During my spring semester of senior year, I remember being in panic mode because I didn’t have a job lined up. Most of the girls in my class had summer internships and were offered a position pending their board results. Unlike them, I had to pray to Baby Jesus and hone my interview skills. Thankfully, my college had a career center that helped me 1) write my resume, 2) construct a cover letter and thank you letter, 3) received email addresses from alumna with my major who I can reach out to, 4) received interview pointers. This career center helped me make a profile to show a prospect employer but they didn’t prepare me for questions that my future mangers would or could ask me. I obviously had my outfit picked out, but as far as the questions…I was a deer in head lights.
Through many panic attacks, ugly girl cry moments, and chocolate overload, I graduated with my Bachelors in Nursing (and minor in Biology) about 5 years ago. Nursing is not like other majors, because it requires you to grow up faster than your peers. 90% of what you learn in nursing school is part of the 5% you need on the floor. Trying to convince your manager that you are a competent, highly skilled nurse when you just graduated a couple weeks ago, is difficult. I used to joke with my college friend that we were baby RNs. We were still “in utero” (in the womb) trying to be real life nurses, not nursing students anymore.
Whatever your career is the preparation is a key step. You can’t just type up a resumé, print it out, and show up to Human Resources. No. Your future employer will know that you didn’t prepare which will convey that you are not serious about getting the listed position. No matter if you’ve interviewed a million times, each interview is a different game. And you have to remember your game plays for whatever is thrown at you.
So how can you prepare? Or how DO YOU prepare? I’m so glad you asked because preparing is one of my favorite things to do!
[line]Pre-Interview Preparation[line]
Mark the interview day and time on your calendar. Whether you have a planner or utilize the calendar on your phone, mark it down and remember it. Think of this as GAME DAY.
Pull up your resumé, spell check, and confirm it is up-to-date. Your resumé is a snapshot of your professional career. Keep it to one page. I’ve had managers tell me that if a resumé is longer than one page, they won’t even look at it. Keep it short and simple, straight to the point. Highlighting important key facts. Make sure there are no spelling errors.
Make copies of your resumé. Depending on what kind of interview you have, there may be more than one person interviewing you. Do not assume that they received a copy of your resumé from HR. Always be prepared.
Make a Portfolio of your certifications, licenses, and degrees. This is something that I learned from another fellow job hunter. Buy a folder, or a multi-folder portfolio with a clear view. I always brought one portfolio that had my resumé in the front view pocket, all my certifications, my state license, and my nursing degree. This serves a few purposes: it shows that you are organized and prepared, you care about your appearance, and it keeps all your important information in one folder to not get lost in the piles of paper managers seems to pile on their desks. Every time I’ve given a manager my portfolio, they’ve always been so impressed.
Ask 3 professors/co-workers for references. (If not done on the application.) Contact at least 3 persons that you had a good relationship that can speak mountains about your work effort. Don’t just ask them out of the blue, but be humble about it. Ask for their email and phone number. Then send a nice, hand written letter to them thanking them for the words they had to share.
Research the company. It is so important to be familiar with the company you are interviewing with. Managers want to know that you are prepared and looked further into the company. They will even ask you about their company during the interview. I can attest to and was always prepared with 3 facts I learned about the company/hospital I had an interview with. Those managers were impressed when I picked out my 3 facts. Do your research! It is always a good point to loop in your knowledge of the company on your cover letter.
Prepare for questions. This is the hardest to prepare because you don’t know what they will ask. What I did to prepare was Google “interview questions for nursing.” I compiled a few questions and prepared some answers. In nursing, they usually ask questions based on your experience. As a new grad, I used my experiences in nursing school. Managers will either ask questions of their own or Human Resources has a list of prepared questions for managers. Whatever comes your way, be honest. Try not to use fillers such as “um.” It’s ok to take a deep breathe in when you don’t know an answer or you don’t know HOW to answer it. Just say, “I’m sorry, I don’t understand the question.”
Find something clean and professional to wear. This has always been my favorite part of interviews, what am I going to wear? Another reason for me to go shopping! Dress pants, pencil skirts, a neutral top, blazer, or cardigan. Dress it up with a simple necklace and earring studs. Cover tattoos and nose rings. Get a new manicure with neutral tones. Don’t draw their eye to somewhere else. Eyes on you. Unless you’re interviewing in the fashion industry, wear flats. Be comfortable. I wore nude heels once and I had to walk around a hospital, floor to floor, and back to the parking garage. It was horrible. Remember what industry you are interviewing for and dress like it. Note: it is acceptable to wear scrubs to a nursing interview.
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Ready to hit the ground running? Interviewing is hard and scary, but when done right you can receive an offer at the end. In fact, that’s what happened at my first interview and I obviously accepted. What other tips and tricks do you have? Do you have a secret that helps you land jobs?
