For those on the search in the healthcare jobs market, reaching the interview stage is a pretty advanced checkpoint on the road to being hired. If you get to an interview, you have already achieved the requisite qualifications (which is no small feat) and you have already impressed your potential employer during your application. Therefore, the first thing to do is congratulate yourself. After that, it is time to prepare.
Anyone looking for a healthcare job in the U.S. right now will be well aware that travel is usually part of the deal. Once you secure a job, it’s pretty unlikely that it’s going to be located exactly where you are currently living. The need for qualified healthcare professionals occupying specific positions means that, generally speaking, you will be the one coming to the job, and not the other way around. Health Jobs Nationwide, a healthcare jobs recruitment service, say that this phenomenon also has another effect – it’s likely that you will be conducting the interview remotely.
Virtual Interviews
The first thing to note about these virtual job interviews is that the majority of the preparation will still involve ensuring you are knowledgeable about the position and what you can bring to it; all the usual rules about punctuality and presentation still apply. That is perhaps one of the most important tips. Do not assume that just because you are participating in the interview from the comfort of your home that it will be somehow easier or require less preparation. The only thing that will be easier is getting there.
Virtual interviews are also becoming more common, and for two distinct reasons. The first is, of course, that the technology to facilitate them is becoming better and better. Smooth video conferencing technology has had many effects within our society, from the massive increase in home working to the telehealth innovations that are becoming a permanent fixture of many healthcare institutions. The other reason is the Covid pandemic. We are now into the post-Covid era, but the pandemic only energized the proliferation of virtual interviews – and we are not going back.
Asynchronous vs. Live Virtual Interviews
There are two main types of virtual interviews in the healthcare jobs scene today. These are asynchronous interviews and live interviews. The first of these involve a candidate recording a video of themselves answering pre-set questions and making the case for their value as a candidate. These can sometimes feel a bit awkward because there is nobody to talk to. These are the ones that differ the most from traditional interviews, but you can also turn them to your advantage. Whether you need to record a video or answer pre-recorded spiel, there are no surprises.
Live virtual interviews are the ones which you will be more familiar with, and they are the ones that resemble traditional interviews the most. To perform well here, it is wise to practice traditional interview skills like having a spontaneous conversation, answering spontaneous questions, and generally making a good impression with dress, punctuality, and how you comport yourself. You can expect the usual healthcare interview question types. There will be general questions that will allow you to introduce yourself, behavioral questions which will quiz your past work experience, and situational questions that will ask you how you will behave in certain circumstances. Accordingly, you should prepare for this.
Perhaps the virtual interviews are set to become even more common going forward. Technology will make them more and more like traditional interviews, and they simply make things easier for healthcare employers. However, they do not make the interview any easier for you. Prepare!