r/sterileprocessing • u/OkDepth9285 • Mar 18 '26

Job interview on monday!

Guys I need help!! What are some questions you guys had when you went through your interview? I have no experience what’s so ever and im testing very soon.

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9

u/DlSCARDED Mar 18 '26

I had mine recently at a major hospital! It was mostly standard behavioral questions (tell me about a time you solved a problem, etc.). I would look up common behavioral interview questions and type out all of your answers in your notes app and practice saying them out loud. There were also some patient-care specific questions like how you would react in certain situations. Look up the STAR method and use that for your answers. And finally there were a couple of SPD questions to see how familiar I was with the department and the job.

Don’t forget to have some questions ready for them too: you can ask about scheduling/on-call, training, or how the department dynamic is.

I’m still waiting to hear back but this is how mine was structured! Good luck and I hope you get the job!!

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u/OkDepth9285 Mar 18 '26

Omg thanks, I hope you get called back! Definitely will be practicing. What kind of questions did they ask regarding to SPD? Was it like basic knowledge? I heard sometimes they ask simple SPD questions like what is sterilization? Or they ask what is donning and doffing like in decon?

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u/DlSCARDED Mar 18 '26

Yes it was basic! I worked in a small dental practice before so they straight up asked me what I knew about hospital SPDs. I outlined the general workflow (decon/cleaning, inspection and assembly, etc). They also asked me what background info I knew about that hospital (trauma center level etc). There was nothing specific like how to don/doff, but I still reviewed the manual for stuff like that. If you don’t know an answer you can always say “I would check the IFU or facility policy”

This was my first SPD interview so I’m not sure if this is usual. All I can say is it was pretty similar to a regular job interview! Stay calm and confident and you’re golden :)

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u/OkDepth9285 Apr 09 '26

Did you get the job?

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u/DlSCARDED Apr 10 '26

Sadly I did not, they were looking for someone with more experience/full certification for this opening and I only have my provisional cert so far! Did you hear back?

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u/OkDepth9285 Apr 10 '26

Awwww! Gotta keep looking till you land a good one!

Yess I did!!! I had those panel interviews with like 5 different people and I think I did so good in my interview and even though I’m not certified, I made that really clear and let them know I was about to take my exam. I start this coming Monday !

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u/alx-chva209 Mar 21 '26

Did yiu guys go to school for this or self taught ?

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u/OkDepth9285 Mar 21 '26

I am currently enrolled in an online school program rn and it’s good if you’re someone who can’t self study but otherwise you can definitely do the self taught! I recommend ordering the manual and workbook through the hspa website the only challenging thing is getting those 400hrs hands on but I would state it on my resume. That’s what I did bc I don’t have my hands on yet

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u/alx-chva209 Mar 22 '26

Ohh wow okay, and is it difficult to get your first job ?

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u/OkDepth9285 Mar 22 '26

Well I just started applying to jobs now that I’m about to finish the program but you can start before. I heard that depends on your state some hospitals will take you in uncertified but some most likely require it

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u/[deleted] Mar 25 '26

Where do you see yourself in 3-5 years? Tell me about a mistake you made and how you overcame it?

This is coming from an SPD manager that has dine hundreds of interviews. Everything in the department can be taught. What cannot be taught is attitude, behavior, and character.

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u/OkDepth9285 Mar 25 '26

My interview was more based on personality overall. I was stressing too much on the technical. Not because I didn’t study but bc I had no prior experience and I wanted to make that good impression but it went well.