What is your proudest Nursing achievement?

Clearly, this is about sharing a story that matters to you and that reflects whatever you love about Nursing. This is a great chance to show passion, to show how caring you are, and to show your enthusiasm for your career.

Don’t try to overthink it either – this is about your proudest achievement, not what you think your interviewers will be impressed by.

Have you ever had to deal with a mistake?

This question is common, and answers can be about your mistakes or others’ mistakes. Either approach is fine, and either can work in your favour. Talk about what you learned, what you would do differently, and how you worked with others to rectify the situation. Interviewers don’t expect you to have never made mistakes, but they do expect you to have learnt from them.

Why did you decide to specialise in your specific field?

Again, this is about demonstrating your passion. And that passion is best explained with some real-life examples of why you love it.

Consider what made you study your chosen field in the first place, but also what motivated you in practice too. And try to demonstrate how your specific skills are perfectly aligned to your chosen area of Nursing.

What do equality and diversity mean to you?

Increasingly, interviewers are keen to ensure you have a clear understanding of the importance of equality and diversity. They may also want to test your understanding of how that can play out within your role.

What issues are currently faced by UK healthcare providers?

For interviewers, this question is an opportunity to get a sense of how seriously you take your career. If you’re in it for the long term and committed to your craft, chances are you’ll be interested in the issues your industry faces. So you’ll need to show that you care by showing your knowledge (and make sure you brush up before your interview).

How do you deal with sensitive or confidentiality issues?

This question may be scenario-based (i.e. someone phones up and asks for information about a patient, so what do you need to check before giving information). However the question is framed, you just need to show that you understand the processes clearly.

…and something concerning Clinical Governance tends to always crop up!

Clinical Governance… Re-read it. Know it. Here are two links for a quick bit of pre-interview revision!

RCN Clinical Governance

Wikipedia

…Oh, OK, one more. I love this video from the Harvard Business School about preparing for interview.

Good luck, from Nurses.co.uk

Nursing is currently the UK’s most employable degree, with 94% of graduates getting a job within the first six months of finishing their course.

This bodes well for every Nurse, at every level of their career. Whether you’re looking to change specialism or location, get a pay rise or a promotion, you’re in high demand – and you hold the power.

How to specifically prepare for a Nursing interview

Getting the basics right will ensure you avoid some of the more obvious pitfalls. After that, your success comes down to showing your interviewer why you’re a great Nurse, and why you’re perfect for this position.

So here are some more detailed, Nursing-focused interview tips:

Research the organisation inside-out

Whether you’re interviewing with an NHS trust or a private organisation, you need to spend lots of time getting to know them. Find out about the hospital you’ll be Nursing in – what kind of NHS Trust or private hospital is it, what’s the funding level, what does it specialise in, does it hit targets, how big is it, who is the Chief Executive etc etc.

It might seem like all these organisations are very similar, but typically they’re not. Their values, for example, will almost always differ and will reflect their own unique strengths and challenges. Grace talks about this in her video when she says “the core values of each NHS Trust are very important to them and if you know them in the interview this will definitely go in our favour”.

So, yes, knowing your potential employers’ key values and being able to show how your skills align with them will be a massive tick for you.

Read their website and follow their social media channels. Try to get a sense of their biggest challenges, what they do – but also what matters most to them. Trusts are often a reflection of the values that matter to their local communities too, so getting an understanding of that will also help.

Brush up on what’s happening in the NHS

Nursing and the NHS is a topic that’s constantly on the national agenda, and your knowledge of those issues is important. It shows how serious you are about Nursing – that you’re invested for the long-term.

And it also allows you to explain how and why you’re passionate about making a difference. A good start of course is our own news and insights. Access 100s of articles by our experts and follow us on Facebook so that our latest posts appear on your feed. (OK, plug over!).

Research scenarios

You are likely to be asked some scenario-based questions at some point. So it’s important to prepare by practicing some scenarios yourself – perhaps with friends or family. Typically, these questions are around violent family members or friends, safeguarding or emergency situations. Try to consider as many as possible, and role play through them.

Know your medications

Know your medication and rehearse care situations. Interviews will more often than not ask questions based on scenarios. This is to satisfy the interviewer that you know procedure and can adhere to it, that you are up to date on training and knowledge on medication and how to adapt to a likely situation within the environment of the job.

Match your skills to the role – prove, don’t claim

Reading and re-reading the job description is a no-brainer. But even more importantly, you need to really think about how your skills and experiences match the job criteria.

The way to do this is about proving, rather than claiming. Simply stating that you have a certain skill is easy – indeed, anyone can do that. What will set you apart is if you can put your skills in context and talk about situations in which your skills have been applied.

Before your interview, just refresh yourself on the some of the best examples you have of applying your skills in real-life situations. If you can do this in a clear and concise manner, you will definitely make an impression.

But be sure to use the most accurate experiences. You want to demonstrate you’re a good match for the job description (and the NHS Trust, care home, private hospital in question). Don’t just assume they’ll know you’re a good match because you’ve got this far, explain how your Nursing skills and experience meet the needs of the job. So read, and then re-read the job description and person specification AND THEN think about the real-life situations you’ve been in that illustrate your suitability.

They may have a job description (the outline of the role ) AND a person specification (the job description put into human terms, defining the kind of person that will be required). If so use both when you’re thinking about how you satisfy the needs of the job.

Don’t forget to listen!

Interviews aren’t merely a test of your ability to speak; you’re also being assessed for how you communicate and interact. So while preparation is vital, don’t fall into the trap of reciting an endless monologue. Take your time and listen to the interviewers.

Ask questions if you’re not completely clear about questions you’ve been asked. And do everything you can to show off your social skills – after all, the best Nurses tend also to be the best listeners.

Prepare some questions to ask

As you may or may not know, interviewers will typically ask if you have any questions of your own – normally towards the end of the interview. So to ensure you’re confident and ready, prepare a couple in advance. A good example is to ask about learning and development opportunities, which is a great way of showing your ambition and eagerness to progress.

You could also ask more in-depth questions about the organisation, maybe referencing something you’ve already learnt about them. Your question is an opportunity to show how seriously you take this role, and therefore a good chance to score some extra brownie points.