonstrate that you know how to have a professional conversation about what you think, and then if you feel patient safety is at risk, know how to escalate up the chain of command appropriately.
Bring Appropriate Clothing
If you’re shadowing on the unit after your interview (which I highly recommend), bring scrubs and don’t forget appropriate shoes. You should know ahead of time if you’re planning to shadow (more on this in the next section), but even if you’re not sure I would recommend bringing scrubs and closed toed shoes to change into. I once interviewed a new grad nurse who wore a super short dress and heels to the interview and didn’t bring anything to change into. I ended up getting her some OR scrubs, but she was walking around the unit in hospital scrubs, heels, and shoe covers and it just didn’t look professional. Literally the only thing I remember about her is that she came unprepared.
Know About the Hospital
Don’t psych yourself out knowing the ins and outs of every single thing, but you should at least be familiar with the hospital and try to know as much as you can about the unit you’ll be working on. You can do this in five minutes or less, so there’s really no excuse. As a traveler, I interview for a new job every eight to thirteen weeks, and I AT LEAST know the trauma designation, the NICU designation, and any accolades the hospital has. Are they a Magnet facility? Do they have an amazing cardiac program? Are they the designated trauma facility in the area? These things are important to know. You won’t be quizzed on it, but being able to ask a question like, “I know SCH is a Magnet hospital – tell me about how that impacts nursing practice on labor and delivery?” is way more impressive than, “tell me a little about SCH.”
Come With Questions (yes, this is actually important)
I don’t know what it is, but if you have zero questions at the end of your interview, you just don’t seem engaged. Being a good fit for the position is important for both you and your employer, and there’s no way you can glean that from one hour or less answering questions for the manager. I would rather you spend more time than allotted for the interview asking questions that help you determine if the job is a good fit than to ask nothing at all. Come prepared with a long list of things you genuinely want to know so that if some of those are answered in the interview, you still have some to fall back on. If there were things that were addressed in the interview, you can also ask for clarification/more information when the time comes. It shows that you were listening and that you’re curious and engaged.
Pro tip: it’s okay to ask logistical questions (what’s your weekend requirement? Do nurses take call? etc.) but save those for the end. You should start with questions that show you want to make sure you’re a good fit for the unit (how would you describe the culture here? What would you say are the top 3 traits of the most successful nurses on your unit? etc.) You can even save the logistical questions for after you’ve received the job offer if you can stand the wait.
Request A Unit Shadow Following The Interview
Okay, I hope you’re still with me because this is probably one of the most important things you can do. It doesn’t necessarily help you to get the job, but it will help you know whether or not you should accept it if you get an offer.
Travel contracts aside, I would never never never in a million years take a permanent staff position without shadowing on the unit first. When you set up your interview, you should ask to spend a few hours shadowing on the unit.
You have no idea if the manager is going to be honest with you in the interview or blow smoke up your ass because they need staff so badly. Sorry bout it, but managers try to sugar coat things. You have to talk to staff to get the feel for how the floor really is. Spending a couple hours shadowing with a nurse can teach you a TON. Get as much information as you can about the following:
- What’s the typical patient load and what’s a normal work day like? Do the nurses feel it’s reasonable, or are they burnt out AF?
- What things will be expected of you that you may not have anticipated? (ex: I had NO idea when I became an L&D nurse that I would learn how to scrub in for c-sections. I thought it was badass, but holding a uterus may be a deal breaker for some people).
- What’s the culture of the unit like?
- How’s the teamwork on the unit ?
- Are staff expected to work overtime?
- Are staff satisfied with unit and hospital leadership?
- What’s the real reason they’re hiring?
All of these little tidbits can help you decide if this position is a good fit for you. Every hospital and every unit has problems, so you need to know what you can compromise on and what’s a deal breaker. You can learn a lot by just sitting back and listening. If the entire staff is wearing Trump 2020 buttons and you’re gay, maybe not your vibe. If they’re all talking about how they saw Taylor Swift at the Pepsi Center last month and asking me if I’ll play on their cup in hand kickball league, I know they’re my people (true story). Take in as much as you can and decide whether or not you want to spend a minimum of 36 hours a week with these people. They become your family, like it or not.
So there you have it! My (very comprehensive) list of interview tips. I hope this was helpful! If you have questions, thoughts, or tough interview questions you’ve faced, drop them in the comments! And don’t forget to sign up below to receive my free guide to tough nursing interview questions and how to address them!
