New Grad rejected from First Hospital

Published

Hi all!

I'm about to graduate from nursing school in May 17' and have started to apply to jobs. I've applied to 2 hospitals. 1 hospital has a generic new grad nurse app. The other has individual apps for each dept. that is hiring GN's.

Anyway today I received a rejection email from one of the hospitals basically saying they weren't interesting in hiring me. So this completely eliminates 1 of my 2 options as far as hospitals go.

My MAIN question is would it be appropriate to email the recruiting team to see why my application was rejected? It is bothering me so much that they didnt even give me a chance.

I do believe I figured out why they denied me. On the application it ask if you have ever been fired or asked to resign. My answer is yes. 2 years before I started nursing school I was working for the family dr, and she ended up firing me about 6 months later. That is a very long story that I won't go into detail in. I honestly am a very hard worker and think she mainly fired me bc she just didn't like me. In the application for this hospital it ask for an explanation for why you were fired and this is what I said:

" I was hired by dr. smith as a CNA. She asked me to resign due to the need to have someone with a higher skill level in the nursing practice. Dr. Smith had no RN's/LVN's or CNA's in her practice while I was working there and it made it difficult to train me to a skill level she needed. Dr. Smith was an MD and an anesthesiologist and was able to do more complex procedures in her office. At the time I had a very basic skill level prior to being admitted into nursing school. I was working for Dr. Smith part time and was taking Nursing pre-reqs full time. Prior to being asked to resign I had also been highly contemplating resigning due to my need to focus on school. It was a mutual decision on both ends."

- some words were abbreviated just for this text purpose not in my actual app.

This became a long novel and my life story. But I am just extremely bothered by the idea of being completely denied even an interview for being fired from a job I held almost 4 years ago. I know there could be other reasons why they may not go with me but this is the only legitimate one I have found.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

YES! Call them and ask! Theres really nothing to lose from this situation.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Thank you! I think I will on Monday! Do you feel like my explanation for "reason for termination" was adequate? I feel like once I explain it, it's much better than just being like I was fired. Etc

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.

Ugh. That sucks that they actually want you to explain why you were fired.

I think your explanation is a bit too wordy. In the future, if you are asked

the same question, there's got to be a quicker way to explain. Maybe

"Dr. MD decided that she needed to hire an employee with a higher

skill level than what I possessed at the time". Employers get tired

of reading stuff and have been known to toss applications/resumes

that are too wordy.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Your explanation for firing was way too long. By the end of that explanation where you say you were going to anyway to focus on school, it sounds like it was your fault and you were so focused on school you could not perform your job.

Write as little as possible in those situations.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Thank you! Good advice!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

I would leave this alone. They are likely swamped with new grads and have internal employees already lined up for those slots. You will experience a lot of rejection in life as an RN- let it go and move forward. Don't limit yourself to one or two places, cast a wide net and you'll have a lot more opportunity.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

Also: OP- per the ALlnurses Terms of Service, your use of 'nurse' in your screen name is a violation until you actually ARE one.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Psych/Mental Health.

You can ask, but I doubt they will respond. Eventually, you'll realize that you'll get rejections a lot and most of the time it has nothing to do with you. My view is that one's preparation (eg, resumes, cover letter, grades) plays a small role, interviews play a bigger role, and the rest is pure luck. I've been to interviews where I was clearly a perfect fit but when I met the interviewer there was an obvious mismatch in chemistry. It happens. Don't take it personally and just move on quickly and never feel attached to a job posting.

The best thing I've learned from job search is to apply to as many as possible and see what sticks. I've gotten some of the best jobs that way.

I agree that your explanation is too long. Nurses and people get fired all the time, so I don't think it's a deal breaker.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Travel, Home Health, Med-Surg.
Your explanation for firing was way too long. By the end of that explanation where you say you were going to anyway to focus on school, it sounds like it was your fault and you were so focused on school you could not perform your job.

Write as little as possible in those situations.

I agree with this, your response was way too long and you also "admit" to not having the appropriate skills (even though it wasn't your fault necessarily) and you also "admit" that you were needing to focus on school which probably sent a red flag that you were not fully "present" in your job (which could have been the reason for the firing) . Next time remember less is better and be careful what you write that can be interpreted wrong (maybe have someone else read it for you prior to sending).

I would take it as a lesson learned and keep going, good luck!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

In addition to the suggestions above, I'd recommend that you cast a wider net if there are other hospitals and/or units in your area that you can apply to. Depending on your job market, new grad jobs can be very competitive and difficult to come by. It's quite possible that the hospital had other new grad applicants with more experience doing clinicals in the hospital, experience working in the hospital as CNAs, better GPAs, a BSN (not sure if that applies to you) etc. Sometimes you have to simply send out a bunch of applications and take whatever job you can get to start gaining experience.

I was a 4.0 student at a top-10 BSN program located in a pretty saturated nursing market. I sent out 15 new grad applications; I got 3 job offers, 3 rejections, and the rest literally never got back to me.

1
Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hi,

I think it would not do a harm to ask them why. Just keep in mind, they may not be quiet honest, and they may just give you some vague diplomatic answer.

To the applications...

Only two applications?

you might very well end up like anyone else... rejected, rejected, rejected, rejected even from the dirtiest nursing home. Yet still do not let it crumble you and apply again.

My first applications and interviews...after countless rejections, I literally begged the manager who finally invited me for an interview to give me job in the nursing home. I did not care how little they will pay! Just please, please hire me. She did not. Today I am grateful to her, because should she hire me - I would be probably stuck there till now. Thanks to her rejection I received way better opportunities and experiences. And so it could be in your case, you just do not know it yet.

To the honesty in your application

I would love to know more details so I could tell you if you were really asked to resign.

From the little you described I came to assumption:

You very well could end up just mutually agree that practice of doctor Smith was not the best for you, as you were not adequately qualified at the time for that type of tasks, which would be out of your scope :cheeky:

That is not same thing as Dr. fired you.

Most likely Dr. herself was aware, that it might have not been in accordance with law if she would fire you, or it is sensitive topic for her as well as it might have been slightly unethical, or she was just maybe nice and did not want to fire you, so she might possibly not want to ever acknowledge for any of these reasons, that yes, you were asked to resign, or she wished to fire you.

Unfortunately here comes in play screwed up system - I hope you left on good terms. Because if you did not, no matter how right you were... you will have this ugly stinky sticky material glued to you forever.

So head up, nerves ready for lengthy process of job hunting! Good luck

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion