The morning of my interview I woke up excited, nervous, and unsure of what the hell I was doing. I was a bit tired because I flew into New York and got into Brooklyn on midnight, ten hours short of my interview. My boyfriend got placed as a Resident Doctor in New York. I am a firm believer that whatever is meant to be will happen, so I went into the interview with that thought. Only a few people knew what I was doing, because honestly, I was not too sure of what was going to happen.
The interview ended up being terrible. I was unaware that the position I applied for was starting so soon. The clinical nurse leader said to me, “Wait, you’re currently employed? The start date is ten days away!”
“Then why are you holding interviews right now?” Is what I wanted to say to her. Given that I was still trying to move to New York, I said, “I’m sorry, I was unaware until today of the start date. But I can still make it work.”
She glares at me, “That’s not fair to your current employer.”
“I’m trying to be available to you!” Is what I wanted to say. Instead, I responded, “I understand that, but if the next start date is next Monday, then I will accept the consequences.”
She is still in shock. “And you have not moved here yet? I should not even be asking this, but where would you be living?”
“I have no fucking idea.” Is what I wanted to say, and I don’t even cuss that often. Instead, I said, “I have accomodations.”
I am such a liar.
“So, you are only moving to New York because of your boyfriend. And you want to work here because he is a resident here too-“
“I have read into the hospital and it seems like a great place to work.” I cut her off. “I would not move here if I did not have a plan or if I did not feel it would benefit me.” And that was the honest truth.
She looks me in the eye and says, “Well the start date is not far away. Will we likely hire you? Probably not.”
Wow, I was told in an interview that I was NOT going to get hired. That was a first, and hopefully a last.
She then asks me questions about my experience as a nurse. You know, the important questions that she should have asked me in the first place. I explained to her that I picked the hospital I worked at because I liked working there after I had clinical rotations there.
“Which patient population would you like to work with?”
“Geriatrics,” I said firmly. “Most people in nursing school wanted to go into pediatrics. I like children, but I prefer geriatrics, I feel like they are taken for granted.”
Her bitch face turned into a smile. “Okay.” We conversed some more about my previous experience and it turns out that it was a bonus that I worked nights and was trained in the same charting system the hospital was using. The interview came to an end.
“I’m sorry for what I said earlier.” Is this a New Yorker thing? Being mean, then realizing that you were mean, and making up for it?
“No, I prefer you be honest with me in the beginning so thank you for that.” I replied half-honestly. She did not have to be so confrontational-so New Yorker-like. She showed me the way out, and I said it was nice meeting her after shaking her hand.
I called J, saying that there was no way in hell that I got the job. I explained that it was the second worst interview I had ever been on. The worst probably was when I interviewed at the hospital my sister worked at, because they weren’t even ready for me. The manager I was supposed to interview with was not there. But I was not scared shitless at that interview like I was at this one. “She hated me, I guess it was not meant to be.”
An hour after indulging in Cocoa Puffs J left at his apartment to tease me, I get a phone call from HR. I got the offer.
I literally screamed into the phone. I gave her a tentative yes, that I would give her the final answer tomorrow because this was too much of for me to take in. I had literally one week to pack up my things and move to New York, and I was actually going through with it.
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