chance at va

It's possible, but it is a REALLY long process, even after you're selected. I mean, count on 6 months minimum.

Thanks for the quick reply. I an gong to start in late November so the wait us no problem. It just seems that all the posts I've read only as the wait time. I just was wondering how many people apply to each opening. Is it super competitive?

It just depends. Some positions get lots of applicants and others are pretty scant. Just make sure if they have requirements for your resume that you pay attention to them. We had an opening for a new employee last week and we had qualified applicants turned down because they didn't follow instructions.

When you apply make sure your resume has the key words from the posting in it since they are scanned by a computer to narrow down the number of applicants. I can not say what they are since each posting is different.

I applied several times and wasn't selected. I finally just called the nurse recruiter to see if she could see anything wrong with my packet and she set me up an interview. My advice is to call after you put your resume on USA jobs and speak with the recruiter.

Update: I've had 3 interviews now. One I heard back from in 2 days that I was not selected. The other two have been about a week and a half and I'm still waiting to hear anything. They were hiring more people for those positions. I still have my fingers crossed I feel like I interviewed well and should be a strong candidate. Of course I don't have any military experience and I understand that hurts my chances.

I got my tentative offer today :) They said they will try to get me started within 60 days :)

Congratulations!

I think one's chances are greater if you apply for a high-needs department. I applied for a bunch of clinics and didn't get them, and I think that's what most of the nurses go for, especially internally (I was told that the clinics in this system are the only ones that pay as well as hospital nursing). But the recruiter said she "really wanted to put me somewhere" and asked me to go to their OR. They are having a hard time retaining nurses there and I had 2 years OR experience. Once I got the offer, it took me 2 months for them to process paperwork, and they were still working on it even after I started my ToD.

I'm hoping now that I have my "foot in the door" I will have an easier time of going to the clinics eventually since I'll be an internal applicant.

Also, I believe there may be a vet preference, and FWIW, I'm not a veteran.

Yeah there is veterans preference. I'm not a vet either but I applied for inpatient medsurg nights. I'm sure that helped my cause.

I'm a veteran with 10-point preference. I was selected and received my tentative offer a month ago. I'm not sure if it helped or not but I was glad to have it. I should say that I do have experience in the specialty that I applied. While I was at my pre-employment physical today (during a random conversation) I was told that the VA isn't required to hire vets who fall under series 38 (RNs). They hire the most qualified candidates :).

Veterans preference will help you in getting your application looked at, but has nothing to do with the applicant they select.

I agree! Immediately, after the position closed I was selected for consideration but if I wasn't qualified or if I didn't interview well I'm sure I wouldn't have gotten a tentative offer. After all, the VA is looking for the best candidates...