I attended the Nurse Residency Preview Day, with about 12 new grads. We took a math calculation test (which was easy, don't worry) and the recruiter explained the program, the hospital, and benefits/salary to us. Then the recruiter spoke about what floors were hiring and which were already at capacity for new grads. We then met one-on-one very briefly to hand in our resumes and tell her where we were interested in going department wise.
- There really wasn't any interview type questions, just go with some ideas about what areas you're interested in.
That same week I was contacted about my availability to meet with a nurse manager and the following week I interviewed with the floor. It was very conversational, not intimidating. They did ask "Why nursing?" "Why this floor?" things of that nature and they also explained the floor to me and how they work together. I interviewed with the nurse manager and the charge nurse (again it was not nerve-wrecking or anything). Go in confident and ask questions (How do you find new grads adapt, Are you always at capacity, Nurse-Pt ratio, Have any nurses on the floor done the New Grad program..). Also make sure to get the names of the people you're interviewing with, so you can send a thank you email later that day.
- Some tips: don't be afraid to email/call people to follow up. After getting the call about my availability for the unit interview, I didn't hear anything for several days. I sent an email to the recruiter and she gave me the contact info for the person in charge of making appointments. I called and she had simply forgotten to schedule a day, she told me to call later and I did, that afternoon I received an email confirmation for the second interview. (Don't let something like that keep you from a second interview, remember they have lots of people to schedule so sometimes you have to remind them)
