An interview is an important step in evaluating candidates and making the best hiring decision for a team. Whether you are interviewing at a school, for an internship, or for a professional position, the interviewer is going to cover these five areas. Be prepared to talk about yourself, and be comfortable with revealing your personality, knowledge, skills, and abilities. You can show how you will be an asset to the position and the organization.
1. Culture Fit
Learning about what motivates you as a candidate and the type of culture you respond best to will help determine if what drives you matches the position and culture of the company. You may be asked questions such as, “Describe your ideal job, culture, and company” and “What did you like and dislike about your previous job?” These questions reveal your personality and the qualities you like or dislike and help organizations evaluate whether or not their environment will be a good fit for you.
2. Company Interest
Ensuring the candidate has a real interest and understanding of the job and organization is an important step in hiring. Be prepared to answer questions like, “Why did you choose to apply to this job?” and “What do you know about our company?” Being able to address these inquires show your interest level and if you researched and learned relevant information. Candidates who take time to prepare and demonstrate enthusiasm versus candidates who have generic answers to these questions will help to ensure you are an individual who will be engaged and passionate on the job.
3. Teamwork and Manageability
In order to determine your work style, you will get questions like, “What do you expect from your manager?”, “What qualities have you liked or disliked in previous managers?” and “Tell me about a time where a decision was made on your team that you disagreed with and how you handled it.” Learning about your communication style, past working relationships, and what made those succeed or fail helps determine whether you are a fit within the team and if the manager’s style matches your expectations.
4. Qualifications and Ability to do the Job
Determining the knowledge, skills, abilities, and experience of the candidate in relation to the job’s qualifications is necessary to know if the person can do the job. Asking for specific examples from past experience or how you would approach a scenario requires you to reveal the extent of your experience and make connections to how your skills meet the needs of the job. If you cannot give details or specific examples you may not have the applicable experience needed.
5. Questions from You
A candidate’s answers to the questions in the hiring process are obviously important, but listening to the questions you have can also tell the organization a lot about you. A candidate that comes prepared with questions demonstrates they understand the company and are interested enough to give it deeper thought. It will also show how much research you did to formulate thoughtful and smart questions.
This is a post from Alyse Scarsella, Benefits and Recruitment Specialist at Pocket Nurse. For more information about medical simulation and healthcare simulation careers, see our post. To see if there’s an opening at Pocket Nurse, see our Career site.
