How long for HR to follow up after interview - tell me your experiences

[Evolving_Nurse, ADN]

I'm a new RN grad. I passed the NCLEX in February, & recently applied to a position on med surg. I applied and 2 days later I got a phone interview with the nurse manager and she discussed wages and benefits at the end of the phone call. An in-person interview was scheduled 2 days after that & I perceived the in-person interview to go very well.

I was interviewed by 2 different nurse managers of the unit, & in the beginning of the interview they asked if I had any questions for them. I said that I did & proceeded to pull out my list of questions that I had typed & printed out. I asked them what made them want to be a nurse and why they like working at the facility, among others things. They said, "oh wow! We've never been asked that before." & they joked about how they weren't prepared to answer the questions (But they still did). It seemed like it was going well & they were impressed that I wanted to learn about them and that I was so well prepared. Also, by asking them questions, it opened things up and the interview went more like a conversation than an interrogation. At the end of the interview I asked if I could try night shift a few times to see how it went and she said she didnt see a problem with me picking up a few night shifts. Then, she went more in depth about wages for overtime, night shift differential, and benefits. She also told me the color scrubs that they wear and she asked if I wanted a tour of the unit, to which I definitely said yes to. Following the tour I asked what the next steps were and she said that they would put in a recommendation to HR and that HR would contact me in 1-2 weeks depending on how busy they were.

It's been 2 weeks & I still haven't heard anything. It's making me anxious not knowing my fate and I keep rethinking about everything in the interview. I perceived it to go well, but maybe it didn't? Why would she tell me the color scrubs that they wear, discuss wages, and give me a tour of the unit if she didn't want to hire me? Should I contact HR or should I just keep waiting to see what happens? It's a big facility (a level II trauma center), so maybe HR is just swamped? I'd like to know your experiences and how long it took HR to contact you.

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

Tours, wages, scrub color are all basic information that can and is given to all applicants that have a shot at the job. You were not wrong in that it went well; however, that doesn't mean you got the job. It is possible someone else dazzled them even more than you did.

Two weeks is a pretty long time to go without the offer. I would write (email) directly to the manager to ask if the position has been filled.

[mobaby]

Did you send a thank you post interview? That seems to be a big thing with some HR/Nurse Managers. In the thank you you let them know that you are interested in the job as well as thanks for taking the time to meet with you.

[Nurse Gonzo, BSN, RN]

In my experience, sometimes it just takes a while. For one position, I waited over a month before getting rejected, but for another I waited over four weeks (after being told it would probably be two) to get the job offer. Unfortunately, every hospital is different when it comes to timeline, so don't beat yourself up when you don't know yet. It can't hurt to call HR and just ask about the status of your application, but be super nice. They get swamped by many calls about new grad programs and such things, so try to be as patient as you can and don't lose hope. Finding the right job is hard, but it will happen! I hope its this one!!