Job Interview Secrets: Tips for Getting Hired

Job Interview Things To Know – Part of the HospitalSoup.com Tips for Getting Hired Series

The dreaded interview, for those of us that may not have changed jobs or careers much it can be an anxiety producing experience. Yet it is one of those things that if you interview well, it can not only bring you the job offer, but possibly a higher salary. So it is important to gather all the job interview tips you can find.

Here’s some job interview information that many job seekers don’t know and can help give you a leg up in preparing for your job interview just when you need it most.

Job Interview Tip:

How you look during the interview may be more important than what you say! How could this be, you may ask? Isn’t my background important? Yes, of course, but take yourself out of the “interviewee” position and imagine yourself let’s say trying to find a mate. What? You may ask. Why are you talking about dating–I’m looking for a job? Because when you are looking for a companion or a date, you are actually acting as an “interviewer”. You want to know if the person you are thinking about seeing or dating is “qualified” and meets your specific wants and needs. And how do most of us “judge” our prospective dates or partners? Fortunately, or unfortunately, most of us make a subconscious “judgment” on if the person will make the grade, not based on what they say but on how they look. Now, this doesn’t mean that all of us need to be model material, as looks can encompass the entire package, not just physical beauty. So even if you’re not looking for Mr. or Mrs. Gorgeous, you are probably looking for someone who is clean, well groomed, and whose clothes reflect the style that you deem is appropriate.

So the fact is that when we speak whether it is for a job interview or going out on a date, our impact on our audience (either an employer, or whomever our audience is) is reflected in the following manner:

Speaker’s impact on an audience is based:

58 percent on how they look
35 percent on the sound of their voice
7 percent on what they say

Knowing this information, how can this benefit you? The next time you prepare for a job interview, you may want to pay particular attention to your clothes, accessories, and how your voice sounds. If you show up for the interview well prepared in all ways, and not just prepared to answer the interviewer’s questions well, you can be on your way to not only a great job, but a bigger paycheck!

Best of Luck to you all with your Job Search, and see you next time for more of HospitalSoup.com’s Tips for Getting Hired

Top 10 Tips for Job Hunting

Top 10 Tips for Job Hunting – In a Slow Economy

1. Make a Plan – Decide what types of jobs you are seeking, then plan out how you will contact employers at the companies you are targeting.

2. Stay Organized – Keep a small notebook with you at all times and use your notebook or an electronic organizer if you prefer the high tech devices to record details about your job search. You will want to note the names of each company you’ve contacted, the date/time contacted, whom you contacted, what the follow up should be, and any other notes about each company or contact. Organization at the beginning of your job search will help make the process of finding a new job much smoother.

3. Treat Job Hunting Like a Full Time Job – Make sure that you actively work on finding a job each day. Get up at the same time as if you were going to work, get dressed in your work or interview clothes so that you are prepared to interview if offered an interview right away, and basically, treat your job search process like a work project.

4. Don’t Procrastinate – If you already have a job but know you will be laid off or if you are not happy in your current position but know you need to find another job, don’t wait until the last minute to find a new employer. Even if you have a severance package that is set to last you for several months, it is never possible to predict exactly how long a job search will last. Start sooner, rather than later to better increase your chances of finding the right type of employment for you.

5. Create different versions of your resume: Start with a basic version that can be used to apply for a variety of jobs, but during your job search, create specific targeted resumes for jobs with specific qualifications. Read job advertisements carefully, then craft your resume to address the specific skills that an employer is looking for.

6. Keep Learning – Need to improve your skill set? Find out what types of additional education or certifications are available and continue improving your education and experience. The additional knowledge you gain may just be the difference between your landing the job and the employer giving the job to someone else.

7. Don’t be Afraid to Ask for Help – Many communities have employment offices with classes on helping you write resumes, practice for interviews, and or find out where you can get additional training. Research online and offline sources so that you can find out where to post your resume, attend job fairs, speak to career counselors, utilize the Department of Labor Resources in your specific state, etc.

8. Get your Reference List Updated: – Make sure that you have already developed your reference list, before you embark on your job hunt. When leaving an employer always ask for a written letter of recommendation and keep these letters in your “work file” so that it grows along with your employment history.

Notify your references that you are job searching so that they are prepared to receive a call from a prospective employer and are prepared to discuss your skills.

9. Communicate and Update Everyone Around You – Let your References know the types of jobs you are applying for. Better yet, send them an email with details about the employers who may call them about you, and include a brief “overview” of your skills that apply to that job. This way, you are helping your reference person/s prepare for a call, and are being pro-active making certain that they understand how your specific background will apply for the new position.

