Interviews are nerve-wracking, but they don’t have to be! The following is a list of interview mistakes that will cost you the job so you can avoid them and land that dream job!
Showing Up Late
Before your actual interview date, I recommend physically driving to the hospital or location you are interviewing at. This way you know exactly how much time it’s going to take you to get there and where to park. If you know ahead of time where the interviewer is going to meet you, you can always go to that location. Now you know exactly where you’re supposed to meet ahead of time. This will help eliminate some nerves on your scheduled interview day.
Not Knowing Where to Meet
Make sure when you set up your interview, you know exactly where the interviewer wants to meet ahead of time. Another good idea is to have your interviewers phone number handy in case you can’t find the location easily. This tells your interviewer that you’re there ahead of time instead of just showing up late and out of breath from running all over the place.
Arriving Too Early
On the flip side of showing up late, arriving too early is equally not good. You want to arrive at the interview site as early as possible BUT wait in your car until about 10 to 15 minutes before your interview. You don’t want to make your interviewer or the office staff uncomfortable while you wait by listening over their shoulders.
On Your Phone While Waiting to be Interviewed
If you arrive too early for an interview, you’re likely going to be bored and want to check your phone. This is not a good idea. Employers don’t want to see their employees sitting there on their phone. Likewise they don’t want to see their potential employees on their phones either.
Once you arrive at your interview site and check in, do some last-minute prep work. Go back and review the notes you took to help prepare you for this interview, not on your phone. Think of potential interview questions and how you might answer these interview questions. Also think of some questions you might want to ask your interviewer post-interview.
Also see Common New Grad Nursing Interview Questions and Questions You Need to Ask Post-Interview.
Inappropriate Interview Attire
Figuring out what to wear to your interview is stressful enough. So make sure to have your outfit picked out a few days before your actual interview. This way you can make sure your outfit a) still fits, b) doesn’t have any tears or snags, and c) is appropriate for the position you are interviewing for. For specifics on what exactly to wear to your interview, see What to Wear for Your Interview.
Not Giving a Firm Handshake or Making Enough Eye Contact
Giving a firm handshake and making eye contact throughout the interview is super important. It tells your interviewer, “I’m here, listening, engaging, and ready to start working.” Make sure not to squeeze your interviewers’ hand too tightly or too loosely. Practice on your friends or even at a mock interview.
Pro Tip: Typically, universities will have a success center where they conduct mock interviews you can sign up for. They’ll help you prepare for interview questions, but they’ll also be able to assist in your body language. Including engaging eye contact and a solid handshake.
Not Being Prepared
Not being prepared will make your interview go downhill fast. If you really want a job, you need to do your research ahead of time. About the company, their mission statement, and what the exact role is you’re applying to. If you don’t do this research ahead of time, it’s going to come across very unprofessionally to your potential employer.
Give specific examples when you answer their questions. Don’t ramble on, stay on topic and be to the point. Make sure to bring copies of your resume, even if you sent it in ahead of time. Additionally, bring any letters of recommendation you might have along with a list of your references.
For a complete list of things you need to bring to you interview, see What to Bring to Your Interview.
Not Knowing What’s on Your Resume
Bringing a resume is a great way to quickly be able to reference past job experience. But if you don’t know or remember what’s on your resume, it’s not going to make you look good. So be sure to clean up your resume and list only previous jobs that are pertinent to the new position you’re applying for. And when your interviewer asks about a previous job listed on your resume you’ll know exactly what they’re talking about.
Pro Tip: If you are going to make a list of references, make sure those people know that you listed them before giving this list to your employer. You want to give your reference a heads up before your interviewer calls them and they’re caught off guard.
Also be sure to check out Resume Tips And Tricks for New Grads, Who to Ask for a Letter of Recommendation, and How to Ask for an Amazing Letter of Recommendation before the interview.
Not Asking Questions
At the end of each interview, the employer is going to ask if you have any questions for them. Always make sure you have at least one question prepared to ask! As I mentioned earlier, doing research prior to your interview will make it go a lot smoother. While doing this research, I’m sure you’ll come across something you have a question about. Write this question down and bring it, along with the rest of your research, to your interview. Then, at the end of the interview when asked if you have any questions, you can go back and reference this list and ask any other questions that might have come up during the interview.
Pro Tip: Feel free to write the answers to your questions down after you ask them. This shows that you’re taking the interviewing process seriously. However, if a question is answered in the middle of the interview rather than at the end, make sure to hold off writing the answer down until the question part of the interview. This way you can stay focused and present during the interview and the employer will understand what you’re doing.
And be sure to come back November 1st and read Questions You Need to Ask Post Interview.
Not Thanking the Interviewer
Always thank your interviewer/interviewers for their time. They are likely very busy people who had to find time in their schedule to interview a lot of people for one position. So, forgetting to personally thank them is going to make their rejection letter a lot easier.
If your interviewer and you connected in any way, be sure to bring this up in your ‘thank you’ as well. For example, if you know you’re both alumni from the same school, then when you go to thank them you can say something like, “Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to interview me. It was nice meeting a fellow Lancer and I can’t wait to hear back from you.” This ties the interview up and shows hope for the future.
Not Following Up
Say your interviewer mentioned that you should hear something by the end of the week and here it is on Friday, and you still haven’t heard anything. Give them through the weekend and if you still haven’t heard anything, then follow up with them on Monday. Say something like, “Hi this is Susie. I had an interview with you guys last week for the RN new grad program. I was told I’d hear something back by now but I haven’t so I just wanted to check in.” This will remind your interviewer of who you are and that they need to get back to you.
In some cases, you unfortunately won’t hear back. But it’s always a good idea to follow up. And if they respond saying that they went with another applicant, then ask if there’s anything you can do to up your game for next time. They might not say anything or say something like, “It just wasn’t a good fit.” But they also might give you some very valuable feedback like, “Your resume had a bunch of typos” or, “We’re looking for someone with more experience.” Their response will be helpful for your next interview.
And once you’ve got those job offer, comment below and come back to check out How to Know if You Should Take the Job!
Know of more interview mistakes that will cost you the job? Comment below!
Still in nursing school? Visit Top 10 Best Jobs for Students in Nursing School.
And for more interview help, see How to Answer the Famous “Tell Me About Yourself” Interview Question.