In today’s corporate world, everyone’s over-scheduled—double-booked or even triple-booked. As talent acquisition professionals, we understand the pressure to make quick hiring decisions. While seasoned interviewers can often assess a candidate on the fly, not everyone on our teams has had formal interview training. That’s why at eHospitalHire, one of the most valuable pieces of advice we offer our partners is simple: seek evidence.
It’s easy to default to generic questions like “Where do you see yourself in five years?” or “What’s your biggest weakness?” But with a few strategic shifts in interview technique, we can help our teams uncover much deeper insights into how a candidate truly performs.
The question may be something as simple as: Tell me about a time when you went above and beyond for a patient or a patient’s family member. Oftentimes, a candidate will answer with something like, “I do this every day. It’s part of who I am. I am always going out of my way to make sure everyone has what they need.” When caught up in an interview, it is easy to let this answer slide as acceptable. Let’s look at two specific answers and decide which is more impressive.
Interviewer: Can you give me a specific example of an action you performed that was above and beyond?
Candidate A: As an ED RN, I am pulled in a lot of directions at all times. Last week, I had an unusually high patient load and was finding it hard to manage. One of my patients’ visitors was noticeably cold. I took the time to go and get him a heated blanket to get warm.
Candidate B: I had a patient whom I quickly realized was homeless. The patient had ruined all of his clothing. His medical condition was not one that was going to keep him overnight. It was a very cold evening, and I really could not stand the thought of this man putting the soiled clothing back on and sending him back out into the world. I called a few friends and co-workers with his approximate size, and within a few hours, we had new clothing, including a coat, hat, gloves, and boots.
While both candidates demonstrate compassion, Candidate B’s response clearly stands out. It offers a specific, memorable story that highlights empathy, problem-solving, and personal initiative. Most importantly, it shows the candidate’s willingness to go beyond clinical care and address the human needs of the patient. This is the kind of detailed, story-driven response that not only resonates in an interview but also gives meaningful insight into how a candidate shows up in challenging moments. As interviewers, we should always prompt for concrete examples and listen carefully for the depth and impact behind the actions described.
When a candidate claims expertise, say, in a software platform like Taleo, we verify it. We ask candidates how to perform simple tasks in the system. It becomes clear very quickly whether “expert” or even intermediate is an accurate label.
We’ve learned not to be swayed by years of experience alone. A resume might list 20 years of RN recruiting, but during the interview, we always ask foundational questions:
Can they describe the difference between Level I and Level IV trauma centers?
Do they know which units have the lowest nurse-to-patient ratios?
Can they list required certifications for ED RNs?
If not, that’s a red flag. At eHospitalHire, we only hire recruiters with real hospital expertise. When someone hasn’t picked up these basics after even a year in the field, it tells us a lot about their passion, curiosity, or attention to detail. Hospitals need experts in their recruitment departments. If a nurse recruiter doesn’t understand the acuity of an ICU, how can they speak confidently to candidates or hiring leaders?
If your organization allows reference checking, consider going beyond the form or Skill Survey.
We often start with: “We’re seriously considering hiring [Candidate]. I’m hoping we can speak unofficially, off the record.”
One of our go-to questions is: “If you could hire this person back today, would you?”
Tone, hesitation, and what’s not said are often more telling than the words themselves.
If we sense hesitation, we press gently: “I can hear the hesitation in your voice. I know it is difficult not to give someone a good reference, but I would be so grateful if we could speak openly. Can you tell me why you hesitate?”
These types of questions lead to honest conversations and often surface things we’d never learn from a written reference. Whether it’s persistent drama, cultural misalignment, or, on the flip side, a glowing endorsement, the clarity gained is worth the extra effort.
Even if we haven’t reviewed the resume in advance, we always analyze it during the interview. A resume is a candidate’s best effort. It reflects their attention to detail, written communication, and professionalism.
Grammatical errors, formatting issues, and inconsistencies often predict future performance. If there are flaws in the polished version, we know to expect more once the person is in the role.
We’ve learned that the best hiring decisions come from structured interviews, evidence-based evaluation, and a refusal to settle for surface-level answers. We guide our clients to dig deeper, verify claims, and evaluate with clarity.
At eHospitalHire, we support hospital systems by embedding these best practices into every step of the hiring process because the cost of a bad hire is too high. And the right hire? They’re out there. We just need to keep asking the right questions.