Interviewed,interested,DSUA done.....how long to wait before I call?

[elgin1962]

A week ago tomorrow I was flown cross country to interview for a position I am well-qualified for, having 20+ years of O.R. experience under my belt. The meeting with mgr. and staff went very well and ended with the statement that she would love to have me come work there. I agreed and said I'd love to as well. I was taken to their HR office. Expecting to fill out more paperwork I was quite surprised to be told none was necessary. All that was wanted from me was a pre-employment urine drug screen so I took my lab requisition and drove straight to employee health, filled out that paperwork,got it done. Since returning home, my test was done within 2 days, got the expected call and the negative results were reported to the prospective employer. I should say that this hospital's nurses are part of the Oregon nurses union and this is my first experience with that so am not sure what to anticipate next. I live nearly 2000 miles away but assume I would not have been sent for pre-employment drug screen unless the interest in hiring me was pretty high. I mailed the manager I interviewed with a thank you note before I flew back home Suday and tomorrow(Fri.) marks a week since our meeting.

Since posting my updated resume online, I've been contacted several times a day from recruiters interested in talking to me about both travel and permanent positions. I am not sure whether to take myself off the market because I am sincerely interested in this job I just interviewed for and am trying to be patient for a call or a written offer of employment. A verbal "we'd love to have you be a part of the team" is encouraging but I need something concrete. Since I emailed the hospital I interviewed at an application over 2 months ago, I've lost the job I was at for several years only 2 weeks ago. This turn of events has given me a sense of urgency I didn't have before. Now I need to move in with a friend to save money and give 30 days notice to get out of my month to month lease.

What I don't want to do is pester HR or the manager I interviewed with. I'm feeling between a rock and a hard place because I am passing up other opportunities without a solid offer of employment from the place I just did the drug screen for. Those of you who've dealt with the business of negotiating relocation assistance may be able to give me some insight here as to what I should anticipate. I know this has been a very difficult position to fill, it's been vacant 4 months, it is a surgical specialty and moving a nurse halfway across the country is no small investment. I've not asked about salary range yet, nor was it brought up. Am I foolish to not make myself available to interview for these other positions or am I expecting too much too soon? I was not given any indication as to how long it would be before I would hear back from the hospital I just flew out to interview with. This is a very large corporation that manages facilities in 3 states so I realize these things take time.

Should I just sit tight and give this a few more days? I was just terminated from my previous position but did not discuss nor was asked about any of my previous employers during this interview. It was a situation where due to the small medical community I am in, my previous employer was inadvertently made aware that I was job hunting. For the past year I had been trying to transfer to another dept. but was blocked at every turn. It was a very contentious relationship and I am very happy to be out of it. I'm unsure now as to whether I should inform the prospective employer that I am no longer working at the previous one and am in fact unemployed.My former employer is known locally to tell employees who give a 2 week notice to resign that it's better if they just go ahead and leave immediately. Thinking all is well, then the former employee is labelled as "not eligible for re-hire" in spite of giving the 2 week notice and finds out much later when references are checked and there's nothing that can be done. I had made my mind up to relocate to the area I just interviewed at, years ago so resigning wouldn't be seen as something unusual, being terminated never looks good.

I had a friend who is a recruiter check my references to see what info being released and it was quite an ordeal to even verify dates of employment. This is outsourced to a 3rd party which asked her for my social security number, in order to get any info at all. My resume reflects my updated dates of employment, however the online job application, though correct 2 months ago, is not accurate now regarding when I left my last employer. I don't want to be dishonest, I'm not sure whether or not to call HR and update them with this new info or just assume that the updated resume I emailed and brought to the interview is going to cover that. Sorry this is so long, but having never relocated across the country for a new job I'm not familiar with this process. Locally the timeframe from interview to start date is much shorter, paperwork is filled out in anticipation of that tentative start date. I am afraid to invest any more time or money or even start the licensure ball rolling in case this all falls through and I end up working in a completey different state since my home state is not part of a compact. Any insight from other nurses in OR. or anywhere, for that matter, would be very appreciated. I've never been unemployed long enough to need to file for unemployment compensation so this vague state of uncertainty is challenging, yet I don't want to do anything to set myself up for losing this or another job opportunity.