-A friend of mine did an employee referral for me to get a job at her hospital
-The referral was not for a specific position
-They emailed me last week and requested I do a personality test
-I did the personality test and passed (thanks to many of you)
-This week, I got a phone call from corporate and they did a mini interview with me via the phone
-At the very end of the phone call, the person said, "by the way, this is a night shift position"
-I was kind of caught off guard, since I never applied to a specific position, and voiced that night shift is not my first choice but explained I am still interested and do not want to pass up an opportunity in this economy
-He replied by saying this is the only new grad opening in the entire hospital
-He ended the phone call by saying he was going to forward my info over to the hospital HR and they would call me next week to set up an interview
Why I ask, "new grad/bad economy, bend over and take it?":
The way he replied by saying, this is the only new grad position in the entire hospital left me feeling like, "okay, I'm a new grad (and this economy sucks), I guess I have to bend over and take what ever they want to give me."
I'm writing to you all because I don't know how to go from here. Do I pretend that I'm all about the night shift and this is my first choice or do I go the open and honest route and express that while the night shift is not my first choice, I'm willing to give it a shot for at least a year (which is true)?
Typically, my philosophy on the employer-employee relationship is that the position should be a good fit for both the employer and the job seeker has the right to express their needs in an interview. However, since there are so little jobs available and new grads are treated like lepers, should I be willing to forfeit my rights and settle on the "bend over and take it" philosophy (and smile as I do so)?
I know there are a bunch of new grads who will say, "yes, I've been looking for a job for a long time don't be an idiot, bend over and take what they are offering and smile, don't forget to smile!" I honestly wouldn't blame anyone for saying this exact quote to me.
I should add, I know the night shift isn't a death sentence and many people really like it but I know myself and I am really sensitize to sleep deprivation and I really need sunlight to feel happy. In the winters, I deal with seasonal affected disorder and it scares me to think what little to no sunlight would do to me. This is my only concern with the night shift but I think it is a substantial one, considering it involves both my health and my happiness.
Insight and constructive criticism are welcome and I thank you all in advance.
You don't mention if you have any previous hospital experience...but if not, take what is offered. I watched as my classmates who had previous experience get hired right of school (me included) and I have watched as those with no previous experience struggle to get in the door.
I know on my floor, a whole bunch of changes just took place and people went from evenings to day, evenings to nights, and nights to days. You never know what option will come along for you!
I say take it if they offer you the position! Your foot is in the door & you can go from there.
Good Luck!
This is a good point. And the openings on days would go to INTERNAL candidates first.
lowering salaries isn't going to do much to alleviate the cost of training new grads -- unless you're advocating lowering it right down to cna level or below. i'm not sure anyone would stand for that.
those jobs that you see posted month after month -- it's not that they're not filling them. it's just that it's easier and possibly less costly for the hospital to post an ad for nurses without specifying shift or specialty and then just leave it up forever. job seekers initiate contact and from there hr can funnel them where they need them. some hospitals and even some units within hospitals are always hiring, so those ads never go away either.
very good post overall.
i would say that i disagree with the lower wage issue. let me first say that this would only effect new grads not experienced rn. with that said.
currently in the area that i'm in (n. nj and nyc metro area).it is so depressed when it comes to new rn grad opportunities, i know personally i wouldn't mind covering the cost of most of my training. i just want to get the experience in. i want to get on that floor to work. if i have to be a slave for a little bit....well....it's not the first time i been stuck in that situtation...and usually the benefits at the end of it way out weigh the burden. now obviously i can't speak for all the new grad up here. but i think some of those who are stuck in the area/hiring environment i am would consider the same thing.
in these times we do what we need to do to further ourselves for the future.
I'm a "take the high road"/"kill 'em with kindness" kind of girl.
Good heads up on the character speculators. It's hard not to take things personally. Must remind myself that this is the internet after all.
This post was featured in the newsletter that goes out on every member's email. So you're going to have some people who come out of the woodwork to be nasty, then go back to their hole until the next newsletter comes out and revives a weeks-old post long after your question has been sufficiently answered. lol
This post was featured in the newsletter that goes out on every member's email. So you're going to have some people who come out of the woodwork to be nasty, then go back to their hole until the next newsletter comes out and revives a weeks-old post long after your question has been sufficiently answered. lol
I was wondering why people were posting on this thread again. Thanks for pointing that out.
