Interview Tips

Helpful Tips On How To Prepare For A Delegation Interview

Interviews may be a nerve-wracking experience for some especially for the first-timers. Some may find themselves excited because they got a call from Melorita, but the thought of being invited to a job interview with the employers give them some chills as that picture sort of freak them out, but hey, it doesn’t have to be like that. If you come in to an interview prepared, then there’s nothing to worry about. Moreover, if you are positive and do well at the Delegation Interview, you would receive an approval from client soon after the interview.

So here are some tips on how to produce positive results at a formal interview:

A Day Before The Interview

• Bring The Correct Documentation – Take along extra copies of your resume or CV and prepare all your ORIGINAL documents:
  1. Training and Qualification certifications (school, postbasic, BSN)
  2. Any letter of recommendation or written testimonial you have
  3. Current year valid nursing license (APC / RNL)
• Prepare an employment history
  1. Current Place of Work
  2. Started Date
  3. Ended Date
  4. Position
  5. Unit
  6. Skills / Experience
• Rehearse aloud
  your Employment History and know your dates well, duration, number of years of experience, etc.
• Dress Professionally.
  Prepare beforehand and select your interview clothes carefully. You want to look professional and make an excellent first impression. For a nursing job the safest option is either come in a business attire (blouse with collars and slacks) or in your uniform. Alternatively, you could use your traditional “baju kurong” or pants suit. All job interview clothes should be clean, tidy and neatly pressed. Wear understated makeup. It is important to portray the image of competent professional.
• Make sure that you wake up a bit earlier so that you have enough time to prepare and make sure that you have 30 minutes allowance on top of the usual travel time from your place to the interview site.

On The Day Of The Interview

• Please DON’T panice and don’t be scared.
• Just be calm and confident. Bear in mind that you are a professional equipped with knowledge, skills and experience. You have a lot of things to offer to them. They are the ones who can help you grow professionally. They have the job you want! So help yourself to the opportunities.
• Always be polite.
  Do not forget the usual greetings – good morning or afternoon, or saying please, excuse me, thank you or I beg your pardon if you want them to repeat the question.
• Be mindful of your words.
• Answer appropriately. You have to express yourself well in English, as it is the working language. Answer what is being asked and be cautious about saying too much (especially irrelevant ones.)
• Try to find the appropriate answers quickly.
• If you do not have an instant answer in mind yet, you can say, “that is an interesting question” or you may want to say, “could you please repeat your question, I’m not sure if I understood it correctly?”
• Be mindful of your actions.
• Body language says a lot about you. Maintain a good posture and do not slouch while sitting. Maintain eye contact. Look at the eyes of the person whom you’re talking to, not at the ceiling, outside the window, or anywhere else. Slightly lean forward and make use of hand gestures appropriately. Leave your handbag on the seat next to you.
• Also note that Male Saudi interviewers usually do not shake hands with females (Saudi culture)
• Do not forget to smile to lighten up the mood, but not too much or all the time.

Questions To Watch Out For

• General Question such as:
• Tell me about yourself? (a bonus question)
• What is your strength and limitations?
• What nursing specializations do you have? (e.g. critical care (ICU / CCU / NICU / PICU), ER, OR, Peds, O & G, etc.)
• How long has it been since you worked in your specialty area?
• Why do you like this specialty?
• How would you conduct a Patient / Shift handover?
• What other skills do you have?(e.g. computer, IV cannulation, ECG reading and interpretation, CPR, ACLS, BLS, etc.)
• Why do you want to come to Saudi Arabia?
• Why did you leave your last job?
• How would you manage a situation with a difficult Doctor / Consultant or patient? How did you handle it and what was the outcome? Please give an example
• How would you deal with a situation if a colleague made a prescription error?
• How would you ensure no harm comes to your patients?(policies & procedures)
• Describe a difficult decision you’ve made and the process you went through to reach that decision?
• What makes you right for this job?
• What committees / special projects have you participated in you current or previous job(e.g. JCIA processes, patient safety, infection control, SOAP, quality management)?
• If you have young kids, how owuld you prepare yourself to leave home?

• Questions related to your clinical competencies such as:
• What is nursing process?
• If a Doctor gives you an order that you know to be against Hospital / Nursing Policy and Procedure, what should you do?
• If you are feeling unwell prior to commencement if duty, what should you do?
• Would you be prepared to float to another unit if help is required?
• Have you been a charge nurse? What would your duties be?
• How would you manage a work situation in which you are required to work as a team member with another colleague with whom you have has a professional or personal difference of opinion?
• How do you update your current knowledge and skills?

