Hiring managers

would not work here. The only apps that are considered are the ones that are done online via our Internet page. I just got a call from a nurse I used to work with. I told her to apply online, but I will put in a good word with the HR people. But until they get the app they have nothing to work on.

Yes, it is true. I met my manager for the first time at a job fair. If you are a nursing student in clinicals, that's also another way to meet the manager on the unit. Networking with other nurses always helps too.

ETA: By the way, I still went through the proper HR channels to send in my application, etc. I do believe that meeting my manager prior to the application helped me get an interview spot and then the position.

It just depends how things are in your area. Mine is pretty much corporate - large corporate networks. Those are locked down. If you are in a small town area, you probably can mingle your way around. Just depends.

Most jobs are only aquired through HR but there are exceptions. If the unit manager really wants to hire you he/she can get the approval through HR if that unit is hiring (or will be hiring in the future). Really in this job market it is all about who you know. You will still need to go through HR but it doesn't hurt to have the manager on your side. Good luck!

I agree; it's all about who you know. I've been looking for a Director of Nursing for over two weeks now, no one has replied to my ad. Any suggestions?

Thats how i got my job last week. But in my case, I had done three of my clinical rotations at that hospital and spent the majority of my time on that floor, so when I called and asked for her I was able to explain that. She still said the usual "if something comes up, i'll have HR pull your app". I got a call a few days later and she told me she was cleaning her desk out and almost threw my resume away I had left there during my last clinical rotation back in October! She said she recognized my name from the phone call....looks like you have to try to find a way to bypass HR somehow...either way i'm super excited that I got this job!

Yeah, I agree, half the time HR only sends the resumes through the computer and if it doesn't pick up the right terms, it gets trashed. At least an interested manager might tell HR to pull your resume and interview you.

Yeah, I agree, half the time HR only sends the resumes through the computer and if it doesn't pick up the right terms, it gets trashed. At least an interested manager might tell HR to pull your resume and interview you.

This is so true!!!! Coming from HR, in general, there was a change to most of our systems back in 2007 with resume recognition.

say we posted a job , we include all the hard skills and soft skills along with min requirements and preferences. As resumes start to filter back in for each job posting , the OCR software would only allow 85-100% resume matches to actually make it to the qualified to respond category. The ones that were not near or perfect matches we never saw.

Does this help to clear somethings up??

This has worked for me with my first job. I made it a point to meet the manager of the unit I really wanted to work on. I made an appointment to just talk to her informally about the unit...we clicked and she called HR while we were talking and had them pull my application and then she walked me down to HR and personally told them she was hiring me.:)

Started orientation the next week.

It also worked when I wanted to transfer into another unit-same hospital--just went to the manager...she took care of everything...put in the transfer-took about 3 weeks but got it...did that 2 more times.

Another time, I wanted to work in a different hospital. I knew the staff education coordinator-so I called her and asked about any openings in their ICU-she called the manager on my behalf and I got an interview. Got hired the same day.

So sometimes it works...I think it depends on the facility and if you can find a contact person to network with.