Feels like a slap in the face...

[MECO28]

Hi All

I am a new graduate nurse who has worked for a hospital as a float CNA for a year as part of an educational program designed for nursing students to gain hospital experience and eventually work as RNs in the hospital. During this time I have received a lot of positive feedback from nurses and was told by staffing that a lot of floors request me. From the beginning there was an implication that I would be hired on as an RN when I graduated.

Well, I'm sure you know where this is going. Thirty-some RN residencies were posted. I applied, made it through the phone interview, and was scheduled to interview on my first-choice unit. I had an interview with the manager that felt like I was being shown the door before I even sat down and needless to say, I didn't get the job. Two of my dear friends and classmates who are external hires without medical experience outside of nursing school were hired for residencies on other units in the same hospital. (I am happy for them but dealing with my own disappointment)

I wasn't even called; I had to call HR to find out I wasn't hired. I have had nothing but good reviews and feedback at this hospital, I get along with all my co-workers so I just don't get it. I always thought that preference was given to internal hires. Anyone else have an experience like this before?

Please be kind in your replies. Constructive criticism is fine but I'm feeling like s*** right now and facing the very real prospect of unemployment since I'm pretty sure I can't work as a CNA once I become an RN, which will be this month providing I don't fail the NCLEX.

[sharpeimom]

i know it doesn't help very much, but something very similar has happened to a lot of us. it does hurt and it's very very hard not to take it personally. keep telling yourself that it isn't you, because it isn't.

some managers are jerks. give yourself the weekend to wallow, have a pity party, cry, stomp your feet, gnash your teeth, eat a whole pint of chunky monkey ice cream, and to use every single swear word you can remember ever hearing. then...

come tuesday morning, call and ask for a critique, have lunch with a friend, etc. in other words,

begin to put it behind you. things will get better for you.

remind yourself, if all else fails, that at least, your pants didn't split as you got up to go in!

my husband bought a new suit for a graduate fellowship interview and didn't bother to try

it on in the store beforehand. he got up to follow the interview committee chair and poof!

instant rear air conditioning! p.s. he got the grant.

[tokmom, BSN, RN]

So sorry to hear that you were passed over. I do wonder why they scheduled your interview right after you worked a shift? Why not make it when you were refreshed and prepared? I do think that was wrong on their part.

I will echo what others have said. Have a major pity party and then suck it up and get on with life. :hug: Talk to HR and find out where the ball was dropped and what you could improve upon in the next intervew. If you call them, write down what you are going to say, if it keeps you from becoming angry or blabbering away in circles.

Again, echoing, this might be a good thing in the long run. I have worked with CNA to RN and sometimes it is tough for the newbie. There are others on the floor that will only see you as a CNA even though you are now a nurse. Getting a job at another hospital would have you coming in as an equal and that is a good thing.

Good luck. Something will come your way. It always does.

[JulieCVICURN, BSN, RN]

There's also a possibility, awful as it is, that there's someone in a position to put a bug in someone's ear who doesn't like you on a personal level. It happens. I've seen more than once people apply to work on a unit and they may be very well liked and recognized as an excellent employee, but if the manager of that unit or someone close to that manager says, "I don't like that person for XXXXXX reason", you're SOL. It's not fair, and it sucks, but it happens.

[JenRN30, BSN]

You said this was your first choice unit, what kind of unit was it that you interviewed for? If it was something very specialized such as an ICU or some type of procedural unit, then I'm not really surprised. Especially these days, many of these units are not wanting to hire new grads.

Did the hiring manager request you to interview after seeing your resume, or did HR schedule the interview? It very well could be that this hiring manager had someone else in mind before your interview, or that they just don't like to hire new grads and HR scheduled you to interview without their input.

I would try not to take this personally. I would suspect that your friends who got hired in the same hospital were hired onto more general units, or possibly had internships/practicums on the units in which they were hired.

Also, this is only your first interview?? Speak with HR and ask them to schedule you for more interviews within the hospital. I'm confident you'll get a position.

