5 Questions to Ask During a Nursing Interview
Preparing for a nursing interview usually means thinking about the questions you’ll be asked: Tell me about yourself. Why do you want to leave your current role? Tell me about a time you handled a difficult situation.
But an interview is also your opportunity to learn more about the job.
The job posting can tell you the basics, but it usually can't tell you what the day-to-day experience is really like, how the team operates, what challenges you'll face, or what your manager expects from you.
→ If you’re looking for tips for how to evaluate a job posting, check out my post, How to Tell if a Nursing Job Posting is a Good Fit Before You Apply
That’s why it’s important to come prepared with questions to ask during a nursing interview. Not just questions that make you look like a strong candidate, but questions that help you decide whether the position is a good fit for you.
Whether you're interviewing for a bedside nursing position, an outpatient role, or a nursing career outside of direct patient care, the same five areas can help you evaluate the opportunity. You can adjust the specific question based on the role and what matters most to you.
Let's look at five questions to ask during a nursing interview (and what each one can help you learn).
1. What Does a Typical Day or Shift Look Like in This Role?
A job description can give you a general idea of what a position involves, but it rarely tells you what the job actually feels like day to day. Asking the interviewer to walk you through a typical day or shift can help you fill in those gaps.
For a bedside nursing role, you might want to learn about patient assignments, staffing, workflow, and how much time is spent on direct patient care versus documentation and other responsibilities. For a non-bedside role, you might be more interested in how much time is spent in meetings, working independently, managing projects, or collaborating with other teams.
You could ask:
“What does a typical day or shift look like for someone in this role?”
“How are patient assignments or workloads typically determined?”
“What tends to make a particularly busy day?”
“How much variation is there from day to day?”
You don't need to ask every question on this list. Choose the one that will help you learn what you're most curious about.
What You're Trying to Learn
You're trying to understand what you would actually be doing if you accepted the job—and whether that reality matches what you're looking for.
Pay attention to things like:
Workload: How much work is typically expected, and how is it distributed?
Predictability: Is the work relatively consistent, or can your responsibilities change significantly from day to day?
Responsibilities: How much time is spent on the parts of the job you actually want to do?
Autonomy: How much control do nurses have over how they organize their work?
Expectations: Does the reality of the role match what you understood from the job posting?
A job can look appealing on paper and still be a poor fit once you understand what the day-to-day work actually involves. This question helps you get a clearer picture before you make a decision.
2. How Would You Describe the Team and Leadership Style?
“What’s the culture like?” sounds like a reasonable interview question, but it often leads to vague answers. Instead, ask questions that help you understand how the team and its leaders actually work together.
You could ask:
“How would you describe the relationship between nurses and leadership?”
“How does the manager typically provide feedback?”
“How are concerns or conflicts handled?”
“What happens when the team is short-staffed?”
“How long have most members of the team been here?”
You can also adapt these questions based on the role. For a bedside position, you might ask specifically about the relationship between nurses, charge nurses, and the unit manager. For a non-bedside role, you might ask how the team communicates, makes decisions, or collaborates with other departments.
→ Need help translating your bedside nursing experience when applying for non-bedside roles? Check out my post How to Describe Bedside Nursing Experience for Non-Bedside Roles
What You’re Trying to Learn
You’re looking for clues about what it will actually be like to work with this team and manager.
Focus on specifics, not generalities.
Interviews often include positive-sounding phrases like supportive team, collaborative culture, or open-door management. These can be true. But on their own, they don’t tell you much. Ask for examples so you can see what those qualities look like in day-to-day work.
Pay attention to anything that sparks a follow-up question.
If something stands out, dig a little deeper.
For example, a high turnover rate isn’t automatically a red flag. There may be valid reasons for it. But it is worth asking why it happened and what’s been done to address it.
You don’t need to label everything as a “green flag” or “red flag” in the moment.
All you need is to gather enough detail to understand the role and decide what you want to explore further.
