There are a few main goals of your interview with hospital:

For the Hospital to get a feel for your experience and skills as well as your personality to see if you a “fit” for their vacancies and teams. The interview is the opportunity for the facility to decide if they wish to offer you the position. Remember that the hospital may be interviewing more than one person for the position so it is important to put your best foot forward.
For you to form an impression of the unit, type of patients you will care for and a general overview of the facility.

Preparation is the key - take the time to prepare and impress the facility with your skills and interest in the position. Review the website information and find out as much about the facility before your interview so you can ask intelligent and appropriate questions.

All managers interview differently and so it is hard to give a blanket preparation for interview. However the usual interview may consist of some or all of the following:

Ø Be prepared to discuss your skills and experience in detail - types of cases, patient loads, machinery etc
Ø Be prepared if they ask clinical scenario questions
Ø Be prepared if they ask some behavioral questions - some they may ask are:

o Could you tell me about any employment highlight or special achievement form your current/recent position.

o What do you consider to be your primary strengths?

o Are there any areas you would like to improve or develop?

o What motivates you to do a good job?

o What key wards would you use to describe your personality?

o Could you tell me about your ideal team environment?

o What do you think you can bring to a team?

o Can you please tell me about a situation where you have had a problem/conflict with a colleague or supervisor?

o What aspects do you see as important in enabling you to work autonomously in the work place?

o Can you tell me about a time where you have acted as a patient advocate?

o Can you tell me about a time when you have had to deal with a customer complaint?

o Can you please tell about the last time your day/workload was particularly pressured/busy and how you managed this?

o Relocating to a new country and health system presents many challenges, describe what coping strategies you would use to over come this?

o Have you ever made a nursing decision that turned out to be a mistake? And how did you handle this. Or tell me about a time you made a mistake at work and what the situation was and how it was handled.

o Tell what is the most that you have done to satisfy a patient. This would be the time to tell about a special recognition for going above and beyond the call of duty.

o How do you keep organized?

o How do you prioritize?

o If you fall behind or get overwhelmed, what do you do?

o What is your favorite type of patient?

o Be prepared to answer questions about BLS, ACLS training. (Avant provides this training as part of your 4 to 6 week Clinical Transitions program in Orlando .)

o How do you adapt to changing situations such as being pulled to another assignment or a sudden change in your assignment (perhaps being floated)?

o What do you feel you would be bringing to ____[hospital your applying to]____? What are your assets? (This is the same as asking about your strengths, it is just different wording.)

o Be prepared to talk about computer experience and computerized charting.

o Tell me what a typical day at work is like for you.

They may ask some, none or ALL of these! But it is better to be prepared for all possibilities.

Telephone Interviews

Make sure that you are in a situation where you will not be interrupted and that you are awake and alert before the interviewer calls you! If your interview is early in the morning it may help you to focus if you are up, showered and dressed!

As this is a telephone interview, it is important to speak slowly and clearly with some animation in your voice! There is often a delay on the telephone line and so allow the interviewer to finish speaking before you answer. If you do not hear a question, do not be embarrassed to ask them to repeat it for you.

Tell me about yourself! This is perhaps the most dreaded of all interview questions, your mind goes blank and you can’t think of anything about yourself except – I have a good sense of humor! To avoid this happening we recommend that prepare for this question before your interview. Begin to think about what you want the interviewer to know about you. Here are some hints on how to prepare.

Focus

You should focus on your professional career and not include too much personal information. They are looking to employ you as an RN and this interview is your shot at showing them why they should offer you the job.

List five strengths you have that are pertinent to the position (experiences, traits, skills, etc.).

What do you want the interviewer to know/remember about you when the call is over?

Scripting

Prepare a script that includes the information you want to convey. Begin by talking about past experiences and proven success. Next, mention your strengths and abilities.

Conclude with a statement about your current situation:

"What I am looking for now is a clinical position that will provide me with new challenges and opportunities"

Practice makes perfect.

Practice with your script until you feel confident about what you want to emphasize in your statement. Your script should help you stay on track, but you shouldn't memorize it -- you don't want to sound stiff and rehearsed. It should sound natural and conversational.

Even if you are not asked this type of question to begin the interview, this preparation will help you focus on what you have to offer. You will also find that you can use the information in this exercise to assist you in answering other questions. The more you can talk about yourself and your experiences, the easier it will be on the day of the interview.

Tips for Telephone Interviewing:

Ø Have your application form & skills checklist in front of you.

You’ll almost certainly be asked about some of the information that appears on this document.

Ø Make a cheat sheet.

Write down a few notes about the most critical points you want to make with your interviewer(s).

Are there certain skills and experiences you want to emphasize?

Do you have certain interests or passions you want your interviewer(s) to know about and understand?
Be sure these pieces of information appear on your cheat sheet. Then touch on them during the interview, even if your only chance to do so is at the end of the session when the interviewer asks you if you have any questions or anything to add.

Ø Shower, groom and dress up (at least a little).

Odd advice? Perhaps. But focusing on your appearance, just as you would for a normal interview, will put you in the right frame of mind from a psychological standpoint. You won’t do as well in your phone interview if you’re lying in bed, for example, or if you’re draped over your couch in your pyjamas. It will help you focus if you are up, showered and dressed!

Ø Stand up or at least sit up straight at a table or desk.

Again, there’s a psychological, frame of mind aspect to consider here. But on a more tangible level, research has shown that you project yourself better when you’re standing up, and you'll feel more knowledgeable and confident.

Remember the facility already has reviewed a copy of your work history, skills checklists and applicable credentials before the interview.

Closing the interview

It is always important to have at least one question to ask at the end of the interview, even if you feel the person conducting the interview has answered everything. So prepare five or six questions before the interview and have them in front of you, this will show good preparation on your part. It is a chance for you to get the information you need to help you make an informed decision about the position.

However, you should not ask where the answer is obvious or readily available, or when the topic has already been thoroughly discussed in the interview.

We ask that you do not ask anything about salary or terms and conditions of the contract as the Clinical Manager who is interviewing may not be aware of the details and we can answer any of these questions for you before or after the interview.

Here are a few suggestions:

Ø What is the opportunity for ongoing education in the hospital?

Ø What are your expectations of the person who is offered this position?

Ø What qualities are you seeking in the person for this job?

Ø When will you make your selection?

By preparing for the interview ahead of time you will feel more confident and present yourself well. There is no way you can predict what the interviewer is going to ask you, but you can prepare what you want him or her to know about you.

We wish you all the best for a successful interview!

Some succeed because they are destined to, but most succeed because they are determined to!