Good luck, I'm sure you'll get something very soon.

[MECO28, BSN, RN]

Thank you for all your kind replies. The unit is not a critical care one- it's a medical neuro unit and they often take on new grads. Getting accepted for a residency there wouldn't necessarily mean that I would end up working on that floor- there is a strong chance I would be placed on another unit after the residency ends. I sort of knew I wouldn't get hired when she ended with "Well, I hope that even if you don't end up on this unit, I hope we can find a place somewhere at ______ hospital for you."

I have a pretty good idea what my weaknesses in the interview were but I will still call and ask for feedback- after I blare every angry, swear-word-laden song I own, eat a can of Pringles, and go buy some ice cream.

[Chapis]

i'm going throught the same thing, for the only expection is that i'm still in ns and i've been applying to two hospitals as a nurse tech with no luck at all. i started applying this january. i've only had one interview to which it didn't progress to a second interview all together i've applied a total of 14 times and nothing. i call hr and ask them, i've talked to the hr hiring manager and have asked him for tips, help, things i can improve on. i have changed my resume, someone has looked at it and made it look more professional, i'm rehireable at my previous jobs, i don't know what else to do but to keep on applying. the last time i talked to the hr hiring manager i asked him what else i can be doing to land a job, and he said, "make sure that when you have clinicals that they (rn's) remember your name". it's come down to pretty much of who knows who. i have a few classmates that have jobs and all of them have a sibling or a spouse working for that facility. its frustating-very frustating, hang in there :)

[netglow, ASN, RN]

I can promise you that those that have no healthcare experience, bad grades, flunked the boards a few times, BUT DO HAVE CONNECTIONS will get the job every time instead of you.

This is universal these days especially in acute care. And you know what? It's gonna stay that way. Very few people who have the type of makings to be great in acute care today, EVER make it there. What I take away from this is that, when my family has to go to a hospital, I gotta be there to care for my family members. Good thing I have case management experience. It will come to good use as well.

[brandy1017, ASN, RN]

Wow! I don't know why the hospital would turn away their own internal staff for outsiders with no experience.

It is ok to ask why you weren't chosen, what you could have done better or if they have any concerns.

But it may just be politics. I think its common that management has someone in particular chosen already and they go thru the interviewing process as a formality so no one can say there was favoritism or discrimination even though the end was already known from the beginning.

I hope you find a good job in the end and end up better off than you would have been if you had been hired at that hospital.

[brandy1017, ASN, RN]

As frustrating and unfair as this is the fact that you worked in a hospital before becoming an RN will make it much easier for you than the person hired off the street with no actual work experience. You will have more confidence and learn quicker because you know the lay of the land.

I wish I'd had that experience before I became a nurse. It was trial by fire and a very stressful orientation with many nights going home in tears and wondering why I became a nurse. On top of that, there was an LPN who was a bully who harassed me because she was jealous I was an RN. Give me a break, I didn't stop her from going on and becoming an RN.

Eventually things worked out and I made it thru, but I wouldn't wish the experience even on my worst enemy.

You will be truly glad that you got this experience beforehand. It will make the transition so much easier. I really believe that and recommend it to all nursing students to get practical experience.

[MBrnbsnmha/ed]

Hello,

Dont be to hard on your self. What struck out to me about your post was that sometimes when you are already at a facility and attempt to move up the clinical ladder there are factors that maybe be unforeseen that prevent you from moving up and you may HAVE to STEP outside that organization for RN employment. It is unfortunate but happens all the time. For example, I had a position where I have a advanced degree and always put in for other managerial jobs that fit my degree and resume however this employer never gives me a call back or anything. However, when I apply to other organizations I get multiple offers and feedback. Just food for thought. GOOD LUCK.

[~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN]

Double stuff oreos with milk can help ease the pain too

[nola1202]

oh it's the because I need you here and I'll have trouble filling your current job with someone as good as you syndrome. got it. :)