New grad looking for first job - what could make a hospital do this?

[joemomma35]

I'm a new graduate; I graduated in January and received my license in April. The marketplace around here is pretty tough, but most people from my graduating class have found jobs by now.

I've had a lot of interviews in the area, mostly for ERs, with no job offer yet. I have several years of EMT experience and I most desire to become an ER nurse. This past week I had an interview at a level I trauma center.

My story here: This last hospital I interviewed at, I went in for an initial interview a week prior and then I shadowed the ER for about 7 hours. I met most of the staff that day (about 25-30 nurses as well as staff from other professions) and got along very well with virtually every single one of them. I did everything I could on the unit. My contact on the unit told me that the assistant manager was impressed and she told him that I would probably get the job.

I came back and met with the ER manager for my second interview. She was very excited and did most of the talking; telling me about orientation, the unit and hospital, etc. She asked me a few questions but I mostly had to interject to sell myself to her. At the very end of the 30 minute interview, I asked her if she could see me working out in the position. She said "absolutely," then I listened as she listed five reasons to hire me. She told me to call back in one or two weeks when the three positions were officially open. I asked her if there was anything that could prevent her from hiring me, and she basically stated that if she had three good candidates with experience then she may take them over me. Otherwise it sounded like my chances were pretty good, because she was having trouble getting those with experience in the door.

The next day, I got a call from HR saying that I was no longer being considered as a candidate. It was a very vague statement and she wouldn't go into detail beyond me not having any experience. I wondered if someone had trashed me or something, so I later emailed the HR lady who called me and asked her if she contacted my references, and she hadn't. My references later confirmed to me that they had not been contacted. I also sent a courteous email to the ER director who interviewed me, stating that I was disappointed but did not take the rejection personally, and I asked what I could have improved, and I got no response.

What would make such a ridiculous 180 occur? What I suspect is that somebody above her head must have told her not to hire me, and that it may have been strictly a business decision. Either that or there was some red flag that she thought she found on me; but even then, I can't imagine what that would be. It costs approximately $50k for the hospital to train a new graduate into the ER so it's one of the toughest units to get into as a new graduate, so any doubt in their mind could be enough to prevent me from getting the job.

Frankly I'm tired of being played like this. This is not the first time this has happened to me; where I've had an awesome interview and then got shot down less than 24 hours later. This next week I'm going around to manors from the area to see if it isn't significantly easier to get a job at one of them. I need to get my initial experience and hospitals have been bumming me out.

[loriangel14, RN]

That definitely sucks. I have found that HR and management usually have their own agenda when it comes to hiring.Best of luck. I'm sure you'll find something soon.

[dansamy]

Does your credit score stink?

Sent from my HTC One X using allnurses.com

[jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B]

What stuck out to me was the "I have 3 good candidates with experience, and I have had a hard time getting experienced people in the door" statement.

There's your answer.

If you would still like to work for the hospital for the clincal experience (and being a nurse and an EMT myself, they are apples and oranges) send HR an email and ask if you could apply for other positions within the hospital. Once you have experience, keep your eyes open for internal job opportunities in the ER. Even think about per diem if it gets your foot in the door, however, it may not be in the ER. Go to their website, see what is available, and when you email HR (or call) ask that your application be submitted for the postion that you see on the website you would like to apply for.

As opposed to manors, I would think about Urgent Care, clinics....something that will get you clinical experience if you can't get into a position at the hospital.

Best of luck in your endevours.

[joemomma35]

dansamy, I barely have a credit score. I was late repaying a month of a student loan once, but that got sorted out. Otherwise there's really nothing there.

jadelpn, you missed an "if" in that statement. She said that she didn't have those people yet. And if she found those people, I doubt she'd find them in less than 24 hours. Somehow, there's nothing open in the hospital right now (even though it has 500 beds); HR told me there's nothing at the moment and there's nothing on the site. But that's still a plan if I can pull it off, I'm going to call the new recruiter very soon about it. I'll try urgent care centers but my impression is that manors right now would be easier to get into.

[hiddencatRN, BSN, RN]

No openings on the website now? Sounds like their hiring budget just got cut. And/or someone on high decreed that no new grads could be hired for that position.

It sucks but it happens and I wouldn't waste too much time dwelling in it. In my class, grads with EMS experience were seen as fairly desirable new grads, so just keep plugging away.

[klone, MSN, RN]

They wouldn't have run a credit check without his knowledge, though. Joe, did you authorize them to do a background or credit check?

[joemomma35]

Nevermind, they JUST posted new positions but they are for oncology and ICU; neither one of them are my first or even my second choice. They literally just got a new recruiter who is starting on Monday. I'll call her about them anyway.

klone, I don't recall because the application was filled out months ago. I didn't sign one in person. My background is squeaky clean and my credit should be non-existent aside from one late student loan payment from years ago.

[joemomma35]

Alright, I do have another question here. Again, the ER recruiter did not respond to my email when I politely asked her if she could explain why I got rejected and/or what I could have improved on. I doubt it was anything personal, considering how well both interviews went. Would it be a wise move to email her one more time, tell her that I am still interested in the ER down the road, and ask her if she could say that my interviews went well to the unit manager of one of these units (ICU/Oncology), so that I have a better chance at getting an interview on those other units and can transfer to the ER later?

[hiddencatRN, BSN, RN]

No, I would not keep emailing her. Job hunting is like dating. You don't want to come across as desperate and sometimes there's no closure. Talk to hr about the other open positions and let your previous email to the er be your last.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

I would take ANY job in that hospital to get my foot in the door. Then, after a year,start putting in apps again.

Personally, I think its the new grad and/or budget constraints. I know at the local hospitals here, the budgets get cut but it doesn't always trickle down to the unit managers quickly and they already have interviews scheduled.

I do feel your frustration too and I'm sorry you wasted so much time on this interview/shadowing....

[klone, MSN, RN]

Yep, sometimes you never get closure or an answer. It's frustrating. Just let it go and move on. Good luck!