Preparing for Nursing Job Interviews

Nursing job interviews can be stressful experiences. Heck, all interviews tend to be on the stressful side! But the most important thing to remember is to interview as who you are, not as who you think they’ll want to hire.

That way the fit – or non fit – of the nursing job will be obvious.

Encourage the interviewer to talk by using body language (e.g., leaning forward, showing rapt attention, nodding along) and listen carefully to the interviewer when they question you about nursing skills and other topics. It’s easy to become prematurely preoccupied with planning your response and miss the whole point of what the interviewer is asking.

Finally, remember that you are interviewing the employer as much as they are interviewing you. Always have questions of your own. Learn more about interviewing skills in JobMonkey’s Job Tools section.

If you are formally offered the nurse job, you may discuss salary and benefits at the first interview although you will probably have some idea from the scale given in the advertisement. During the final handshake, ask about what the next step is or when you can expect to hear from the employer.

After the interview, go home and look in the mirror and tell yourself how great you are. Looking for a nursing job is tough! A day or so after the interview, send the interviewer a thank-you note (very important).