Interviews...do u have to accept that day???

[Soon-to-be-NurseJess]

I'm new here at allnurses, but I love how much information I'm able find here. I'm 20 years old and in my last 2 weeks of school before I will be done with my ADN. I'm applying to several different places for my first career experience as an RN :balloons: . 1 interview is on December 21 and its at the facility I really want to work at. But I am also scheduling another interview at another facility. I don't want to turn down one and not get hired at the facility on Dec. 21. Are you hired the same day you are interviewed or later? If its the same day, how do I tactfully explain I need some time before I let them know? I don't want it to look bad on me, but I really want my first nursing experience to be great and I need good benefits (don't we all!) I haven't scheduled the 2nd interview yet, so should I just schedule it for a time very close to the Dec. 21 one that way I won't have to make them wait as long? Thanks for any input.

Jess...who's so close to being done she can taste it :)

By the way...I just wanna say my hat is off to all you people who made it through nursing school with husbands/wives and kids at home and jobs :yelclap: ...I still live with my parents and only worked PRN as a CNA during school and it kicked my butt

[KatieBell]

Some places will hire you immediately, and some NM will even tell you during the interview that the job is yours if you want it. Some will call you a bit later. However, it is completely permissible and normal to say, "I need to discuss this with my family, or I need to think about this for a few days, Can I get back to you? Especially in the case of being so close to the holidays, you could easily say, "I'm very interested in working here, but I need some time to think about it, can I call you after Dec 25th.

They know as a new grad you will have other interviews cooking.

Best Wishes!!!!

[Simba&NalasMom, LPN]

I absolutely recommend taking as much time as you need to make sure your first job is going to be a good fit for you. I, too, am a new grad with a few months' experience and have had to learn that lesson the hard way.

I described my first job in lurid detail in another post so I won't go into it again here. Now, I'm finding myself in another employment crisis...my most recent employer hired me for full-time, then cut me back to part-time, so I had to leave to find a different job that would give me full-time; that position was eliminated, so I made the mistake of going back to the first job, knowing it was part-time; however, I was hired on by the parent corporation to work in an in-house agency position per diem at other facilities within the same company. Long story short, things came to a head today, I was told that they did not want to use me for the per diem position, so I was back to square one, working for this place part-time when I cannot afford to do so.

The common denominator in all this job hopping for me has been that I made the mistake of accepting these positions way too readily, and now I have a lovely, sporadic work history to show for it. :angryfire

I decided after much aggravation that this time I am going to take my time, interview with several companies, and take a few days to think about the pros and cons of each position.

The last poster is right...prospective employers will realize that you are a new grad and considering all your options. Nobody is going to tell you "Here's the deal, take it or leave it...we need a decision right now." And even if somebody did tell you that, would you really want to work for them?

By the way, congratulations on making it through the program! :balloons: