5 Things You Need to Know About a Hospital Before Your Interview

You’ve picked up your slacks, blazer, or pencil skirt from the dry cleaner’s. You’ve printed your resume off on paper that costs more per sheet than a greeting card. And, you’ve planned out exactly how long it will take you to arrive at your destination allowing few extra minutes for traffic. Yes, you’re ready for your job interview. Most nurse practitioners have been on plenty of interviews and are familiar with these steps. But, there is one aspect of job interview prep NPs often miss-researching a prospective employer.

Healthcare delivery has a lot of constants. Patient care can only change so much from hospital to hospital and clinic to clinic. But, nurse practitioners would be wise not to let familiarity lead to interview prep apathy. Even if you are applying for a position as a healthcare provider, doing your research about the employer before an interview is a must. Gather the following facts before you step out your front door and you’re in the clear.

1. Company mission statement and values

Most hospitals post an ‘About’ page or similar on their website. This is a must-visit before you show up for an interview. Familiarize yourself with the hospital’s mission, values and goals. How does the company’s take on healthcare fit with your own? Do the overarching principles of the hospital or clinic raise any concerns for you as a nurse practitioner?

2. Recent happenings

Has your prospective employer recently done some significant downsizing? Was the hospital’s new trauma department recently featured on local news? Do some digging into the media’s latest take on the employer. You may be able to congratulate your interviewer on the hospital’s recent implementation of a new EMR system or express your excitement over the possibility of working for ‘a newly certified chest pain center’. Helpful tip-set up Google Alerts to automatically send updates about the company to your inbox.

3. Your interviewer’s profiles

Hop on LinkedIn before you leave the house for your interview. Check out your interviewer’s profile. Where has he/she worked in the past? Where did your interviewer go to school? Does your interviewer do any research or has he/she given any recent talks? This will give you a sense of the kinds of people you can expect to meet as well as provide you with some ammo for making conversation. Avoid bringing up all personal information you might find…no one wants to hire a creep!

4. Company culture

Many hospitals and clinics choose to forego social media and aren’t quite up with ‘it’ technology. But, it’s worth seeing if your potential employer has a Facebook, LinkedIn and/or Twitter profile. What do the latest postings tell you about company culture? A heads up as to how the hospital or clinic interacts with the community is a clue as to how the organization operates internally.

5. Key players in the company

If you’re applying for a clinical position, the leadership structure of the organization may not come up in your interview. Regardless, it’s best to be prepared. Do a little digging on the hospital’s website identifying key players in the company. This way, when your interviewer references ‘Ben’, the hospital CEO by first name, you don’t respond by saying ‘OMG, how unexpected is he and Jennifer Garner’s divorce?!’.

Armed with your research and this interview Q&A know-how, you’ll crush your next nurse practitioner interview!

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