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groovy jeff, RN · Oct 24, 2008

In a past life I was an HR guy and have hired thousands of people. This is what I do when I want a job:

Polish up my resume. Even if you don't have any medical experience, HR will still want to see one.
Craft a good cover letter. Don't go more than 2 paragraphs. Research the company and state why you want to work there. Make sure that your phone number and email are on the letter and resume.
If you are in school, get a letter from your program stating that you are in school, doing good work, and are expected to graduate on X date.
Stick all of it in a priority mail envelope and send it off. Priority mail gets read where a regular stamp does not. Make sure the letter and the whole package is addressed to the right person by name; don't do a "to whom it may concern"
I would send 2 packages, one to HR and the other to the charge nurse on the floor you want to work, i.e. if you want to work peds, send it to the peds charge nurse.
Follow up (if they don't contact you within a week) with a phone call to the charge nurse and HR. Many times I have been contacted before the week is out by email or phone asking me to go online and fill out their app.
Before an interview go to the library and check out some books on interview questions; there are a ton of them.
If you want to go into nursing make sure you ask about education benefits during the interview, i.e. do they have a tuition reimbursement plan, etc. Also find out what schools they will pay for, e.g.: Scottsdale won't pay for Ethel Bauer/IIA college.
Don't ask about pay, vacations, time off, etc during the interview.
After the interview make sure to send a thank you card to the person who interviewed you.
If you don't hear anything within 7 days, call the person who interviewed you and inquire if the job has been filled. If not tell them that you would really like to work for them and ask them to hire you,

The idea is to stand out from all of the competition.

I would advise you to look at the big picture as well. One area might be close but will they pay for your education? Will they be flexible when it comes to work and school?

One last thing (this is the Dad in me coming out) where ever you go to work, if they have a 401K plan get into it. Most places will match you up to 3-4% and it will add up. Put it in the riskiest fund they have and don't ever touch it. Right now that money is buying your retirement at some real cheap prices and 20 years from now will be worth thousands and thousands of $$$. Alot of people think that they can't afford to do that but if you make 3 less trips to Starbucks it will pay hugh dividends down the road. If they take it out of your check right at the beginning, you will never miss it.

Good Luck!!

Heartbrokennurse · Apr 21, 2009

I am graduating in May. I was offered a position at the Mayo Clinic and then had my position taken back at the last minute. Now I'm heartbroken and looking for a job. I have been working as a nurse for the last six months in a hospital on a medical/surgical floor. I did a full-time internship @ the Mayo Clinic during last summer. I am very intelligent and experienced!!!! I am a fast learner and interested in moving anywhere. I have been involved in research projects in the clinical setting. I have also been having trouble finding a job. Anyone interested in hiring me??? I am up for anything, let me know!

jax18_mco · Jun 18, 2009

Help groovy jeff. What do you do when the entire application process is done online for the hospital you are applying. I have no idea who to call or send a note other than HR. I applied 3 weeks ago and there has been no response. jax18_mco

groovy jeff, RN · Jun 18, 2009

Couple of things to remember:

Everybody has an online application process these days
You need to make an online version of your resume. By this I mean take your current resume and take out all of the indents, underlines, bolded words, symbols, bullets, etc and save it as a ".txt" file. Online applications are read by a computer and if you have that stuff in there it is harder for the machine to read.
Since online apps are scanned by a computer they are looking for key words or phrases. Depending on what department you want to work in and/or specialty there are keywords you can use e.g. if you want to go to ED make sure you use words like trauma, ACLS (if you have it), PALS, etc. The more keywords that are in your resume & cover letter the better your chances that a real live person will read it.
Do the online application first, then the next day try shipping a hard copy to the unit manager or dept head in the department you want to work. The key to this getting opened is to use a Priority Mail or FedEx envelope. If you don't know who that person is, call the hospital and ask for the name.

The big thing right now is that it is hard to get a job, period. I have my pinning ceremony tonight and I have been trying for 3 months to get a job; it is tough out there right now. Just keep trying and stay groovy!

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Jun 27, 2009

how bad credit can cost you a job

...there is a good deal of information potential employers can glean from an applicant's credit report, said steven williams, director of research at the society for human resource management.
a credit report includes an individual's credit history – the record of how he has borrowed money and paid in back -- as well as personal information employers use to confirm an applicant's identity such as a social-security number.
"there are several reasons why an employer wants to look at credit history, but the biggest reason has to do with responsibility," said williams.
"credit history gives employers sense of how responsible someone is. it shows if you pay your bills on time, if you're not taking out too much debt. it is one indicator of how responsible you are, and the assumption is that if you're responsible when it comes to your own money it will flow over, and you'll be responsible with company's money," he said.
traditionally, companies checked the credit histories only of those employees with access to the firm's finances or proprietary information.
"companies want to know if there are outside forces trying to collect money from you before they give you direct access to their cash or information. if a collection agency is trying to get its $10,000 from you, a company might not want to put in front of its cash," said john ulzheimer, president of consumer education at the credit information and personal finance web site credit.com.
the federal government has long used credit histories as a part of its security background checks, to ensure potential employees were not so saddled with debt that they could potentially be blackmailed or bribed....