Hi everyone. I am a new grad nurse on the job hunt for 5 months now, and though that may not seem like a long time, I am feeling extremely discouraged. I have been on about 9 interviews now with well name hospitals and cannot get myself a job! I am not trying to brag but I believe my creditials are what landed me the interviews. I volunteered at many hospital organizations and other nonprofit organizations, have all my certifications needed, very very actively involved with my school (student leadership), and even received an award for that from my peers. My grades are pretty substantial. Not extremely high but up there. And while that has impressed most of the managers and panels I've interviewed with, I am always pushed to the curb and getting rejection phone calls and emails. Now I am feeling depressed and wondering if I am good enough to be a nurse.
I dont know if my interview skills are terrible, but I am trying all I can and when practicing with my professors and peers they all think my examples to questions are great. There are sometimes during an interview I get asked a question that I really don't know how to respond to (mostly scenario questions). My brain blanks out and I start rambling on and on but probably not giving the answer they're looking for and maybe that's what is my problem. So I started practicing algorithms on how to address scenario questions since not all questions are the same and it's really hard to prepare. But it's not helping me! What should I do??
It's hard for me to go into an interview and wing it. But when I prepare I still feel like it'll never be enough. I am feeling extremely discouraged and really wanting to give up. I need advice please! Thank you.
Similar to what several pp said, you might be appearing overconfident in your abilities. You're not being hired for your leadership skills; it's an entry-level position. When I was a hiring manager, an applicant repeatedly drawing attention to a skill that I wasn't looking for was sometimes a red flag. It usually made me think they didn't understand the position they were applying for, or were trying to draw attention away from some weaker part of their background/experience. If the hospital is looking for a reliable floor nurse who is going to stay in the position for the long-term, stressing that you have great leadership skills and are ready to move right up the ladder could be a bad thing.
Similar to what several pp said, you might be appearing overconfident in your abilities. You're not being hired for your leadership skills; it's an entry-level position. When I was a hiring manager, an applicant repeatedly drawing attention to a skill that I wasn't looking for was sometimes a red flag. It usually made me think they didn't understand the position they were applying for, or were trying to draw attention away from some weaker part of their background/experience. If the hospital is looking for a reliable floor nurse who is going to stay in the position for the long-term, stressing that you have great leadership skills and are ready to move right up the ladder could be a bad thing.
Hang in there, job searches can be exhausting!
ooohh never thought of it like that. Thanks for the advice!
Make sure that you ask for a business card from everyone at the interview and send each of them a thank you letter within 24 hours!!
Mention something in each letter that you and that particular interviewer discussed. It can be hard to remember if it's a panel interview so right after the interview write down what was discussed and with whom and continue to write things down as you remember them then write your thank you letters thanking them for giving you the opportunity to discuss ______ and expand or give clarification on items that you need to.
There is a TON online about post-interview thank you letters. Also, don't let anyone tell you that they don't matter because they do. It might be that you sent one and no one else did and you get the job and that was the thing that was the deciding factor.
Make sure that you ask for a business card from everyone at the interview and send each of them a thank you letter within 24 hours!!
Mention something in each letter that you and that particular interviewer discussed. It can be hard to remember if it's a panel interview so right after the interview write down what was discussed and with whom and continue to write things down as you remember them then write your thank you letters thanking them for giving you the opportunity to discuss ______ and expand or give clarification on items that you need to.
There is a TON online about post-interview thank you letters. Also, don't let anyone tell you that they don't matter because they do. It might be that you sent one and no one else did and you get the job and that was the thing that was the deciding factor.
BrendanO, MSN, RN
155 Posts
Similar to what several pp said, you might be appearing overconfident in your abilities. You're not being hired for your leadership skills; it's an entry-level position. When I was a hiring manager, an applicant repeatedly drawing attention to a skill that I wasn't looking for was sometimes a red flag. It usually made me think they didn't understand the position they were applying for, or were trying to draw attention away from some weaker part of their background/experience. If the hospital is looking for a reliable floor nurse who is going to stay in the position for the long-term, stressing that you have great leadership skills and are ready to move right up the ladder could be a bad thing.
Hang in there, job searches can be exhausting!