Last Updated Aug 2013
Preparing for a travel therapy job interview is serious business. You can, if you so choose, to conduct the phone interview totally unprepared, bringing only your charming personality and hoping for the best. But, nine times out of ten, you won’t get the job. Not to say that you shouldn’t be your charming self in the interview, because having it can help a great deal in building rapport with the interviewer. However, preparation is ten times more effective in landing that travel therapy job than all the charm in the world.
Understanding Interview Questions
There are specific questions that hiring managers and human resource personnel like to ask candidates. Regardless of their industry or specialization, questions such as "What are your strengths and weaknesses?" and "Where do you see yourself in five years?" may seem tricky.
Before the scheduled interview, take the time to really think about what you’re going to say when these questions pop up. Even though questions like these aren’t designed to have correct answers, there are right and wrong answers. When you’re asked to enumerate your weaknesses as a physical therapist, for instance, saying “I’m too much of a perfectionist” is the wrong answer.
Interviewers really are interested in identifying the areas that you might need help in case they do hire you. Saying you’re disorganized, for instance, won’t cost you the job but feeding the interviewer with disingenuous lines like “I work too hard” will most likely turn him or her off.
Likewise, when an interviewer asks you to talk a little bit about yourself, provide pertinent information that establishes your work ethic, your experience as a travel therapist, your passion for your clients’ well-being. Personal information like how much you love to read biographies in your spare time is irrelevant and it won’t do you any good to bring it up.
Discussing Past Successes and Performance
Most interviewers want to find out how you performed in your previous travel therapy assignments. You may be asked questions that probe how you faced up to challenges and/or what your daily routine was like.
They’re looking for specifics. If you want to create a good impression, be sure to provide them with specific examples of how you handled your more difficult cases. They want to find out how you deal with pressure so it’s also good to cite instances from past assignments. In other words, what are the successes you had experienced in your previous jobs that you can share?
Avoid filler words like “um” and “uh” because these create the impression that you’re unsure of your answers. When you talk to an interviewer about your past successes, be confident. At the same time, there’s a difference between confidence and cockiness. Be sure that you’re not coming across as arrogant, which tend to turn off many people.
Sealing the Deal
You have to remember that a job interview isn’t a conversation by normal standards. It’s really more a sales talk between you and the facility you want to work at. Either you close the interviewer on the idea that you’re the perfect person for the travel therapy job or the interviewer sells you the idea that you’re not. And the best way to convince the interviewer to hand you the job is not through charm but rather through being prepared.
Based in Charlotte, NC, Cirrus Medical Staffing is an award-winning, Joint Commission Certified healthcare staffing firm that for over 10 years has been successfully placing medical professionals to leading healthcare facilities across the nation. Cirrus specializes in placing nurses and allied health professionals into travel and contract employment.
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