This guide is designed to help you know what to expect in the hiring process. It outlines the hiring process, offers suggestions to help you have a positive experience, and shares our commitment to you!
The Children’s Hiring Process:
Applying online, connecting with our recruiters, and interviewing.
Preparation Suggestions:
Tips to help you showcase your experience and skills.
ICARE Values:
Children’s People Promise, We recognize that our team members make a commitment to us and we want to honor that by offering a workplace where our people can thrive.
The Children’s Hiring Process
Children’s Nebraska is committed to providing equal opportunities to qualified individuals and supporting a workforce that reflects the diversity of the communities we serve. Our hiring processes are designed in compliance with local, state, and federal regulations and guidelines to ensure fairness to all candidates. Each step in our process is described below.
Apply On-Line.
You’ve probably already completed the first step in our hiring process – applying for a job through our career website. This site enables you to learn more about Children’s and apply for a job that matches your interests and skills.
If you haven’t already applied for a role, you can do so by visiting the Children’s career website at ChildrensNebraska.org/Careers. Use the site to find jobs that match your skills and interests and learn more about opportunities at Children’s. Attaching an updated resume to your application is recommended and helps the recruiter identify if your qualifications are a good match for the position you apply or for other opportunities.
Connect with a Recruiter.
Once your application is received, it’s reviewed by a member of Children’s Talent Acquisition team. Highly qualified candidates will be contacted either by phone or email to schedule a phone conversation with a recruiter to discuss the position, your work experience, and other pre-qualifying questions. During this call the recruiter will explain the recruitment process and next steps.
Interview with the Hiring Manager.
Those applicants who continue in the process will be contacted by phone or email and scheduled for an interview with the hiring manager or team.
The interview may last from 30 minutes to one-hour, and it can be conducted virtually or face-to-face, depending on the role. During the interview, you’ll be asked questions about your background and experience, and you’ll have the opportunity to share how you’ve handled various work-related situations. This may include how you’ve worked as part of a team, how you’ve adapted to differing work changes, actions that you took to achieve goals, and/or things you’ve done to build your skills. You’ll also be given the opportunity to describe how you have applied any specialized knowledge or training. This is a great opportunity for you to shine!
While we’ll ask you questions, come prepared to ask your questions, too. We love questions and will be happy to answer them!
Some jobs with highly specialized requirements may incorporate additional activities into the hiring process such as job shadowing or pre-hire assessments. Your Children’s recruiter will let you know whether to expect these additional activities.
Preparation Suggestions
Children’s hiring process is designed to enable you to showcase your work-related knowledge, skills, and abilities. Taking the actions highlighted will build your confidence and help you put your best foot forward.
Our team members. Children’s is a mission-focused organization, and our people are committed to caring for children and families in the communities that we serve. We’re looking for people who share this commitment.
Take time to review and understand our mission, talk to our team members, and consider whether you share our passions. We recognize not everyone does, but we’re looking for those special people who do!
Preparing for an interview. Interviews give you the opportunity to share information about your skills, experience, and interests. The Children’s interview process is very straight-forward. You’ll be asked questions about your work experience so you can showcase your knowledge and skills. A typical question may ask you to give a specific example of something you’ve done in the past, what the situation was and the outcome. You might also be asked about your interests and motivations – what gets you energized and gives you joy.
While there are literally hundreds of sources of on-line guidance about how to prepare for interviews, preparation is quite simple:
- Consider the mission and vision of Children’s and be prepared to explain how you can contribute and support them. Learn more here.
- Think about the skills that are required for the job you’re seeking. These might include things like working well with others, adapting to change, following directions, or monitoring the quality of your work. Then, think about things that you’ve done in the past that demonstrate your abilities in these areas and recall specific situations you faced and how you responded. While you won’t know the questions interviewers will ask beforehand, having some examples fresh in your mind will boost your confidence and make for a more comfortable conversation.
- Be prepared with questions for the recruiters and hiring managers. The interview is a two-way street, Children’s is learning about you and you’re learning more about us. You will be given a chance to ask questions as part of the interview (usually near the end), so use this opportunity to expand your understanding of the job, the organization, and how you bring value to the team.
