The Cosmo Guide to Getting Hired at Mayo Clinic
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He's willing to play along with the inevitable jokes, but Brent Bultema admits he wasn't really expecting to see his name splashed across the pages of Cosmo. In fact, when the interview request first came in, Mayo Clinic's director of Recruitment Strategies wasn't sure if it was serious. But while Bultema knew the magazine's readership and style bent was not, um, in his wheelhouse, the topic certainly was. And he says he's happy with the resulting article, "Interview Insider: How to Get Hired at the Mayo Clinic," which went beyond the surface to give a sense of the organization and some common sense tips to those interested in working here.
Bultema's team, it seems, was pretty pleased at the opportunity to have a little fun with the article, which recently appeared on the magazine's website, at his expense. And the reaction from some of his more fashion savvy colleagues, he says, was "gut-busting, doubled over laughter." He responds by joking about just how behind the fashion curve he is and with quips about his shopping habits. (Hint: we use the term "habit" loosely.)
The article is part of a series on getting hired at leading companies. (Go to the website, and you'll see teasers for similar pieces on CNN, Hulu, Match, Spanx and Zara, among others.) Bultema says he appreciates the way it "pulls back the curtains on the application process." The more you can prepare a candidate, he says, "the better their experience in showing their capabilities." One of his goals, he says, was "making Mayo Clinic more approachable, especially in a time of increased competition for talent." Another was letting readers know about "the variety of opportunities that exist at Mayo Clinic – not just in terms of the variety of jobs but also the number and diversity of locations that Mayo has."
Here's a sampling of our favorite tips:
- "The best candidates … have very clear experiences and comfort working within teams, fostering innovation, demonstrating integrity and respect, and an innate need to help provide hope and healing for our patients."
- "Most of our new graduate opportunities are related to our patient care positions and for departments such as nursing, clinical labs, research, mid-level providers ... and a variety of technician/technologist roles."
- "The interviews consist of questions that help us understand what behaviors you'll exhibit in certain situations."
- "The interview — especially the panel portion — is the ideal time to ask any questions as it pertains to interacting with others in the work unit and/or with customers … It's important that the candidate have a comfort level with not just who they'll report to, but who'll be working alongside them."
- "We encourage all candidates to dress business-formal during their interview." (We didn't ask about hosiery.)
We might have added, "Work the phrase 'my brother and I' into at least one answer," "'the needs of the patient come first' is the correct answer to any question," and "don't even ask about parking."
While Buletma doesn't expect to be offered a regular gig in his new favorite fashion magazine, he does admit that he and his team are happy they can say this about the good folks at Cosmo: "At least they considered a career at Mayo Clinic to be in fashion."
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