Follow-up advice/recommendations

gr8rnpjt, RN · Sep 2, 2010

First of all, congratulations!! you're almost done! That is a great accomplishment, and you deserve kudos!

Regarding your question, I believe letters of recommendation are saved for after the initial interview. I may be wrong, but the last time I interviewed and needed letters of recommendation (like 10 years ago!) I had them ready and handed them to the interviewer after our interview.

regularRN · Sep 2, 2010

I would ask for tailored letters of recommendation after the initial interview, such that the letters reflect your suitability for the job you are applying for. A generic letter may not make much of an impression. E-mail is fine, but a"hard copy" of the original letter signed by the author is a valuable back up - make copies and submit the original.

coolpeach · Sep 2, 2010

I graduated in Dec of 2009, and had three letters of recommendation ready to go. The first job I applied for I made it through 3 interviews, and was pretty sure I had the job. Two days after my last interview the did away with the last 3 internships (including my spot) because of the budget. Anway, each time I tried to give them the letters I was told to bring it to the next interview.

The next job interview I told them I had them in my briefcase, but they told me they would get them later. They called me later that day and hired me, but never asked me for them.

In June I found out about a job opening that I couldn't pass up at a large hospital in my area. I had the 3 letters, plus a new one from the hospital I was resigning from. At the end of the interiew the DON said " I am prepared to offer you the postion". I then said " I have letters of recommendation". She told me to bring them later and they would put them in my file. To this day no one has seen them but me.

I am not really sure how much they actually help. It seems for me at least nobody wants to see them.

mmcdev · Sep 2, 2010

I would e-mail the hiring manager to let them know that you are very interested in a position and that you will be graduating in December. I would also let him/her know that you have letters of recommendation if needed. I wouldn't necessarily just e-mail them to the hiring manager. In my hospital, there were graduate nurse internships and you had to e-mail the nurse recruiter a transcript and 3 letters of recommendation. I would also ask the people writing you letters of recommendations to send you a copy just incase you would need it for another application.

rn/writer, RN · Sep 2, 2010

Contact HR and allow them to guide you through the process. Do mention that you already work in the system, will be graduating in December, and have letters of recommendation. But let them tell you what to do next.

Some HR departments want to send out their own forms asking specific questions. They have gotten burned by unscrupulous folks who have faked or forged recommendation letters, so they ask for the info in a way that can't be falsely manufactured.

Good luck with the job app.

JoMark06 · Sep 2, 2010

Most applications have a section for references and require contact information (mailing address/phone #) for those people. A clinical instructor, a professor and a nurse manager from my part time job all agreed to be my references. It is rare that an agency will accept a letter of reference, written ahead of the interview and delivered by you. Just like when you applied for nursing school (or at least when I did); letters of reference come directly from references to the school in sealed envelopes. I, to this day, don't know what's in mine, but I got into school on the first try so they musta been good! =)

LifelongDream · Sep 2, 2010

I would call once you've submitted your application. Just say, " Hello, this is _______ and I was calling to inform you that I've submitted my application for a position in your department and I'm eager to speak to you about my qualifications for your position." They like the fact that you've taken the time to call them.

JoytoWorld · Dec 6, 2010

Letters of Recommendation remain valuable throughout your career and for responding to a variety of life situations. Never lose them. Keep the originals in a safe place. You can also scan them and save them on disc.

Some professionals who frequently receive requests to write letters of recommendations will give you one original signed for you to save and copy and a second one in a sealed envelope with a second signature written across the closing of the envelope.

Some prospective employers will allow you to add extra documents in addition to your resume. Send COPIES or scanned copies of your 3 best if given the opportunity. Send them as long as the prospective employer does not state "don't send". Bring the letters to the interview if they are not allowed as attachments or not requested, they may move the decision in your favor. If you email send them as an attachment not as a copy/paste which could mean they were altered.

Usually the prospective employer makes the final decision based on the INTERVIEW. The interview is what you want to get and shine in. The primary purpose of the resume, application and recommendation letters is to get the interview. Some prospective employers read all, some only one or the other. Some employers are more interested in the letters than the application. As a manager, I always read them. Good recommendations usually say much more than resumes which eventually seem to look all the same when you have read hundreds of them for one position. Some invite you to call for more responses. Recommendations add sparkle and unique inside views to the candidate before you. The fact that you made the effort to obtain them also says something about your professionalism. You would be amazed to know how many people do not have them even after decades of work.

Best of luck.