Advice on navigating this?

Follow the contact instructions that were provided on the job advert. It is HR's job to sort out all the applicants so that a very busy hiring manager doesn't have to do this. Trying to circumvent this process will not work in your favor, particularly if the department manager position is in flux at the moment.

Ignore the online application process! they are never new grad friendly.

Hand carry your resume to the floor. If there is no acting NM, ask to see the director.

Best of luck!

You have worked on this floor before? It seems so from this post but its not totally clear. If you have worked on this floor before or even for the employer (hospital/faciltiy) yes you can go to HR with your resume...they are ok with employees going to them in person. However if you have no connections to the hospital/facility DO NOT go to HR. They are not friendly to new grads that are strangers and will just roll their eyes and tell you to apply online like you are supposed to. This is for cities/urban areas who have many new grads.

However if you are in a rural area/area with shortage of nurses that frequently hires new grads then go to HR like scaredsilly said. But in a city with too many new grads, walking into HR of a place u have no connection to will just get u blacklisted (I heard HR admonishes u and still takes your resume puts it on a pile of many other newgrads that tried to walk in without invitation and your names gets u on the ignore application list....so yes they do not like people that do not follow rules). Best bet is find who the Asst Director of NUrsing is and email them. Google them.

I'm in a large city. I applied for literally hundreds of jobs, and at first I followed the rules and tried online applications. No joy! I would look at the application status and it would cnage to 'not under consideration' within seconds of submission. My classmates started getting hired, I asked how and they all bypassed the online process and HR and went straight to the NM in person on the floor where the opening was. I did that, I got hired. About 25 of my classmates got hired that way so far!

Thus, I disagree with Estrella! The "rules" appear to be there to save HR from working too hard. Bypass them and get a job!

I live in NYC, several classmates and I tried the bypass the rules approach and all we got was HR rolling their eyes at us and telling us to apply online. We ended up getting called for interviews only where we applied online or emailed the manager. Places we walked into without invitation never called us. This was in 2012 and recent grads tell me it's the same now too. Also NYC hospitals have tight security and do not allow people to just walk onto the floor. And nurse managers do not appreciate random new grads bothering them during their work day. Experienced RNs get a pass but not the inexperienced. No new grads are allowed on the floor in my hospital...unless they have a purpose other than to get a job such as visit a relative that's on the floor as a patient. This is reality in NYC.

So scaredsilly, perhaps your city has a different situation. But saturated cities such as NYC, Chicago, etc and most of urban California are not so friendly to new grads.

However if u already know staff that works on the floor, then different story. I'm talking about not knowing anyone there and just walking in.

Estrella, perhaps each city is different. Where I am, it is impossible to get hired by 'following the rules', HR is not just not new grad friendly, they are down right rude and nasty to new grads! With the exception of psych units, hospitals here are not locked down or high security and anyone can walk onto the floor, so going to see a NM is easier than what you described. We were all told in school not to just walk in with a resume, but we all took in NCLEX in June or early July and no one was getting hired so we started walking in requesting a moment with the NM, and we started getting hired.

In my opinion, the NMs that are willing to hire new grads really should be able to change the filters on the online application process not to throw out applications from new grads, but until they do it seems that the only way to get a job is to walk in and hand a NM your resume! Besides, what do you have to lose? If you can't get your application to even be read by a human you won't get the job anyway, so walking in won't hurt your chances. You either get hired or you don't, but at least you are giving yourself a chance!

Interestingly, the exact same HR person who was rude, nasty and practically hung up on me when I called was the nicest person in the world when she called to say that the NM asked her to extend a job offer!

Your situation is different also. As per your previous posts, you had a connection into the hospital as your preceptor told you about the job and other nurses gave good word about you. In this case yes, walking in to see the NM is good idea as you are not a stranger. In NYC i heard of no one getting hired by being a stranger to the hospital and walking in and the NM accepting a random job seeker and giving them time.

However if you are a stranger to the hospital/do not know anyone there, security will not let you up. To interviews i went to as a new grad, everyone entering the hospital has to get a visitors pass at the security desk. The agent asks you your purpose there, who you are visiting and if a patient, they search the patient's name in the system and gives you a badge with the room number. However if you are there to see an employee, NM or HR or Nursing director, security calls them to make sure you have a purpose being there and you are not just going in to pester them. If the NM confirms that you have a meeting with him or her, they let you in. If the NM does not know you, you get asked to leave. NMs are not friendly to strangers walking in to ask them about a job because they are busy and do not like interruptions.

Email is different if you have no connection to the hospital. Emailing the recruiter or even NM if you know her/his name, has gotten classmates and i reply as the NM does not feel cornered during a busy day by a person looking for a job, esp one with no experience.

Wow, so glad I don't live in NYC!

Nightcrow, it doesn't matter if you know anyone or not. I know tons of people who got hired by walking onto a unit and asking to see a NM when they knew no one. Fortunately for us, NYC seems to be the only place with hyper-security, so since you are in Cali, give it a try! You really do have nothing to lose!

California (depending where you are) is saturated with new grads and experienced RNs. As per a CNN report, 47% of Cali new grads are unemployed over a year after RN licensing. If you are in a smaller city (as in non-Metro area) or rural area definitely try go into the hospital, likely less security to stop you and the NM may be more welcoming of grads with no experience. Large metro areas, however, will not work with just walking in unless you name-drop/know someone. A classmate's cousin who lives in LA, tried going into see the NM and got stopped by security at LA hospitals. She also tried San Fran while vacationing and the NMs turned her away and told her to go to HR for job seeking and they are too busy to chat with new grads. It all depends where you are located, I heard Bakersfield and similar cities are more friendly in terms of hire (and may be more needing of staff and less picky on whether you have experience or not). As for experience, Im an experienced RN and Im looking to move to other units within my department. I applied to other units at other hospitals in the area and at one interview, the NM said she cannot hire me as i do not have the exact experience of working in that unit. Ha, so much for experience. Nursing skills are transferrable. I guess for some NMs, they arent.