Should I call?

Nurses General Nursing

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Hi everyone. Hoping to get a some advice. I've been an RN for a little over a year now. For about the past 8 months I have been working part time at a Public Health Clinic (due to this economy it's all I could find) while still actively looking for work at the hospital. I've also been caring for a child with specials needs off and on while looking for work. Like many new nurses out there, I have been unsuccessful in finding a hospital job due to "lack of experience", hiring freezes, etc. Recently 2 positions became available at one of the local hospitals In NICU, which is a floor I really want to work on. Even though it's a specialty floor, the job description stated that it required no experience so I applied for both positions. This particular hospital also has an RN internship(which I tried getting into last year) but I was told that I don't qualify for the program anymore because I now have more than 6 months worth of "experience" (sounds odd when all I hear is that I DON'T have enough :uhoh3: side note: the majority of the jobs I apply for are med/surg). Anyway, I put in my application online for both positions. My question is, should I make the next step and contact the nurse manager of the floor just to kind of introduce myself and show that I'm really interested in this job? I just put in the application yesterday, so I definitely wouldn't be doing this until next week sometime. A few nurses that work/have worked at this hospital have told me it would be a good idea to contact the nurse manager because the HR department there is terrible and they don't always forward applications. I've always gotten mixed reviews on whether this is a good idea or not. I know competition is tough right now with so many people out of work, but I want to stand out from the crowd without over stepping my boundaries. Any advice on what I should do??

Go for it!

You'll either be found annoying or determined.

Flip the coin and take a chance. At least you'll get your name out there.

I'm still in school but I know for any other job I have ever had I always called and/or stopped by to talk with the manager just to let them know I was interested and so they could put a face and personality to the name on the application. Unless things are different in the nursing world, I would say you should defiantly give the nurse manager a call. Goodluck with the job!!!

Specializes in Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes.

Call!

It helped me, I called and got an interview, finally:) Still waiting for a job offer but at least I got a positive response.

Being passive will doom you in your job search. You will be like every other person who applies online and get passed on. Unless you have a standout resume/experience, forget about it. Go introduce yourself to the manager and express your interest. What is the worst that can happen vs. just applying online and keeping your fingers crossed.

Good luck.

call!

like you said, HR is horrible sometimes. Taking the intiative to contact the manager personally will let her know that you are very interested in the position! That's how I've managed to grab a few interviews in the past.

Good luck with everything! :up:

I agree with some of the others that say go in there. Let the HR manager meet you and hand them a resume in person. It would make you stand out even more.

Absolutely! I'd even go with most of the advice here and go in person and see if you could speak with him/her. If this (NICU) is really your true interest, you could explain your desire for the position naturally. No faking or fluff needed. The manager will hopefully see your true ambitions and move things forward. In this rough economy for new nurses, never rely on HR to get the job done! You've got to be an active participant in the process!

I say go for it! Good luck and I hope you get it!

It sounds as if you know people that work at this hospital? Would any of them be willing to "sing your praises" to the NICU manager? Sometimes the recommendation of a known good worker can tip the scales in your favor. Good Luck!

Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

If you don't ask, you don't get...so why not call? If she's open and receptive when you call, take the chance to sell yourself! Also, if she's not interested in you now, she may pass you onto someone else who is, or keep you in mind for the future.

But if she responds in a way that gives you the feeling of "this might not have been a good idea", wrap your call up quickly and don't press her further. Even then, that doesn't mean you struck out...I once descended upon a nurse manager who wasn't too thrilled with my contacting her unanncounced, so I made my pitch short and left. I was very surprised when, a few weeks later, she asked me in for an interview.

Either way, a note thanking them for taking time out of their busy day to talk to you is a must.

Good luck!

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm definitely going to go ahead and call the manager next week. The worst she can say is NO right?

@mnono009 Unfortunately, I don't really have anyone who can vouch for me at this hospital. The nurses that I talked to were only chance encounters that I had while working at the clinic. There is one nurse who I work with that just took a PRN job at this hospital on another floor. She's only been there for a week, so I don't think she would be in a place to talk to her, but I will keep trying. :)

Specializes in PEDS.

This is not always helpful. i called the nurse manager of L&D at this hospital i'm interested in and she directed me to apply through human resources. I know human resources will probably bypass my resume because of no experience, which is why I resorted to contacting the nm.

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