I realize this thread is long so people just getting on board do not want to read the whole thread but I found the nasty comments a little frustrating because I felt I had address some of my questionable statements in follow up posts. Oh, well. I officially retire from B.O.A.T.I. damage control today. :)
Take it and smile and smile big, bid your time, do your best and you'll be ok. I am a fairly new grad and i have been searching and trying to find a hospital job and i have not been successful so, really your very lucky!
As far as having to deal with SAD, as I do, you should get out on your days off. You may only have to do this for a short time, there are some folks who love nights. And being a new nurse, you will be more comfortable on nights because less mess and politics.
( hopefully) The best of luck to you and remember this too shall pass!!! Good LucK
i, for one, would like to commend you on your grace and tenacity on this thread (and i did read it all). yes, i am a "late reader", but unfortunately, i don't get to spend a whole lot of time on here. i am thankful to receive the email notices because i would miss so much beneficial information if i didn't get them!i actually graduated last year and was able to spend some much-needed quality time with my family :redpinkhe before looking for a job. as soon as i began applying, i had several calls, interviews, and offers. most of the job offers were for dayshift ironically...but i chose a nightshift job that i thought i would really like...and not only do i like it, i love it!!! i think at my facility, nightshift is the "preferred shift" haha.
i hear a lot of people that graduated with me complaining about "not being able to find a job". from what i have read on this thread, it must really be frustrating in other areas of the country for a new grad to get a job. that is sad, especially when you have gone through the rigorous training including blood, sweat, and tears. in my area, i don't believe the nursing jobs are "hard to find", but i think it is the the fact of those particular individuals have not been offered "the dream job that they prefer". does that make sense? sometimes, like they say, "you have to get your foot in the door".
i have to agree with lots of replies on here about the nightshift being positive...i did lots of orientation and training on dayshift and the difference is like night and day lol. both have their pros and cons just like any other job.
good luck to you and all of the new grads that are looking for a job!!!
I was told before I even entered nursing school to expect my first position to be a night shift and that was before the economy took a dump. Day shift is usually the preferred shift for most people (my hat is off to those who not only can handle nights, but prefer them). I took a night shift position on my floor and it took me about 1 1/2 years before I was next in line to go to day shift. I made it and now that I've been on days for awhile I was glad to start on nights where I got good clinical experience without all the chaos that seems to be associated with day shift. You have more families, docs in and out, PT, OT, ST and patient in and out to tests and procedures. I think all that would have been much harder to take without some experience on the floor at night when you get to focus more on just the patient without as many interruptions.
Ha ha. With your attitude I am surprised you got hired. The newbies always get the off shifts, that is just the way it is in any work environment. Do your time, bid on openings. You have to pay your dues like the rest of us. Sheesh.
Ha ha. With your attitude I am surprised you got hired. The newbies always get the off shifts, that is just the way it is in any work environment. Do your time, bid on openings. You have to pay your dues like the rest of us. Sheesh.
I'm glad you made this refreshing comment! This thread was completely devoid of 7 pages of people making comments implying that the OP is an entitled brat. Also, she has yet to acknowledge in those 7 pages that she may have been a little unrealistic in not wanting a night shift starting out in a hospital. And she hasn't acknowledged that with grace multiple times or anything. /sarcasm
Specializes in drug seekers and the incurably insane..
At the facility I work for....it is the opposite. They can't seem to recruit or retain people to work the dayshift.....nobody wants to be around the megalomaniac management. The NOC shift has a huge waiting list for those wishing to go to nights. So, when a new grad applies and is offered a position....they usually immediately get dayshift.
I'm glad you made this refreshing comment! This thread was completely devoid of 7 pages of people making comments implying that the OP is an entitled brat. Also, she has yet to acknowledge in those 7 pages that she may have been a little unrealistic in not wanting a night shift starting out in a hospital. And she hasn't acknowledged that with grace multiple times or anything. /sarcasm
(and i did read it all). yes, i am a "late reader", but unfortunately, i don't get to spend a whole lot of time on here. i am thankful to receive the email notices because i would miss so much beneficial information if i didn't get them!i actually graduated last year and was able to spend some much-needed quality time with my family :redpinkhe before looking for a job. as soon as i began applying, i had several calls, interviews, and offers. most of the job offers were for dayshift ironically...but i chose a nightshift job that i thought i would really like...and not only do i like it, i love it!!! i think at my facility, nightshift is the "preferred shift" haha.
GM2RN
1,850 Posts
This is a good point. And the openings on days would go to INTERNAL candidates first.