Age- looking young

ixchel · Dec 30, 2015

Yes, looking young can go against you in a first impression situation, like a job interview. And unfortunately, carrying yourself with too much confidence can make you seem cocky. There is this little tiny range of confidence that you can exude where it works for you.

Unfortunately, you're stuck with it. Always know your stuff, and what you don't know, admit you don't know. Those are traits of maturity, and they will be respected. I'm 35 now, often guessed to be early 20s, but having the maturity that 35 trips around the sun gives you helps me cross that hurdle now. Hang in there!

ixchel · Dec 30, 2015

P.S. If you apply to facilities that take new grads, you'll have a better shot because those facilities LIKE younger, new nurses.

sallyrnrrt, ADN, RN · Dec 31, 2015

Wow...I wish I had this problem. You do realize us old folk are commenting on threads about just the opposite. You may be looked at like your young and inexperienced now but later you will look young and viable vs others who look tired and old. Today's curse is tomorrows blessing. Overall, be who you are...sure, change some appearance issues if you think it will help but ultimately BE COMPETENT AND CONFIDENT. Let's not forget there's a t.v. show with an M.D. in Houston who is a "little person". She got hired and she's two feet tall! I work with a amputee RN in the ER, she's got one arm and get's the job done. I don't look at her any different and she definitely has to take a deep breath every shift and step right up. You can overcome this obstacle.

It it could be worst with four + decades of experience maxing out tenure pay scale ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½

Been there,done that, ASN, RN · Dec 31, 2015

Looking young, sounding young and acting young are different things.

Which one could you be?

The statement from the interviewer could relate to any of the above. When the

interviewer said that .. what was your response?

vintagemother, BSN, CNA, LVN, RN · Dec 31, 2015

There have been threads about this issue before. I have been told I look young- like in my 20s. However, I think I carry myself like an older person, intentionally.

I was a young 1st time mother and am now an "old soul", (in my mid 30's) though people continue to tell me I look young.

Is there anything you can do to look older, more polished, etc.

As for me, I think light professional makeup helps me, as does a conservative hair style as well as conservative dress.

I've often been asked if I was in the military prior up nursing, which, I guess is due to my "stiffness" and (hopefully) conservative professionalism.

thinwildmercury · Dec 31, 2015

My patients are often shocked at my age. I am 24 but I have been a nurse since I was 22 and I don't usually wear make up so I look younger than that. I do realize that in my first 6 months as a nurse I was asked my age CONSTANTLY by patients. Now I am asked often but nowhere near as much as before. I think the confidence I have now in what I am doing makes it less relevant to most people. I get great reviews from my patients. I don't feel that any coworkers have had an issue with my age save for a couple of older CNAs.

Scarlettz, BSN, RN · Dec 31, 2015

I wouldn't worry about it. People are going to hold certain views, but the mature ones will overlook age when they have a great candidate.

Are you interested in peds at all? When I was in my pediatric rotation during school they had a lot of young nurses on the floor. I am not sure why. But, maybe because new nurses were so lively, optimistic, and not yet jaded? :roflmao: I guess it is a good atmosphere for the kids on the floor.

CryssyD · Dec 31, 2015

Well, your interviewer should have your resume right there, so your experience level should be obvious; I don't know that looking young is as much a problem as being inexperienced when the interviewer has an admitted bias against inexperienced nurses.

I've had problems with patients thinking I was too young and inexperienced to deal with their problems--they would ask for the charge nurse or "an older nurse." I look younger than I am, which was occasionally irritating when I was young; now that I'm "older" I appreciate it--a lot!

RNperdiem, RN · Dec 31, 2015

Luckily "too young" is a temporary problem. Even though I know better, when I looked up the pediatric surgeon who will be doing my son's surgery, my first reaction was: she is younger than me! She looks really young.

MLSTTS2015 · Dec 31, 2015

I am a new nurse and I look younger than I am. I just turned 25 but look barely 20. It did not hurt me in my interview process because most of the managers already knew me threw clinicals and me working at that hospital as a tech. However sometimes I think it throws some of the patients off. I get comments such as "your an RN you cant be much older than 18 if that!" but in situations like that I just reassure them and carry myself with confidence but not cockiness. and remember never freak out where the patients can see you and always ask coworkers for help

chacha82, ADN, BSN · Dec 31, 2015

You can't change really how you look so I would not stress too much about this. When finishing my RN program we had a very helpful mock interview session and they gave us a rubric that included how to present well for an interview. This person may have already made up their mind, but you can still interview for the experience. We were advised to wear minimal jewlrey, don't overdo the hair and makeup, wear clean, professional clothes that were conservative. That is all you can do. If you are typically very trendy, I would tone it down with that for the interview.

Newnurse1792 · Jan 23, 2016

Well this is old, I didn't end up getting the job, but got something else. I didn't want to mention it at the time because of fear it could get back to me somehow. She made a lot of inappropriate comments. I asked her how I could prepare myself for a career in psychiatry and she said get on your knees and pray. And complained about the nurses she works with going back to school and was generally accusatory. Yeah it was a blessing.