The best way to deal with an interview situation is to be prepared. But if you don’t know what they’re going to ask you, then how can practice what you’re going to say if you didn’t know what they’ll ask? Fortunately, interviewers tend to ask the same questions over and over and over ... so you can come up with smart, professional sounding answers and be ready for your interview.
Let’s start with the top ten. Here’s the most commonly asked questions in a nursing interview:
1. Tell me about yourself. (Okay, this isn’t a question, it’s a demand – but it pays to have a short version of your life/career story ready)
2. Why did you become a nurse? (The best answers stress your desire to help others and your compassionate nature)
3. How many years of experience do you have? (Tell the truth here, and don’t fudge)
4. Where did you get your training? (Easy to answer and it’s right there on your resume, but they’ll ask anyway)
5. What certifications do you have? (Again, the hiring manager can see this on your resume, but this is a chance to expand on your work preferences)
6. How long has it been since you worked in (ER, OR, ICU or particular specialty area)? (This is a leading question to find out how confident you feel about your skills)
7. What are your strengths? (Stress team-oriented skills like “working well with others,” as well as your people skills – communication, compassion, etc.)
8. What is your greatest weakness? (Another trick question, asked purely to see what you’ll say – you can’t go wrong with “I can be a bit too much of a perfectionist”)
9. How do you handle stress? (Tell them what you do to wind down after work, or say that you actually work best under pressure – “I freak out on the rest of the nursing staff and then go home and drink heavily” is never the right answer)
10. Why would you like to work for us? (This is where a little pre-interview research is helpful, so you can cite their reputation, they’re focus on a particular specialty, or some other reason that makes them an attractive employer)
Having answers ready to these questions is important, but there are lots of other questions you might want to be prepared. Other questions that you’re likely to be asked include:
What do you know about our hospital (clinic, organization)?
What do you like to do in your free time?
Describe your perfect job.
What would you like to be doing in five years?
Would you have any concerns if we did a background check on you? What would we find?
Why did you leave your last job?
What have you been doing since you've been out of work?
Have you ever been fired or asked to resign?
Tell me about a time in which you had to handle a challenge that was part of your job.
What journals do you read?
What are your most important career accomplishments?
A little preparation can go a long way in terms of landing the nursing job you want.
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