Job fair?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

So I have a job fair tomorrow that Im hoping works out for the best. Has anyone ever had a RN job come of a job fair? I interviewd at this hospital about 5 months ago as a new grad RN, but with 3 years LPN experiance. My end goal is to land an ER job in my career. I got turned down the job d/t lack of experiance. Since then I have been working as an RN at a LTC facility, and I have learned a tremendous amount. It just simply is not were I want to be. So I just have my fingers crossed to land any floor job really tomorrow at this hospital job fair!

I personally have no experience but know of 4 classmates that got their first jobs at hospitals...1 in ER...no experience but did clinicals at the hospital and 2 were LPNs and got ICU and ER....and the last on med/surg floor...my first job I got via applying for open staff nurse positions...all of the job fairs that I was interested in out right stated...not intended for new grads!

Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

In my personal experience, job fairs are a way for hiring managers to quickly fill unlicensed job openings (housekeeping/EVS, cooks, dietary aides, patient care techs, transporters, security staff, maintenance mechanics, etc).

I've never gotten a licensed nursing job via a hiring fair. On the other hand, I've gotten a number of unlicensed jobs (cashier, CNA, direct care positions) via hiring fairs in years past. Your mileage may vary.

There was a job fair a one of our local hospitals a couple of months back. It was specifically for RNs and encouraged new grads to attend. It was ok, I knew a lot of people who went to the fair but no one that I know was offered a job. The job fair was kind of weird, they had managers from departments that don't even hire from outside the hospital (?) and EVERYONE who came for the job fair showed up at the opening time. The room was way too small to accommodate all of the people, and the hospital staff and HR seemed shocked that there were so many people...even though the advertisements for the job fair said "New grads be there by X time for special opportunities".

As an aside, I could not believe how people showed up to this job fair...there were people in flip-flops and shorts, workout clothes, you name it. Only a few people were actually dressed like they were going to an interview. People were asked for resumes and I heard "Uhh, well I didn't bring one", stuff like that.

My thought is, if you're going to bother going to a job fair, make it worth your time and theirs!!

Specializes in ICU.

A good number of my classmates got offers during job fairs right out of school. I also got offers at a different job fair later, but they weren't what I was looking for so an actual job did not come out of it.

I am talking specifically about RN job fairs, though. It is relatively common in my area for hospitals to have RN-only job fairs. If it is not a RN job fair, it may be more for unlicensed personnel like TheCommuter was talking about, and your luck might not be as good.

I attended my first job fair about 4 months after graduating nursing school and was offered an RN position out of it. I treated the job fair like I did an interview since I knew there would be managers and directors there. It's a great opportunity for you to make a direct face to face impression. However, it doesn't end at the job fair. I made sure to obtain their business cards for contacting them afterwards about an interview. I feel like persistence was the key there. Best of luck to you! :)

The large job fairs are usually held at a convention center. There are multiple hospitals there. I haven't attended one in a while but they are mostly looking for experienced nurses. New grads can attend as their schools encourage it but interest by the various hospitals varies. Sometimes you can make an impression on someone at a hiring table and get invited to new grad interviews.

My hospital has done individual job fairs over the years. I've sat at my unit's hiring table several times. For experienced nurses, we do on the spot interviews & tours so be prepared with resumes and a professional attire. Unfortunately, most people who show up aren't qualified to actually just walk onto the job as I work in a specialty unit. We will interview them anyways. A lot of new grads come but I never see them as they attend an "interest seminar" held by human resources. I don't know what they tell the new grads though. Good Luck to you!

I had a few RN interviews that resulted from a job fair. The new grads were told to come btwn x and y hours and then experienced RNs in the remaining hours. I found having a separate time for new grads very helpful because the recruiters knew you were a new grad and you were not trying to compete with the experienced RN standing right next to you.

Be sure to have your elevator speech ready with a little bit about your story/experience and why they should hire you! I always try to have some sort of connection/compliment with the hospital that you are talking to (ie did clinicals there, had a great experience as a patient there, family member works there, grew up down the street etcetc). Be sociable and confident. Job fairs hire on first impressions!

Specializes in oncology, MS/tele/stepdown.

I went to two job fairs, although the first one was more of a trial for me for the next one. I didn't get any offers, but I had a lot working against me; I was a new grad, I didn't really know how to be aggressive at the events, and I had a lot of competition. I would try it again though, now that I have more experience and more to offer.

I have attended two RN job fairs at two different hospitals in the last month. The first one, it was a frenzy with several attendees. It was a large conference room with tables set up with hiring managers, charge nurse, and/or unit directors from several department. We had to line up and wait for the person in front of

you to be done, then it was your turn. Interviews were really quick (and I mean no more than 5mins each) and I didnt feel like I had enough time to let them know about me, my qualifications, etc. The charge nurse interviewing me even apologized for it feeling rushed. I interview for med/surg and tele. Both asked "tell me about yourself" Med/surg also asked to describe the nursing process and that was it. With Tele, the nurse asked a few

more questions. I felt a little more at ease. I have not received a call from them.

The most recent RN job fair was a bit more organized. The flyer specifically stated to be prepared for interviews, on the spot offers, and copies of resumes. At check-in I was asked what dept(s) I was interested in, and my name

was placed on a list in said dept. I then went to a fairly small room. At first, they were calling out on anyone interested in "X unit and have experience/no-experience" Later, they started calling people by names and were directed to an adjacent room to be interviewed. I enjoyed this format much better because it didn't feel rushed and I didn't have a line behind me waiting for their turn. I am actually being considered for a med/surg position but, per hospital policy, I have to wait 7 days from the job posting in case an internal candidate is interested. But there were quiet a few people who received offers and left the job fair employed.

Thought I had my foot in the door once, through a job fair. It got derailed by HR.

Make the most of the opportunity. Consider it as a job interview. Seek out the ER manager, give them a resume, and your elevator pitch.

Good luck, let us know how it went.

Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

Well so far I went, had resumes ready and handed them to two nurse managers. I only saw ED (main choice) and CIC. Luckily one of the nurses for the ED that was givimg the tour of thw ED I graduated LPN school with a few years ago. I will be sending a thank you letter to the manager tonight to hopefully set myself aside from some others. Luckily there are 4 full time ED positions open at this time. Since I do have a RN job now, even if its not what I want to be doing, Im looking at this as whatever is meant to be will be.

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