10. Keep Going – Even though Job Hunting can sometimes seem daunting, it is sometimes the one more call that you make on the day that you want to quit early that will yield a great job offer. So just focus on the end result “your new job” and keep plugging away. Persistance is key and very soon, you’ll be sending out thank you letters to everyone in your network for helping you with your job search and celebrating your new position!

Getting a New Job can be easier if you follow the Top 10 Tips for Finding a Job

Health Care Careers – What you Need To Know Before the Interview

Finding a Job in Healthcare

In today’s job market, it is the smart and well prepared job seeker that generally gets the employment offer. Even in the healthcare field where in February 2009, 27,000 jobs were added, it is important to be fully prepared for your medical job interview.

Tips you Can Use for Finding a Medical Job

1. Research the employer: Use the web to find out as much about your prospective new company as possible. It is also a good idea to investigate other companies close to the healthcare facility or medical job that you’re targeting. Julia R. a Registered Nurse, found a new position after she moved from South Carolina to Colorado and investigated her new employer using the Colorado Hospital Search. Julie found a nursing job at North Suburban Medical Center and learned about the hospital’s quality of care ratings, beds, and website.

2. Research the Location of your Interview – Review the area you’ll be meeting for your job interview, and allow plenty of time for traffic on the day your interview is scheduled. Many job seekers even do a “walk through” a few days before, making the trip in their car to check the driving time, and to actually go to the prospective employer’s building and office beforehand in order to make certain that there is no problem finding the building and room area where they will be meeting with the medical employer on interview day. Traffic varies, and it is always a good idea to plan to be at least 30 minutes early to allow you to gather your thoughts, use the restroom if necessary and make certain you are on time for your job interview.

3. Have extra copies of your resume on hand. Many times you will actually meet with more than one interviewer, so having extra copies makes you look more prepared than if you only bring one copy of your resume. It is also a good idea for you to have a copy of your resume in a nice leather 3 ring binder or portfolio with a cover sheet protector so that you can also refer to your resume during the job interview process.

Free Resume Printing

Can You Have Your Resume Printed for Free?

Yes, you Can! On Tuesday, March 10th, those of you looking for work can go into any FedEx Print and Ship Centers in the US, and have 25 black and white copies of your resume made for Free. The offer is only good for orders placed in the store, no online orders will be honored.

If you’re taking advantage of this offer you may bring in either a printed format or a digital file of your resume.

Before taking the trip to a FedEx Center tomorrow it may help to review these five resume tips:

Five Quick Resume Tips:

1. Make sure you include a position objective in your resume. Let the employer know right up front in your resume, the exact type of position you are seeking.

2. Run your resume through a spell checking program before printing

3. Do include your email address on your resume

4. Don’t use an unprofessional email address. Hiring managers have shared that some candidates use e-mail addresses like: badcompany@someservice.com — not the best address to use if you want to be called in for an interview. Instead, consider opening a free e-mail account with Gmail or Yahoo and using a new email account for your job search endeavors.

5. List Your Specific Accomplishments on your Resume: For example, if you reduced spending in your department by 25% then say so on your resume. Give the employer specific examples of cost-savings, or improvements that you implemented in your previous jobs.

Best of luck with your job search!

Sample Inappropriate Interview Questions Part 2

Inappropriate Interview Questions – Part II

Continued from Part I. Employers should not be asking these types of questions during your interview. Some examples of interview questions that are inappropriate are listed below.

RELIGION:
What church do you attend?
What religious holidays do you observe?

AGE:
What year did you graduate high school?
How old are you?

MARITAL STATUS/FAMILY/WORK SCHEDULE/TRAVEL:
Are you pregnant?
Are you married?
What provisions have you made for childcare?
Keep in mind that if there are special requirements for the job (ie: on – call), the employer may ask a question such as: To fill this position you must take call and when on call, you must report to work within 20 minutes. Is there any problem this presents?

ECONOMIC STATUS:
Are there problems with your credit rating?
Have you ever had trouble with bills or collection agencies?

ORGANIZATIONAL AFFILIATION:
What clubs or organizations do you belong?

MEDICAL STATUS:
Are you healthy?
How many days were you absent from work last year?
Have you ever been hospitalized?
Have you been treated for alcohol or drug abuse?

WORK HISTORY:
Have you ever filed for Worker’s Compensation?

CITIZENSHIP: Are you a US citizen?
The employer should not ask if you if you are a citizen. However, it is perfectly acceptable for the employer to ask if you are authorized to work in the US.

How to Respond to Inappropriate Interview Questions

Part 3 of the Inappropriate Interview Questions Series

So your on your interview, and everything was going along just great. Until, that moment arrives. The interviewer peers at you through his/her glasses and asks you a question that not only makes you uncomfortable, but you’re certain it’s a question  that should not be asked.

