Interview to offer - how long?

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What's typical or acceptable? Before nursing, pretty much every job I had was offered right on the spot. but now...

I had a second interview Wednesday which went really well (At least I thought). NM said she liked my attitude, said she thought things went really well, gave me an extensive tour of the unit, but then ended with the dreaded "we'll give you a call soon". Granted, she didn't even see my application & resume beforehand b/c they were still down in HR. (I KNEW I should have brought another copy!)

Well now it's Friday and I'm starting to worry. Did somebody give them a bad reference? Did I say something offhand that put up a red flag? I was crying today because I'm so desperate to get out of my current situation. My desperation probably came through, too, although I THOUGHT I was hiding it well.

I was going to give it a week before calling, but, tell me seriously, is it a bad sign that they haven't called?

::sigh::

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

No. It's not unusual at all.

Did you mail her a thank-you note immediately after the interview?

While I would normally wait a week ... the fact that she hadn't gotten your resume gives you the opportunity to call her sooner to inquire as to whether or not she ever did receive it. I don't think there would be anything wrong with calling on Monday to ask if she received it. If she hasn't, you could offer to drop off a copy for her.

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Agree! Here in Vegas the hiring process takes a very long time. Call her Monday and script your call something like this, even if you have to leave a message.

"Hi. This is Your Name and I'm calling to inquire about the status of the position I interviewed for on Wednesday. If you need any further information feel free to call me anytime at Phone Number. Thank you for your consideration". Of course, if you actually speak to her, put pleasantries such as "How are you today?" in there and such.

Be direct and do not fret if you don't get it. You just may not be the right fit for the company. Cheers!

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I have my first RN interview scheduled for Monday. Is it permissible to ask during the interview when to anticipate a decision? I've also typically been offered all jobs on the spot in the past.

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Specializes in Cardiac Nursing.

I know what your feeling. I had an interview 4 weeks ago, called for an update last week and was told he wanted to get me on board. Just was waiting for the req# of the position he wanted to put me into to open up or some such. Anyhoo, I've left two voicemails this week and still nothing not even a call back to say "we're still waiting".

You'll get the job I'm sure of it :D I don't think you would sound desperate checking on the status of your application at all. To me it makes you sound more interested.

Just my :twocents:

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Well, I called Wednesday like 5 times and finally got the nurse mgr. on the phone. She was really apologetic, saying "sorry it took so long, I actually just got your resume yesterday, you should hear from HR very soon."

I waited till Friday then called HR like 6 times, kept getting the recruiter's voicemail.

Then I got home and there was a message on my phone... I GOT THE JOB!!!!!!!

I only have to stick it out at my craphole job for a few more weeks..

:D:redbeathe:bowingpur:beercuphe:rotfl:

Thanks so much for the replies & encouragement!:icon_hug:

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

Congratulations! I hope it turns out to be everything you hope it will be.

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Congrats! Just hang in there and keep doing your present job well. Don't get STS "Short Timers Syndrome" and start making mistakes. Be just as diligent as always.

For MB37, you can always ask when a decision will be made, but I normally tell my interviewees the canned "We have many applicants to interview and schedule for interviews, so I would expect it would take a few weeks to get back to you. You may call HR and inquire about your status, but I will definitely get back to you as soon as the offer can be made".

When I was a less-seasoned nurse I was offered a job on the spot, during a panel interview, and I replied that I would like to see the job description, and discuss the salary and benefits before accepting. The hiring manager told me it wasn't appropriate to discuss these during a panel interview. DUH! That's why I was asking before I accepted a job that was not what the panel sold to me. She told me she would call me at a more 'appropriate' time. I never heard from her. That was probably one of the best things I ever did. I would probably have ended up working in a position that was not what I expected for a lower salary/benefits package tha I would have accepted.

Caveat emptor!

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Everybody,

On behalf of hiring managers, I want to offer all of you an apology and an explanation for our stupid processes.

Healthcare is a different animal. One of the posters indicated before going into nursing, he/she pretty much got offered jobs on the spot immediately after interviewing. Well, we simply can't do that.

