Job offer on the spot

[nursing.mypassion]

Thx for all the helpful advice I have had so far on this forum.

I have had my share of rejection right after the interview. Still, I also have heard that there are situations wherein the New Grad RNs receive job offers right after the interview just ended. Since I've set up my appointments for other interviews for 2nd-choice hospitals, I have heard that some hospitals offer the job right after the interview and ask the interviewees to either accept it right away or no job offer no more. I'm just wondering how to react to it? I mean, I have high hopes for my 1st choice hospital but still insecured enough to yearn for an acceptance from other hospitals. Of course, I don't want to risk losing an acceptance from hospitals that accept me but what if my 1st choice hospital will accept me later on? How do you react to this kinda situation?

In short, I want to know what to do if your 2nd choice hospitals demand that you either accept or reject the job right on the spot while you're still waiting for results from your 1st choice hospital and you have very high hopes for your first choice?

thx a lot :)

[Orange Tree]

I would accept!

[chevyv, BSN, RN]

I would accept, but secretly still hope to hear from #1 and go from there.

[nursing.mypassion]

I would accept, but secretly still hope to hear from #1 and go from there.

Does it mean that even though you accept the job, you can still reject it later on in case your 1st choice decides to take you? I thought once I accept the job and as I sign the contract, I will be legally obligated to bind to the contract terms and cannot turn it down anymore? I thought once I accept it, it's legally binding, you cannot change your mind no more?

[chevyv, BSN, RN]

I've never signed a contract to work for a place in my life. If signing a contract is what you have to do then yes, I believe you would be legally obligated or owe them some $$ to break it. That kind of sucks.

[roser13, ASN, RN]

I would never accept a job on the spot. And I would look very carefully at the situation before even considering the position. If there is a take-it-or-leave-it offer, I would leave it.

If something seems to be too good to be true, it usually is (not) true. Whenever I've heard of someone accepting an on-the-spot offer, it turned out to indicate a facility that was in deep doo-doo and desperate for help. Any employer that is worth working for wants their employees to consider all of their options carefully and come to a rational decision that will last, for both their sakes.

[CMALynzer]

In my experience, the jobs of which I had accepted on the spot were bad places of employment. Either the administration treated staff poorly or work quality was poor. It's usually indicative of a place that is desperate for employees and has a high staff turn-over.

Be careful about the places you accept offers from. Study up on the organization/company before applying and interviewing and ask questions at the interview. Networking is a great way to get aquainted with human resources and leads to more offers, and it also is a good way to learn about the organization/company.

Good luck to you on your job search.

[charlestonsailing]

I'm a soon to be new grad who was offered a job by phone about an hour after my interview. I politely told the manager that I was thrilled and very interested. I said I would discuss it with my wife and give her an officlal answer first thing the next morning. Frankly, if a company is so unreasonable as to understand that, you probably are going to end up being unhappy with how you are treated by them in the future. That is just plain basic professional courtesy. I am new to the nursing world but not to the working world. If you have to sign a contract and they won't give you time to really read it, you definitely don't want the job. But at the same time, it is not kosher to say "gee thanks, I'm really hoping to get a job at xyz hospital. Can I let you know when I hear from them???"

I'd expect a manager to hold a position over night, maybe two if you had a good reason but not beyond that. Keep in mind a manager wants a nurse who is eager to work in their unit.

[lifelearningrn, BSN, RN]

Take the job offered and if by some chance you get offered the other position, resign with an apology. Don't hold out for something 'better'.. I'm sure that is way a lot of new grads aren't finding work right away. You can't hold out if something is offered, jump in.

[chuckster, ADN, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

Take the job offered and if by some chance you get offered the other position, resign with an apology. Don't hold out for something 'better'.. I'm sure that is way a lot of new grads aren't finding work right away. You can't hold out if something is offered, jump in.

I second this. It won't be the first time someone has backed out of a job after accepting the position, nor will it be the last. Just be aware that you probably won't ever get a job offer from that particular hospital.

[hiddencatRN, BSN, RN]

Unless they're making you sign something on the spot, I'd accept and then rescind my acceptance later if the #1 job was offered to me. If they demand you sign something on the spot....it's unfair to expect you to sign anything legally binding without offering you time to review it (and consult a lawyer if necessary). In that situation I'd probably insist on time to review the contract...or sit there and read through it really slowly in front of them just to be an inconvenience >:-}

[roser13, ASN, RN]

Take the job offered and if by some chance you get offered the other position, resign with an apology. Don't hold out for something 'better'.. I'm sure that is way a lot of new grads aren't finding work right away. You can't hold out if something is offered, jump in.

Please don't. You will live to regret jumping in without a net.