Phoenix House Interview Questions
& Process

It was a conversational interview process, starting with general questions and becoming more detailed as we talked. The goal was to filter out candidates who might be overselling their experience.

The interview process was easy, but I had to make a lot of phone calls and keep pressing to get a response. It seemed kind of difficult to navigate their site. Also, my professor doesn’t allow us to get paid internships so it didn’t work out.

After I sent my resume, I got contacted for an interview. I was nervous, but everyone at the facility was so nice and welcoming right away. Someone even said, "Oh, you're a nurse, good we need nurses!" which made me laugh. The interviewer was really great too – understanding and easygoing. Since I'm passionate about helping people with substance abuse and psych issues, it felt more like a chat than a formal interview. I was asked some standard interview questions, and they confirmed I had the necessary NY state nursing license and other required qualifications. Having prior psych or substance abuse experience is a plus. This job needs a lot of compassion, understanding, and patience; it's not for nurses just looking for a paycheck because these are human beings who need genuine care and effort. The whole hiring process requires patience; it took about a week to hear back about the offer. I formally accepted, but I'm still waiting on the final paperwork and background check results, which could take another two weeks. But good things come to those who wait! EDIT: Now I get what another nurse said. I've done the drug test, fingerprinting, physical, and PPD, but I still don't have a start date, even though they're nice. I'll ask a friend who works at a different location.

The Director interviewed me first and then I had a second interview where several of the other counselors asked me questions. The interviews weren't super stressful, but they were clearly trying to find someone who would be a good fit with the current employees and the clients. Everyone was pleasant. You do need to be good with computer software and with mountains of documentation that piles up fast and is impossible to keep up with. The computer tells the Director what you are falling behind on, and everyone falls behind.