A question about hiring.

[Broomrider]

I am graduating in May. I've been talking to recruiters, filling out applications, attending open houses and job fairs, and sending out resumes with an attached cover letter.I had help with my resume by a college professor who teaches a class on the subject. When I go to speak with a recruiter I'm well dressed and groomed, I have a possitive, confident attitude, and I show a willingness to become part of their team. Unfortunately the outcome is always the same...no call back for an interview. My question is...What do you have to do to get hired? I'm starting to feel really hopeless. Any and all help will be really appreciated. Thank you.

[onduty23]

yep i had same thing happen to me. with some recruiters/nurse manager i dont really think they want the position filled. my advice is keep trying some recruiters act like the hospital is theirs so if they dont like you wont get a called back. try every hospital eventually you find a recruiter or nurse manager who wants to filled the open position. another tip i have is to bypass the nurse recruiters all together and talk to the nurse manager directly of a floor you'll like to work on. this accomplish getting your foot in the door and if nurse manager likes you no matter how the recruiter feel about you got the job. another reason for your difficulty may be the fact you dont have your rn license some hospital wont deal with you without your license.

[Broomrider]

Thank you 'onduty23', I think I like your advice about talking to the nurse manager. After all, they would most likely be working with me anyway. Thank you.

[NurseLatteDNP, MSN, DNP, RN]

I can just tell you from my experience, what has worked. I had interviewed with 4 major Dallas hospitals and got a job offer from 3 of them. The nurse managers tell me that they like that I bring life skills with me, not only good grades and a degree. While talking to them, just let your personality come through and talk about some things you have accomplished in the past (unrelated to nursing). And DON'T EVER forget the "Thank you" note or letter. One nurse manager told me that she only invited those people back to the second interview, who sent her a thank you note after the first one. Good luck to you!!!

[pixiepie]

Hi, I'm a new grad nurse myself and don't have a ton of experience to draw from. I'm in the midst of the job searching myself. All applications are via online here. I realized calling recruiters in HR was pointless b/c they tend to screen their calls, and they seemed to want to get me off the phone as soon as possible. So... after about 1 week after I sent my application in, I call the hospital, ask for the unit I'm applying to, ask to speak to the unit manager. I totally lucked out the first time and the manager was available to speak to me. She requested an interview right away, even though she hadn't read my application yet. Interview went well, now I just have a shadowing experience, then I'm supposed to call her in the morning and tell her if I want the job.

The second place I called, the manager was unavailable, but a few days later, suddenly received a call from HR requesting an interview. Did that one yesterday--one with HR, then one with 2 unit managers. I have two shadowing experiences scheduled this week with them, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this one works out b/c it's my dream position.

So after all that, I fully encourage that you start skipping HR all together, and focus on making your one week follow up calls to the unit managers. Then just think positively--how you are the right candidate to fill the position--the rest will just follow.

hth