7 Essential Nurse Manager Interview Questions to Ask

High-quality nursing leadership is key to providing exceptional patient care. A clinical nurse manager (CNM) orchestrates quality improvement projects, staff wellness initiatives, and develops budget goals. These professional skills take years to master, making it even more challenging to find the right CNM to lead your team.

When hiring healthcare leaders, asking insightful nurse manager interview questions (in addition to writing a targeted job description) can help you identify the best possible candidate. In this article, we’ll review seven example CNM interview questions — and answers to listen for — to help you hire the best employee for the job.

Nurse Manager Interview Questions and Answers

To prepare for the interview, it’s a good idea to get some insight into the current nurse manager hiring market. For information like competitive salary ranges and benefits offerings, check out the latest nurse manager positions on our job board.

After you’ve done your research, begin creating interview questions for nurse managers. Interviewing candidates gives you an opportunity to ask about situations that reveal a leader’s behaviors, skills, and experience.

Effective nurse management is essential for optimal patient outcomes, staff satisfaction, and regulatory compliance, so it’s important that you put in the time and effort necessary to pick the best possible candidate. Here are some example interview questions to get you started.

1. What makes you excited about joining our team?

Introductory nurse manager interview questions can give insight into a candidate’s personal and professional background. While the question may seem generic, answers can highlight whether a nurse manager has done their research on your facility.

Do they know how many employees they’ll be managing? Are they aware of the patient population served? Strong managers may mention a close personal alignment with the organizational mission or values, showing they have a genuine interest in the position.

After the candidate responds, discuss details of the position that might not have been mentioned in the job description. Describe any special roles or responsibilities they may not be aware of to help them fully understand nurse manager requirements at your facility.

2. Tell us a bit about your management style.

You’ve probably read a bit about the candidate’s previous roles in their cover letter. However, asking this question allows interviewers to better understand a candidate’s leadership experience while also determining if they are a good fit for your team. Do they like to be hands-on with their clinical team, or do they only get involved when problems arise?

Nurse manager behavioral interview questions and answers like these can also demonstrate a leader’s ability to discuss challenging subjects calmly and professionally. Effective communication skills are essential to running a professional team and are highly sought after in job candidates.

3. What qualities do you look for when hiring clinical employees?

Nurse retention plays a big factor in an organization’s operational budget, and hiring strong clinical nurses is essential to patient safety and satisfaction. Whether you’re hiring a nurse manager or assistant nurse manager, interview questions should ascertain if a candidate has the skills necessary to find and hire top-tier nursing professionals.

Great nurse managers will look for the following traits or attributes when hiring clinical candidates:

• Calm, compassionate tone of voice
• At least 2 years of relevant clinical experience (though motivated and driven new graduates may also prove worthy of the job)
• Respect for patients and families
• High emotional intelligence and empathy
• Flexibility in getting the job done

4. Describe a time your team had a conflict. How did you manage the issue?

You’ve established a basic understanding of how the candidate builds and leads their team, but how do they handle things that don’t go according to plan? Segway into more complex and tough nursing leadership interview questions like these to see how the CNM problem-solves under pressure.

Strong candidates may mention facilitating difficult discussions and mediating a solution. They may also discuss strategies they would use to prevent conflict in the first place, like being transparent, removing fear from the workplace, and scheduling routine one-on-one performance appraisals with all staff members.

5. Imagine that your unit has seen an increase in patient falls over the last 3 months. What would be your next steps?

Exceptional nurse managers have strong clinical awareness and judgment in addition to leadership skills. When faced with poor nurse-sensitive indicator data, it’s important that managers motivate their team to develop meaningful care improvement initiatives. Strong answers to problem-solving nurse manager interview questions like this one could include:

• “I would collaborate with my clinical team to develop quality improvement and evidence-based practice initiatives to improve our patient health.”
• “I would look to other units in our facility who are performing well in these areas and follow their practices.”
• “To find out where breakdowns in care occur, I would work with hospital administrators and bedside clinicians to perform root cause analyses on these events.”

6. What would you like to accomplish while working as a CNM in our organization?

It’s important that nurse managers envision short-term and long-term goals when applying for vacant positions. Candidates may focus on improving clinical outcomes, reducing facility spending, or building a cohesive multidisciplinary team. Whatever their initial strategy, knowing that they are aware of organizational needs shows that they are invested and want to make a difference at your facility.

7. How do you encourage your staff to balance personal commitments and work responsibilities?

Your final nursing manager interview question could touch on the subject of nurse burnout. Poor nurse engagement is a major concern for facility leaders and can significantly impact patient outcomes and satisfaction scores. Studies show that employee retention and satisfaction start with work-life balance.

Leaders who promote healthy coping strategies for handling the physical and emotional stresses of the job tend to have happier and healthier employees. It’s also helpful to know if the candidate employs their own strategies for stress management before, during, and after a shift. Being a nurse manager is no easy job — it’s imperative that a candidate has what it takes to overcome obstacles and maintain a level head.

We Can Help You Quickly Fill Your Nursing Vacancies

When you’re hiring a healthcare leader, answers to well-structured nurse manager interview questions can reveal if a candidate has the skills for success. Sometimes, finding the right candidates to interview can be the toughest part of filling a vacancy. Post your open positions on our nursing job board to quickly reach candidates in the largest nursing network in the nation.