Why did you choose to become a nurse?
Opening the Interview Begin the interview on time. Give a warm, friendly greeting, introduce yourself, and ask the applicant for her or his preferred name. Try to minimize your status; do not patronize or domi- nate. The objective is to establish an open atmosphere so applicants reveal as much as pos- sible about themselves. Establish and maintain rapport throughout the interview by talking about yourself, discussing mutual interests such as hobbies or similar experiences, and using nonver- bal cues, such as maintaining eye contact. Finally, start the interview by outlining what will be discussed and setting a limit on the meeting time.
Be careful not to form hasty first impressions. Interviewers tend to be influenced by first impressions of a candidate, and such judgments often lead to poor decisions. First impressions may degrade the quality of the interview; interviewers may search for information to justify their first impressions, good or bad. If you have gotten a negative first impression and thus decide not to hire a potentially successful candidate, you have wasted an hour or so and possibly lost a good recruit. If, you hire an unsuccessful candidate based on a positive first impression, problems may continue for months. Conversely, your personal characteristics may influence the applicant’s de- cisions. You create first impressions with your tone of voice, eye contact, personal appearance, grooming, posture, and gestures.