I am in a little predicament…

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I am in a little predicament…

A family friend has been trying to arrange an interview for me with his unit manager. The manager told family friend that she will contact me, but no one reached out to me. I didn’t want to bother family friend anymore than I already did, and just assumed that no one will reach out to me since I have not heard anything from anyone for more than 2 weeks.

I continued my job search and came across an ad for a hiring event at the same facility where family friend works. I decided to apply to it and see what will happen. What happened was quite interesting. Family friend reached out to me after about 2 weeks and asked if I was contacted by the manager of the unit. I said that no one got in touch with me yet. He went ahead and reminded the manager again to contact me. The manager said that she will contact me later this week to schedule an interview for next week. The next day I got a response from that same facility to come for an interview for the position I applied for. The interview was scheduled for the following day. It is a solid opportunity that exists. The manger of his unit still has not contacted me.

I went and interviewed for that position and found out that it is a position that I like. I still don’t have any response from his unit manager, plus there is no guarantee that even if she interviews me, there will be a job offer.

I feel a little bit disturbed because family friend has put in effort to arrange an opportunity for me, but at the same time I have another opportunity that I already have in front of me this very second. Plus, this opportunity is at the same facility for the same position just on a different floor. The opportunity that he is trying to arrange may not even materialize, because he has nothing to do with decision making. All he is doing is trying to arrange a meeting between me and the manager of his unit.

I sort of feel obliged to interview with his unit manager and accept an offer if it is made. At the same time, I feel that I am trying to play it nice and in a way please him. If I let go of the opportunity that I already have in front of me and his manager decides that I am not a good fit for their unit, I will be left with nothing.

One of the people that I spoke to mentioned that I should have mentioned to my family friend that I was directly applying the hospital, because there was a job opening. This would have let him know that their manager has not contacted me yet, plus informed him of a possibility that I may get called in for an interview. This has never crossed my mind.

Right now I am waiting for final decision from the interview I went to. I am also waiting for his manger to contact me to schedule an interview with me for next week. If I get a solid offer from the interview I went to, I will take it; however, I am having hard time deciding what to tell family friend about all of this.

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Specializes in school nurse.

You have no obligation to accept a job because a friend tried to facilitate an interview. Out of politeness, keep your friend in the loop about the interview you had- he should be happy for you!

 

Also, while it's great to finally have an interview, don't give up your search. A job isn't a sure thing until you finish the first day of orientation...

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The focus right now is you obtaining the job. If you end up getting accepted for the job, take it and for your friend, you can tell them what ended up happening. It's not your fault for interviewing for a job at the same hospital while waiting for the manager. How long are you willing to wait for the manager to call for an interview when you've already applied to the hospital and had an interview?. 

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Specializes in CMSRN, hospice.

No guilt needed here! While it was nice of your family friend to try to arrange this for you, these things aren't always a sure deal, so keeping your other interview was a good thing. Just tell the friend that you went ahead and accepted an interview at the same facility and it went well, so you will most likely pursue that option if you get an offer - and of course thank them for trying to help you out in a major job search.

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5 hours ago, Student. said:

One of the people that I spoke to mentioned that I should have mentioned to my family friend that I was directly applying the hospital, because there was a job opening. This would have let him know that their manager has not contacted me yet, plus informed him of a possibility that I may get called in for an interview. This has never crossed my mind.

Yes - of course this is the right answer! ^

Likely the family friend is just trying to do something he feels he can do that might materialize into a job for you. I'm sure he wasn't expecting to take over all your responsibilities for finding employment, you know?

It isn't any kind of disrespect to keep looking for a job through your own efforts. I think most people know this? It's sweet that you have regard for this family friend and his efforts to help you, but you aren't disrespecting him or being ungrateful by continuing your own efforts.

Best of luck ~ ?

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Thanks for clarification and advice! Now, I have a rough idea what I may say to the family friend. Just got to see how it all turns out…

My family friend’s unit manager contacted me today to schedule an interview for the upcoming Monday. Hiring event ended this Friday (today). HR said that it will take 24 – 48 hours to hear back from them. This would either be Monday or Tuesday. On Monday morning I will interview with another manager and if I am a good fit, she will most likely contact HR. Around this time, HR will be finalizing results from the first interview that I had. Would this be a problem?

Since employee referral is a legitimate reason why another interview was scheduled for me by the family friend’s unit manager, I don’t see a problem with this. I was referred by an employee that works at their facility to his unit manager, who happened to schedule an interview with me around the same time HR scheduled an interview for me with another manager. I have no control of such things and simply took advantage of the opportunities that were offered to me. Controlling the drama of life is not my forte. The funny thing is that the person that I interviewed with is the unit director for 2N and 4S, and the other person I will interview with on Monday is in charge of 2S and 4N.

Would it be a good idea to let the manager I will interview with on Monday know that I already had an interview with another manager last week, and still waiting to hear from HR? Just let them know that I applied directly and was also referred by their current employee, and it just so happened that both of the interviews somewhat overlapped.

The manager that scheduled upcoming interview only mentioned that it will be for a RN position. No other details were given and I did not ask, so I am going there to have a conversation and see what she will offer. When HR contacted me, they were more specific about the position that I interviewed for and I got the rest of the details from the manager I already interviewed with.

I guess, if I tell them the whole story, they will ask, “Since you have interviewed for XXXXXX and we can offer you YYYYYY on our unit, which one would you prefer?” At the time of the upcoming interview I will not have any information about the other position that I already interviewed for, so I don’t want to sound like what they are offering me is my second choice. Is it better not to say anything about the other interview until things become more clear and only answer if this type of question is asked?

I thought telling them, “Where do you think the hospital needs more people, and where do you think my qualifications will better serve you? The hiring event was for both MS and Tele, and HR decided that I would be a good fit for the Tele unit. If the hospital needs nurses on the Tele unit and the manager I interviewed with thinks that I will be a good fit for their unit, then I will go there. If the hospital need more people on your unit and you think I am a good fit for this position, I am happy to serve here.”

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Specializes in Peds ED.

You are way overthinking this. Treat the interview like the stand alone interview it is. Do your best and worry about having to make a decision when you know there even is a decision to be made. 

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