The best interview that I ever had was for a job that I did not think I wanted.
I was one of two Nurse Recruiters at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and, when the Recruiter for Saint Thomas Hospital (one of our competitors) resigned, I received a call asking me to come over and talk with them about her job.
I loved my job at Vanderbilt and worked with one of my best friends. I had no intention of leaving. I was flattered and thought it would be a good idea to at least meet with the leaders there because I was young and, frankly, I did not know how to turn them down without being insulting.
nurse recruiting was a specialized field
Keep in mind that, in the late ’80s and ’90s, Nurse Recruiting was a more personalized effort. That was before we worked with computers and had online applications. Nurses could make an appointment or come in and get an interview on the spot. As nurse recruiters, we were held accountable for every vacancy in the hospital. It was high pressure to say the least.
In order to recruit nurses for a large academic facility like Vanderbilt University Medical Center, I was trained in the different specialties of nursing and the nuances of each unit. I knew the leaders on the units well, the background they required, and matched candidates with units accordingly.
Nurses went from hospital to hospital to compare notes. My job was to attract nurses to the hospital, give them a warm, friendly interview process, and escort them to the interview with a Nurse Manager. If I had not checked references in advance, I would check them while the candidate was interviewing so that we could make an offer on the spot and, hopefully, set a start date set before they left. That is what you did in a competitive environment at that time.
Back to My original story
I interviewed with several people at Saint Thomas. I did not prepare. It was relatively easy since they knew my background and had called me in. Everyone was so friendly that I started feeling bad for wasting their time.
Then I had the final interview – the one they saved for last. This interview was with one of the more mature leaders who was a bit “salty”… She was not impressed and told me that they needed a nurse for that position, and I was not a match. I was relieved and said to her that I think she should get a nurse because I had been doing the job at Vanderbilt for the last five years and was very happy there. We parted on good terms, and I skipped back over to Vanderbilt, relieved that I did not see anyone that I knew and that I did not have to worry about making any changes.
Surprise!
Back in my comfort zone the next day, I received a call with a job offer. When they laid out the advantages for me (including a significant increase in salary), I could not turn it down. I do not know why my “salty” interviewer changed her mind. Perhaps it was the flippant comment that I would have never made had I been interested in the job. I think she saw what she thought was confidence, but it was the feeling of relief!
After I accepted the position, I was motivated by having something to prove since my last interviewer was openly unimpressed. My goal was to win her over. The interview and the job turned out to be a great experience, and a lesson about how being relaxed in such a meeting can put you at a significant advantage.
Having something to prove is certainly a motivator as well. I knew the job would not be any more challenging than it was at Vanderbilt but having something to prove gave it an interesting twist. My last interviewer quickly became my biggest supporter and one of my favorite people to work with.
As a “Headhunter,” I am looking for people who are happy in their current job. That means they are doing a good job. When that is the case, they are confident in an interview because they have nothing to lose. Based on candidates that I have worked with and my own experience, I have come to conclude that the more we want something, the more we are likely to stumble in the process. So relax and be yourself! Yourself is who will be showing up for job.
