Nursing

In the mix: Inside a job interview

Stressed Out Nurses Weekly, June 2, 2008

Our Last Semester columnist Chelsea is done with her last semester. She walked across the stage last weekend and can now call herself a college graduate. That doesn't mean she's done with us, though. Chelsea's nursing career is just beginning and she'll be taking us along on the ride for a while. Just two days after she said sayonara to school, she was headed south on a plane from Boston for a job interview at a hospital in Maryland. We caught up with her afterwards to get an inside look at how it all went down:

Stressed Out: How did you get the interview?
Chelsea: I applied online. A week and a half later, they emailed me and asked me if I wanted to do a personal interview. It was pretty easy. I just uploaded my resume and answered a couple of questions.

SO: How long did it all take?
C: Hmmm, about seven minutes.

SO: How many "real" nursing interviews have you had?
C: This was my first for an RN position.

SO: How long did you have to prepare for the interview?
C: I had a little while. I was out of state, so of course I needed time to graduate. I'd say about three or four weeks. This is the first week they started interviewing.

SO: How did you prepare?
C: I didn't really do anything. I know that's horrible for me to say. I figured I should just go in and be honest. I figured I shouldn't have answers prepared because I feel like that's fake.

SO: Were you nervous?
C: Of course.

SO: What was going through your mind on the flight down?
C: I actually was trying my best not to think about it. I kind of fell asleep. The night before, I had a hard time falling asleep. When I woke up, I was anxious and nervous.

SO: What was the first thought you had when you touched down?
C: I wasn't really that nervous at that time. I wish I had more time to see Baltimore. I just went to the hotel, slept, woke up, and went to the hospital. I didn't really see where I could possibly be living.

SO: What did you wear? Why?
C: I bought a navy blue suit because that's a power color. That's what one of our professors told us . . . you don't put a suit on everyday of your life. It was pretty empowering.

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