How to get hired in LTC as an LVN

Sparrowhawk · Oct 27, 2009

From what I'm hearing around here LA's not hirin' no body...kinda stinks.

I was just lucky I guess, walked in after four months of looking, applied and she hired me...somethin'll happen. Took me four months

tothepointeLVN, LVN · Oct 27, 2009

Oh dear I will be completely broke in 4 months. I don't qualify for unemployment after having been self employed for 6 years

mandykal, ADN, RN · Oct 27, 2009

i think nowadays, top of the class don't cut it, title is title, don't matter what school you graduate from. lvn, you will have a difficult time, much less if your title is "rn."

get in to whatever you can, it doesn't have to be ltc. your whole purpose is to get your feet in to a job, and from there you can gain experience and at the same time be on a look out.....

mandykal, ADN, RN · Oct 27, 2009

in addition, use the internet, the best tool ever! email the director as i did myself. if you are really in need of a job b/c of whatever personal reasons or obligations, get whatever is being offered for the time being.

last year i had 7 jobs (1 fulltime, the rest per diems, and one part time postal). this year i cut it down to 3.

PurpleLVN · Oct 27, 2009

Try www.craigslist.com I just pulled it up and looked at LA, typed in LVN under medical/health and tons of jobs just came up. Good luck !!!!

tothepointeLVN, LVN · Oct 27, 2009

Yes there are a lot of jobs on craigslist. I check several times a day. Most of them are home health agencies that require experience but it is encouraging to see that there are plenty of jobs out there once I get some floor time.

I do intend to take the first job offered. I've been going in in person, emailing, faxing whatever I can do to get ahead

nursenow · Oct 27, 2009

My advice and my personal experience is: Dont drop off resumes and dont follow up by phone. If you want to get a job in LTC/SNF walk in and ask for the DON and ask in person for a job. If He/she says no, give them your appplication in person and every couple of weeks stop by put your head in the office and say hello. The hiring process in LTC/SNF is fairly simple and easily influenced by one or two people at the facility.

My first job out of school, I walked in and asked the DON for a job and he said "No, we only hire experienced nurses here". I said OK and proceded to chat about something completely unrelated to nursing and wound up getting hired because he thought I would fit in well. I have talked to a couple of other people that have had similiar experiences at other facilities.

If you drop off a resume you are just another list of qualifications asking for work which makes it easier to turn you down.

CapeCodMermaid, RN · Oct 27, 2009

When you go to the facility, please make sure you are dressed appropriately. Don't bring a sick kid, an unshaved boy friend, your dog. Check and double check your resume' and cover letter for spelling and grammatical errors. Don't ask for Monday through Friday only. Don't say you won't work holidays. Do some homework about the facility. Even if you have no experience after school, come up with something you ruled at during school.

I am not making this up. I have had people come in asking for a job with 'extras' in tow....glaring spelling mistakes....demanding a day shift Monday through Friday job. And, as good as you are, know that sometimes it's a simple as being in the right place at the right time. Good luck.

tothepointeLVN, LVN · Oct 27, 2009

Thank you. You all give wonderful advice and also reassurance that I am on the right track. I am always dressed appropriately prepared and willing to work any shift. I am extremely polite to everyone I meet at a facility and yes I have had some success in talking to the DONs so I just need to persevere and continue.

noc4senuf · Oct 30, 2009

I myself do not see walk-ins of any kind. Right now I am fully staffed and have been so for close to a year. I still get resumes mailed to me and I check their license on the State Board. You wouldn't believe some of them I have seen with years of legal issues with the board. Right now, my voice mail states that i am not hiring and nurses still leave messages. At the front desk where the applications sit, I have a note attached that there are no positions. Even with these two items in place, I still get apps. They immediately go in a file and a note stating they can't follow directions... do not hire.

As CapeCod said, watch the way you fill out your resume. I discard those that can not spell or complete a sentence appropriately just because it gives me a clue as to how nurse notes will look. I do not pay any attention to someone bragging about their GPA or placement in school as it is the real world when you enter our facility and none of that has helped in the past.

When I have done hiring, I do grab new grads eagerly, sincethey have no bad habits from other facilties that do not mesh with ours. Best of luck in your endeavors.

nursenow · Oct 31, 2009

"can not follow directions, don't hire"? I must say I am glad I do not work for you. What does it matter if they leave a resume? If they leave a resume you are not going to hire them and if they don't leave a resume you are not going to hire them. What do they have to lose except for the chance to work for a people person like yourself?

Saving their resume with a note is alot like keeping a list of names of people that have made you mad. What kind of person does that? I know what kind but I am not allowed to say it on this site. Does it really bother you PERSONALY that people desperate for a job are taking desperate measures in this economy.

In my previous life I was hiring and firing people and appreciated persistant people. More than once I hired someone after telling them no only because they would not take a no for an answer. That indicated qualities I was looking for and it sure was not the quality of blindly obeying me. I never regretted hiring them in the end.

Yea, sorry. Now that I think about it you are right. How dare they leave their resumes after YOU told them not too. Just put them on "the list". that will teach them not to cross you.