3. What Support Is Available for Nurses in This Role?
Support can look very different from one nursing job to another. A position might offer a structured orientation and preceptor program, while another may rely more heavily on self-directed training or learning on the job.
Asking about support can help you understand what the transition into the role will actually look like beyond day one.
You could ask:
“What does orientation or onboarding look like for this role?”
“How long is the orientation period?”
“Is there a formal preceptor, mentor, or training process?”
“How are nurses supported after orientation?”
“What opportunities are available for professional development?”
“How are ongoing education and competency needs identified?”
You don't need to ask all of these. Choose the questions that make the most sense for the role and where you are in your career.
For example, different nurses may focus on different things:
Experienced bedside nurse: may be less concerned about basic clinical skills and more interested in how long it will take to become comfortable with a new specialty, unit, or patient population.
Nurse moving into a non-bedside role: may want to understand how they'll learn new systems, processes, and responsibilities that aren't part of their clinical background.
What You're Trying to Learn
The question isn't simply, “Will they train me?”
You're trying to understand what kind of environment you'll be entering and whether you'll have the support you need to succeed.
Pay attention to:
The structure of onboarding: Is there a clear plan, or are you expected to figure things out as you go?
Access to support: Who can you go to when you have questions after orientation ends?
Ongoing development: Are there opportunities to build new skills or advance?
Expectations: Are you expected to function independently before you've had a reasonable opportunity to learn the role?
And don't assume that experience means you don't need to ask about orientation. Even if you're an experienced nurse, starting a new job can mean learning a different specialty, workflow, technology, organizational culture, or set of expectations.
A strong orientation and support system isn't just about helping you get through your first few weeks. It can tell you a lot about how the organization invests in the people who work there.
4. What Are the Biggest Challenges Someone in This Role Faces?
Every job has challenges. It's unrealistic to think otherwise. But it’s also important to understand what you’re signing up for.
Asking about the difficult parts of a role can give you information that you won’t necessarily find in a job posting or hear in a typical interview. It can also help you determine whether the challenges are ones you’re prepared to take on.
You could ask:
“What do nurses in this role tend to find most challenging?”
“What are some common reasons people struggle in this position?”
“What would you want the person you hire to be prepared for?”
“What has been the biggest challenge for the team recently?”
The best question will depend on the role. For a bedside position, you might ask about workload, staffing, patient acuity, or other demands of the unit. For a non-bedside role, you might ask about competing priorities, workload, communication, or navigating unfamiliar responsibilities.
What You’re Trying to Learn
You’re not looking for an answer that makes the job sound perfect. In fact, an interviewer who acknowledges the difficult parts of a role may give you more useful information than one who insists everything is easy.
Pay attention to how the interviewer talks about the challenges, not just what the challenges are.
Consider:
Are they willing to give you a specific example?
Do they acknowledge the difficulty while explaining how the team handles it?
Do they seem aware of the challenges their employees experience?
Do they describe reasonable expectations and available support?
Does anything they share make you want to ask another question?
You also don’t have to decide that a workplace is “toxic” based on one answer. A challenging workload, recent turnover, or staffing issue doesn’t automatically mean a job is a bad fit. Instead, treat the information as one piece of the bigger picture.
The goal is to leave the interview with a more realistic understanding of both the opportunities and challenges that come with the role. From there, you can decide if it works for you.
5. What Would Success Look Like in the First 6–12 Months?
Understanding what an employer expects from you can help you determine whether the role is actually a good fit. Asking what success looks like also gives you a clearer picture of the responsibilities, priorities, and expectations that may not be obvious from the job posting.
You could ask:
“What would you hope the person in this role accomplishes in the first six months?”
“How is success measured in this role?”
“What would make you say, ‘We hired the right person’?”
“What would you like the person in this role to be able to do independently after the first year?”
You can also tailor this question based on the position. For a bedside role, success might involve becoming comfortable with the patient population, managing the expected workload, and meeting clinical or unit expectations. In a non-bedside role, success might be tied to projects, productivity, collaboration, or specific outcomes.
