A little background about me is that I have my BSN and graduated in Spring 2018. I have been working in a hospital bed surg unto for about 4 months and prior to that a specialty doctors office. My dream career is to be an L&D Nurse so I’m always applying with hopes that one day somewhere will give me the opportunity. I was shocked to get a call from a great hospital down the street from me last Wednesday and she asked me to come in for an interview the following day.
So I met with the hiring manager on Thursday and the interview went a little over half an hour she was on her lunch break. The interview was nice and flowed more like a conversation, she didn’t have set questions for me even though I prepared for the hard questions. We just talked about me and my experiences what I want to do and why I want to be a labor and delivery nurse. Then she talked about the job itself and what it entails and how orientation would be broken down week by week for me. I also prepared a lot of questions in terms of how the unit worked like if it was baby friendly,what’s the population they see in mainly and what computer systems they used and she seemed to be interested in by my questions and we went off of that for a while. She laid out a lot of information in terms of how the union works, scheduling, seniority, the preceptors etc. It ended with A tour of the unit then we went back to her office and she talked a little more to me and this is where I get a little confused.
So she told me that if I were to hear back the next people I would hear back from where HR regarding a tobacco test. That HR only calls Monday through Wednesday since you have to come in within a 48 hour period for the tobacco test since they are a tobacco free campus. Following that I would schedule my on boarding appointment. Then she told me she still has one more person to interview still for the position (which terrifies me since I have no L&D experience). And she also let me know that she is going on a vacation for a week and a half at the end of this week and won’t be back til early April, So for me to keep in mind that she will be away for a little. She also gave me her business card with her phone number and email in case it’s been some time going by and I haven’t heard anything so I can reach out and find out where they are at in the process. Later that night I sent an email thanking her for her time and just saying how much that unit impressed me and how I’d love to join the team.
And now I am just thinking over every little detail wondering if her saying that she had another candidate still to interview and her giving me her card saying if I haven’t heard back about the status I can reach out. I don’t know if I should make negative of those details. At the same time her saying that HR if they were to call call me on a Monday through Wednesday for a tobacco screening followed by on boarding seems like a lot of information if you’re no longer in the running. She was laughing and smiling the whole time and our rapport felt great but now I’m freaking myself out since it’s been 5 days.
How long does it usually take for take for an offer after interview? Does it sound reasonable that an offer may be delayed due to her vacation or am I just being hopeful?
@klone thank you for your support. I’m just nervous because people keep telling me if they really liked me they would of called me before she left. I just feel discouraged. She also gave me her card and said if I don’t hear anything for some time that I can reach out to her which makes me wonder if that was her just being polite so she could update me when no one reached out. Normally I wouldn’t be this nervous but it is my dream job and I know the opportunity is rare for new grads to get into.
Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
Right now, this is the most important thing on your mind. But it’s not the most important thing on HER mind. In addition to needing to interview you, as well as another candidate, she is going to meetings, and working on monthly budget reports, and dealing with disciplinary issues, and gathering statistical data for various requests for information she gets on a daily basis, and planning the next staff meetings, and heckling the nurses whose BLS or NRP are about to expire, and worrying about how she’s going to staff next Friday, with 3 scheduled inductions and two nurses short. All while trying to prepare for her vacation in three days, knowing that most of these things need to get done before she leaves, if she’s to hope for any kind of peace and enjoyment while she’s away.
See what I’m getting at? Cut her some slack, and other than the “thanks so much for meeting with me” do NOT reach out to her unless you do not hear back from her by April 16th. Put that on your calendar: Klone gives you permission to call her on April 16th and not a minute sooner. If she wants to hire you, not calling her before then will not prevent you from getting that job offer. But calling her when she made a point of telling you she would be gone until mid-April will just annoy her, and you don’t want to annoy your new boss before you even start.
Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.
Your interview went well but she has another interview and she is then going to decide. I think you have a 50/50 shot given you/we know nothing about the other individual and that you won't know anything before two weeks from now. That being said, from what you said here you represented yourself very well. Provided you dressed professionally, were friendly, open, clean, well spoken and generally pleasant, I think your odds are actually really good. There are a lot of people out there who just plain don't interview well and it sounds like you did.
Your questions were insightful and fine. You are unlikely to hear back soon, so do your best to be patient. Call on April 9th to check on things if you have not heard from them. Ask how her vacation was. Good luck.
Actually I was thinking to giver her a call on April 18. If she gets back on April 7 (a Sunday) she would give information to HR, HR would then need to call you for that 48 hour tobacco thing. SO if you missed a window or didn't call it would fall on the following Monday (APril 15) Wed would be April 17.
Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
I'm thinking if she interviewed you on her lunch break, she must have been interested. I doubt that she would tell you her personal vacation plans or give you her card if she didn't think you were a strong candidate.
However, it's not completely up to her. The wheels of HR turn slowly. They feel no urgency because they already have jobs and they don't have to work harder when there are more patients.
If you don't get this job it would mean the other applicant was seen as very stellar. No matter. This nurse manager seems to like you and will likely give you a job when she is in a position to do so. Go ahead and call when she is back from vacation if you haven't heard sooner.
Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.
1 hour ago, RNNPICU said:
Actually I was thinking to giver her a call on April 18. If she gets back on April 7 (a Sunday) she would give information to HR, HR would then need to call you for that 48 hour tobacco thing. SO if you missed a window or didn't call it would fall on the following Monday (APril 15) Wed would be April 17.
The hard part is the waiting.
Awesome questions to ask
I thought about this too. An email would be a friendly way to bring her back to mind and not be too "in your face" anxious. How was your vacation, still interested, hoping to hear from you soon etc.
Specializes in UR/PA, Hematology/Oncology, Med Surg, Psych.
One of the most beneficial things for me when trying to get into acute care, was to let the manager know that I was very interested in working on this specific unit and that if I wasn't chosen for the position, I would love for him/her to please keep me in mind for anything (day/night, FT/PT) that might open up. It seemed to make an impression on her and she actually created a place for me.
Adri1992
8 Posts
@klone thank you for your support. I’m just nervous because people keep telling me if they really liked me they would of called me before she left. I just feel discouraged. She also gave me her card and said if I don’t hear anything for some time that I can reach out to her which makes me wonder if that was her just being polite so she could update me when no one reached out. Normally I wouldn’t be this nervous but it is my dream job and I know the opportunity is rare for new grads to get into.