Well, that was embarrassing and slightly awkward..

Nurses General Nursing

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I just thought I would share an embarrassing and kind of awkward thing that happened to me today..

So about 2 weeks ago I applied for a position at a local children's hospital. I've been trying to get in there since last summer when I was interviewed by HR and have yet to be successful.

Anyway, I saw an open position and applied for it. I even emailed the nurse recruiter after I did so to let her know that I still existed (she didn't respond, by the way. I have emailed her before and she never answers).

At work today I saw that I missed a call by not even 2 minutes, but the caller left no voicemail. I call the number back and it was the hospital! I was so thrilled that they called me, but the operator couldn't help me as the caller did not leave a voicemail.

So I emailed the nurse recruiter saying "Dear XXX, I emailed you a couple of weeks ago about an open position I applied for. While at work today, I missed a call from ::Hospital:: but they left no voicemail. I am contacting you to ask if someone was trying to contact me to schedule an interview? I can be reached at xxx-xxx-xxxx. Thank you, Me"

She actually emailed me back this time pretty much saying "I don't know who would be trying to contact you. Sorry - but many of our positions have recently been filled by internal applicants and students who precepted at the hospital. Keep applying."

I just checked the website and there are a TON of open positions that weren't there when I applied 2 weeks ago. So I applied for EVERY SINGLE ONE (that I am qualified for).

Do any of you have funny/awkward interview/contacting recruiters stories? I was pretty embarrassed when I got that email back, but I'm over it now, haha.

Don't be embarrassed. You obviously want the position and sorry you didn't get it. Still it is obvious they weren't going to offer it to you. Dust it off and find another position. Many places want experience and sometimes it means taking an undesirable job to get said experience.

Specializes in Oncology.

I read your post three times looking for the part you should be embarrassed by. I can't find it. All I see is someone clearly motivated and enthusiastic about working for them.

I read your post three times looking for the part you should be embarrassed by. I can't find it. All I see is someone clearly motivated and enthusiastic about working for them.

I honestly wasn't expecting her to email me back as she never did in the past. It just seemed like she was taking pity on me and when she responded pretty much saying "I don't know, better luck next time kiddo." was kind of embarrassing haha

I'm still holding out a small sliver of hope that MAYBE someone was calling me for an interview because what are the odds of someone misdialing me from the one hospital that I have been applying to non stop for almost a year? But I won't hold my breath.

Don't be embarrassed. You obviously want the position and sorry you didn't get it. Still it is obvious they weren't going to offer it to you. Dust it off and find another position. Many places want experience and sometimes it means taking an undesirable job to get said experience.

I'm already working an undesirable job for experience haha. I work in a psych ER per diem and I've come to find out I really don't like psych. I only took that job because I needed to pay bills. I know a lot of places don't really consider psych nursing to be "experience" for some reason. I also work at a pediatricians office and am a substitute school nurse because I really love kids and wanted at least some peds experience.

You had nothing to lose by calling. Most of our applications are never seen by human eyes. The software deletes most applications if the right keywords are not there. If you make a personal contact, the chance of getting an interview is increased.

In the paper application days, I used to call (no email back then) and ask to have my application put on top of the pile. It landed me jobs twice.

You are learning many roles on your job search. I find it impressive. Think you need to stop groveling at the door of that hospital, though. It is now a waste of time and energy.

I applied for a job 14 years ago and was not hired. 10 years later they came looking for me.

Enjoy the journey, never grovel.

You are learning many roles on your job search. I find it impressive. Think you need to stop groveling at the door of that hospital, though. It is now a waste of time and energy.

I applied for a job 14 years ago and was not hired. 10 years later they came looking for me.

Enjoy the journey, never grovel.

I only grovel occasionally.. :whistling:

I applied for a few more positions after my awkward email exchange with the recruiter so I'm hoping that she will maybe give me a chance. If I have to swallow my pride and grovel a bit to get what I want I'm willing to do it (most of the time)

It's just frustrating when you want something so bad and it seems like no one will give you the time of day. I know what kind of worker I am and I know how quickly I pick up on things. I started my office job a little over 3 months ago and I've been told on multiple occasions by my manager that I am doing exceptionally well and that it was unexpected that I picked up on things so quickly. I was even taken off orientation early (and that is by no means only my doing. I have wonderful and patient co-workers and managers that are always willing to help and answer questions when I have no clue what I'm doing or come across something new).

My co-workers and managers at both my jobs (the office and the hospital) want me working there full time (I actually did take a full time position at the office). My nurse manager at the school district I sub for offered me a full time school nurse position a couple of weeks ago. When I quit my non-nursing job when I was hired at the office the HR rep told me that I will always have a job at that company if I ever chose to come back. The last annual review I had at my non-nursing job I was not late or absent a single day. The day I accepted the sub school nurse position, I had to turn down another district that also wanted to hire me.

I'm not trying to say I'm special or that I'm brilliant or that I'm some exceptional person that deserves preferential treatment, I'm trying to say that I don't think she would be disappointed if she hired me. It's really frustrating when every job that I've had I've had glowing reviews and that one job I want with all my heart won't even glance my way.

I realize that I am not the only one that has been dealing with similar issues and like I said I am no exception to the struggles of inexperienced nurses trying to break into their preferred specialty, but that does not make me any less frustrated. I suppose that I should be happy that I have a nursing job to begin with, let alone 2 in my desired field.

I hope I didn't come across as an entitled brat or cocky, I just needed to vent, haha. End rant.

Specializes in Utilization Review.

It's always good to follow up! Just frustrating when they never respond back.

I do have a question though for you, does this hospital have a personality assessment questionnaire that you have to do? I've done one in the past for a hospital and it's pretty much the biggest waste of time you'll ever have to go through, but because of that questionnaire the hospital would not hire me. When I asked what to do, they said I could retake it in 8 months. I gave that hospital deuces and never looked back. I'm now working for one of the top 5 hospitals in the country. Sometimes better opportunities are just around the corner :)! Best of luck to you!

It's always good to follow up! Just frustrating when they never respond back.

I do have a question though for you, does this hospital have a personality assessment questionnaire that you have to do? I've done one in the past for a hospital and it's pretty much the biggest waste of time you'll ever have to go through, but because of that questionnaire the hospital would not hire me. When I asked what to do, they said I could retake it in 8 months. I gave that hospital deuces and never looked back. I'm now working for one of the top 5 hospitals in the country. Sometimes better opportunities are just around the corner :)! Best of luck to you!

To the best of my knowledge, there is no personality questionnaire. But then again I was only interviewed by HR and not a unit manager. I have heard of those though. As if a piece of paper can adequately assess someone's personality..

Thanks for the well wishes!

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