Panel Interview
Panel interviews operate like one-on-one interviews and will include two or more interviewers, so the same preparation steps apply. However, you may wish to do some additional planning:
- When scheduling the interview, it’s okay to ask who will be on the panel. It might be other managers, or it may include people who could be your future coworkers. Understanding who you’ll be meeting with allows you to better anticipate their questions and the questions you have for them.
- Facing multiple questioners can be more stressful than meeting with a single interviewer one-on-one. Just remember that they are there because they’re interested in learning more about you and sharing their excitement about working at Children’s. Keeping this in mind may help you relax and enjoy the opportunity to get to know us.
Virtual Interview
It’s common for Children’s to conduct interviews virtually. Virtual interviews operate in the same way as in-person interviews, so the preparation suggestions provided above all apply. The biggest difference is that you control the setting:
- Find a Quiet Space. Find a place where you can complete the interview without interruption. Sometimes, interruptions are unavoidable, but do your best to minimize them.
- Consider the “Visual.” Look at the background and make sure it’s free from clutter that might distract the interview. Also, consider how you are presenting yourself on screen. A good rule of thumb it to dress for the virtual interview as you would an in-person interview.
- Do a “Tech Check”. Make sure the technology works before the interview is scheduled to start. You don’t want to spend precious interview time working this out. Interview invitations usually include a link to the application (i.e., Teams, WebEx, Zoom) that will enable the connection. Test the link and make sure that your computer, phone, or other device will work with this application. You might have to modify camera or microphone settings to get things working.
Job Shadowing or Job Previews
The hiring process for some jobs at Children’s includes an opportunity for you to spend time in the workspace shadowing potential future colleagues or experiencing real-life work situations. Job shadowing is designed to allow you to get a better understanding of what the work will be like so you can make a determination if the job is right for you. It also allows Children’s to make the same determination. While each shadowing experience is unique, there are things you can do to maximize the value of this experience:
- Be sure to clarify the time, place, and details of the shadowing experience in advance. Know where you’re supposed to go, who you’re supposed to meet, and what you’re expected to do before you arrive at the Children’s location. Knowing what you’ll be doing also enables you to dress appropriately. If you’re unsure about any of these details, be sure to ask questions in advance.
- Upon arrival, seek clarification from your host(s) about how involved they wish you to be during the shadowing experience. In some instances, safety considerations may allow you to simply observe what goes on. In other situations, you may be able to interact with staff or patients. Knowing the boundaries and expectations will help you make the most of the experience while keeping our patients and staff safe.
- Use the experience to learn about Children’s and your potential future colleagues. When it’s appropriate, ask questions, be curious, and build relationships with the people you meet. Remember, the reason you’re there is for both you and Children’s to learn.
Staying in Touch Throughout the Process.
Children’s has designed the hiring process to move quickly, so it’s important to stay in touch throughout the process with your Children’s recruiter. That way, all of the details can be completed in a timely manner. It’s their job to help you navigate and keep things moving. If you have questions, or feel like things aren’t progressing, contact your recruiter by phone or e-mail. Also, if your situation changes at any point during the process, please let them know.
Are You Aligned with Our Values?
| ICARE Value | |
|---|---|
| Innovation | Have you offered new ideas for how to improve the quality, or efficiency, of the work you performed? Have you taken action to develop, or implement, new approaches to getting work or activities done? |
| Collaboration | Have you been part of a work team or a club that received an award or recognition for the team’s overall level of performance? Have you worked closely with others to achieve a common goal? |
| Accountability | Have you worked or volunteered in a job that required you to comply with strict safety standards? Have you worked or volunteered in a job where you had to monitor and control the quality of your work? |
| Respect | Have you provided service or support to others experiencing significant physical, emotional, or mental stress? Have you provided products or services to customers from differing backgrounds, cultures, or life experiences? |
| Excellence | Worked in a job where high levels of performance were expected from all employees? Have you received recognition for your own high level of job performance? |