Nurse Job Interview Etiquette

6 Common Mistakes to Avoid in a Healthcare Interview  

During my time as a nurse recruiter, here are some things that have turned me off during an interview. 

 

1.) Getting too comfortable 

Keep your language and tone professional. 

The interview is going great but don’t let your guard down and forget where you are.   

Don’t talk about your personal life, politics, or religion. 

Your goal is to make a professional connection, not a casual friendship. 

  

2.) Trash talking your old company, team, or boss 

Even if you have great reasons for leaving a job, bad-mouthing a previous employer is never a good idea.   

When interviewees speak poorly of a previous employer, I always wonder what that person may say about our company should we part ways. 

 You control the narrative so keep it positive!  

For example: Did your previous employer micro-manage? 

Don’t say that this manager never gave you any space and drove you crazy, try rephrasing to highlight what you learned/how you grew from that experience.  

 “Working under John Doe helped me realize that I am more efficient when my superiors use a coaching management style.” 

 

3.) Using outdated stories and examples 

Keep all of your responses relevant and recent. Try to highlight examples that have occurred in the last few years.   

Interviewing is about storytelling.  What story are you telling by citing a metric for success from ten years ago?  

 

4.) Cliché-dumping 

Chances are your interviewer has heard the same answers over and over again.   If you a great at something, explain how.  

Get deep about your experiences and show your interviewer that you are not just “another applicant.”   

 

5.) Arrogance 

Confidence is key.   However, there is a fine line separating confidence from conceit.     

By all means, sell yourself, tell us which skills you have that would make you a good fit for the job, but never imply that you don’t need training. 

At the very least, you’ll need training on the company’s processes and procedures. 

  

6.) Poor body language 

More than 50% of human communication in nonverbal. This means that your tone, inflection, and accompanying gestures are just as important as your words. 

Not sure if you're projecting the proper message?

Take a look at “Top 7 Interview Body Language Tips to Show Confidence”