New Nursing Recruiter..are you crazy???

[walk6miles]

I had an appointment this morning with a nursing recruiter. I would like some feedback so here goes:

I received a post card form of invitation to join the hospital in question as a critical care RN.... I called out of curiosity and made an appointment. Day of the appointment something came up so I called and cancelled (plenty early)... I also said I would call and reschedule.

I called a week later and was told that the nursing recruiter I spoke with was no longer employed there. The "new one" seemed reluctant to agree with an appointment (mind you, there are no less than 30 openings posted) but I persisted and made the appointment for this morning.

Short version: the place was soooo dificult to find that they stayed on the phone with me and I finally found their building (oh, by the way, I was originally right IN FRONT of the building (no sign on the wall). Anyway, i got there in good stead; was required to fill out another employment application and was interviewed by a different recruiter.

Now, I am not bragging but...if I said that this woman didn't have a clue, it would be mean - she did not have a clue. We spoke about 15 minutes and she stated she wanted me to meet with the different supervisors in the hospital since as a weekend night pool RN, I would have contact with them.

She could not get one of them on the phone - she said there must be a big meeting afoot somewhere and why don't I come back another day? I traveled 48 miles each way (91 degrees) and she wants me back for something she didn't plan on?? I agreed and am still waiting for her call to reset the day!!!

Guess I won't hear from her. Shame, I have good evaluations and am a good nurse who works nights weekends!!!!

[LadyTiger44]

Do you really want to hear back from them though? It doesn't really sound like they have their stuff together, so I am not really sure if I would want to work there; I guess it would just depend. It sounds like they are very unorganized, and that comes back and makes the hospital look bad-IMO.

Good luck though! :)

[cursenurse]

Yeah some hospital nurse recruiters seem to have problems getting the job done IMO. I agree with the other poster, if they are that disorganized, do you really want to be bothered working there?

[walk6miles]

That is a very valid point..... I was thinking about at least speaking with the different managers (sometimes the initial HR people are like this but once you get past them, the managers have been totally the opposite and the assignment turned out well).

I ran into this as a travel nurse.... but, then again .... always the optimist!:nurse::nurse:

[llg, PhD, RN]

Sometimes, the Nurse Recruiter office can be a mess (which this one is) ... and the clinical unit where you would be working is great. Once you are hired, you won't be dealing with the Recruiters. You'll be dealing with the unit managers.

I have worked for a hospital in which that was the case. The Recruiters were a part of Human Resources and that department was very badly run. The Nursing Department was well-run.

If you really think you might want to work at that hospital, you owe it to yourself to put forth a little extra effort to at least meet with someone at the unit level. Wouldn't you hate to miss a wonderful job opportunity because you made a premature assessment of the job with too little information just because some Nurse Recruiter resigned just before you applied -- and some other poor person was trying to fill the position who had been thrown into it at the last minute?

A good job is worth the extra effort it sometimes takes to find it.

[Zookeeper3]

Well IMHO, the nurse recruiter is the GATEWAY to the facility. First impressions become concrete. If a facility is advertising a need for me, and on appointment (on MY time) I show to interview them, in turn they're needing me, I can't speak with a single supervisor of the positions?? I'm clearly not valued from the start. Easy access to management becomes questionable as well as my priority to them. It becomes "we're busy, come back later"...

I've had this happen, I've then called the HR manager and very politically correctly lodged my issues of "concern". Only once was I not met with the red carpet treatment. My mistake with the latter was pursuing due to $$ purposes.. $45/hr for per diem... and yep, the hospital placed no value on nursing which is why they had to pay through the orifice for basic staffing (left after 3 shifts)

So IMHO, what you see is most likely what you will get. Good choice and either call the HR manager or move on. Good luck with your search, we are too high a commodity to be treated as daily trash for dumping.

[ERnursegrl04]

Being a nurse recruiter myself, I have to say I agree with your attitude. Anytime someone comes in to visit I try to find out ahead of time their interest and specialties and have that manager set aside a few minutes at the appointed schedule. If they are not able, I get all the details available and take nurse on a tour of that unit to see the basics. Then again, knowing you would be driving that far. .... I would have every duck in a row before I would commit to the time scheduled.

[walk6miles]

I am still waiting for a return call....will keep you posted.... thanks"!!!

[oramar]

We have had many post here about how some recruiters seem to be an obstruction to employment. Many have complained about the same thing as you. However, most have also had good experiences with recruiters. Wouldn't you just love to know why the first one left. I got a feeling something is going on at this place.