Jumping through hoops to even APPLY for a job!

[sophie<3]

So I tried asking this question in another forum but figured I should ask all the nurses out there. I am graduating in December with my ADN (I plan to start an ADN-BSN program next August) and I also just completed a summer externship in a NICU. I am ready to start applying for some RN positions as I was told that August-October is an acceptable time to start sending in applications due to the high volume of nursing schools and graduating nursing students in my area. There is a NICU position available in a nearby hospital but I am having an issue when applying. In the job description it states that they will hire New grads who have completed an externship or preceptorship in a NICU (which I have) but in the application if you do not select that you have an ADN or BSN degree it automatically rejects your application. There are students in my area that applied and interviewed in the same hospital before graduation so I KNOW that you do not HAVE to have your degree to be considered but my question is, how do you get through the application process if you are automatically weeded out if you select the "No degree" option? I do not want to lie but I also don't think it is fair to expect a student to wait until they have graduated to apply for a job and due to the fact that students who graduated in May were offered jobs in April..I know that there is SOME WAY to get around this. Ugh..just frustrated. Should I send my resume to the nurse recruiter and tell them my situation? Or just wait until December 18th, the day after graduation to apply?

[llg, PhD, RN]

Contact someone familiar with that hospital and ask them for advice. Call the recruitment office ... talk the students you know who got job offers before graduation and ask how they did it ... talk to anyone you know in that hospital who could get in touch with the recruiter and ask the question on your behalf. (I have performed that sort of service at my hospital for people who have asked me.)

You might even ask one of your instructors to help you. If you are having that question, I'll bet other students are too. Someone at the school can probably find out that type of information for many of the major employers in your region. That's a service that your school should be willing to provide for its students. Your student nursing association may also be able to take on the project of contacting the local employers and clarifying the application processes in place.

That's how you get your answer. Any other advice you get here is just from strangers on the internet taking a guess based on what they have found in other settings.

[royhanosn]

for some its jumping hoops, for some its a walk in the park. Politics also plays a parts these day, its not what you know, its who you know, IN some cases. Just keep applying. As previous post, ask the ones who just GOT a job, and get their experience

[PediNurse3]

Most of the good internships are filled months before they actually start, so I wouldn't wait until after you graduate to look for a position. I think that it would be fine to check ADN since that's the degree that you will have, and somewhere on your application and resume put that your projected graduation date is 12/11.

[KTSNurse2b]

Call HR, like the first poster recommended. Not only with that give you the straight scoop on how to proceed, it will also give you an excuse to not only get the name/contact info for a nurse recruiter, but talk to them first-hand and hopefully set you apart from the other soon-to-be new grads that are applying. These little connections are key!

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

I would mark the ADN option and then make sure the attached resume you will submit has your date of graduation on it.

[llg, PhD, RN]

If forced ... I would also check the ADN option and then be VERY clear to state my anticipated graduation date in my cover letter and on my resume.

But why take the chance of having it mis-interpreted and ruining your chances of being hired? A few phone calls can get you the REAL scoop on what to do and may help you start the application process off on the right foot.

I find it a sad, but common mistake that students and new grads frequently make. They are too shy or too intimidated to make direct contact with the people who can actually help them -- so they rely on the advice of fellow students or internet strangers who might be totally clueless. The best way to get the information you need to ask the people who actually KNOW the answer because they are involved with the hiring process at the employer that interests you. If you don't have connections that you can call upon for the inside information ... ask your faculty members for help and/or your student nurse association.

One way or the other -- go to the real source to get the best information. Your career is too important to trust to people who have no greater knowledge of the actual hiring practices at that hospital than you do.

[SweettartRN]

If forced ... I would also check the ADN option and then be VERY clear to state my anticipated graduation date in my cover letter and on my resume.

But why take the chance of having it mis-interpreted and ruining your chances of being hired? A few phone calls can get you the REAL scoop on what to do and may help you start the application process off on the right foot.

I find it a sad, but common mistake that students and new grads frequently make. They are too shy or too intimidated to make direct contact with the people who can actually help them -- so they rely on the advice of fellow students or internet strangers who might be totally clueless. The best way to get the information you need to ask the people who actually KNOW the answer because they are involved with the hiring process at the employer that interests you. If you don't have connections that you can call upon for the inside information ... ask your faculty members for help and/or your student nurse association.

One way or the other -- go to the real source to get the best information. Your career is too important to trust to people who have no greater knowledge of the actual hiring practices at that hospital than you do.

With all due respect, most recruiters will not talk with you on the phone unless you have been selected for an interview, and even then it is damn near impossible to get someone on the phone.

Networking is definitely a better way to go. And in fact, I recommend that new grads go through their local yellowpages and send out a resume and cover letter explaining what they want, and I can almost guarantee that they will have a job by the time they graduate. I had three. YMMV.

[maiday]

I agree with trying to call, but I think you should be fine checking ADN and stating on your resume your grad date.

HOWEVER, the big thing is when does the program start? Most programs will require you to have passed NCLEX by the time the program starts and if you will then no problem. If the program starts Dec/Jan you may have an issue with this and not be eligible to apply anyway.

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

Instead of checking a box that says you have the degree, can you write in the date you graduate??? Just an idea :)

[sophie<3]

Instead of checking a box that says you have the degree, can you write in the date you graduate??? Just an idea :)

unfortunately no, i wish that were an option! it says what is your CURRENT degree and gives you options of None, ADN, BSN, MSN, DNP, etc.

then under that it gives you options of Active License, Temporary Work Permit, New Grad within 6 months, etc

I have tried applying as the New Grad option and it automatically tells me that I did not meet the minimum qualifications and kicks my application out. So I pretty much have to either put I have my license and state on there that I will graduate in December or get ahold of the nurse recruiter. I might try both ways. It is so frustrating that it says plaining that they will hire a New Grad but if you choose New Grad you are automatically rejected. I don't think it should be this hard, maybe that's just me though :)

Thanks for all the replies, i will try again and take your advice and see what happens!

[llg, PhD, RN]

With all due respect, most recruiters will not talk with you on the phone unless you have been selected for an interview, and even then it is damn near impossible to get someone on the phone.

That's why I recommended the OP talk to her faculty or encourage her nursing student association. Recruiters DO maintain relationships with schools and usually WILL tell the local school faculty/administration about their recruitment procedures. It's in the recruiters' best interest to do so -- in order to not have local students waste their time with applications that are not done correctly.

Yes, it might not be possible to speak to the Recruiter directly ... but the OP might get her question answered by the person who answers the phone ... or the Dean of the OP's school might be able to get information ... or a friend who works at that hospital might be able to get an answer. All of those possibilities are preferable to taking "blind" advice from strangers who have no knowledge of the hospital in question. That's my point.

Too many students and new grads fail to be seriously considered for jobs because they are too shy or too intimidated to go to best of sources of information. They just ask their friends and internet strangers. That failure to seek information appropriately has influenced MY decisions to reject/accept certain job candidates many times. I don't want to hire people who either don't know how or who are too shy to get their information from an appropriate source. Applicants with the savy (and the appropriate assertiveness) to get the infomation through high-quality sources make a better impression on me when I am doing the hiring.