I have spent the last two days interviewing candidates for an open RN position on my floor. Last week I went through the 14 resumes HR sent over to pick out the ones I wanted to interview. Eliminated eight of these for various reasons ( poor grammar and spelling, history of job hopping, inappropriate email address), and scheduled six interviews. I did the last interview this afternoon, and still have not found a suitable candidate. I know there are plenty of resources online that give job search tips, so please, put a little effort into writing an appropriate resume, and learning how to interview. I don't care if you are old, young, fat, thin, new GN or crusty old bat, gorgeous or if you wear a paper bag over your head. Please present yourself in a professional manner when interviewing. You don't need to wear a business suit, but don't come in jeans or shorts. Don't come with overdone hair and make up and tons of bling. Learn to communicate in a professional manner as well. You are a college graduate, you should at least have an understanding of basic grammar and know how to express yourself. Express a sincere desire to work on my unit. Don't tell me that you really don't want to work on a telemetry unit, that you just want to get into the hospital so that you can transfer into ICU as soon as there is an opening. Don't be cocky or dismissive of CNAs and other ancillary personnel when I introduce you to the staff for the peer interview.
I have read numerous posts from nurses who cannot find jobs in the present economy, and I feel for them. But it can be just as frustrating for a manager looking for staff who are professional, caring, and committed to their profession. I feel like the last two days have been a complete waste of my time. Please, if you are lucky enough to get an interview, make sure you are presenting yourself as a professional. If you cannot make the effort to do so, don't waste your time or mine by even scheduling the interview.
One thing that I wish was changed and this is more of the law so managers can't change it; I wish the whole having to advertise a position even when you know who you are going to hire thing was gone. I hate preparing my resume to be tailored to the job, getting dressed nice, driving to the place for an interview (I am very willing to drive for jobs; so, some of these places are a good hour away one way) and spending time interviewing and then find out internal people or people that were chummy with the managers were pretty much already promised the job. People talk, so do not think for a moment that does not happen. It is a waste for people looking for potential employment. I want to apply for positions that are truly open and needing someone from the outside that way I have some hope that I can potentially get a job and be able to make a good impression. Plus, at least I can reason that I am not wasting my time and gas.
I, too, also just went through the interview process for a position I had open on weekend nights. I was given 9 resumes, all new grads, who had applied for the position on our website. I was able to eliminate 4 immediately, because they continued to use their school email addresses when they had already graduated and had no further access to it. Mistake #1-please update your contact information before you start looking for a job. I then began the process of 1st interviews. This immediately eliminated 2 more: 1 who admitted being nervous and frightened and the other who stated she really wanted to get into maternity nursing but needed a year of experience first (she was applying at a skilled nursing facility!) This told me that, in another 6 months, I'd be looking for another weekend night nurse. Two of the nine made it to 2nd interviews. One admitted that she applied for the position, thinking that there might be a full time day position but didn't really want to work nights. The last of the interviews was eager, willing, and quite happily, accepted the position. She will be oriented for 6 weeks on the day shift and then 2 more weeks on weekend nights before she is allowed to take the reins herself. As for the other 8, I wish you all the best in your search for the right positon. Just make sure that the position exists before applying. My last pet peeve is to those who arrive 1/2 hour early for an interview appointment. I know that you are anxious and nervous but you need to remember that the person who is interviewing you has a very busy day to day job to attend to and is not necessarily waiting around for your arrival. Hence, the making of an appointed time for your arrival.
Much like Teacher Sue, I also don't bother to call a candidate for an interview if the application has crossouts, writeovers, misspelling, incomplete pages, or no references listed. And for Pete's sake, NEVER put on a job application that you left a job because you "didn;t get along with supervisor!"
cien, can I ask how you know these people no longer have access to their student email? I still use mine and will continue to because when most important things go through it; I am not going to give it up because I graduated. As of right now, my school still lets us use them. I think it's very shallow to throw an application out due to using a student email.
I was working part-time while finishing my pre-reqs (which lasted couple months here and there), and some of the jobs I had to quit because of my family situation (My dad became disabled and my mother also got sick and had to get a surgery, so I had to quit my job after a month) and that's all I have for my resume...sigh
Dear Wish, that was not my only reason for disregarding the application. It was the ONLY source of contact and I did send an email to set up an interview appointment which was never responded to. Later in the week, I received a call asking if the application had been received. I explained about the contact information and the applicant told me that the email was no longer valid.
Much like Teacher Sue, I also don't bother to call a candidate for an interview if the application has crossouts, writeovers, misspelling, incomplete pages, or no references listed. And for Pete's sake, NEVER put on a job application that you left a job because you "didn;t get along with supervisor!"
Isn't the common convention to provide references under separate cover, if the person doing the interviewing is interested?
A resume goes out all over the place. It's not fair to the people you use as references to have their names and contact information going all over the place as well.
And do you simply just throw out a resume with a college domain name? My college doesn't recycle e-mail addresses (it simply increments the number at the end if there is a duplicate name; e.g., john.smith008), and as far as I know, lets you maintain your email address indefinitely.
cien, can I ask how you know these people no longer have access to their student email? I still use mine and will continue to because when most important things go through it; I am not going to give it up because I graduated. As of right now, my school still lets us use them. I think it's very shallow to throw an application out due to using a student email.
