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.
Why would anyone tell you not to ask?! When I asked the hospital why I got rejected, I got a detailed explanation of their thoughts--that I had a great application, but just didn't have enough experience compared to my fellow applicants. Also, I agree that you should make your explanation of why you got fired WAY shorter!! Good luck!!
Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).
My standard reply for this type of question is usually "The decision to terminate my position was mutual, It just wasn't a good fit for either party. Further explanations can be provided during interview"
at this point I think I will most likely contact HR and ask, because if I can correct something and prevent this from happening due to an error or something I'd like to fix it.
I have also decided to most likely take the previous job off of my application all together. I was working there for about 6 months, and it was about 4 years ago. With what little experience I gained from that position I don't think it really helps my case much and that way I no longer need to include that on any future applications.
As as far as the 2 hospitals thing goes. I live in an area with 3 hospitals. 1 of which you cannot even apply to until after you've taken NCLEX. So I have applied to the other 2. One hospital was a 1 standard application and the other was by department. So I submitted a total of 9 applications between the two hospitals. I am moving to this area soon and am very unfamiliar with it so it is taking me some time to find places to apply to.
Thank you all for your responses you have made me feel better in different ways.
at this point I think I will most likely contact HR and ask, because if I can correct something and prevent this from happening due to an error or something I'd like to fix it.
I have also decided to most likely take the previous job off of my application all together. I was working there for about 6 months, and it was about 4 years ago. With what little experience I gained from that position I don't think it really helps my case much and that way I no longer need to include that on any future applications.
As as far as the 2 hospitals thing goes. I live in an area with 3 hospitals. 1 of which you cannot even apply to until after you've taken NCLEX. So I have applied to the other 2. One hospital was a 1 standard application and the other was by department. So I submitted a total of 9 applications between the two hospitals. I am moving to this area soon and am very unfamiliar with it so it is taking me some time to find places to apply to.
Thank you all for your responses you have made me feel better in different ways.
I would not necessarily do that, because hospitals do background checks and if you paid employment taxes it may show up. You could always say you forgot but if you get a position I would not want a background check to bring up unnecessary questions. I would just say that they needed a higher skill level than what you had at the time and leave it at that.
I would not worry about being rejected. After 30 years in nursing I have learned that if you miss the bus you want, there is another better bus around the corner. Also, God puts you where He needs you to be. Just plug away and put out a LOT of applications and take advantage of contacts you may have. Sometimes it isn't what you know but who you know that gets your foot in the door. And nursing is a small world.
Application question: Have you ever been terminated?
Answer: No. OP you were not fired, you resigned. It doesn't matter that you were asked. Employers do this to save themselves, you do it to save yourself. Win-win situation. Being asked to resign is not the same as being fired. Do not make this mistake again.
If you put the job on your application, put the reason for leaving as "pursuing nursing degree and needed more flexibility or time to focus on studies." Just an example. Also remember, if the application was on-line, the hospital did not reject you, the computer did. Be very careful about key words on your application. Make sure whatever the stated requirements are, you have those words in your application. In the past, I had no experience with on-line applications and was surprised with the rejection e-mails (which are automatically generated). Then someone told me about the key words and I reapplied to every job, using the words to trigger response from the computer and it worked. The next step was then to sell myself to the employer. One job hired me without an interview, based on the application which the hiring manager go to read after it was forwarded to her.
Do not be discouraged. Recruiters are not seeing most of the applications that are sent. Also, it helps if you know someone on the inside that can speak directly to the manager on the unit you want. No guaranteed to end in an interview but is quite helpful.
I tried that whole new grad thing and it didn't work out either. Not even working at a facility as a PCA/CNA helped me after nursing school. I'd forget about applications. Focus on actually passing your last semester with highest GPA possible and graduating. If you do have extra time start your NCLEX studies early and soon as you graduate take the earliest possible time for the test and pass it in 75 questions ahead of the pack of you who are graduating in may, which would be in June or July. In addition warm up to your instructors and let them know ahead of time you will be needing letters of recommendations, Get at least 4 recommendations.
It would be odd to focus attention on a new grad job when if you don't focus and pass the NCLEX then you would be let go if you don't pass and you'd be stuck again and you'd be know by that hospital as "the new grad who didn't pass the NCLEX". That's just my suggestion. Unless its a DIRE financial need where if you don't get this you wont have food or something, otherwise you don't need to get a new grad job now. It could back fire. The other reason for not getting a job is sometimes job and the real world nursing is different from NCLEX, and trying to learn both at same time could hamper chances of passing. Your ultimate goal right now should be to pass the NCLEX, it should be your life.
Hospitals hire in cycles, they know when the new grads are coming out so its best to be ready. Only 1 or 2 people in my graduating class got jobs as new grad RN's. But 99.9% of us had jobs upon passing NCLEX.
esrun77
80 Posts
Why would anyone tell you not to ask?! When I asked the hospital why I got rejected, I got a detailed explanation of their thoughts--that I had a great application, but just didn't have enough experience compared to my fellow applicants. Also, I agree that you should make your explanation of why you got fired WAY shorter!! Good luck!!