I had an interview today. Was going to get into the ICU, and my wife said as long as I apply myself and stick to it, we can continue to live in WA (the sweetest icing on the cake you can imagine, at least to me).
Did everything right. Iron dress shirt, tie pre tied, nice resume to take with me. Couldnt sleep the night before the interview. Stayed up ALL NIGHT. WHY? IDK.
So, I was tired in the interview and just not myself. I didnt do poorly, but I didnt wow them either. I think I needed to wow them in order to get into the ICU and get out of M/S. I had an answer to everything, and they were good, but I'm a great interviewer and I didnt........you know.......wow them. At one point, the fact that I am a travel nurse and my wife comes along with me came up. They put 2 and 2 together, realized she is a nurse too. Wanted to know if she planned on applying. I informed them she may remain in travel nursing, get jobs in the area so we can take advantage of the free housing until we find something more permanent. They got.......a little disturbed about that. So, I didnt add to the response. Then, when it came time for me to ask questions, I couldnt think of any. They had already answered everything I had to ask. Just sat there like a moron........:bugeyes:"No, thank your for your time" is all I could say. Yeah, shows I'm really interested in the position.
Pffft, whatever. Its outa my control now.
I know this is small fries for a lot of people and I sound ungratefull, I'm lucky to be working. Just......thought I was going to take a big step forward and ended up falling down like an ass instead.
Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.
telemetry nurses got pulled to icu in my hospital...that's how i got foot in the door to work agency perdiem in local telemtry/icu and was offered ft employment there..... stayed with homecare as more flexible when kids were infants.
re that note: get it out the door today....it's what helped seal the deal in hiring my last staff rn ... now my relief manager. :)
look at their website---what are they bragging about in their icu.... include tidbit in the letter why you want to work there. offer thanks for time taken to interview you. don't be afraid to tell them you are available for second interview if indicated. if given email addy, send letter that way with pristine snail mail copy these are the little "extra's" that tip the scale in hiring---showing that you are willing to put out extra effort to land position.
You are your own worst enemy. You probably did better than you thought. At the very lest, you're a relatively young man. You could have batted your eyelashes at the (presumed) female interviewer. At the very least wore tight pants. Works every time.
What the hospital was probably disturbed with, was that your wife didn't also apply for a permanent long term position. The costs of training orientation and new hire payroll entry are astronomical, and if they didn't feel that you were there for the long-term, they probably moved on to the next interviewee. Next time, if there is one, say that your wife is a travel nurse and likes the fact that she can change employment locations every 13 weeks, but that she is considering applying to this facility in the future. It says the same thing but opens up the option for them that you are here to stay.
Specializes in Med-Surg., Agency Nursing, LTC., MDS..
I agree with the support here, Erik. We are very often our own worst critics. And I'd like to thank Galakadore for the spelling lesson ! HaHa ! I've been spelling that wrong for some time. Funny !
In addition to the note, maybe you should try to do some damage control and make a call to the ICU NM.
You could explain that although you had worked all night, you did not want to miss out on the interview; therefore, you were not in 'prime' condition. In hindsight, you now realize that you could have answered some things a bit better and would like to be given the chance to expand upon some answers
Eg: I did not want to speak for my wife when asked if she would be joining me at your hospital; but, have since had that discussion with her. She says she would be agreeable to considering a position after I settled in a position because that would limit some of the stress that could arise from having both of us in orientation at the same time. [besides, they had no business asking you a question about your wife; so, you are entitled to diffuse their illegal question any way you see fit]
Bear in mind that most who have been long term in one place and have made it to management positions, view a traveler as making big bucks (much more than they do); so, an element of envy may have surfaced when you mentioned the free housing. You really never do anything wrong by telling the truth; but, some people really cannot handle honesty.
Another suggestion is to look into ACLS certification ASAP. You can take a ceu course for telemtry to learn the strips-try googling for ' telemetry certification' (think it is through medceu) and then for ACLS. When you write the note and call the NM, you can add that you are in the process of obtaining ACLS in order to be prepared for the transition from med/surg to ICU.
Personally, I think you got a raw deal and if it was up to me, I would have hired you on the spot for your honesty. I just wish traits like yours were more valued in our society.
I am going to write the note too. I have heard that advice in career services classes (long time ago, when in school) but never did it. It does make sense though.
Write the note immediately -- and get it into their hands the fastest way you can think of. (Hand deliver it to the hospital if you can ... etc.) You want them to read it before they make any decisions.
Be sure to emphasize how impressed you were/are with their unit and that you would love to "settle down" there. You might also mention that your wife would also like to settle down in that area as well -- and is looking at all of her options before choosing a specific position to apply for. Remember: The big fear for a hiring manager in hiring a traveler is that the traveler is just looking for a temporary position -- and will take their training/orientation and then leave soon to go back on to traveling. Anything you can say to indicate that both and your wife will be settling down there will help.
In order to get into an ICU (which means that some ICU will have to be willing to invest in your training) ... you will need to convince them that you no longer want to travel. That might mean taking a permanent M/S job for a while, buying a house, etc. -- things that indicate that you are not simply going to take the education and run.
eriksoln, BSN, RN
2,636 Posts
Yes, this board is filled with BFFs. lmao. Here we go again.