What do you do?

There are three basic ways that you may choose to address any inappropriate interview questions.

1. You may choose to go ahead and answer the question, if you desire to do so. However, keep in mind that when you provide information to a potential employer that is not job-related, you may in fact be giving an answer that could potentially prevent yourself from getting the job.

2. Refusing to answer the question is also an option, but the manner in which you phrase your refusal is of utmost importance. An outright refusal to answer a question on the part of a job candidate, even though it may be well within your rights to do so, may not be the most tactful way of handling an inappropriate question.

3. The third choice involves your probing for the intent of the employer in asking the question and responding with an answer that is appropriate. For example, the employer asks you; Who will care for your children when you are on call at the hospital? You might reply, “I am able to fully meet the on-call and schedule requirements that this job requires.” Another sample response you may give is: “I’d like to help you learn more about my particular skills and qualifications for this position, however, I’m having some difficulty in understanding how (name the particular issue: age, marital status, religion, etc) questions relate to my ability to perform this job.

Keep calm, stay professional at all times, and remember that the interviewer may very likely be impressed by your ability to gracefully handle an inappropriate question. The interviewer probably does not intent to offend you, and inexperienced or untrained interviewers may unintentionally ask questions that are inappropriate.

Hopefully, you will never be asked an inappropriate question, but knowing in advance how to handle these types of situations, will make you more prepared on your next job interview.

Inappropriate Interview Questions

What You Need to Know Before Your Next Job Interview

You’ve prepared your resume, pressed your suit and have directions in hand. But wait, there’s more you need to know before you shake the hand of your interviewer. What types of questions are inappropriate for an employer to ask in an interview and how should you handle yourself if an interviewer asks you an inappropriate question?

Questions that employers ask during a job interview should be directly related to your ability to perform the job you are seeking. The employer’s focus must be on how to determine if you as the job candidate can perform the specific functions of the job.

Federal, state, and local laws are in place regulating questions that an employer may ask during the interview process. Laws may vary depending upon the state in which you reside. Employers should not be asking questions in the following categories:

Interview Questions – You Should Ask the Interviewer

Part of a successful interview process means that you will come prepared not only to ask, but to answer questions as well.  Here are some important questions you may want to bring with you on your next job interview so that when it’s your turn to ask questions, you’ll be prepared!

• What is your nurse/patient ratio?
• Do you have 8/10/12 hour shifts?
• Can you explain the scheduling process?
• Do you have self scheduling or how is the scheduling done for the unit?
• Do you offer a Baylor program?
• What are the current challenges that your company faces?
• Why did the last person leave the position?
• How long has the position been vacant?
• What were the results of the last survey?
• When is the next survey scheduled?
• Is call required for this position?
• If so, what are the call requirements?
• What would be my primary challenges if I were selected for this position?
• What is your management style?
• How often are performance reviews conducted and what is your process?
• How does this organization feel about continuing education?
• How does the administration view nursing in terms of importance to the hospital?
• How much independence do nurses have in being creative problem-solvers?
• Are nurses allowed to suggest areas for research to improve patient care? If so, are they allowed to design and carry out research projects with other professionals?
• Can you give me an example of something you like, and dislike about working for this company?
• What unique challenges has this unit faced over the last year? (i.e. successes, failures, etc.)
• What sets this organization apart from it’s competitors?
• How long is the orientation phase and what can I expect?
• Will I work with one preceptor throughout or will I have several different preceptors?
• Can the orientation phase be lengthened if I feel I need more time? If my preceptor feels I need more time?
• How much of the orientation phase will be spent on the shift I will be working?

Management Interview Questions – How to Interview for a Management Job

Interviewing for a Healthcare Management Position is easier if you’re prepared to answer the specific questions asked of management candidates for a medical job. HospitalSoup.com has compiled a list of some of the more popular questions asked of nursing managers, supervisors, and other management candidates applying for a health-care or medical job.

