Nurses Interview Your Prospective Manager!

In my experience, my manager will make or break a job for me. I took one or two jobs (had a few in my time) with managers who gave me bad vibes and I lived to regret taking the jobs.

Me too. In one interview the manager was 10 minutes late (and didn't apologize) and was snotty to a delivery person. Oh, well, she's gone now.Management sets the emotional tone for the entire unit. If there's a lot of drama in a unit it's because the manager allows or even condones this behavior (divide and conquer). Hospital jobs are all pretty much the same. It's your coworkers and your boss who will make or break your job satisfaction.

I once took a job on a med/med-psych unit (not a choice I may have made otherwise) because the manager was so dynamic that I knew she would be great to work for. And she was. I was there about 11 months when she took another position in the same hospital. I was heart-broken. The new manager was a staff nurse who wasn't eager for the job but who had been there a long. long time.Although I asked for my yearly review to be done by the manager who was leaving, they decided to let the new one do it. It was so bad that I barely recognized the person on the page. I wrote tons of objections all over it. I applied for a transfer as soon as I could - - a good manager makes all the difference.Ask all those questions, and more. Go in with your own scenarios, and ask what she would do if such-and-such happened.MD complaints? Difficult patient or family? New equipment without an inservice? Think of your own, as well.Best wishes!

Great interview tips for the job-changer or new grad....the unit manager can make or break a job, and most of us don't quit jobs....we quit bad managers.

I agree with the previous posters. This is good information for any nurse changing jobs. It's also good for any nurse who is on a panel interviewing managment applicants. You want a good manager, but you particularly want someone with good leadership and mentoring qualities.

Fabulous advice, especially for the newly unemployed (like me) who are so desperate to find another job that we might otherwise overlook a toxic environment that's right in our faces. Thank you!!

I am so inspired by you all, and I am so honored that I can share what I am passionate about here. Much Love all around, and again, many thanks! Nurses, like..entirely rock

This is wonderful advice. Here is one more piece that I learned the HARD way.Even if a manager interviews well, do not accept everything at face value. As a late in life career changer, I did interview my first manager. She said all the right things. I asked about turnover rates/longevity on the unit, she told me the average was 15 years. The truth is more like 2 to 3 years. With people trying to get out of the department within 6 months of joining. I asked about her expectations, what she said and what I experienced... not even close.So yes, interview your prospective manager, but don't forget to use the assessment skills you have learned. Be aware of body language, and situations that sound too good to be true. As this job was quite far from my home, I did not know anyone at the facilty that I could ask questions about my manager-to-be. If you have an opportunity to get inside information, do it, then you have the option of making a decision with your eyes open. Even if that means taking a less than ideal position because you need to work. At least you will know what you are getting into.

Right on, qaqueen... you are so right.

I just interviewed for a managers position and I asked the District Supervisor and HR Director"what are your expectations of me as a manager?"I wish you could have seen their faces because I doubt they had ever been asked that question before!I am still waiting to hear if I got the job or not!

As I understand it, an increasing number of schools and employers are interviewing by phone. What is the best way to interview the manager in that scenario. What about if it's a panel that you're being interviewed by. It's not like you can see each other.

Wow, thank you everyone! As a newer nurse, I have been afraid to ask an interviewer about turn over for fear of being seen as too inquisitive and not minding my own business. I read on a website not to ask about it because if it is a sore spot for the interviewer the negative energy might turn to us. Also, I know that people transfer, leave, and whatever else. I called a company once and the nurse said "I will pass on your resume because you seem like a nice person; but I'm outta here"! I was lucky enough to get the job and a few months later, I resigned for something better, and often thought of her and because I had experienced her same emotion; "I got outta there". Happy Summer Everyone, Nurse Smiley