Getting a job - from the employers perspective

Nurses Job Hunt

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I am the DON in a LTC facility. I currently have ads on careerbuilder for a full time CNA position as well as a full time LPN/RN position. Both positions are clearly advertised as 3-11 positions. I spent my day going thru what seemed like a hundred resumes for my 2 open positions. While thinking of all the "job needed" threads here, I decided that I must share my absolute frustration in hopes that someone will learn something from this.

- One resume with NO NAME. Seriously people. This isn't 2nd grade. If you can't put your name on your paper...YOU'RE OUT!

- 3 resumes (all submitted within 72 hours) without a WORKING phone number on them....you're out!

- 10...as in TEN, seemed to be surprised that I only have a 3-11 position open. "Don't you have a day shift"? "Don't you have something in management"? Umm, No, which is why I didn't advertise for that.

- At least 10 that haven't held the same job (any job) for more than 3 consecutive months over the last 3-5 years. (Why go thru this hell just to start again in a couple months).

- Several for a CNA position that live at least an hour or more away. (There are numerous facilities between home and here. Surely that drive..in a snowstorm..is not going to worth the $9/hr I plan to offer).

After several hours of weeding thru resumes and trying to call people, I have a whooping 4 interviews tomorrow. Hoping the interview process is better than the screening process! Also slightly worried that amongst all the crap I missed the hidden gem!

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I don't think clinicals should be counted (or listed) as employment as it's part of your education, not a true employment situation.

I listed it and got a job. Not everyone looks at the resume first and you have to explain unemployed gaps on most applications, so what else would I list?

Specializes in ..

When I see resumes with three month 'jobs' (one in psych, one in med surg, one in peds, etc) during their nursing school years, it's obvious that these are clinical rotations and educational experiences, not part of their employment history. It's also lying and dishonest. I'd rather hire a new grad with no experience than someone who twists their resume in an attempt to deceive.

Specializes in PDN; Burn; Phone triage.
I listed it and got a job. Not everyone looks at the resume first and you have to explain unemployed gaps on most applications, so what else would I list?

You explain that the unemployment period is when you were going to school.

(Or, if you're smart enough, you got a part-time job during nursing school. Not that I did that either, so it's all water under the bridge.)

Specializes in Oncology.

My alma mater had us include clinical experiences under a heading "clinical experience", not "employment". The point was so that potential employers could see where and what type of experiences we had under our belt. Also the "objective" line would say something like "graduate nurse seeking position as an RN on a medical surgical unit..." This way there would be no confusion about our background. Once we had experience working as a nurse, we were instructed to remove the "clinical experience" section from our resumes - they were only to be used when we were new grads.

On a side note, I once got a position as a nurse extern because of my handwriting. No lie, I went to a job fair and filled out a postcard. The HR lady said she picked mine because out of 400+ cards, mine was the easiest to read. God bless my second grade penmanship teacher...

I work an hour away. In fact there are NO jobs closer to me. I don't intend to relocate, and winter can be a terrifying doozey as I have to drive over a mountain to get to work any way I go...BUT, I am more consistent than the locals. The only time I miss work is if the mountains are closed by the DoT. Except the one time, when I almost slid off the mountain and took two hours to drive five miles (I left the house four hours before shift start to work through weather related traffic). That time I got stranded at the top if said mountain when they closed the mountain pass. So technically it counts as a mountain road closure LOL. The fact is, length of drive is up to the employee. If I decide I want to commute that far, it's my call. In fact, the long distance travelers may end up being your most dedicated employees. I'd suggest giving them an interview and discussing their winter commute plans. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Clinicals can't be used as employment because you're not actually working for those facilities. The gap in employment is due to your schooling, so that's easy enough to explain. My nursing school strongly encouraged us NOT to work during school so we could focus on our studies and clinical rotations. I had an outside HR person tell me that a different office told her specifically NOT to send them anyone who works in a certain county (the one I live in) because they aren't near an interstate and they had problems with a previous employee in that county always being late. The funny thing is interstate traffic SUCKS and you can get there faster off the interstate than on. Couldn't that be location discrimination? LOL

Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

Great idea for a thread. Good hints for what not to do.

You made many good points. As someone else mentioned, however, I wouldn't immediately discount people that live far away. When I was looking for jobs, I would apply for jobs that were up to an hour away. I love to drive, and a long commute doesn't bother me. I live in Ma., so I am aware of the snow issues, and that doesn't bother me either. I would say if their qualifications and resume looked appropriate for the job, call them and find out why they applied for a job so far away.

Yes, unless they have to perform emergency surgery (lol), if they have a reliable vehicle, and are willing to do the distance, who cares. This is how I first got open heart SICU experience when no one local was taking those unless they had fresh heart experience. I found a place that was willing to orient me (I had a lot of ICU experience) to fresh hearts. I stayed there over 2 years, and I would have stayed longer if it weren't for my children.

Specializes in ICU.
I don't think clinicals should be counted (or listed) as employment as it's part of your education, not a true employment situation.

I list mine, but put it under education. It's experience that should not be discounted.

Great feedback! EVERY TIME You know how you get so used to seeing something that if it's wrong, your brain just tells you it's right

I did that, to my complete embarrassment.

I forgot to change my phone number, so I sent off my resume with a bad number!

I could have kicked myself, it was so stupid!

I immediately resent it with the correct number, but alas...

The damage had been done, no doubt.

Obviously, and rightly so, I never did hear a peep from them. :bag:

When I see resumes with three month 'jobs' (one in psych, one in med surg, one in peds, etc) during their nursing school years, it's obvious that these are clinical rotations and educational experiences, not part of their employment history. It's also lying and dishonest. I'd rather hire a new grad with no experience than someone who twists their resume in an attempt to deceive.
Again I have to explain the unemployed time and why is it deceptive when I put down "student nurse" as my title? Glad not everyone thinks like you do! :)
I did that, to my complete embarrassment.

I forgot to change my phone number, so I sent off my resume with a bad number!

I could have kicked myself, it was so stupid!

I immediately resent it with the correct number, but alas...

The damage had been done, no doubt.

Obviously, and rightly so, I never did hear a peep from them. :bag:

I had my resume looked at by EVERYONE and still, when you look at even simple words such as "the" for too long it starts to look wrong. :nailbiting:

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