It's not what you know it's Who you know......

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..... so many times I have heard this, but until the job market hit rock bottom, I am truly starting to believe this. Because of the terrible job market I can't even get my foot in the door so when I graduate I could land a job after graduation. Impossible almost, I am going to begin strengthening my networks, I have contacted my previous clinical instructors just to keep them updated on my progress, this way hopefully I can get a job after graduation. When I return to school I am going to speak to some of my professor to see what connections they may have, they have years of experience. I see many hospitals have an employee referral program, I saw online @ a hospital in my area that an employee could get $3,000 for referring an RN. In a nutshell how many new grads got their jobs because of someone they know and how did that process work?

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Specializes in PICU/NICU.

Problem is.... that 3K is for a position that is hard to fill, usually. And who do they want to fill it with? Someone experienced- especiallly if they are paying a 3K referal.

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Picnicrn, Thats what I was wondering, it did not specify. It clearly stated that if you knew someone have them fill out the online application, place the employees name in the referral section. The employee then faxes their own separate referral application (that HR has designed) to HR. HR will then pull their application and call them. Managers were not able to participate in this program. I was blown away, it seemed to me if you know someone you basically have the job! RN, wasn't the only position there were others, but for the most part they all required a degree of some sort.

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I completely believe that in this market, many new grads get jobs because of who they know. I just graduated in June and the majority of my classmates who got jobs either worked on the floors as NA's or had a clinical rotation on the unit and developed a relationship with the nurses and managers. That's how I got my job. I start in one week and I did my final clinical rotation in the CCU. I expressed my interest in working on the unit to my preceptor, to other nurses on the floor, and to the unit manager. Right before I graduated I wrote the manager a letter thanking her for my time on the unit and telling her what a great experience I had and how much I learned. I again expressed my interest in working on the unit and asked her to keep me in mind if anything opened up. About a month after I graduated, I received an email directly from the manager telling me they were about to post a position online for the CCU and I should apply if I were still interested. The position required an experienced nurse, but I definitely applied, and interviewed w/ enthusiasm and honesty. My preceptor (a CCU nurse) wrote one of my letters of recommendation. Even though I was competing against many experienced RN's I was hired for the position and I'm so thankful!! Also, if you know nurses on a unit you wish to work on, ask them if they would recommend you to their manager (if there's a position available), that's how a lot of my classmates got interviews.

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Specializes in ED, ICU, MS/MT, PCU, CM, House Sup, Frontline mgr.

would you hire a new grad who, after less then one month of orientation at hospital-a quit hospital-a's ob unit for "personal reasons", then went to work for outpatient facility-a for 6 months, quit for "personal reasons" to return to hospital-a because she was offered a job in the nicu, where she wanted to work all along??? probably not!!! to make matters worse (because it gets worse) hospital-a's ob unit, outpatient facility-a, and hospital-a's nicu are usually off limits to new grads!!! so, how did a new grad with a poor rn work record pull off so many employment options??? she knew people who knew the hiring directors in every situation. to top it off, she was related to a director who originally hired her on the orientation she quit in less then a month.

in stark contrast, i had to interview for and was denied positions on floors i wanted to work in hospital-a despite having a 2 year work record with hospital-a and being an exceptional candidate (this was told to me on numerous occasions). instead i ended up working on the worse floors in hospital-a!! not to mention that before i graduated from nursing school i worked in outpatient facility-a for some time before nursing school and had a good reputation. however, i was told that they were not hiring new grad rns and to get acute care experience first... those are the rules that new grads with no connections must live by while others can live by different set of rules. so, yes.... it is about who you know and not what you know!:twocents:

recently, i stopped trying to play by the rules. i put in my resignation with hospital-a because i no longer want to waste my time. my reputation is not good enough to make me an exception to the rules and i am not related to anyone. so, i applied to and was hired on at hospital-b, where there are people who like me a lot and those same people put me in the ed, where i belong. i did not even have to interview for the position i was told... however, i did so because it seemed weird to me otherwise!! good luck to you...

btw, i still believe in merit based accomplishments. however, i quickly found in employment over the years in this and other careers merit is a middle-class and working-class concept. sadly, middle-class and working-class people are not the ones in charge!!!! the true way to success in this country is who-you-know!

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I graduated in Aug 07, and I had two job offers. One from a floor where I did my last clinical rotation, and the other d/t a school official noticing a job posting and telling me about it, because it tied in with the floor I was doing my last clinical rotation on.

So, I guess you could say both job leads came from who I knew.

I work in a different area now, and this one came from applying thru regular public channels. I knew no one in the agency, but I did have very positive references.

Bottom line, I think, is that people tend to trust the judgement of others they know, or those whose positions indicate a degree of trust is appropriate. That just gets you in the door for an interview, though. You still have to impress the hiring person enough to land the job.

Good luck to you in your search.

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thank you all very much for the wonderful responses :yeah:

i am going to begin strengthening my networks before graduation. did anyone have any assistance from their professors when it came to getting an interview? i am close to one of my professors and i am considering asking her for assistance in getting a job as a sna @ my local hospital. applying online just isn't working for me because i have no experience, i have contacted nurse recruiters, but they just explain that out of 50 applicants, they may only have 3 positions and everyone is minimally qualified. i really hope the job market picks up because they are missing out on great nurses.:saint:

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Specializes in Anesthesia.

I think it is all about who you know.... seriously. Start networking, and possibly try to find a job on the unit you'd like to work on.

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Eiano, I am taking that to heart!

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Specializes in psych, addictions, hospice, education.

Find out who the managers are. Call them and express your interest. Stop in and see them. Don't be a pest, but let them know you're interested. One lady who hired me told me she hired me because I kept coming back so she remembered me when there was an opening...

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whispera, thank you very much for the tip. this may be a dumb question, but what should i say to the nurse manager? i have called nurse recruiters, should i use the same approach? shouild i express interest in a position that isn't posted on the job board? thank you very much, all of your comments are very valuable to me and greatly appreciated.:)

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Specializes in psych, addictions, hospice, education.

Say you're interested in working on (or his) unit, and have some reasons handy. Say you're interested in available positions (if there are any--there might be some that aren't posted or some that are going to be posted any day) or upcoming ones. Shake her hand, maintain eye contact, and tell her a few things that are impressive about yourself (don't do the "I'm a people-person" line). What would impress a manager? Don't take much of her time because she is a busy person. If you drop in, don't take more than 5 minutes. Follow up with a thank you note. Call a month later.

I think my first choice would be to find the name and number and make a phone call first, to the manager, to see if the manager is open to a visit, and make an appointment. Then you could take a bit longer of the precious available time. The manager might even interview you then, though!

One final suggestion...lots and lots of hospitals have programs for students to work and earn cash and experience while they're in nursing school. If you could handle one of these jobs, get one. Facilities hire these people first from among all the new graduates. Plus, you learn oodles...

Do this everywhere you'd like to work. Applications get lost in Human Resources and sometimes are never found! I've always gotten my jobs in nursing (quite a few) by making contact with people who make the hiring decisions. HR doesn't decide. Managers decide.

If you have contacts, use them. Where'd you do clinicals? Is that a place you might want to work? Who do you know there? Might they know people at other facilities who could put in a good word for you? Definitely talk to past instructors. Be assertive! You can do this!

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