Does this happen often when interviewing?

[tj151619]

I just had a question to see if it has happened to anyone else applying for their first nursing job. It was my first nursing job interview for a graduate position.

I interviewed about a week ago with the unit manager. Something I found odd was prior to the start of my interview with her, she mentioned "Just so you know, I currently do not have any openings at this time but who knows what will happen in the near future." She also made mention of putting applicants on a "bench" in the event that she would need to hire a new nurse in the future.

What strikes me as confusing is when I initially scheduled for interviews, the recruiter told me the two units I was applying for were in need of nurses. Yet only a couple weeks later, the manager informs me that she doesn't have any need for a nurse now? I'm not sure if its just miscommunication between HR & the units or the nurse manager flat out did not like me.

However, my interview with her went over well & I think it even lasted longer than an hour. She also knew I had an interview on another unit a couple hours after this one. She seemed interested but I also can't gauge people's facial expressions very well. Anyways, she offered me to shadow with a nurse after the interview which I did. Afterwards, she escorted me up to the other unit I'd be interviewing with and that's pretty much it. Having said that at the start of my interview, it completely threw me off going into my second interview.

Obviously nothing is certain or final & I've accepted that I probably wasn't a candidate they wanted. But I just didn't see the point of me even doing the interview after that comment when perhaps I could have opted for another unit who may have truly needed a nurse.

Any thoughts would be most appreciated! :) I am very grateful to have even been offered interviews & know the keen sting of rejection is common especially when applying for jobs.

[llg, PhD, RN]

It's not uncommon for a Recruiter to schedule 2 or more interviews on the same day. Was it the fact that the Manager escorted you to the 2nd interview? That's not all that uncommon either. The hospital knows that you are applying to more than 1 job: it's not a secret to them.

As for the manager saying that she had no jobs to offer today, but might in the near future, is not that strange either. She may know that she has some staff members who are likely to leave soon and she might just be looking ahead, lining up a few possibilities as she said.

Something similar happened to me twice -- for leadership positions. For the first case, a hosptial about 1 hour away from my family's home advertised for a position that interested me. I responded to the add and set up an interview, combining it with a visit to see my family. (I paid for my own plane ticket, etc.) When I got to the intereview, the position had already been filled. They had kept the interview on the schedule to be polite and hoped to lure me into moving back to the area. If they had offered me a position, I might have moved there -- but I wasn't going to move there with no job offer!

Several years later, I was back on the job market and responded to and add from a hopsital in a different state. They paid for my plane ticket, hotel, etc. But by the time of the interview, they were pretty sure the funding for the position had not come through in full -- and they had decided not to hire a new person. They just promoted someone from within to do some of the key tasks on a part-time basis.

So yes, those sorts of things happen. Just do your best at the interviews and let the situation work its way through. You never know what is going on behind the scenes.

Good luck!

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

It also may be that she has openings but isn't in a position to train a brand new nurse right now, so she has no openings for which you are qualified.

[TriciaJ, RN]

After an interview, I never could sense accurately whether or not I'd be offered the position. I've had some pleasant surprises, and I've been rejected for positions I thought I had in the bag.

Any number of scenarios are possible in your situation: miscommunication between unit manager and HR, the manager took a liking to you, the manager disliked you, the manager is hoping to fill anticipated vacancies, etc etc.

It sounds like you handled yourself with aplomb: you went through with the interview after the manager told you there was no job, and you went through the second interview as well. That's all you can do. I'm sending you good thoughts that the planets all line up: that there is a job and someone likes you enough to offer it to you. Good luck!