How do you approach hospitals' HR?

RNperdiem, RN · Mar 4, 2012

I did walk into HR back in the olden days, and asked the receptionist to put my application on top of the pile. I called the next day and politely asked the recruiter to put my application on top of the pile. She laughed, started asking questions, and eventually an interview was set up, and I got my first job.

That was 1994.

Today, the HR might not be anywhere near the hospital; there is a running joke that HR does not really exist, or perhaps the staff all work from home. HR in large corporations are often outsourced and they put up high barriers to getting in touch.

Getting to know staff within the hospital, might get you some useful connections.

allnurses Guide · Mar 4, 2012

HR at my place of employment is in a separate building across the street. They have a receptionist behind locked glass and a very small waiting room. Going to HR would be futile.

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Mar 6, 2012

HR at my facility is also in another building... a half a mile down the street. I think going there to apply for a job would be perfectly useless in this day and age. In fact, in my institution I don't think HR even has anything to do with the hiring of nurses or the reviewing of nurses' resumes... we have nurse recruitment for that.

Most facilities these days want resumes submitted electronically. If there isn't a posting for the job you're interested in, there is often a way to just submit your resume for consideration without submitting to a specific job.

Cuddleswithpuddles · Mar 6, 2012

Hello,

I am in Southern California and I sought RN acute care jobs for a few months last year.

Walking into HR was a pointless exercise for me. I did not get to meet the nursing recruiters who made hiring decisions. The administrative assistants would politely direct me to their online applications and turn me away. The managers who oversee the units I was interested in had offices within the patient care floors which, of course, were not accessible to looky loos and job seekers such as me.

I got much, much more out of attending nursing career fairs and cultivating connections through work and nursing school. Recruiters who come to career fairs dedicate their time to talking to applicants. After getting hired and getting into more casual conversations with my nurse recruiter, I realized that recruiters do way, way more than just talk to applicants and how swamped they are with cold callers. I understand why they would NOT want to be bothered by surprise visits and how some of them seem callous. I would be too if I were in their shoes.

As an aside: It amazed me how little preparation a lot of nursing career fair attendees put into their presentation. People came in jeans, no resumes, very little basic research on the organizations in attendance and constant requests for information that was readily available on the hospital website. I am far from a hot commodity in the job market but I would think I made a better impression by showing up in a suit, basic research under my belt and a few questions about the hospitals' future projects that relate to nursing and future employees.

Good luck!

Not_A_Hat_Person, RN · Mar 6, 2012

I approached HR once, at the hospital where I was voluntering. As I handed in my application for a summer nurse tech position, the woman looked at me like I'd handed her a bag of snakes, and said "We prefer to get these online."

Good Morning, Gil · Mar 6, 2012

I don't even know where HR is located in my hospital. I think that might answer your question lol. However, the HR person I talked to on the phone after I was hired was very nice.

When I first started looking for jobs as a brand new nurse, I tried going into HR at a different hospital with my resume/cover letter knowing full well that I probably wouldn't get to talk to anyone other than the receptionist, but I still tried. I hoped that at least they'd pass my folder along, but no. I just got told to look at the postings online.

It doesn't hurt to try, though. Just try not to let it get you down if you get turned away. I know it's rough looking for a job when there's very few postings/jobs available. Keep at it. Long story short, I ended up getting a job, wasn't my dream job or even a hospital job, but I ended up enjoying who I worked with there and knew I was making a difference in the patient's lives. That's what kept me going when I started to burn out there.

So, even if you end up as a psych nurse, for instance, but really want to be an ER nurse, you will gain valuable experience and be helping patients regardless; any experience will help you toward reaching your goal, and psych experience is what you will get 1/4 of the time as an ER nurse...trust me, I get them from the ER lol, and every patient needs care, even the ones that make you want to pull your hair out lol. Now, I work in an area that's perfect for me, ICU :). Don't lose hope.

(Note: I mention psych b/c psych and LTC/rehab facilities tend to hire new grads since the working conditions usually aren't as good or the patient population is just very difficult to handle lol. That's not always the case, though; I have a friend from nsg school who works in a great LTC facility and loves it. Heck, if I still lived there, I would have been happy there, as well. I remember having clinical there and really enjoying it). So, just keep an open mind :)

Aurora77 · Mar 7, 2012

I applied online, waited a couple of days, and then called. That seemed to get the ball rolling. One of my classmates had luck just walking into HR. He applied online and then brought his resume in a few days later. They took right off for an interview and he got a job. Probably not the norm, but it doesn't hurt to try!

FutureRN_NP · Mar 8, 2012

Wow! Thanks for sharing the stories guys. I walked into HR/Nurse Recruiters in the pass and had a similar story they redirected me to the online applications. They didn't even take my resume when I asked if they could.

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Mar 8, 2012

Hey guys, let's look behind the HR 'curtain' for a minute.

There a an enormous number of Federal requirements that have to be met in the hiring process. Organizations have to analyze and report bucketloads of data to document their compliance... and defend themselves from claims of any adverse employment practices. At the same time, (just like clinical departments) they have been hit with serious cutbacks in staffing. Some organizations have actually outsourced the majority of their HR services. The remaining ones have been forced to utilize automated systems to manage processes because they just don't have the staff to handle them. That is the driver behind moving to online-only applications.

The online application process usually contains some 'engines' that analyze applications based on pre-determined criteria so it is important to make sure that your information is a good fit. Don't try to cut & paste with formatted text from your fancy resume. This can result in jibberish because of the extra formatting stuff that can't be interpreted by their system. If you're attaching a document, same goes... ditch the fancy fonts and formatting. Make sure that you include key words that are listed in the job description.

If the online process includes any type of 'questionnaire' or 'survey', answer as though you already have the job that you are seeking. If it has any "honesty" or "character" questions.... make sure you don't actually answer honestly because this will put you into outlier territory (everyone lies on those questions) - LOL.

I have often wished one of those laid-off HR folks would cash in on their knowledge & start holding seminars on how to deal with online applications... they'd make a fortune.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Mar 8, 2012

IMO, if HR tells you only to apply online, I'd seriously take their advice. They're not looking for those who'll try to get around the system so they can reward them for their creativity and persistence.

Overland1, RN · Mar 8, 2012

When I applied for my first hospital Nursing job, I followed their usual sequence (fill out application, attach resume, hand to switchboard person, wait...). Once told by the switchboard person and the Hunan Resources person that there were no openings, I went directly to the Nurse Manager of the department I knew was hiring and we discussed the position. I handed her the required paperwork and she took it to the Director of Nursing. She told the DON that she was hiring me and handed her the paperwork to sign. She then took the paperwork to HR and told them she was hiring me, asking them (politely, but firmly) to complete their part of it as I would be starting the following Monday. Bear in mind she had never met me before that day, but thoroughly verified my references. She was the best Nurse Manager I have ever met and worked with as she has a "Git 'R Done!" way of doing things. I tend to be the same way (Schwarzkopf Method... get in, get done, get out).