If you are interviewing for a nurse's position and the interviewer begins with a question like, "Tell me about a time when..." Be on you guard, for you're being asked a Behavioral Interview Question.
These inquiries draw on your past experiences to reveal clues about your future success. If you can show that you achieved impressive results before, the interviewer may conclude that you might be able to repeat your success with them. In essence, they're looking for skills and behaviors that produced a big win for your prior employer.
While they seem simple enough on the surface, Behavioral Interview Questions can get tricky. A few tips to help you master this line of questioning:
Be Specific. A common mistake made by many applicants is that they answer in generalities. Your answer can be short (several sentences at least) but it must be complete with sufficient details to support your claim. Never make the interviewer work to get those details.
Practice and More Practice. Learn to anticipate behavioral questions and have answers at the tip of your tongue. Expect to be asked questions that demonstrate the most desirable traits a nurse should possess—things like dependability, initiative, creativity and conflict-resolution skills. Don't rattle off an answer as soon as the interviewer poses the question. Take a few seconds to reflect on your answer. You'll come across as thoughtful, instead of impulsive and rash.
No Robots, Please. Don't come off as scripted or overly rehearsed. Take some natural pauses. Throw in a personal aside (but stay on target). Be humble not fake. Avoid standard "right answers." Maintain eye contact, use appropriate humor and be a mensch.
For an additional perspective, check out this informative video:
For more information on health careers, visit http://www.healthcarejobsite.com/
Alex A. Kecskes has written hundreds of published articles on health/fitness, "green" issues, TV/film entertainment, restaurant reviews and many other topics. As a former Andy/Belding/One Show ad agency copywriter, he also writes web content, ads, brochures, sales letters, mailers and scripts for national B2B and B2C clients.
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