Can turning down a job cost you a chance later?

ajaxgirl · Jan 29, 2010

I'm in my last semester and I'm going through the list of hospitals, their New Grad requirements, etc.
My question is: If I decline a job offer at a hospital, and in the future decide to apply for a position there, can the fact that I declined their offer in the past cost me an interview in the future?
I was thinking about this today because I was thinking: If I got an offer from Hospital A and Hospital B, and declined A to work at B, if I applied to Hospital B (maybe a year later, even if for a per diem position), would they even look at my application?
I hope my question was clear. Thanks in advance for your responses.

I don't know but I wanted to say I have often wondered this myself.

caliotter3 · Jan 29, 2010

It would depend upon the policies of the employer. It probably has a lot to do with how long they keep your application on file. You can call the HR and ask them. Personally, I apply to one employer at a time. When I make the determination that employer A is not going to offer me employment, then I move on to employer B. I don't waste a lot of time waiting on an answer though. Having to choose between two good employers is not something I want to do, so I arrange things so I don't have to.

RNDreamer · Jan 29, 2010

I was thinking the same thing, to apply one at a time. However, I do not want to wait too long on for a call (for an interview) that may not come. Thanks for the suggestion to call HR, they would probably be able to tell me.

It would depend upon the policies of the employer. It probably has a lot to do with how long they keep your application on file. You can call the HR and ask them. Personally, I apply to one employer at a time. When I make the determination that employer A is not going to offer me employment, then I move on to employer B. I don't waste a lot of time waiting on an answer though. Having to choose between two good employers is not something I want to do, so I arrange things so I don't have to.

caliotter3 · Jan 29, 2010

When you apply, ask them when you can expect further action (call for interview) and base your next move on that.

ajaxgirl · Jan 29, 2010

I was thinking the same thing, to apply one at a time. However, I do not want to wait too long on for a call (for an interview) that may not come. Thanks for the suggestion to call HR, they would probably be able to tell me.

I would think it could take a long time if you applied to one place at a time. Sometimes it takes a month for them to call,then schedule an interview, check references etc. It can add up to 2 months.

schack · Jan 29, 2010

It hurt me. I turned down a med/surg position and was not even considered for an OB position that I applied to. And HR made the comment that if I was "already" working there I would have been considered. :uhoh3: This was a smaller facility, not sure at larger hospitals...

Spacklehead, MSN, NP · Jan 29, 2010

I was offered a job that I decided to turn down and then about a year later, reapplied and got an interview again with the same exact dept. manager who wound up remembering me. However, I had a very good reason for not accepting their offer in the first place (it had to do with a family member becoming terminally ill with cancer who I helped care for), so once I explained it she completely understood. I then wound up getting the job at that facility without any problems.

mamamerlee, LPN · Jan 29, 2010

People turn down offers all the time, for a wide variety of reasons. Unless you annoyed someone by the way you turned them down, it really should not affect the next opportunity. Some of us may be making an assumption that since you turned down a previous offer you may be locked out at that particular facility, but I really don't think so.

I can't imagine waiting to apply, one job at a time, in this economy.

Best wishes!

**All Heart RN** · Jan 29, 2010

I'm in my last semester and I'm going through the list of hospitals, their New Grad requirements, etc.
My question is: If I decline a job offer at a hospital, and in the future decide to apply for a position there, can the fact that I declined their offer in the past cost me an interview in the future?
I was thinking about this today because I was thinking: If I got an offer from Hospital A and Hospital B, and declined A to work at B, if I applied to Hospital B (maybe a year later, even if for a per diem position), would they even look at my application?
I hope my question was clear. Thanks in advance for your responses.

I've considered this scenario. With the economy in shambles right now, I couldn't afford to apply to one position at a time...especially as a new grad. So...fast forward, I received two offers from two great hospitals.

I ended up turning down the offer at the world-renowned facility because it wasn't as great of a package. The Nurse recruiter was very friendly and stated, "I hope you will consider us in the future."

That was definitely a hard call to make but I declined on good terms so I'm not sure why I wouldn't be able to apply in the future.

S.Gettes · Jan 29, 2010

I think that if they really need the staff then it should not matter at all whether or not you have turned down a position there in the past. If you get a job at one place and then another offers you one that you have to turn down just politely explain to them why you are turning it down, word it something like " Thankyou very much for the opportunity but i have since gained employment elsewhere but please keep my application on file for the future as i may like to work with you at some stage in the future if the opportunity presents itself." This way they may note it on your application and it will not hurt you, they will understand that you turn it down because you have started work elsewhere. If you have only been at the new place for a short period of time then you decide to leave there with the hopes that the interview process will go well and you will get the positon then this can hurt you much more than turning down the job in the first place, you could be showing them that you are less than commited to your job as you left so soon and if you do not get the job with the new hospital then your old one may be unwilling to have you back. Its a headache, i know, but just try to apply one at a time and request an average amount of time that it will take to hear back on your application. Good Luck to you and i hope it all works out for you.

jorjaRN · Jan 30, 2010

I recently accepted a job at a hospital that I had turned down an offer from several months ago. The job I took was in a different department, but the HR lady was great, and I simply explained that I felt the first position was not a good fit for me, and asked if there were positions anywhere else in the hospital.

As far as applying for one job at a time, I would definitely not recommend that. I applied to probably close to fifty different places, and heard back from about 5 of them within the time frame of a couple of weeks. Most of them sent an e-mail saying they had nothing available after maybe a month to six weeks. Trust me, as a new grad in this economy, you can't afford to wait from every job you apply to before applying to the next one. Most places I applied to, it was next to impossible to even get your hands on direct contact info for HR, and everything was done online, so it wasn't even possible to call and follow up. It can be really frustrating.

If the worst thing that happens in this process is choosing between two attractive offers, you will have gotten off easily, so I say go for it and apply anywhere you can :)

Best of luck with the process!