Nursing Interview Tips
Nursing job requires you to handle patients with care. Similarly, to successfully secure a job as a nurse also requires you to handle the interview with ample care. Healthcare industry's recruiter demand high preparation. Thus, prepare yourself to deliver your best performance.
Along with your qualifications, experiences and skills, these tips will help you to make your interview a success.
Nursing Interview Tips
- Keep your documents ready. Read the interview letter carefully and gather all the necessary documents. Your qualification certificates, detailed resume, nursing license and a complete list of references should be carried in a neat portfolio.
- Conduct a background research about the hospital where you apply. Check up the internet, or talk to people who have been associated with the institution. Also check for the hospital's financial stability.
- Go through a mock interview with the help of your friends and ask them to critically evaluate your performance. This exercise will help you to phase out obvious errors.
- Dress up suitably. Choose the attire in which you would feel comfortable and confident. Formal yet conservative dressing style would be appreciated.
- Be prepared to talk at length about your qualifications, training, experiences, general questions related to healthcare industry, reasons related to your choice of profession etc. Articulate your replies in a convincing manner.
- Do not over explain anything that does not relate to the question.
- Review your core competencies and present them to your prospective employer by providing examples that demonstrate these skills.
- Along with your nursing experience and qualities, you may be also evaluated on your interpersonal skills. Thus, brush up your communication skills to impress the panelists.
- You may be asked for permission for a check on your criminal background. Keep a list of your previous addresses for their verification.
- You may be asked to describe a case in which you had to handle a patient in critical condition, or display your decision making skills during emergency situations. Make a mental note of the challenges that you have faced and how you tackled the problem.
- You may also be asked to narrate an unfavorable situation, which you could not handle successfully. Answering such questions can be difficult. However, remember that they do not want to demean your capabilities. Tell them what prompted your actions and what you learnt from the experience.
- Have a set of questions ready for the interviewers. Relevant and sophisticated questions will show them your eagerness to work with them. You can ask them questions regarding the nurse-to-patient ratio, the training process, if any etc.
- Finally, the interviewer may course the meeting towards discussing your long term goals and objectives. Thus, it is necessary that you mentally chalk out your plans and outline them to the interviewers.
These tips will certainly help you to secure a rewarding job as a healthcare professional.
