Dignity Health Santa Cruz New Grad

[FishBones]

Hello All,

I recently applied to Dignity Health, Santa Cruz's New Grad nursing program. On the Facebook New Grad page, it seemed like a few candidates got interviews and offers before the deadline of the application (9/1/18) and I can't help but think that this is quite unfair and frankly false advertisement.

Perhaps this is simply me wanting to rant and express my frustration but I worked hard on that application and I would understand if my application was not accepted due to other candidates having higher qualifications, but I would feel cheated if I was not accepted simply due to a first come, first serve basis (which was not mentioned anywhere in the application).

To me who has been a hiring manager before, if I place an application deadline, I would consider all applicants before selecting 14 candidates to fill positions, but perhaps it is different in healthcare? I can't help but think that they simply wanted a warm body for the new grad position, rather than actually finding the best candidates.

So I would like to get some advice for future new grad applications. Is it a first come, first serve basis? Do recruiters stop looking at applications after fulfilling the required open positions?

[Alex_RN, BSN]

Santa Cruz is so beautiful, I wonder what it costs to live there?

I have no new-grad input, but for job search stuff in general I have accepted that it is mostly random. My father used to say, you want fair? The Fair is in Pomona (where our County Fair is located).

For any job, there will be inside candidates, candidates already selected before the position posts, if it is day shift then there are probably some night shift staff in line ahead of you, your resume may be identical to dozens of others especially as a new grad so it will really be random. Different reviewers will have different biases. They might love or hate your school. Your name might seem vaguely familiar in a good or bad way. I knew a manager who always gave priority to new grad applicants with a history of food service, waitstaff, or bartending. The reviewer might be having an especially good or bad day. The first pass might be done by software looking for key words. There are so many factors, you cannot count on it being rational or fair in a way you can decode.

[Alex_RN, BSN]

I remember agonizing over every word of my resume but got my first job at a job fair. We were lined up for the two recruiters from the same hospital. If you got the one on the left, he would do a brief interview of new grads and then tell you that the facility did not hire new grads. I got the one on the right who asked me what I liked about the facility, spoke with me in-depth, and then a few days later THAT recruiter hired three new grads. We were that hospitals first new grads in years.