how long do you expect to wait to hear if you're hired or not?

[hamlj]

Hello,

I'm heading back to work after being home w/ my family for 10+ years.

I've interviewed at a couple of places (LTC and a hospital). The first LTC place I applied at actually called me and told me their positions were full for the moment, but they'd keep me on file. Ok. Fair enough.

The hospital is where I REALLY want to be, I interviewed there, and it went well. I interviewed w/ human resources, then she sent me to speak with the head nurse in the unit. Both interviews went really well, they talked about salary (I did not ask) they talked about benefits, told me when orientation was, and asked me when I was available to start (to which I said "right away"). Overall...good signs.

I do know that there are 2 other people who applied for that postition... only one more qualified than I am, but she hasn't been scheduled for an interview as far as I know.

The second LTC place I applied at offered me a job on the spot. Of course the pay isn't as good...but it was a nice place and I wouldn't mind working there.

Only problem??? They want me to start asap, and I really want to find out about the hospital job before I make a commitment.

SO... in your opinion, how long should I wait to hear about the position at the hospital? If you were me, would you say no to the LTC facility in hopes for a better position, or would you take the LTC position b/c it's a definite?

I don't want to jump at the first opportunity only to regret it...but I also don't want to burn any bridges and end up w/ no job at all!

Thanks so much in advance for your opinions.

[Mulan]

I would call the recruiter in HR and ask what the status of your application is, that should get you some kind of an answer.

[hamlj]

I did leave a v/m saying I realize she's probably still interviewing for the position, but I was wondering if there was a time frame in which she expected to fill the position.

That way if she said they were going to interview candidates for the next few weeks, I'd have some clue. Unfortunately she didn't call me back...and I know she's off for the next four days.

[jojotoo, RN]

Call the LTC and say something to the effect: How you've been out of the workforce for such an extended period of time and how you are excited about their job offer and that you just want a little time to think about it so that you can make the best possible decision. You can even say that you have had another offer and that you are trying to decide between the two. (This may boost the pay offer.) If they ask how long you need to decide, tell them by mid week next week. This will give you enough time to talk with the hospital HR again. And it's OK to tell the hospital HR that you have had another job offer but that you would really like to work for them if they could give you some sort of time frame.

[bargainhound, RN]

Another tidbit........voice mail is notorious for people not having

time to listen to it or whatever.......don't depend on it.

Call back and speak to the person.

There are all kinds of things in play and you cannot always

figure out what they are doing/why they have not returned

your call, etc. It can be something as simple as just being

too busy with meetings or other things that they have to deal

with in a certain day.

Allow them enought time, but keep phoning. That will get

your best result.

[Cupcake87]

Hello everyone. First of all I wanted to say thank you to all of you who share their thoughts, advices and knowledge on every topic here in allnurses. It helped me a lot from taking the nclex to finding my first RN job. I am a RN who worked in a SNF in CA and moved to TX, no acute experience, and just got done with my first ever HOSPITAL interview process (it's a big deal for me ) TODAY. I am just concerned and anxious about on how long will I wait til I get a call from them? This is a big hospital in Northern Texas.

I sent my applications online via their website since July of this year and applied on all the open RN positions they have. Finally I got my first call from the hospital's HR coordinator on 09/15/2011 to set up a behavioral interview on 09/19/2011. I went to the behavioral interview by the HR Coordinator, she said I did good, asked me which areas do I feel like I will be more comfortable with (like which areas would be an easier transition for me since I don't have an acute experience) and told me that she will forward it to the nurse manager and that I should receive a call in 2 days from the nurse manager of this particular unit which is the Neuroscience/stroke unit. No call/email after 2 days, so I decided to call the HR coordinator and left a message. She didn't call me back but hours later that day, I received an email from the nurse manager if we could set up a date for an interview by her. So I was thrilled and replied her back (this was Thursday 09/22/11) but I didn't get an email response from her after. The following day, I received a call from her to set up an interview for Tuesday 09/27/2011. I went to the interview, she asked me a couple of questions and said I did good. Interview lasted for about 30 mins and I think it went well. She gave me a tour of the unit and I met some of the staff. After the interview, she asked me if I could come back the following day for the Peer Interview which will be conducted by 2 RNs from the floor. She also told me that she isn't going to be the one who will hire me (?) but the RNs who will do the peer interview (?). I didn't understand what she meant. So I went for that interview this afternoon, they asked me similar questions from the previous interview and I think it went well too coz one of them verbalized she couldn't see any bad answers from me. I asked them how long will I wait before I can receive a call from them and they said "I'm not sure, maybe NEXT WEEK" and that the nurse manager will make the decision of hiring me or not (?).

I'm confused. Is that a bad sign? Are they just being nice?

Then I checked their website for my application and saw that the "status" of the position I applied for that was "forwarded to manager" on previous status is now "Application filed, not hired", dated 09/28/2011. :'(

I am so anxious and depressed right now. I am trying to be patient in looking for an acute experience. I feel like I don't feel complete as a nurse if I don't get an experience in the acute setting. I am currently looking for a job since I just moved here to TX about a month ago. This is a big deal for me and I am very happy to know that I got a call from a hospital, it's like they believe I was good enough to go for an interview atleast, for the position.

I don't know guys. What do you think? Should I wait for them to call me back? Thank you so much.