It’s forty-five minutes into the most grueling hour of your week, month, maybe even year. It’s that point when you’ve survived (albeit maybe not thrived) the Spanish inquisition. You’ve been probed about the intimacies of your professional and personal life, you’ve been tested, you’ve been cross-examined, and you’ve second guessed every.single.thing. that came out of your mouth. And underlying all that is the inescapable knowledge that your financial and professional future rests on your performance. It’s a competitive nurse practitioner market. But hey, no pressure.

You’re sitting there like a crispy piece of burnt toast, and then they ask you the finale…

“Do you have any questions for us?”

And you struggle to think of anything so you say something along the lines of … “I know I have some but I just can’t think of any right now.” or “Nope, you’ve done an excellent job answering them all.”

Let me tell you why that’s an epic fail friends. As an interviewer I can garner far more information about you by the questions you ask of me than the ones I ask of you. I can grasp your experience, understanding of the complexities of the role, and passion for the job in the most objective way possible. For me, it is the single most important stage of the entire hour. In my experience, about 50% of people miss this opportunity and of those who do ask questions only about 10% of them ask the right kind of questions. Guess which 10% get the job offer?

How is this phase so revealing? Glad you asked. Well think of it like this, thus far you’ve answered so many questions with the primary objective of illustrating how you have the necessary experience and desired traits of someone who performs well in this role.

- But in all honesty, it could be complete fabrication, and we both know it. -

It’s my job to tease out the truth and your job to represent yourself well. Your subconscious self will show through when we get to the interview phase where you ask me things. You will reveal your depth of understanding of the nurse practitioner role if you ask the right questions. For example, by asking a work specific challenge question you show me that you have in fact worked in these settings and know what to anticipate. Further, you know want to know what I, as the employer, do to make things less challenging in this job. Someone with limited experience doesn’t have this foresight.

Something akin to “How has your team handled the unpredictable and transient census surges with covid?” or “What acuity patients do you assign to nurse practitioners?” These are things that an insider would know. This objectively illustrates for me that you understand how staffing is such a challenge with dramatic changes in census. It tells me without me asking that you desire an autonomous work environment and that you are attuned to the wide variability of practice scope for nurse practitioners. In short, mad respect for someone who knows their stuff!

Now, the type of questions you ask matter and they come in two main categories. I go into great detail in the video above discussing this topic, but basically the gist is who benefits from the question.

Ultimately, you benefit either way but if you choose from the “good for them” section you will go far greater in your efforts to sell yourself which is your primary objective. The good for you questions matter, but you are better served asking them once the offer has been made.

Good for you: usually logistical questions (scheduling, holiday commitment, call, anything financial) designed to determine if this is ideal for your situation. My favorites that fall into this category still highlight that you understand the role while helping you determine fitness for you.

• How do you collaborate with each other?

• What is the relationship like between NP and MD (autonomy)?

• Can you describe a typical day.

• What is your on boarding like?

• How often will I receive feedback during onboarding and who completes this process?

• What is the attrition rate?

Good for them: better because its an indirect sales pitch about your competency/confidence and what you can bring to the table. With limited time to ask questions these are a better option.

• What are qualities of an APP who does well in this role? (Aka what qualities are you looking for in an APP; what are you looking for)

• Have you hired folks who end up not being a good fit and what qualities determined this to be so?

• What challenges does this department face and how can I help tackle those challenges? (Aka how has covid affected your practice?)

• Why are you looking to hire?

• Any hesitations about me as an employee that I could help clarify?

• What do you love about working for this team?

• What opportunities for advancement are available?

• What initiatives are you most proud of?

Watch the video to learn more.