Question about Applying for Multiple RN Positions in the Same Hospital

cokeforbreakfast · Mar 25, 2010

I don't know any more than you do, because I'm in the same boat, but I am writing a new cover letter for every single position. I have applied for about 10 positions at one particular hospital, and in each letter I highlight my traits/experience pertinent to that position. I feel like it just might keep them reading. Plus...what else have I got to do??? :confused:

I have actually started saving my cover letters according to position (e.g. dialysis, med/surg, clinic) so that I can find the right letter easily and tweak it for submission to each individual institution.

I try and apply for one position a day, so my cover letter stash is really piling up...the application process is going much faster as a result.

With regard to my priorities...I feel like the recruiter knows I just want to get some experience and learn. And he told me to keep trying...

Good luck! May we all be employed soon.

ElizabethNJ18 · Mar 26, 2010

thank you so much for responding! it's hard to get advice on these matters, some of the HR people are somewhat vague about what they want and don't want to see in cover letters, etc.

On a separate note, I am really wondering about some of the "gatekeepers" in the hospital's HR department - i.e. is an actual nurse recruiter looking at my resume or is it someone in HR who was given specific parameters and if I am a new graduate just places my information into the "circular file?" For instance -one hospital I called said that if I didn't hear back within a 2 day timeframe, most likely I didn't get the job. I called the HR department anyway to follow up and show interest, and they said that the nurse recruiter was on vacation until the following week.... ok, so who was reviewing my materials? who rejected me then? how do you get any feedback from a situation like that? so confusing! :confused:

cokeforbreakfast · Mar 26, 2010

Did you interview for the position, or just apply? In my three months of job-seeking, if I have interviewed for a position, the person(s) who interviewed me generally make the decision to hire, NOT the recruiter/HR person. At the interview, when they want to know if you have questions, be sure to ask what their hiring time frame is/when they will be making a decision (I always forget this part!) In general, when I have an interview I always follow up with a thank you to the person(s) I have interviewed with, then I wait a week from the interview and call those same people to see how things are progressing. Then wait another week and call again. And so on. I will leave a polite message if I get voicemail, which I often do. I just want them to know I'm interested and waiting to hear. Some places are taking three weeks to reject me because they are interviewing so many people...also, I read that in some places they are trying to draw the process out so that it looks on paper like they are taking action and making progress in getting a position filled...but, if they take a month to fill a position, that is a month that they aren't paying someone.

The recruiter thing may work differently elsewhere...I live in a rural area. In my experience the nurse recruiter is the gatekeeper. When I can figure out who the recruiter is, I always address my cover letter to this person (unless I can find out the person who is actually doing the hiring then I address it to them). The recruiter then decides if they will pass your resume on to the people who interview/hire. At the hospital where I have multiple applications, I have written many, MANY cover letters and one email to their recruiter (I also had a friend who works at the hospital hand him a hard copy of my resume and urge him to hire me!) I never heard a thing back. Today, I had a specific question about a specific position and I decided to call him. AND HE CALLED BACK! It is a position really not appropriate for a new grad, but I am not the typical new grad, and he gave me the opportunity to "sell myself" for the position. After we talked, he did say that he would pass my resume up the chain (yay), but gave only a little hope that anything would come of it. Still, it felt so good to actually say my piece to a real, live person, and that someone will be looking at my resume. (In addition, all my cover letter writing gave me plenty of practice/content for this unexpected call.)

All that said, I think as new grads we do often go in the circular file...that's why we need to be extra persistent and use any and all connections.

As far as the cover letters, I just try and anticipate those qualities I think they'll want for a given position, and highlight why my work/educational history uniquely qualifies me for the position. I put a lot of time into my letters and I proof them many times before sending.

But what do I know...I still don't have a job!!! I am waiting for news on two interviews currently, and 5 things opened up yesterday that I applied for. Next week I plan to go to all the smallest hospitals around me, in my suit, and personally hand out resumes. A nice poster on here on AllNurses reminded me that all positions don't make it onto smaller websites because the HR department sometimes doesn't have the technical know-how to update the website without calling and paying for tech help.

Another thing I did when things were slow was to revamp my resume and then go bring it to everyone who already had it, but didn't have any openings, just to touch base with them and have them update my file.

Hope all of this helps. Good luck with the battle. It's exhausting, no?

goodstudentnowRN · Mar 26, 2010

Gosh, you have done all that and still doesn't have a job? I am searching for a job too and I apply on the web every single day...I am getting frustrated!

secondattempt · Mar 28, 2010

@goodstudentnowRN. Just curious if you applied out of state?