Looking for second hospital...what to put on resume?

grentea · Mar 16, 2006

I think the best thing to do is to be honest and say where you were before. I was in a very similar situation. I had been at my first hospital for about two months when I realized things really, seriously weren't working out. It pretty much just wasn't what I was looking for. I was completely honest about everything, my reasons for leaving, and I gave references at my other job to call. I left on pretty good terms with my nurse manager. My new job really appreciated that I was honest about it, and in my interview I made the best of it all, telling them about my clinical experiences at the first job. I'm pretty darn happy at my new hosital now. :) Your six months did count for something! So depending on how things were when you left your first job on the second, why not give both units as a reference? I mean if you did your job well, how could anyone say anything bad about you? Anyways, I would at least list the first unit as a reference. I think that would be perfectly valid if they could give a good picture of your work ethic.

llg, PhD, RN · Mar 17, 2006

Perhaps you could combine the 2 jobs into 1 entry on your resume. List the dates of employment, the hospital, and then say that you worked on 2 units. If they don't ask why you listed 2 units, then don't go into details. If they ask, be honest ... say it wasn't the right fit for you... that you left the first unit because you weren't quite ready for it as a new grad and that the second unit had been something that you didn't want to "settle for."

Now you want to start fresh with a job that excites you and that is a good fit for a new grad with your particular skills and interests.

If that approach doesn't feel right to you, then don't try it ... but it is probably the approach I would use.

llg

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Mar 17, 2006

I was a nurse manager and did interviewing and hiring. I would recommend that you don't mention your unit transfer on your resume or that you had problems getting along with the staff.

Let me be frank with you. You might not be pleased at what I am going to say, but this is the internet and I can't see you and you can't see me. You can be mad at me all you want and call me every name in the book, but after you settle down and think on what I'm going to say I hope you will understand the logic in it. If you came to me for an interview with the information you just posted this is what would be going through my mind. You just told me that you requested a transfer after 6 months because you thought you were in over your head and then didn't get along with the staff of the new unit you transferred to. I would be turned off almost immediately. Put yourself in my shoes, why on God's green earth would I want to consider hiring somebody who failed at and quit their previous job? You would have to really come across with a shining personality in an interview with me. First, you gave up on your first position. They didn't give up on you. To me, that is a character weakness on your part. I am going to assume that you are a poor problem solver and do not deal well with stress. I am going to wonder. . .if you cannot face your own situation, what patient situations will you be unable to face and will walk away from at the expense of the patient? Second, interpersonal problems between staff members is one of the biggest headaches a manager can have and I won't have them if I can avoid it. I also don't like to hear people who blame others and take no responsibility for their part in a situation. And, again, instead of trying to solve your problem you gave up. I want to hear you tell me something like you reviewed assertiveness techniques and when they didn't work you asked your manager and nursing educator for advice. You asked colleagues for advice and feedback. When they ignored you and brushed you off, you started looking for information in nursing journals and other publications. You finally felt so frustrated you felt abandoned and unsupported. I want to know that you took the initiative to try to do something constructive. But these people better have been a lot badder than that to you, so bad, they were outrageous and I probably knew about them already.

Now, not all managers are going to see you that way, but the more experienced ones will. You have to convince them why that assessment of you is wrong. Orienting a new employee, particularly a new grad is an expensive undertaking for a facility. You've been given two chances as an orientee now. There are a good many facilities that want results or they will put a lot of stress on the employee to improve fast or move on. It sounds like the first unit you worked on was willing to help you get oriented and acclimated. Sometimes you just have to go on faith and squelch your own nagging fears that you are not good enough. When you work with a staff that is willing to help you and put up with your ineptness as a new grad they are worth their weight in gold. It takes at least a year to feel like you know what you are doing as a new nurse. You really didn't give yourself enough time to evaluate your ability. Now, I am assuming that you were performing OK since you mentioned nothing about any poor performance reviews.

I suggest you just mention your dates of employment at the facility and the unit where you started. Don't reveal anything about the second unit if you can get away with it. There really is no way another employer can find out about it since HR only reveals your job title which is staff nurse. Always project yourself in the best, positive light. Withholding information is not the same as lying. One of the purposes of an interview is to attempt to bring out that kind of information, but the fact is that it is only one-sided--your side. Cross your fingers you don't get an interview with a old crone like me who will put you through the wringer. Vow to stick with the next job no matter what. Learn how to assess your performance and improve. Start learning how to deal with difficult people (this will be a life long search for you as it has been for me). It takes two to get into a disagreement, fight, argument, have bad feelings toward each other, etc., so recognize that you were part of the problem. Good luck in your job hunting. You might want to look for a job in a slower paced unit. I always favored general surgical first and then general medical units for new grads. I sincerely wish you well.