Alberta health services- looking for work

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Jan 14, 2011

Posting vacancies and actually filling them are two very different things. I applied on two positions back in September that have still not been filled. No call, no interview, nada. And I have 8+ years of seniority. So at the moment they're not even shuffling the deck.

Fiona59 · Jan 14, 2011

They are posting and filling what they want to. There is no rhyme or reason as to which jobs are being filled.

Towards the end of November, they posted 20 casual LPN positions at RAH for surgical services. Haven't seen any come through on orientation yet....

What they are filling takes months from start to finish (think at least two)

back2bRN · Jan 15, 2011

It's exactly as said by the above posters. The positions filled are the ones they want to fill or are pressured to fill. I have recently changed positions (new one to start in 2 wks), and my current one is posted but... there was a vacant position unfilled for over 2 months.

My advice, keep applying, get your foot in the door somewhere, look at the "preferred" wish lists on the positions, see how you can add to your experiences by education.

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Jan 16, 2011

Well, it would appear that the two temp positions I applied for back in September were not filled and are now reposted. Do I bother applying again, or stay where I am? I feel like I need a break but am not crazy about getting my hopes up and then being disappointed again.

london39 · Jan 17, 2011

Thanks for all the responses. It is really frustrating and disappointing, I have applied to 15 positions in say the last 6 months and just nothing, so I am starting to wonder if there is a reason as to why I am not getting a response. It also seems impossible to talk to someone in human resources, as just an email is on the website, and like I said in my original post, when I did e mail them, I just got one of those automatic responses back saying to apply online. Alrighty then. It also seems like it would be easier to get a job if I was a new grad...I just hope that something comes up soon, or else I may have to think about leaving the province, or maybe even leaving the profession in hopes of steady, full time employment. I guess we just have to hope that it will all work out in the end!

RGN1 · Jan 17, 2011

Just keep applying. I know there are jobs, you just have to keep going until you find one! I must have hit the submit button at least 10 times before I got my job. Sometimes the posts are filled from within a unit, then they have a re-shuffle and have to re-post what lines are left after that.

Don't give up. At least the website makes it easy, just file your resume in the computer & then everytime something comes up just submit it.

london39 · Mar 24, 2011

It has been awhile since the original post, but as an update I have now applied to 23 positions with Alberta Health Services and not even one phone call. When I look on my resume submission history about 70% of the positions I have applied for come up as 'posting closed', the other 30% come up as 'filled'. Really disappointed and frustrated with how things are working out; I don't understand because I have experience, however I have been out of the hospital and in a small clinic for about 2 years now. Ugh. Never have been through this before. And I don't know how to reach anyone in human resources to talk to about this.

Fiona59 · Mar 25, 2011

Are you an internal applicant or an "outsider"? I'm thinking if you are in a small clinic you are an external applicant.

Even thought the positions say open to the public if there are casuals in the system, they will have priority over you.

You may need to try and get hired as a casual to get your foot on the seniority ladder.

Having said that, I know of a couple of lines that were posted and then left unfilled because Calgary wants the unit to change the rotations, shift length, etc. They are trying to cut back on OT. I've heard of 12's become 8s, 8s being changed to 12s, and part time positions being increased in size under this operation.

Cdnurstudent · Apr 10, 2011

Tree123 have you been hired yet??

I dont know if this is the case with RN jobs but I it seems to have been easier for many ppl I know to get interviews for NA jobs if they dropped off their resumes by hand at the units. I actually dont know of anyone who got an interview after only applying online. I think for many AHS jobs they get tons of online applicants and this is a good way of standing out. Or even follow-up phone calls to unit managers may help. Unit managers may not like this approach tho... but it really does seem to work with most of them :)

Although, like I said, it could be totally different with RN jobs for sure.

Fiona59 · Apr 11, 2011

Dropping resumes off on the unit is a major faux pas in my hospital. Unit managers just do not have the time to deal with it.

We don't even know if there will be UNE's/ACW's this summer. No news has come from Calgary on the subject for student summer hours.

And, main HR is still playing with the postings. They go up, down, back up again. It's taking on average three months in my hospital to fill anything.

RGN1 · Apr 18, 2011

Tree123 have you been hired yet??
I actually dont know of anyone who got an interview after only applying online.
Although, like I said, it could be totally different with RN jobs for sure.

I got hired by just submitting to an on-line posting for an RN permanent position. For sure it's no bad thing to go visit a unit (although in this case I didn't) if they have a posting but you still have to submit on-line.

I was already working at the hospital and so was an internal candidate but I have hardly any seniority and that did not cause me a problem because I had outside experience pertinent to the job.

If you are the right candidate chances are you will be called but they may already know who they want to give the job to and that can be a problem I know.

Just try and match your resume to the job they are posting by ensuring it's easy to see why you think you would be a good fit and make sure your resume is clear, concise and free from grammatical or spelling mistakes. Sounds simple but you would be surprised how many people don't do that.