VA Hiring Process

[wife&mommyRN]

From the previous posts I've read the VA hiring process is pretty long and drawn out. I've applied to two different VA sites. The VA an hour away from my home I can always get in contact with a nurse recruiter and my application status for two posting says "referred to selecting official." The VA closest to my home, I can't get through to the recruiter, she emailed me back once and the status of all the apps just says "application received." I do know a nurse practitioner that works at this VA site and she tried to give my resume to the recruiter, but I had to apply online.

For those of you that are familiar with the hiring process, any idea what the next step is. In all there are around 20 RN vacancies. The two systems have two completely different online application submissions, how will I know if I've completed the application process correctly, its a little confusing

I've been applying since I've graduated and earlier this year I found out that I was applying the wrong way so those positions don't count. These positions closed in September.

Thanks in advance ?

[marriedtoRN]

Update: wife received a call today from HR for a position that closed almost 3 weeks ago in which there had not been any kind of notification of results. So the call was surprising. The HR person asked her if she was still interested in the position and asked if there were any questions she had about the position. The HR person then told her that the hiring manager would be contacting her but did not give any timetable nor did my wife ask. I consider this a positive development. I hope in this case that the hiring manager has already reviewed her application and asked HR to verify her interest in the position before making contact.

[squidbillies]

Hi all,

I've been following this post for months and it's given me lots of guidance along the way. I now have a situation I'm hoping someone can offer insight into.

I applied for a particular vacancy in April. The posting closed early May and I interviewed the last week in May. The interview went extremely well (I thought?) although I have little experience in the position. I heard nothing back, so I contacted the recruiter at the end of June. She told me she was in the process of making job offers for the vacancy and my name was not on the list. I never received an email saying that I was no longer being considered. Yesterday, the same vacancy was re-opened.

So what's that about? I interviewed for a very different position afterwards and received a "we've chosen another candidate" email, so I assumed that was standard procedure and that I was possibly still in the runnings for the initial job.

I contacted the recruiter today saying that I'm still interested and will be re-applying, and asked if there was anything I can do to improve my chances of obtaining the job. I guess my questions are 1- did I do the right thing by asking the recruiter basically "what's up?" and 2- am I maybe still in the runnings for this job? If not, I'm shaking my head wonering why. I studied hard for the PBI style interview, had great reponses, and the only negative thing I can think is that I have very little experience- however, I do still believe I am qualified and I thought that was "good enough" to get hired with them. Does anyone have any thoughts?

Thanks for reading this novel of a post, and good luck to all of you still working on it.

[squidbillies]

The recruiter emailed me back and said they hired the 2 candidates with the highest scores. I wonder how they do the scores? And I wonder why another vacancy exactly the same came open shortly after? I assume if I just keep applying I will eventually qualify.

[lmbowen]

alexis1984: Working as a Nursing Assistant is different than a Nurse. Get the physical and fingerprinting done and when you have a hiring date give the other hospital notice.

[lmbowen]

elprup: If you really want the job, contact the HR supervisor (Chief). Someone dropped the ball and this is unprofessional and might be unethical. Don't give up. Make that experience count as to what Nurse, Level, and Step you are placed in, before the board. {RN Qualifications:

-Nurse I, Level 1 – None beyond basic educational requirement (Associate Degree or Diploma in Nursing)

-Nurse I, Level 2 – Approximately 1 year experience OR Associate Degree or Diploma in Nursing and bachelors degree in a related field OR Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)

-Nurse I, Level 3 – Approximately 2-3 years experience OR Associate Degree or Diploma in Nursing and bachelors degree in a related field and approximately 1-2 years experience OR BSN and approximately 1-2 years experience OR Master’s degree in Nursing or related field with a BSN

-Nurse II – BSN and approximately 2-3 years experience OR Associate Degree or Diploma in Nursing and bachelors degree in a related field and approximately 2-3 years experience OR Master’s degree in Nursing or related field with a BSN and approximately 1-2 years experience OR Doctoral degree in Nursing or related field} Also, since other people are hiresd without thier VETPRO information complete some reconsideration needs to be done.

Keep us posted.

[lmbowen]

Squidbillies: Next time call the person you interviewed with and ask, "Is there anything, I could have done differently to increase my odds of being hiring?"

Veterans perferance, more experience, interview techniques...all dictate scores.

[CaliBoy760]

The VA, like many Federal Agencies, is under extreme budget constraints. The new budget starts September 1st. So any of you applying now should be patient. The upside is that they, the VA, still needs to fill their empty positions. My advice to all of you is to find out which registry staffs your local VA. Call them and tell them that you have applied but wish to work for their Registry until the VA starts hiring again. Believe me, these registries can get you working at the VA a lot quicker than the VA can. The upside is that you will have completed the vetting process. This is how I did it.

[squidbillies]

Thank you for the replies. Great idea about speaking with the person I interviewed with rather than the recruiter.

CaliBoy760, I assume the Registry is the contractor? How would one go about finding out who it is? Thanks for the reminder about the fiscal year.

I do have veterans preferences so even though I have little experience, I have high hopes that I will land something eventually.

[CaliBoy760]

Yes, a registry is a contractor. I would guess that every VA uses one or more. I would just ask someone in HR.

[featherzRN, MSN]

That's what I am doing. Will be working as a contractor for the VA someday soon, but still waiting for vetpro to complete (what else LOL). Anyone know why some CBOC's (outpatient clinics) are staffed by contracting agencies and some nearby are actual VA employees? Are the VA-staffed clinics more likely to be older clinics that came into being before they started using agencies?

[anitaw18]

I was an LPN for almost 8 years and just completed my associate degree and obtained RN licensure in April. I have been applying to every open position in the Cleveland, OH area which have only been about 12 positions. I have been 'referred to selecting official' on almost all jobs, but then later get an email saying 'not selected for the position.' At this point, I am feeling quite discouraged. I had heard it was a slow process, but can't just keep waiting and not find employment somewhere else. I was hoping for any ideas to help get in?

[marriedtoRN]

Update: Wife had a phone interview for an out of state VA position a little over 2 weeks ago. Now the waiting..... Is no news good news? I suppose it is hard to read into these things. Would they let you know you were not selected right away? I will add though that prior to the interview, she had discovered that her Associates of Nursing degree was from only a regionally accredited and State approved college and NOT an NLN accredited college. She let the person who was setting up the interview know right away and they still went through with the interview. Now... for another RN position she just applied too she stated "No" to the question if her education was from a NLN accredited school. She got a NOR back the first day after it closed that she was ineligible. She emailed back the recruiter challenging that since per the VA Handbook, that can be waived as long as the college is regionally accredited and approved by the State board of Nursing and the candidate has appropriate experience. She has not heard back from the recruiter. Personally, they are losing out on some high quality nurses if they stick to that "NLN" requirement, but the fact it can be waived they should change the assessment questionnaire.