NOTE: Please Be Prepared To Answer Clinical Questions Related To The Unit That You Specialized In

You could ask questions too….

• Can you describe the work environment and working shifts?
• What is the nurse to patient ratio?
• What would be my primary challenges if I were selected for this position?
• What kind of support would I get from the nursing administration?
• Who is my immediate supervisor?
• How often are the performance reviews?
• When could I apply for my first vacation?
• Could I extend my probation period?
• Is it possible to change my preceptor, if the chemistry doesn’t work?
• What about continuing education or in-service programs?
• Are we allowed to suggest areas of research to improve patient care? If so, are they allowed to design and carry out research projects with other team members?
• How long is the orientation and what can I expect to learn from it?
• Is there a library? Could I continue my on-going education in nursing(e.g. external degree program)?

Bonus Strategies To Effectively Answer Some Of The Questions:

• Tell me about yourself?
• Give a brief discussion in what you’ve been doing before, at present and where you want to go in the future(you vision, goals and specific plans to be able to reach these goals.) You can also give a brief personal background and mention some of your interests which are relevant to your profession and the job that you are applying for(e.g. health, wellness, fitness, reading nursing journals, research, etc.)
• What are you uniqueness and limitations?
• You should be able to highlight what you have that others cannot offer. you should explain what is so special about you.
  Answering limitations is not supposed to be a minus point for you. Whatever your limitations are, you should be honest about it, you can say it in nicer way by just starting with “Although U have basic knowledge in…I think it’s one area that I ned to improve on / study further” or “I feel that I’m not very good in…but I can easily learn it by taking training courses or by self-studying.”
• What makes you right for this job?
• Highlight why your training and experience qualify you for this specific nurse job. Prepare for this beforehand by closely reviewing the key job requirements and matching the revelant skills and abilities you have gained to these. Provide specific examples of these skills when answering this question.
  Use your background research to show your understanding of the key challenges faced by this organization.
  Detail how you can help meet these challenges and be part of the solution.
  Similarly, you should be able to justify why they should get ou over the other candidates. You should know what the requirements of the job are and tell them that you have all the skills and experience to match those requirements, ALso mention other things that you can do on top of the basic requirements needed. Aside from knowledge, skills and experience, attitude is one important thing that you can also highlight. you can tell them all the good qualities that you have.

Skype Interview Tips

Below are some tips on how to produce positive results at a Skype interview:

Prepare Your Surroundings

Whether your call is video or telephone, do it in a quiet, businesslike setting, ideally in a room with a door.

Practice It First

Your first few video calls are bound to feel awkward as you figure out where to look, what to do with your hands, or how loudly to speak. But it’s easy to work out those kinks ahead of time.

Don’t Forget to Smile!

At an in-person interview, you’d naturally smile upon arrival, and try to keep a pleasant facial expression for the duration.

It’s more difficult to do this with a remote interview. Lacking a ‘live’ person in front of you, and sidetracked by thoughts of equipment or cameras, you might be less likely to smile reflexively. If that’s the case, you can seem like you’re staring wide-eyed at the camera.

Stay Present

Ever heard of active listening? Especially with a phone interview, it’s important to give the other caller periodic clues that you’re still there. After all, do you like speaking into silence?

Telephone Interview Tips

Below are some tips on how to produce positive results at a telephone interview:

Know your answers to the common questions

Brief “yes” and “no” responses will not move a telephone interview forward, but will end it quickly. So, start by practicing your answers to the common interview questions now so that you are ready when the unplanned telephone interview occurs.

Smile while on the phone!

Place a mirror by the phone, and make a point of looking into it and smiling while you are talking on the phone. Start now, so you can become comfortable with it.

You will find that you sound more upbeat and engaged when you do this. Your smiles will be “heard” by the interviewer making for a positive impression.

Be ready

Prepare all of the materials you will need for the interview and be at the location of the call at least five minutes early. The interviewer can call early; in fact, some hiring agents use this as a tactic to test candidates.

Always be prepared

If you’re firing off resumes like cruise missiles, it is possible you’ll receive an unexpected interview call. If you receive a call out of the blue, don’t be afraid to tell them you need to call back. This will give you time to research the organization, research the person, and make sure you’re at a suitable location for the call.

Listen And Don’t Dominate The Conversation

Yes, this is an interview which means they’re going to be asking you questions, but it’s also an opportunity to show your potential employer that you’re good at listening too.

Talk, but don’t dominate the conversation. Let the interviewer guide the conversation.

GOOD LUCK FOR THE INTERVIEW!