You’ve been working on getting a job in the healthcare field. It’s taken a lot of work and determination on your part. An interview has finally been scheduled. You’ve shined your shoes, put on your most professional apparel, printed off a nice, crisp new resume, and now you’re finally off to your interview. You pull into the parking lot and suddenly you’re struck with the feeling you’ve focused so much on the job itself that you haven’t spent enough time on how to get the job. This is a serious profession and, rightfully, your prospective employers have serious questions. Which is why you have to grasp how to nail the following top 5 healthcare interview questions.

Why You?

First, you may be asked the hardest question of all — “Why you?”. Should you brag? Too much and you won’t exactly come off as a great person to be around. Should you be modest? Too modest and your interviewer will worry you’re not ready to work in healthcare. One of the best job interview tips is to strike a balance between confident but not boastful. Be aware of your qualifications. After all, you’ve worked hard in order to become qualified, so make sure the person across from you sees this. If you can list around 3 examples of what sets you apart from the others, you’ll come across as an interesting prospect worth serious consideration.

How Do You Handle Conflict?

Of all the interview tips there are to give, perhaps the most specific one is to be sure you have an answer to the following question — “How do you handle conflict?” From customer service, to being a personal trainer, or working in healthcare, this question is evergreen and it’s an important one for any prospective employer. Any time someone is dealing with the well being of a loved one, it’s a tough situation. As always, try to show that you can keep your cool. It’s not great if you come off as defensive about a situation that’s already passed. And make sure you explain the situation clearly and how what you brought to that situation had positive results.

Talk About A Time You Made A Mistake, And How You Handled It

Ah yes. This old chestnut. This one’s a bit of a cheat since it’s not a question. Let’s update it — “Can you talk about a time you made a mistake, and how you handled it?” You will be asked this question. And honestly, you should be asked this question. Because everyone makes mistakes. What is newsworthy is being able to illustrate how you were able to hone up to your mistake, overcome, learn something, and move on undeterred. The main thing is to be honest, but there’s truly no need to go into full honesty. You need to be clear about the mistake you made by telling a story but don’t worry about letting guilt fill in every single detail. If the past situation was truly that dire, it will absolutely come up via one of your references. So no need to give absolutely every detail. That said, still be honest.

How Do You Feel About Health Care?

This one’s a tough one because it’s kind of a big question, but you should be honest about why you care about health care, how it’s changing, and what you want to bring to it going forward.

What’s Your Motivation?

This is the question where your prospective employer wants to hear from you. This is where you can punctuate with a short, honest, personal story about why this particular job.

New Directions Staffing

If you’re interviewing for a position and are curious what healthcare interview questions you’ll be asked, contact the team at New Directions Staffing. We specialize in staffing and recruiting and look forward to helping you find employment today!