Top Interview Tips for Travel Nurses

For many nurses, the opportunity to work as a travel nurse offers a unique and exciting career path. However, securing a travel nursing position often requires successfully navigating through a competitive interview process. With the demand for travel nurses on the rise, it is essential to be well-prepared and confident during interviews to stand out from the competition.

In this blog post, we will discuss some essential tips and strategies to help you excel in your travel nursing interviews. Whether you are a seasoned travel nurse looking for new opportunities or a nurse considering a career in travel nursing, these interview tips will help increase your chances of landing your dream assignment.

Key Topics to Focus On

While preparing for your travel nurse interview, there are a few key areas you can focus on to be ready with the right information for the recruiter or hiring manager. 

Flexibility

To start with, travel nurses need to talk about your availability and flexibility. Are you willing to work as a float nurse? Are you looking to fill shifts when they come open even when they’re beyond your initial travel nursing schedule?

Hiring managers want to know that they’re hiring someone who can help them care for patients and get the job done, even if they’ll only be with the facility for a short time. But, as a travel nurse, don’t forget that there are perks, too. 

For example, if you work as a float nurse, you’ll get both variety and experience from working in other departments or specialties. All in all, this kind of role allows travel nurses to expand their knowledge by participating in a wider variety of daily tasks. 

Skills

Another thing to bring up during your interview is your area of expertise. As a travel nurse, you’ll need to be oriented and start without much training. So, highlighting your experience and ability to be flexible with the equipment you use or the people you work with can help a hiring manager decide you’re the right person for the job.

In your interview, highlight skills that show you’re a quick learner. You may wish to include key information such as:

  • Your main qualifications
  • A list of experiences (include float roles or different departments you’ve worked in)
  • Your education and certifications
  • Top transferable skills and proficiencies (such as multicultural awareness, acute care, cross-discipline coordination, vital signs monitoring, patient health assessments, and patient advocacy)

Along with these skills, you can also discuss why you’re interested in working in this travel nursing job. Is there something you’d like to learn? Do you have goals you’d like to reach, such as working with a particular provider or in a specific department? Talk about how bringing you to the facility can help your growth and be beneficial for the facility. 

Special Highlight: Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS scores)

In addition to your qualifications, it can be a good idea to talk about a hospital’s qualifications and patients’ perspectives of care in that facility. Do you love the fact that the role is within a hospital system with high HCAHPS scores? Do you come from facilities with high scores (making you uniquely qualified to help this hospital raise theirs?) Talk about it. Let the interviewer know that these scores are on your radar.

Teamwork

Another piece of information to bring up in your travel nursing interview is how well you can collaborate and work with others. Keep in mind that you don’t have to think as much about office politics or relationships at work since you’ll only be with this hospital or healthcare facility for a short time. Since you’ll get to move on quickly, showing that you can get along with other nurses and healthcare staff during your tenure is a great way to get brought on board.

How can you show you’re a team player

  • Highlight team experience and times when you collaborated with others to provide good patient care. 
  • Describe your team-oriented personality.
  • Show if you’ve previously worked multiple travel nursing rounds at the same facility and within the same department — the fact that you were brought back for a second, third, or fourth contract is always a good sign.
  • Don’t be afraid to say you’d be happy to return to a previous position or that you enjoyed working with the team. A positive outlook is always good to see in an interview setting. 

End of Interview

At the end of your interview, thank the interviewer for their time. Then, later on that evening or the next day, send a follow-up email to your recruiter to show you’re excited about the opportunity and to review what you discussed with the interviewer. Doing these things will show you’re responsible, respectful, and a team player as well.

Top Interview Mistakes to Avoid

Now that you know some of the top things you should talk about in your interview, it’s also a good idea to think about what you shouldn’t say in an interview.

One of the biggest mistakes interviewees make is making overly generalized statements such as “I just want to help people,” or “I am a great nurse with abundant experience.” Generalizations don’t really tell the interviewer anything about you, and they can make your pitch for the job weaker. 

So, what should you do instead?

Be specific. Talk about why you enjoyed your last role, go into detail about your skills and why they apply to a new role, and be willing to discuss why you want to help people — whether it’s because of a past event that spurred you to become a travel RN or you want to travel to learn more about yourself and the communities you want to serve.

Find Your Next Travel Nursing Job with SHC

Finding your next travel nursing assignment can be exciting, particularly when you’re interviewing for one in a location you’re interested in. The job interview can open up a great opportunity to get more experience and explore other areas of the country. 

Your recruiter can help you nail your interview, and that’s why it’s important to partner with a travel nursing agency like Supplemental Health Care to find the perfect assignment for you. When you work with our team, we’ll go over your qualifications and help you find a role that is a perfect fit — no matter where you want to travel.