Jill is a nurse with 20+ years of experience who is having a very difficult time getting hired and needs some good job interview advice.
She is also not very happy in her work anymore but is at a cross roads.
She feels that she lost her last job because of her age and that she does not fit in with the younger crowd.
Jill Writes:
I have not even been called back for any of my interviews. When I call them, I have not been able to get through the “gatekeeper.”
What now? I NEED to work. I am a Registered Nurse with about 23-24 years of experience. I have worked in the hospital, a home-infusion company, home health company, and managed Care Company.
My last job was an Oncology Infusion Nurse at a University-based clinic. Because of my age (of course they did not say that) – I did not fit in. I did not participate in the “games and picnics” that the clinic sponsored. Finally, my IV skills were not sufficient and I received a poor performance rating.
I have been a nationally certified Infusion Nurse for about 18 years – this is a specialized certification and I was one of the first in the state. I am also certified by ONS to administer chemo. Because I was not having a new baby, or having a child starting in kindergarten or unable to work because my baby stayed up all night crying, I just did not fit the pattern of other nurses employed in the unit.
Personally, I think it was political. But why haven’t I been able to find another job?
I have tried head hunters, hospital and home health recruiters and finally, recruiters for MD offices only. I am beginning to feel like a failure.
I have started to look for a non-medical job but I am still waiting. It must be my breath.
I cannot draw unemployment because the cancer unit placed on my discharge sheet that I was not capable of doing my job as fast as required. Also, Poor Performance. That knocked unemployment in the head.
Don’s Answer:
I know exactly where you are coming from, having been there many times myself. Early on in my career, I had been turned down for countless positions for which I was well-qualified.
It sounds like you feel that you don’t fit in, with a poor performance rating to boot. In my opinion, everything you are telling me sounds like you are not happy in your chosen field of work and that on some subconscious level, you don’t enjoy what you do for a living or who you are doing it for. Why else would you have receive a poor performance rating? It’s not because you are un-qualified or lazy.
Interviewers have an uncanny ability to see right through job candidates who are not genuinely interested in giving their best to the company.
Job seekers who are just out for a pay check have a more difficult time getting hired for professional jobs. I never got hired for a job that I didn’t have my heart in.
And that’s my job interviewadvice to you. Put your heart into it. Show your interviewer you are genuinely interested in working for them and how they will benefit from hiring you. It’s not about what they can do for you, but what you can do for them.
Don’t tell them any sob stories about how you need the job or money, that’s an interview killer and you’ll never hear from them again.
To be competitive in the job market, you have to be genuine and sincere, and you can’t fake it.
You have just read a transcript of real problem posed by Jill, who is having a difficult time getting hired for jobs she does not want and needed a little interview advice.
Inside the Complete Interview Answer Guide, Don shows job seekers how to answer interview questions. The 201+ sample answers in the guide will quickly help you craft your own professional answers for ALL types of interview questions for any occupation.
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