Let’s face it. There’s no such thing as “job security” these days. With healthcare constantly shifting and organizations being bought, sold or taken over — you just don’t know if your job is going to be there tomorrow.

So even if you’re reading this post and thinking to yourself, “I don’t need this information. I’m not going on an interview anytime soon,” you never can be sure.

Couple this uncertain climate with the fact that there are thousands, even millions of nursing students graduating every year. Guess what that means? That’s right — a competitive market filled with well-educated professionals looking for their next role.

You’re going to want a way to put yourself ahead of the crowd. To differentiate yourself among all of the well-qualified nurses and nursing students vying for the hiring team’s attention.

Here are 5 tips to help you nail your next nursing job interview

1. Be prepared. This means more than doing your homework on the company you’re interviewing with. Get a good night’s sleep. Research all you can about the organization. Understand the goals, strategic priorities and vision of the employer. Find out who you are interviewing with if you can and look them up on LinkedIn and learn a bit about their professional background. Practice responding to some of the more traditional interview questions ahead of time. Finally, leave your house early so that you show up on time.

2. Ask as much as you tell. Of course, there will be a lot of questions coming at you in an interview. And as you proceed through the interview, you want to answer the questions as a professional. It is also a good idea to come prepared with questions for them. At the end of the interview, it is likely that they will say to you, “Now, do you have any questions for us?” You want to avoid asking questions about the schedule or anything that may have you coming across as anything less than a team player. If you did your research about the organization ahead of time and listened to what they asked you in the interview, you should be able to present 2–3 professional questions back to them. Ask things of them to show that you are interested in the position and the place of employment.

Read more at Health E-careers