When recruiters are looking for a nurse practitioner candidate, a candidate’s personality is sometimes just as important as their skill set. Without a professional and caring personality, a potential nurse practitioner is certain to struggle when performing many of their job’s most important duties. If you’re preparing to interview a nurse practitioner candidate, or you’re a nurse practitioner preparing for an interview, knowing how to excel is key. To assist you, here are the top six personality qualities employers look for when hiring nurse practitioners:
1. Endurance
Especially in today’s work climate, longer hours and more work days are becoming the norm for medical workers. If you want to hire a nurse practitioner that will not only excel in a hectic work environment, but that will not burn out quickly, you need to ensure that they have a high level of physical and emotional endurance. By knowing they have an endurance-heavy personality, you can also avoid turnover in your nurse practitioner staff, which can be a nightmare for recruiters. By analyzing if a potential hire is in shape, you can get a stronger sense of whether they will be durable enough to work as a nurse practitioner effectively. Endurance can also immensely help nurse practitioner professionals work toward career progression.
2. Flexibility
Having a flexible demeanor, and being able to shift between various tasks throughout the work day will prove invaluable to nurse practitioners. With a higher demand for workers to take on more tasks in the medical industry (due to current shortages), a flexible work attitude is critical to being hireable. As a recruiter, pose a few questions during the interview that will probe the candidate’s ability to be flexible. Remember, since there are many openings for quality nurse practitioner positions out there today, it’s also your job as a recruiter to demonstrate why a candidate should work for your company.
3. Communication Skills
Few skills are as universally valuable for medical workers as excelling at communication. Strong communication skills allow nurse practitioners to work effectively with co-workers, which will ensure the hospital or doctor’s office environment can run in an efficient, safe, and professional manner. There are many moments day-to-day in a nurse practitioner’s work life where these communication skills will help them assist patients effectively as well. When considering a candidate for the nurse practitioner you’re looking to fill, analyze how effectively they communicate their skills and their background, and you can make a hiring decision with more confidence. Their professional demeanor and communication skills during the interview will provide a solid reflection of how well they are likely to communicate while on the job.
4. A Caring Personality
Nurse practitioners deal with patients that are sometimes going through difficult times both emotionally and physically. Without a caring personality, a nurse practitioner can come off cold, and make a patient feel uncomfortable. Given how much heartbreak can sometimes factor into the day-to-day happenings of a nurse practitioner, a caring personality can help protect them emotionally as well. Given that nurse practitioners have to deal with a ton of co-workers, patients, and other individuals, this caring personality will help ensure they are working professionally and will ensure they communicate more effectively. Being able to understand a patient’s concerns, and relating to their concerns in a professional manner will help nurse practitioners excel in their work.
5. Patience
Medical work requires a lot of patience. If a person is not patient, they will quickly burn out from the high-intensity environment of medical work. Additionally, non-patient individuals will have a harder time working with others, which can put patients in danger. Along with the caring personality we’ve already mentioned, patience is key in making your patients feel comfortable and relaxed, and will help make them trust you. Especially once the nurse practitioner begins delving into potential diagnoses information, having patience will help them take the time needed to keep the patient up-to-date with their condition. As a recruiter, you should try to ascertain how much patience a potential hire has with you, as this will ensure you make a strong decision when it comes time to pick a candidate to hire.
6. An Encouraging Demeanor
Some patients will be dealing with conditions that either take a long time to heal from or will be life-long ailments. By having an encouraging demeanor, you can ensure that patients are given the support they need to keep treating their condition(s) effectively. Positive, effective encouragement is especially crucial when suggesting lifestyle changes to patients. Knowing how to deal with stubborn patients in these situations will also prove beneficial. As you interview a potential hire, try to bring up questions that would necessitate an encouraging demeanor.
Find the Perfect Nurse Practitioner Candidate Today
As a recruiter, these are the six most essential personality qualities you should be looking for when interviewing a potential nurse practitioner candidate. Knowing that the candidate you hire will stick around will boost your career, while simultaneously allowing the candidate to further their professional career. With the right amount of effort, you’ll find the perfect nurse practitioner hire for your company in no time at all.