No interviews, so I want to call hirers to badger for interviews?

Nurses General Nursing

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I am going to graduate from an AAS program in May and I have been looking at jobs but see they all require experience and have no place for new grads. Once I start submitting resumes, I anticipate not getting many interviews, so I am thinking of calling nursing managers at hospitals directly to ask them for an appointment so that I could sort of use it as a job interview once I get there. Failing that, I plan to aggressively badger them until they at least give me a chance. I have talked to other nurses and they say the website openings are unreliable anyway so calling the nurse managers directly will give me a better picture.

So I plan to call them and try to force an interview situation through a meeting and then get a job on that basis. I think this kind of confrontational attitude might be just what I need because few people are willing to say "no" face-to-face, because that's rude.

I don't think it's unreasonable for me to expect to apply for a job in-person. I deserve at least that opportunity. Then, if they truly don't want me, they can reject -- IN PERSON. I refuse to be dismissed by letters in the mail and I refuse to be ignored.

Can you guys weigh in on this?

I used to work in HR. This is the worst idea ever.

First off, no Nurse Manager is going to give you an appointment unless they do want to interview you for a job (they have a job to do too, they don't take appointments from random people like a beauty salon).

Second, your name will quickly be recognized by any employer you pull this tactic with, and you're resume will be trashed. It's very unlikely someone will want to hire a pushy, obtuse newbie who displays zero understanding of professional protocol or boundaries.

Third, oh yes they will say no to your face. HR and any hiring manager's job is to (politely) say no to people's faces. They're used to it.

FYI - The way to get your resume in front of the nurse manager is to have somebody who already works there pass it along as an employee referral.

it sounds very creepy and will guarantee you a long life of unemployment.

why don't you take the normal route and get your foot in the door by working as a CNA.

Specializes in PACU, Surgery, Acute Medicine.

I graduated a year and a half ago in an equally bleak job market but I had no trouble lining up job interviews. I think you're correct that blindly applying to an internet posting is unlikely to yield an interview. What I did was to call the hospital and ask to be connected with HR in general. Once there, I would say that I was going to graduate soon and would like to talk to someone about what kind of opportunities they expected to have available for new grads. It was a very general, open question, and the idea was just to get myself in direct communication with someone in HR. Once I was on the phone with them, I behaved like it was a job interview. I was very professional, had good questions ready to go (demonstrated that I knew something about their facility), made sure to emphasize the strong points of my background (I was a career-changer) in a way that was natural in the conversation, that kind of thing. The point was for someone in HR to associate my name with "good prospect" so that when they did eventually tell me that I needed to apply for one of their openings on the web site, someone in HR was looking for my application because they already knew something about me and already liked me. It was much more effective than being a random applier. I got 6 job interviews with no problem this way. The hospitals where it didn't work, I later found out that they weren't hiring at all.

Like the previous poster said, they very best number 1 way to get your resume/application looked at is for someone who already works there to put it on a manager's desk, but I was moving to a new city where I didn't know anyone in health care so I couldn't do that. My method was very successful for me!

Specializes in MICU/CCU.

This is a very, very bad idea. No manager will agree to make a random appointment with you, let alone offer you a position if you barge into their office demanding an interview. You will find that it is hard enough to get a manager on the phone! Being overly aggressive, forceful, and dishonest will not do anything in your favor. You will just hurt your chances of employment if you use the tactics you talk about.

I graduated in May 2009 when the job market was just as bad, if not worse for new grads. Many of my classmates went to work in retail or food service until they could find a nursing job. A few months before graduating I called HR of hospitals I was interested in and asked what kind of positions they would have available for new graduates and what time of year they hire new graduates. When you get closer to graduation, apply for as many jobs as you can and follow up on the applications you submit by calling HR. Do not call the manager directly, they often have no idea who is applying until HR presents them with applications that fit the type of employee they are looking for. Call HR a few days later and say you just wanted to follow up on an application you submitted. You can ask if there is any other information you could supply them and tell them you look forward to hearing from them.

You need to be humble and respectful, people will respond much more positively. There is nothing wrong with being persistent, but do so appropriately.

Specializes in Psych, OB-GYN.

Read this:

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/i-got-job-532817.html

Good luck though - and I agreed with everything that's been said here - you may want to look for a new game plan!

Specializes in Acute post op ortho.

I rather liked the way this fellow handled the situation.

Herbert A. Millington

Chair - Search Committee

412A Clarkson Hall, Whitson University

College Hill, MA 34109

Dear Professor Millington,

Thank you for your letter of March 16. After careful consideration, I

regret to inform you that I am unable to accept your refusal to offer me

an assistant professor position in your department.

This year I have been particularly fortunate in receiving an unusually

large number of rejection letters. With such a varied and promising field

of candidates, it is impossible for me to accept all refusals.

Despite Whitson's outstanding qualifications and previous experience in

rejecting applicants, I find that your rejection does not meet my needs at

this time. Therefore, I will assume the position of assistant professor

in your department this August. I look forward to seeing you then.

Best of luck in rejecting future applicants.

Sincerely,

Chris L. Jensen

just go on..dont look back and think much....u will get a breakthrough...

Specializes in labor & delivery.

Saying "no" to an applicant whether face-to-face or by letter is not rude, it's reality. If there are no openings, they are not going to make one for you just because you showed up in person. Hospitals usually have a certain number of new grads they can hire, if any. My hospital is not hiring new grads in my department this year, period. Not if you apply by email, friend, online, or in person. It is not in the budget to train a new grad right now.

I wish you all the best in finding a job. Sounds like you have the determination. Just use it wisely. Network while you are doing your clinicals and preceptorship, if possible. Get a letter of recommendation from your preceptor if you can. That helped me when I ended up interviewing for a job at the same hospital. Good luck!

Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

"I think this kind of confrontational attitude might be just what I need because few people are willing to say "no" face-to-face, because that's rude."

Wrong, wronger and wrongest. You apparently have not have met many nursing managers....none that I know would ever hesitate to say no to a rude and aggressive job applicant. Furthermore, they would not hesitate to pass the word along to their colleagues (in their own facility and others in the area) and before you know it, you could be on a "Do Not Hire" blacklist.

That is, if you persist in demanding an encounter and "forcing" an interview. And as for "aggressively badgering" the nursing manager, you will likely be branded a stalker. Security will be called to escort you out and ban you from the facility.

Your sense of entitlement takes my breath away. An attitude adjustment will be the most beneficial action to undertake at this time.

Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.

Going in with the attitude that you "deserve" anything is a pretty bad idea.

If you go in with the attitude you've presented in the original post, you will have shown yourself to be EXACTLY the kind of nurse no one wants to hire or work with.

So, go for it.

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