It never hurts to overprepare for an interview! Whether it’s your first time interviewing for a travel nursing job or your 101st time—take steps to make sure you give the best interview possible. Since travel nurses come from all over the country for placements, your travel nursing job interview will likely be over the phone. Before your big day, brush up on this list of steps to get ready for your next travel nursing assignment.
Are you looking to travel to a warmer climate and hit the beach, or a cooler climate to hit the mountains? Is a big city or Big Sky Country more your thing? Wherever you want your travel nurse career to take you, get there faster with these five interview tips:
- Do your research about the position. Before your interview, visit the website of the facility and read through the job description carefully. The more you know about the organization and role, the more familiar and comfortable you’ll be during the interview. Since it can help to have common ground with your interviewer, doing your homework can help you keep the conversation flowing.
- Create your perfect interview setting. Plan to take your phone interview in a quiet room with no distractions. If you’ll be using a cell phone, be sure it’s charged. Have a copy of your resume with you, as well as a bottle of water.
- Know what questions to ask. You can show your professionalism by knowing ahead of time what questions to ask during a nursing job interview. These should include anything you’ll need to know to make a decision whether to accept the job if it’s offered. Ask about responsibilities, shift, overtime, floating, housing and anything else that’s important to your choice.
- Practice standard interview questions. Your interviewer will plan a list of questions to ask during a nursing interview—some related specifically to nursing, and some general interview questions. Be prepared to introduce yourself, explain your strengths and background, describe a difficult situation you were in on the job and how you handled it, etc. For help, you can do a simple Google search of common interview questions and how to answer them.
- Smile. It may surprise you, but a person on the other end of the phone can hear it when you smile. You may feel shy or nervous, but by simply smiling as you speak, you’ll help yourself sound like the positive, upbeat travel nursing professional you are!
Be ready to follow up
After your travel nurse interview, it’s important to send a follow-up email to the interviewer thanking them for their time. If you think you dropped the ball, you can also take steps to rectify and possibly secure your chances of being hired. Travel nursing careers can be long and winding, taking you many different places. So if you don’t get this job—hang in there. Another interview will come your way!
How to become a travel nurse
If you’re just getting started with your travel nurse career, contact MedPro Healthcare Staffing. Our experienced staffing professionals will help you understand travel RN requirements and access top nursing jobs. To learn more, contact us today at 1-800-866-8108 or apply below.
Wherever you want your travel nurse career to take you, get there faster with these five interview tips
