Just finished my first interview--feeling not so great

1 I'm a new grad RN--I graduated in May and have been applying for every hospital new grad program, VA, county and state jobs, and clinic jobs. My specialty area is Pediatrics (the majority of my clinical hours are in Peds), unfortunately, I didn't get into the only Peds hospital in town. I have plenty of hours in adult care also, so I felt that I was still a likely candidate for adult care positions. This interview was for Med/Surg unit (with a possibility of going to PCU) and I felt that the interview was going fine until the manager asked a perfectly logical question, "You have a lot of hours in Pediatrics, what makes you think that you'd like to work in adult care?" Guilty as charged! In addition to my Pediatric hours, I'm currently volunteering as the school nurse at a middle school. I felt like a adult care RN imposter!

The honest (and unacceptable response) would have been, "because I desparately need a job and I didn't get into the Pediatric facility, please for the love of God, hire me, I have children to feed" but I ended up providing a response along the lines of referring to my first year and nurse externship in Adult care and how I'm a versatile RN who can work well with either population (adult or pediatric). I need to come up with a better answer if I ever get another opportunity to interview again but I just feel like I lost their interest after that response. I valiantly tried to save myself by mentioning that I was capable of researching and rolling out EBP on the unit floor. Great, except that the EBP project that I worked on and rolled out was a NICU based EBP--I felt like that was just another nail in my coffin.

Sigh. It's been unbelievably tough to find work here and I was so excited to get selected for an interview. I'd appreciate it if any of you seasoned RNs out there have any ideas or suggestions on how I could address this question in the future. I think I'm ready for a big slice of chocolate cake followed by a long session of watching reality t.v.
Oh honey, I really think you are being too hard on yourself. Your answer was GREAT! When did they say they would be getting back to you?You now have the experience to know what to say. Personally, I like your answer. Sometimes we tend to dissect our answers and worry ourselves with the "woulda, coulda, shoulda" self-berating after we feel that an interview has gone poorly. But it doesn't sound like you gave a bad answer. Perhaps the NM was thinking about her next meeting, was thinking about other issues that need to be addressed, worrying about a deadline this week, etc. You never know. Don't put your OWN nail into the coffin by thinking negative thoughts. I am sending you positive thoughts, and I sincerely wish that you would rest your head tonight knowing that you did all that you could in your interview.

Quote from nulife4good "because I desparately need a job and I didn't get into the Pediatric facility, please for the love of God, hire me, I have children to feed"

I agree, don't beat yourself up. Nothing wrong with your answer. You can always go with "peds was my focus and while I love it, I've found I'd like to broaden my nursing horizons, expand my skill set and focus"...yadda yadda yaddaJust try to prep for your next interview, maybe go thru a mock interview with a friend for practice. Make sure you present your answers in a positive tone, which you actually did and it will help. Good luck

Truly I think your answer was perfect. Don't lose hope yet! I swear, unless you really stick your foot in it (and you didn't), half the time I suspect they are just judging how well you think on your feet and deal with the stress of direct questioning. Your answer truly was a good one!

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I will definitely do a mock interview with a friend so that I can address the "why are you applying to adult care when you're Peds focused" questions. I appreciate your feedback about my response, I was hoping that it didn't sound too wishy washy. Now, I'm going to stop obsessing over that interview and get on with the rest of my week.

NO!! Chocolate cake first and formost!! Then on to the rest of your week. You deserve it. Good thoughts coming your way!

Mock interviews do help. And even looking in the mirror ( which I've done) helped. But the answer you gave was not a bad one. I'm a new grad myself and before the interview I did alot of practice that way, and googled sample interview questions to prepare. It really helped!

I think that was a great answer to that interview question. I agree with everyone else. I know there's a great job coming your way soon.

You can say that you always thought you'd want to work in peds, until you had X amazing experience in adult care that made you realize you'd found a new passion. You can tailor the experience to the unit you're interviewing on.Good luck: I found my interviews always went better when I was genuinely interested in the job: I guess I don't BS convincingly!

I agree with everyone, I thought that was a great answer I actually was just in a similar position. I have a year of experience in pediatrics (private duty) and was interviewing for a position on an adult floor. It was difficult coming up with an answer of why I wanted to suddenly do adults. I don't, but I need acute care experience. Sometimes you gotta BS! I hope you hear something soon, good news preferably!

Quote from nulife4goodI'm a new grad RN--I graduated in May and have been applying for every hospital new grad program, VA, county and state jobs, and clinic jobs. My specialty area is Pediatrics (the majority of my clinical hours are in Peds), unfortunately, I didn't get into the only Peds hospital in town. I have plenty of hours in adult care also, so I felt that I was still a likely candidate for adult care positions. This interview was for Med/Surg unit (with a possibility of going to PCU) and I felt that the interview was going fine until the manager asked a perfectly logical question, "You have a lot of hours in Pediatrics, what makes you think that you'd like to work in adult care?" Guilty as charged! In addition to my Pediatric hours, I'm currently volunteering as the school nurse at a middle school. I felt like a adult care RN imposter! The honest (and unacceptable response) would have been, "because I desparately need a job and I didn't get into the Pediatric facility, please for the love of God, hire me, I have children to feed" but I ended up providing a response along the lines of referring to my first year and nurse externship in Adult care and how I'm a versatile RN who can work well with either population (adult or pediatric). I need to come up with a better answer if I ever get another opportunity to interview again but I just feel like I lost their interest after that response. I valiantly tried to save myself by mentioning that I was capable of researching and rolling out EBP on the unit floor. Great, except that the EBP project that I worked on and rolled out was a NICU based EBP--I felt like that was just another nail in my coffin. Sigh. It's been unbelievably tough to find work here and I was so excited to get selected for an interview. I'd appreciate it if any of you seasoned RNs out there have any ideas or suggestions on how I could address this question in the future. I think I'm ready for a big slice of chocolate cake followed by a long session of watching reality t.v.

We all reassess our performance after job interviews and that reflection is a good trait unless you go too far with it. It is unfortunate, but we can't know what they are thinking!I applied even for a correctional nurse. One of the first questions I was asked was,"Why correctional nursing?" I replied with something like: Because people do make some mistakes and I feel that regarless, they still should be treated with compassion and dignity. One may be able to make a positive difference in the life of an inmate while serving as a correctional nurse. I loved the looks on their faces! I believed that my answer impressed them.Next day, interviewed at a hospital. I had a panel interview and 2 of the nurses were young new grads themselves. I beat myself up after the interview because I thought at one point I may have gotten to 'relaxed and personal' with these 2 nurses.Guess who offered the job? Yep, the hospital! Wow! Thrilled and excited!