• If I called a member of your current staff and asked them to tell me about you, what would they say?
• What actions would you take if you came on board?
• How do you lead?
• What’s your secret to getting subordinates to follow you?
• How do you motivate employees?
• How do you reward employees?
• Describe your management philosophy and management style.
• Some managers supervise their employees closely, while others use a loose rein. How do you manage?
• How have you improved as a manager over the years?
• How many people have you fired? How do you go about it?
• How would you deal with an employee who broke a policy (ie: late for work)?
• How would you deal with an employee who was not open and honest in communication?
• It is very hard to attract (critical care, ER, OR, OB etc.) nurses to this area. What are some strategies you
• might use to have enough qualified nurses to be sure patients get quality care in the facility?
• What single professional event made you most proud to be a manager/leader?
• What event made you least proud to be a leader?
• In prior positions did you have budgeting responsibilities? If so, what was the size of your operating budget?
• Do you know how to figure FTE’s?
• What is your definition of empowerment?
• What is your definition of Quality Assurance (QA), and who should be responsible, for QA?
• Tell me about a time when your manager made a decision you disagreed with. What actions did you take and why?
• Tell me about a time when you had to handle a disruptive employee. What did you do? What were the results?
• Tell me about a time when you had to deal with an irate physician, patient, employee etc. How did you handle it
• and what was the result?
• How have you managed to foster a successful team in your past positions?
• What methods have you found successful in determining the priorities when you start in a new facility?
• What methods do you use to foster open communication with staff and management?
• Tell me about a work incident when you were totally honest, despite a potential risk or downside for the honesty.
• How did you handle a recent situation where the direction from above was unclear and circumstances were changing?
• Describe how you motivated a group of people to do something they did not want to do.
• Who is your most effective subordinate and your least effective subordinate?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of each? What have you done to develop each of these subordinates?
• Tell me about some of the people who have become successful as a result of your management. What was your role in their development?
• What are the major training and development needs of the people in your department? How did you identify them? What are you doing about them?
• Are there any techniques you have found useful in identifying particular subordinates’ needs and potentials? Tell me how they worked with a particular person.
• What do you do differently than other managers? Why? Examples?
• What is the farthest you’ve had to bend your standards in order to succeed?
• What job duties would you like to avoid if at all possible?
• Describe a time in which you weighed the pros and cons of a situation and decided not to take action, even
• though you were under pressure to do so.
• All of us have been in situations where we assigned work to other people and they didn’t do what we intended. Can you tell me about some of those? What were the circumstances and how did you handle it?
• Have you ever had problems in getting your subordinates to accept your ideas or department goals? What approach did you use? How effective was it?
• Have you ever needed cooperation from groups that did not report to you? What did you do to gain cooperation? What were the satisfactions and disappointments?
• Is there a trait or characteristic about you that you find is frequently misunderstood, that surprises you when you find out that people think that about you?
• What 3 things do you hope to accomplish in your first year?
• What do you expect of those who report to you? If candidate responds with a one word answer (for example saying, “support” you can probe further by asking the candidate to describe three behaviors that she/he would view as being supportive.
• If you had an unfavorable plan (i.e., budget) to implement, what would you do to get the managers’ buy in and support?
• With the current nursing shortage, what are two solutions you would like to see put in place?
• What kind of support do you offer managers, directors and front-line staff, knowing the stress of the nursing shortage and the increasing acuity of our patients?
• Tell us about a high level innovative idea/change that you implemented. Was it or was it not successful?

Practice Interview Questions

Preparing for a Medical Job Interview? Taking the time to prepare for your medical job interview is essential. This list of interview questions was prepared by medical and healthcare hiring managers as well as several leading nursing managers and nurse recruiters at major medical centers.

Successfully acing your job interview may not only help you get a great job in the healthcare or medical field. You may actually get a higher salary if your interview goes well. Here are the questions most commonly asked in medical employment interviews.

Interview Questions:

Tell me about yourself
Why did you become a nurse?
How many years of experience do you have?
Where did you get your training?
What certifications do you have?
How long has it been since you worked in (ER, OR, ICU or your particular speciality area?
What are your strengths?
What is your greatest weakness?
How do you handle stress?
Why did you choose (ER, OR, ICU, LTC, FNP, or other specialty area of nursing)?
What do you like to do in your free time?
What do you know about our hospital?
What do you know about our community?
Why would you like to work for us?
Describe your perfect job.
What is most important to you in a job?
What would you like to be doing in five years?
Have you ever been fired or asked to resign?
Would you have any concerns if we did a background check on you?
What would we find if we did a background check?
Why did you leave your last job?
What have you been doing since you’ve been out of work?
Are you prepared to relocate?
What kind of recommendations will you get from previous employers?
Describe your relationship with your last three managers or administrators.
What qualities do you admire most in people?
What kind of managers do you like the most? The least? Why?
Tell me about a time in which you had to handle an irate physician, co-worker, or patient. How did you handle it and what were the results.
What are your most important career accomplishments?
Describe a difficult decision you’ve made and the process you went through to reach that decision.
Why should I hire you?
What can you offer us that someone else can’t?
How long would you stay if we offered you this postion?
What nursing organizations do you belong to?
What journals do you read?
How do you stay current in your practice?