First of all, we have to content with Federal regulations that go along with participating in Medicare or Medicaid. We have to check the federal "no hire" lists to make sure you aren't on one of them. Then, we have to run very exhaustive background checks - also required by the Feds. We have to make certain that you are really who you you say you are, that your license is valid, that you don't have any criminal convictions, that you aren't a sexual predator - whew! Most of us use outside specialty agencies to do background checks and all of this takes time.

Plus - our compenstion structures are pretty complex, so managers are usually 'forbidden' to make any salary offers. Those have to be done by HR.

Bottom line - it's as crazy for the hiring manager as it is for you. You should have been given the interviewer's card/contact information when you interviewed. Don't hesitate to call back and ask for an update. We don't mind.

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I was really happy to read that someone else had this question. I had an interview with a nurse recruiter and the nurse manager or the potential floor I would be working on. I thought it went great and was surprised when I didn't get a call back a few days after. I called later that week and was told when the position was available they would contact me. I started to get very nervous and anxious. Today was 2 weeks and 1 day since the interview, so I decided to call again. After calling 3-4 times, I finally reached the nursing recruiter. She wasn't too thrilled that I called her again, but she said that she had received the offer to hire me today. I was so excited! I could hardly contain myself. So now, after graduating in May, and having to move to New Jersey, I am finally employed! Now I'm just nervous about starting nights....

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Hello everyone. First of all I wanted to say thank you to all of you who share their thoughts, advices and knowledge on every topic here in allnurses. It helped me a lot from taking the nclex to finding my first RN job. I am a RN who worked in a SNF in CA and moved to TX, no acute experience, and just got done with my first ever HOSPITAL interview process (it's a big deal for me :o) TODAY. I am just concerned and anxious about on how long will I wait til I get a call from them? This is a big hospital in Northern Texas.

I sent my applications online via their website since July of this year and applied on all the open RN positions they have. Finally I got my first call from the hospital's HR coordinator on 09/15/2011 to set up a behavioral interview on 09/19/2011. I went to the behavioral interview by the HR Coordinator, she said I did good, asked me which areas do I feel like I will be more comfortable with (like which areas would be an easier transition for me since I don't have an acute experience) and told me that she will forward it to the nurse manager and that I should receive a call in 2 days from the nurse manager of this particular unit which is the Neuroscience/stroke unit. No call/email after 2 days, so I decided to call the HR coordinator and left a message. She didn't call me back but hours later that day, I received an email from the nurse manager if we could set up a date for an interview by her. So I was thrilled and replied her back (this was Thursday 09/22/11) but I didn't get an email response from her after. The following day, I received a call from her to set up an interview for Tuesday 09/27/2011. I went to the interview, she asked me a couple of questions and said I did good. Interview lasted for about 30 mins and I think it went well. She gave me a tour of the unit and I met some of the staff. After the interview, she asked me if I could come back the following day for the Peer Interview which will be conducted by 2 RNs from the floor. I went for that interview this afternoon, they asked me similar questions from the previous interview and I think it went well too coz one of them verbalized she couldn't see any bad answers from me. I asked them how long will I wait before I can receive a call from them and they said "I'm not sure, maybe next week and that the nurse manager will make the decision of hiring me or not."

I am so anxious right now. I don't want to expect anything but it's hard and it will still be somewhat disappointing if I receive bad news. I am trying to be patient in looking for an acute experience. I feel like I don't feel complete as a nurse if I don't get an experience in the acute setting. I am currently looking for a job since I just moved here to TX about a month ago. This is a big deal for me and I am very happy to know that I got a call from a hospital, it's like they believe I was good enough to go for an interview atleast, for the position.

I don't know guys. What do you think? What are the good and bad signs after an interview? Should I wait for them to call me back? Thank you so much.

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Specializes in Leadership, Psych, HomeCare, Amb. Care.

Cupcake,

You are piggybacked on a 3 year old thread. For better results, I suggest you cut & paste your entry into a totally new thread.

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