Heres what I don't get about hiring

mgp6 · Jul 14, 2012

It's hard to say without knowing the details, but his personality probably stood out.

Was there an interview? personality test? He also probably got great recommendations from nurses.

pookyp, LPN · Jul 14, 2012

I notice that on jobs. Personality outshines all the crappy work they do. I knew a guy like this. Always got praise but never did ANYTHING. but he could talk his butt off.

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Jul 14, 2012

It's not just at hiring either. This kind of blatant favouritism will be a theme, just you wait and see. I work in critical care, an area very attractive to male nurses. We have... let me count them up... about 14 (10% of our total staff). Of that group there are only 3 that I would want caring for any of my near and dear. The rest of them are lazy, one or two of them in the extreme. But everybody likes them and that's what gets them through. They're all being moved along the clinical ladder at a breakneck pace while a good number of the girls are still waiting on the first rung. One of these guys was so weak skills and knowledge base wise that he had to have 4 weeks of extra orientation added on to the 16 weeks everybody else got, but there he is now being groomed for bigger and better things. Makes me want to scream.

CDUBBYA · Jul 14, 2012

I can teach skills to a monkey. I can't teach attitude. Attitude will take you further. As a previous manager I would rather hire a good attitude who uplifts the team and does not bring negativity to the team. I would pour more into them to get them where I want them to be. 2+2 is essential, yes, but the overriding reason is ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING!

CrazierThanYou · Jul 14, 2012

Two new grad candidates compete for a job and both have worked at said hospital and both have an equal amount of healthcare experience and in.
One candidate almost failed nursing school, bad GPA, forgets everything under the sun including due dates of assignments, half-assed assignments, loses track of time, late to meetings, but a guy who comes off very passionate and likes to talk.
Second candidate is a girl has great GPA, very detail-oriented, hard worker, very organized, articulate
Guess who got the job? The guy. Yup, it doesn't make sense.

That's life. If its like the area I live in, nepotism is HUGE here. You know someone, related to someone, neighbors with someone? You're hired, no matter how sorry you are.

I just graduated from nursing school. A classmate has connections at a local hospital. Several of my classmates (his butt kissers) have all been hired and none of them have even passed boards yet and a couple of them were horrible students who barely squeaked by. People who have passed and were great students? Sorry, no job for you.

Double-Helix, BSN, RN · Jul 14, 2012

If the GPA was not on the resume (and if it was bad then it probably wasn't) how would the interviewer know about the poor performance? All the things you listed probably never came up in the interview. So the decision was made based on past experience and personality/character.

If the interviewer is looking for a person who seems outgoing, enthusiastic, and passionate - they will choose that candidate over someone with equal qualifications who appears less assertive.

How you present yourself in an interview can be much more important than how you look on paper.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Jul 14, 2012

people hire the sort of person they want to work with -- so passionate folks who love to talk will get hired over the quieter candidate every time.

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Jul 14, 2012

I can teach skills to a monkey. I can't teach attitude. Attitude will take you further. As a previous manager I would rather hire a good attitude who uplifts the team and does not bring negativity to the team. I would pour more into them to get them where I want them to be. 2+2 is essential, yes, but the overriding reason is ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING!

And I'm seeing the attitude that good looks and a sparkling wit matter more than the ability to provide even adequate nursing care to vulnerable patients as far as the person doing the hiring is concerned. And I'm seeing the attitude that "Everybody laughs at my jokes or thinks I'm a great guy so I don't really have to extend myself much or work too hard here to keep my job". When the fertilizer hits the oscillating ventilatory apparatus the hiring manager says, "But they interviewed SO WELL". I've heard that at least a dozen times in recent months - about people who did practica on our unit, were not even barely adequate, evaluated by their preceptors as such and were still hired anyway.

whichone'spink, BSN, RN · Jul 14, 2012

I worked with a nurse who was a nice guy, loved by his patients and got along well with his coworkers (including me). This nurse took the time to make me a cup of tea when I was at work sick as a dog. But he was unsafe in his practice. People on the night shift hated following him because inevitably they would have to clean up a mess. Nevertheless, until recently, he was able to keep his job. He was able to transfer to different positions within the same system without any trouble. This kind of unfairness is what is going to push me away from nursing. I am organized, detail-oriented, and conscientious. I don't have experience, but I have the drive to grow my skills and knowledge base. It would kill me if I found out a slob with a great personality was found to be more qualified than someone like me. If I wasn't in a system already, I would be up **** creek.

Bah, I should have just stuck with a biology major. I mean ***.

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Jul 14, 2012

I had the same reaction as Ashley to this post. How would the hiring manager know that this person had a bad GPA and/or that he forgot the due date of some of his assignments? If this person has any kind of common sense- and he must, since he got the job- he wouldn't have used any of these professors as references. GPA matters very little when it comes to getting a job. If he interviewed well and had references who were willing to give him positive recommendations, there's no reason why a hiring manager would EVER find out about any of the negative things you listed, OP, while in the hiring process.

esunada · Jul 14, 2012

I had the same reaction as Ashley to this post. How would the hiring manager know that this person had a bad GPA and/or that he forgot the due date of some of his assignments? If this person has any kind of common sense- and he must, since he got the job- he wouldn't have used any of these professors as references. GPA matters very little when it comes to getting a job. If he interviewed well and had references who were willing to give him positive recommendations, there's no reason why a hiring manager would EVER find out about any of the negative things you listed, OP, while in the hiring process.

Yes, that's true. What really should have happened is that he should have failed nursing school and not be a nurse in the first place but they let him slide by and gave him multiple chances to shape up which he also half-assed. I also know he is a schmoozer and I've seen how they fall for his personality even if he is doing a not so great job.

I wish there was a way managers could see a person's true colors or look beyond the schmooze. I know this guy and its not like he was just bad at tests, its like he didn't care and has horrible time management and prioritization skills. Oh well, so is life.