Perhaps b/c many university benefits, such as email and library database access, are closed after graduation.
I think what the person meant was that the managers don't have a lot of time and the applicant, especially in this kind of market, shouldn't have to make them work to find the necessary information. I think that is pretty standard in all businesses.
I have a good friend that is in high level mgt through a major banking system. Some of the things the managers are talking about here are pretty much standard procedure everywhere.
They also look too see if the person could be a flight risk, b/c they have a budget, for which they must account. It's important to keep in mind that bosses have bosses. I mean I know people know this, but how that translates into other people's level of appreciation varies. I will be the first to say, quite genuinely, that management has many challenges that others cannot begin to appreciate until they are in that kind of role.
About the whole advertising when a candidate is pretty much already set for a position. Well yes there can be several reasons for this. I know it is time-consuming to prepare and travel for interviews. You have to look at it as an opportunity to get a "look see" about the hospital or unit, and it's an opportunity to work on interviewing skills. Plus you get to meet people, and you may apply or interact with them at some event at another time.
Interviews are more than "meet and greets," but in the past, when interviewing a lot, I've tried to keep that "meet and greet" attitude in mind--meaning, it's an opportunity to meet someone and see a little about what the place is like. Respect, cordiality are important. This is an opportunity to get others to see and meet with you. I mean, getting an interview IMO is never something a person should squander. It's an opportunity, regardless of the outcome. To me it's like traveling, which I love--except for long flights. I tend to tolerate them. I may not end up living at a particular place, and I may end up liking one place more than another, but I am still glad I have taken the trip, and I am still better for having done so.
An ongoing challenge in this, and other fields, is to find ways to stay motivated, stay positive, and stay persistent. Those that can't do this are certainly going to wash away by attrition. The current market is what it is. Work weekends, nights, whatever. Eventually the market will get better.
I have traveled daily to a position that was 80 minutes away in one direction in order to get experienced in a particular area. My children were babies at the time, and I was rotated and did a lot of nights. It was a hard orientation in many ways. But I ended up getting strong experience and really liking the position. Also, the position was not paying as much as they were in places closer to where I lived. I knew what I wanted, got the opportunity, and bit the bullet. I am grateful and proud to have gained experience from this institution--even though a few folks were not so nice to me initially--but most were.
I would add that this is one of the few places that actually had some of the most objective and consistent systems for evaluating nurses during orientation. It was very impressive, and the place ran like a well-oiled machine.
Of course, my point is, no one is handing anything out to anyone, and although there is unfairness in this world, you have look past that and seize opportunity. Stay positive. You have to keep mentally programming yourself to do this. And that means, at least in my opinion, taking the Serenity Prayer and trying to live by it. You don't have to be an addict to benefit from that prayer. There are things we don't have control over, and then there are things we do. We have to productively work on the things that we do have control over, rather than becoming consumed or paralyzed or bitter by the things we do not have control over. :)
Now the previous issue we discussed (bullying), I have seen this get better in other places, and I am hopeful with more awareness, education, and research, it will improve.
Kudos on your post. To this day, I have been everything you wanted to see in a candidate, and it just shocks me that there are people out there that somehow missed the mark on interviewing 101. Even down to the funky email address and poor grammar on a resume. Seriously! What are people thinking!! Glad to see you eliminate the resumes on that alone. If they are not careful with their resume, that's a sign that the interview will be a waste of time too.
Good luck in finding the best candidates out there! :)
One thing that I wish was changed and this is more of the law so managers can't change it; I wish the whole having to advertise a position even when you know who you are going to hire thing was gone. I hate preparing my resume to be tailored to the job, getting dressed nice, driving to the place for an interview (I am very willing to drive for jobs; so, some of these places are a good hour away one way) and spending time interviewing and then find out internal people or people that were chummy with the managers were pretty much already promised the job. People talk, so do not think for a moment that does not happen. It is a waste for people looking for potential employment. I want to apply for positions that are truly open and needing someone from the outside that way I have some hope that I can potentially get a job and be able to make a good impression. Plus, at least I can reason that I am not wasting my time and gas.
This is so true! How about this one: my sis was told after her interview that she HAD the baylor position for which she was applying. They were supposed to call her and give her an orientation schedule. She waited, followed up, played phone tag and then they told her they gave it to an internal person who apparently decided they wanted it AFTER my sis had been promised the job. To make it worse, she turned down several jobs because she was told she had this one. People around here don't tend to reconsider you when you turn down jobs so it left her in a real spot...
wish_me_luck, BSN, RN
1,110 Posts
One thing that I wish was changed and this is more of the law so managers can't change it; I wish the whole having to advertise a position even when you know who you are going to hire thing was gone. I hate preparing my resume to be tailored to the job, getting dressed nice, driving to the place for an interview (I am very willing to drive for jobs; so, some of these places are a good hour away one way) and spending time interviewing and then find out internal people or people that were chummy with the managers were pretty much already promised the job. People talk, so do not think for a moment that does not happen. It is a waste for people looking for potential employment. I want to apply for positions that are truly open and needing someone from the outside that way I have some hope that I can potentially get a job and be able to make a good impression. Plus, at least I can reason that I am not wasting my time and gas.