Its not what you know, it's who you know

Devie06 · Jun 18, 2011

Sorry about the typos, I am on an android touchscreen so its a pain in the butt!

sourapril · Jun 18, 2011

It's like that in every field. I didn't get my job because I knew someone but I wish I did. it would make my life easier for sure. But I am proud of myself for my achievement.

Turd Ferguson · Jun 18, 2011

It's not BS, it's networking.

And it works.

Da_Milk_of_Amnesia, MSN · Jun 18, 2011

Get used to it..And That does not necessarily hold true for everyplace. I got a job at the best hospital in New York and I didn't know a single soul who worked there. So even tho you might think it's unethical it is what it is, and it's something you'll just have to come to terms with. With the economy the way it is now, nurses are working till they are much older and many hospitals are working 'in the red'..New grads are having hard times finding jobs, coupled with the fact that most hospitals are looking for BSNs, you will have your work cut out for you.

TheLastTime · Jun 18, 2011

I am pre-nursing and work as caregiver/medtech. A co-worker just graduated from a private college and will be taking the NCLEX soon. She applued to several positions for mom&baby unit and said within an hour she got the rejection email. However her mom works @ the hosputal and is good friends with the hiring manager. He1r mom took he1r resume directly to hiring manager and now she has an interview. I was telling my husband how much iworry aboyt finding a job and how I need to really meet people and do amazing during clinicals. I explained about my co worker and je freaked. He says its bs that ppl get jobs when they arent qualified because they "know someone"and it is unethical and conflict of interest for my co worker to be hired by her moms good friend. Just curious your thoughts???

Welcome to Reality 101 and Networking 202.

MBrnbsnmha/ed · Jun 18, 2011

i have my RN BSN MHA/Education degree and have yet to get to where I deserve to be. Its all about networking from what I see. However I enjoy travel nursing and will continue until I cannot do it any more.

shhhh · Jun 19, 2011

It's unfortunately true.

My first nursing job was at a small community hospital in my hometown, and it came time to replace our nursing manager who was moving away. The person who replaced her as nursing manager was a girl who was just five years older than me (I was 19 or so at the time), graduated from the local ADN program three years prior, and was just starting online work to finish her BSN when she was hired as the manager. So, basically, a 24 yr old who's been an RN for 3 years and worked there since she graduated school, doesn't have her BSN yet (let alone an MSN) and SHE was the apparently the best candidate for being a MANAGER? Of course she wasn't; she was a terrible manager who gave preferential treatment to her favorite nursing buddies. It didn't take me long to see that the hospital I was working at was just fueled by nepotism, so I got out of there as soon as I could.

I tell people that story and they don't believe me. But when I add that her aunt was nursing director at the hospital, it makes complete sense to them. It really shouldn't be that way, but it is.

You CAN get a job on your own merit. I moved to a city I didn't know anybody and I ended up getting into an ICU internship and now I'm working somewhere I love working. It CAN be done. Good luck!

Devie06 · Jun 19, 2011

I can't really blame my co-worker, the job market is depressing. And of course it's everywhere today, not just the nursing field. But I am the same way. I want to be a CNM eventually, so I did a Job Shadow program and followed a nurse-midwife at one of the hospitals for a full shift. She said I "have great, positive energy" and that I am "a natural with laboring moms, especially first-timers." So I'm hoping to keep in touch with her and use her as a reference (if I can count Job Shadowing??) but I also have kept in close contact with HR at that hospital, and my co-worker and I exchanged numbers and information. I won't be a nurse for another 2 years, but I figure it doesn't hurt to start now. And if she gets hired I will be happy for her, and hopefully in the future she can put in a good word for me! :)

I do think that there should be a balance though. It's understandable to be hired by those we know, but if we truly aren't qualified, it has the potential to put lives in danger!

netglow, ASN, RN · Jun 19, 2011

Thing is,

a New Nurse is a New Nurse, is a New nurse.

It's ONLY about who you know. And believe me, once in, nobody cares how you got in - you better show 'em you were worth the gamble. The grass does not remain green once you are on the other side. This from several I know who got the job without any healthcare experience.

mustlovepoodles, RN · Jun 19, 2011

Sometimes it really is all in who you know. That's why it pays to keep your nose clean during clinicals--you never know who is watching. I got my last job because i knew someone who knew of a job opening in her dept. She put me in touch with the hiring bodies and even vouched for me as a reference. But i still had to have everything in order--my references were good, my work experience was excellent. I went in to the inteview and knocked 'em dead. And THAT's how I got the job. Knowing someone definitely opened the door, but they wouldn't have hired me if I wasn't 100% the right person for the job.

Bobbkat · Jun 19, 2011

It's networking, and it in NO WAY means that the person is unqualified.

Example? I graduated with my BSN, great GPA, great clinical recs, passed NCLEX first try with 75 questions, good to go for a job, right? Except there were so few places that would even consider hiring new grads, let alone postings that encouraged new grads to apply, that there were hundreds of applications for each position. I was very qualified, but couldn't get anyone to look at my app. After about 150 rejections (literally), I begged every person I knew in a healthcare facility back home (I had to relocate post graduation) to tell me if they had any connection to a facility in my new area. Long story short, I found someone to put in a good word for me, and finally my resume was looked at, I landed and interview, and am now working as a RN on the unit. Don't get me wrong, the recommendation got them to look at my resume, but I am the reason I got the job.

Competition is FIERCE for jobs, or at least it was a year ago. Grades and recommendations aren't enough when you are lost in a sea of jobless new grads all clammoring for the same few positions. It's no different than someone getting a job as a CNA just to get their foot in the door at a facility. You have to use whatever you can in this economy.