Sorry Nurse Recruiters/Nurse Managers!

caliotter3 · Apr 17, 2012

Holding two or three jobs while in school and being a single mother didn't impress anyone after I left school. It didn't impress anyone while I was in school, they thought it was reason to discriminate against me. But then, I find that employers aren't impressed by much anyway. Hang in there.

allnurses Guide · Apr 17, 2012

I hear your frustration loud and clear. I'm unfortunately not of the

hiring persuasion, so I can't offer much insight.

It is starting to look like I had better luck finding a job back in 1996

with my VISUAL ART (non teaching!) degree, than persons with

nursing degrees are having, today. Sad.

classicdame, MSN, EdD · Apr 17, 2012

And what they are saying is "I am sorry we cannot hire new grads because they cost too much to train and statistically, are gone in 6-12 months". Everyone wants experienced staff, but how do people get experience? I am sorry for your situation and hope you find work soon.

catebsn25 · Apr 17, 2012

i hear your frustration... don't get discouraged! you will find a job... congrats on your hard work and success so far!

Merlyn · Apr 17, 2012

as i receive rejection after rejection for nursing jobs, i feel the need to apologize to nurse recruiters/managers who overlook my bsn because i lack patient care tech experience.
i am sorry i could not afford to take a job as a tech making 7 an hour. you see while attending school part-time, i needed to maintain a home, equipped with mortgage payments, children and all the other responsibilities of wife and mother.
i m sorry you cant see that i carried a gpa over 3.0 even with the all the responsibilities i have.
i’m sorry that you cant see that for past 2 ½ years of nursing school, i stayed up late each night studying or preparing care plans while working 40 hours a week.
i’m sorry that you can’t see how i worked tirelessly in every aspect of my life to obtain a second degree.
i’m sorry that you can’t see that despite a lack of patient care experience i am mature, driven, focused, ambitious and hard working.
i’m sorry that you can’t see that i passed by nclex exam with 75 questions in under one hour. not because of exceptional knowledge, because i studied tirelessly!
i’m sorry that you can’t see how i was complimented time and time again by not only my clinical instructors but more importantly the patients who i cared for. i wish you could hear the amount of times a patient or the family said “you are going to be great nurse.”
i’m really sorry you can’t see past this lack of experience and have formed a judgment against me before knowing me.
i’m really sorry you can’t see past this lack of experience and have formed a judgment against me before knowing me.

all these things do not matter in the real nursing world. these things count in the nursing school and if you go on for your master's. sorry, you lack patient care experience. go get some then reapply if you want to. i would just go somewhere else. all that matters to this job is patient experience. maybe there will be other jobs, other places. you never know. if the job said experience nurse they mean patient experience, not what you did in school.

it is sad, it is tragic. but the honors and hard work you put into getting a nursing degree doesn't matter. eventually, you will find a job. i wish you all of the luck in the world. i probably get blasted for this post, that i didn't say i'm sorry you didn't get the job and hugs. the one thing that i am sorry about is that your instructors didn't condition you for the rejection you will get when you go for a job. nursing schools are making a mint off of people that think there is a great nursing shortage. there isn't. there is a shortage of experience nurses but not of graduate nurses.

Purple_Scrubs, BSN, RN · Apr 17, 2012

I understand that this is a frustrating situation, OP. But surely you must understand that the hiring managers have to make judgments without the benefit of knowing any of the applicants (generally speaking). If you were comparing two potential employees with relatively equal stats, except one has experience and one did not, which would you choose to interview? Now imagine having hundreds of applicants for the same position. Not so easy.

Frustration is expected, and I am all for venting it out here on AN...that's what it's here for! But I hope you realize that the reality of the situation is that your life choices are not the hiring managers fault, and if there is a more qualified candidate for the position, they are going to choose that person.

I wish you luck in your job search, hang in there!

rockstar11 · Apr 17, 2012

I'm in your shoes right now and it really sucks. We've spent many years, countless hours, and given our all to this profession that continually is rejecting us. HR doesn't have the time to review our applications. No new grads.

To be honest, I went an entire month just applying, applying, applying to every single hospital in my metro area and didn't hear anything for a month. However, I just got off of a phone interview with a nurse manager. He asked about my experience, and I told him that I volunteer and worked retail during my RN school... which I really tried to blow off. But he didn't. They said that it was great customer service experience and general work experience, so don't discount it.

To the hospitals that I have poured many hours into, made many connections, only to be dismissed by HR? I'm sorry, I wanted to work there, but I will no longer apply. I am no longer interested in working for someone who doesn't want me there. It is what it is.

BTW.... All of the interviews I have gotten have said "Experience Preferred" on the application. Apply to all of them, the No experience and experience preferred. You never know!

Good luck to you - I hope that you get an offer very quickly.

Isitpossible, LPN, LVN · Apr 17, 2012

thanks all: purplescrubs of course I realize that. i dont think there is anything wrong with my life choices. I am an adult changing careers...Not particularly unheard of is it? ...just feel a little frustrated with the consistent rejections based on not being a CNA..... and yes i did hope to get a JOB after completing school, not really a far-fetched idea in my opinion...

PeepnBiscuitsRN · Apr 17, 2012

Shoot, I was an LPN for almost 5 years and the nurse recruiter flat out told me that LPN experience doesn't count nor matter.

Purple_Scrubs, BSN, RN · Apr 17, 2012

OP, I don't see anything wrong with your life choices either. Nursing is my second degree/career as well. My point is that it is not the manager's fault that your life circumstances did not allow for you to work as a CNA during school. They still have to make decisions and the person who was able to juggle a CNA position during school looks better on paper, which is what it all boils down to. Of course everyone wants a job, but no one is owed one. I understand the need to vent, like I said, but taking it all out on a nameless/faceless manager and making them the bad guys might feel good, but is not realistic nor helpful.

AgentBeast, BSN, RN · Apr 17, 2012

It's not what you know it's who you know. Sad and scary when it comes to healthcare.