What You're Trying to Learn
This question can reveal more than just how your performance will be evaluated. It can help you understand:
Expectations: What will you be responsible for learning or accomplishing?
Priorities: What matters most to the manager or organization?
Workload: Are the expectations realistic for one person?
Performance measures: How will your work be evaluated?
Growth: Are there opportunities to take on additional responsibilities or develop new skills?
Pay attention to whether the interviewer can clearly explain what success looks like. If the expectations seem vague, constantly changing, or significantly different from what was described in the job posting, that's worth exploring further.
Most importantly, remember that an interview isn't just about proving that you can meet the employer's expectations. It's also an opportunity to decide whether those expectations are ones you actually want.
A job can offer great pay, flexibility, or advancement opportunities and still not be the right fit if the day-to-day expectations don't align with what you're looking for in your career.
What to Look for in Their Answers
Coming prepared with questions is only part of the process. What the interviewer says (and how they answer) can give you valuable information about the role.
Look for Patterns, Not Perfect Answers
Every answer doesn’t need to sound perfect. Every workplace has challenges, and no single interview answer will tell you everything you need to know.
Instead, look for patterns and ask yourself:
Did the interviewer answer my questions directly?
Did they provide specific examples?
Did anything they said surprise me?
Did their answers match what I understood from the job posting?
What excites me about this role?
What concerns me?
What would I want to learn more about before accepting an offer?
For example, imagine you ask about staffing challenges.
A response worth exploring further:
“We had a staffing challenge last winter, so we changed how assignments were handled and added additional support during our busiest shifts.”
Another response worth exploring further:
“We're often short-staffed, but everyone here is really dedicated.”
Neither answer automatically tells you whether the job is a good or bad fit. The difference is that the first gives you something specific to understand and ask about, while the second leaves you with more questions.
You don't need to analyze every answer for a hidden red flag. Think of it as gathering information so you can make a more informed decision about whether the role, team, and expectations align with what you're looking for.
How to Evaluate a Nursing Job After the Interview
By the end of an interview, you may have learned a lot about the role—but that doesn't necessarily mean you'll know how you feel about it yet. Give yourself some time to process what you heard before deciding whether the opportunity is a good fit.
Before You Leave
Take a moment to make sure you have the basic information you need to evaluate the role later.
I understand what the day-to-day work actually looks like.
I have a sense of how the team and manager operate.
I understand what support and training are available.
I have a realistic picture of the biggest challenges.
I understand what success would look like in this role.
You don't have to decide whether you want the job while you're still in the interview. For now, focus on gathering information.
After the Interview
Once you've had some time to process the conversation, come back to your notes and ask yourself:
What excites me about this opportunity?
What concerns me?
Are there any questions I still don't have answers to?
What would I want to learn more about before accepting an offer?
Did anything I learned change how I feel about the role?
Does this opportunity still align with what I'm looking for in my next role?
You don't need to have an immediate answer. Giving yourself time to reflect can help you separate the excitement or stress of the interview itself from what you actually think about the opportunity.
Final Thoughts
A nursing interview isn't just about showing an employer that you're qualified for the job. It's also an opportunity to learn what the role is really like and decide whether it fits what you're looking for.
Come prepared with a few thoughtful questions, listen for specific information, and give yourself time to reflect after the interview. You don't need to find a perfect job. You need to gather enough information to make a decision that makes sense for you.
Still Not Sure What Direction You Want to Take Your Nursing Career?
Evaluating individual job opportunities is easier when you have a clearer idea of what you're looking for in the first place.
If you're exploring your next nursing career move but aren't sure which direction makes sense, my free Nursing Career Direction Quiz can help you identify career paths that may align with your interests, strengths, and priorities.
Take the free Nursing Career Direction Quiz →
It only takes a few minutes, and you'll get a starting point for exploring nursing career options that could be a better fit for where you are now.
Disclaimer: The content shared here is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical, financial, or legal advice. Always consult a qualified professional regarding your personal needs.