Recommendation letters for new grads! Advice?

[b33ni]

Hello everyone!

I'm a fourth semester nursing student graduating this May from a BSN program and I've started to look around for new graduate positions and nurse residencies. A lot of them (or so I've read here at allnurses,) require that we bring copies of letter of recs from our clinical instructors to the interview. In my previous experience with instructors, they prefer to email the letter directly to the place that the student wants them to go to.

My question is how do you go about asking for several copies of recommendation letters (physical copies) when you don't know A) when the place you're applying for will get back to you, B) if you'll even get an interview, and C) when you're planning to apply to many different hospitals. The reason is I want to know is because I don't want to keep asking instructors to write a rec letter for me every single time I get an interview.. any suggestions??

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

There is no way to avoid this. Your faculty members will be saving your rec letters on their computers and can always print out another copy to send. Your job is to give them a stamped, addressed envelope for every one you request and make sure they know to whom to send it. Go ahead and make them out for as many hospitals you want, and let the faculty know to go ahead and send them. It doesn't matter if your target facility doesn't get back to you regarding an interview or not. Make your decisions, get your apps together, then give your stamped, addressed envelopes to your instructors and get going!

That should keep your job search humming. :)

[b33ni]

Thank you for your advice GrnTea!

I guess I'm wondering if there's an unspoken "limit" as to how many times you should ask your instructors for letter of recommendations. I already have several nurse residency programs I want to apply to, and that's not including the many "regular" new grad positions that I'm also planning on applying to.. I know that instructors receive requests to write letters all the time, so it's not a big deal to do one, but will they give me raised eyebrows if I ask for 10, or even 20 copies?

I guess I'm a little spooked out after reading so many new grads not being able to land their first jobs. I just don't want to be out of school and 6 months later, my instructors reject my request to write me a letter because it's been too long since they've had me or I've asked them too many times!

[applesxoranges, BSN, RN]

What we normally do is that they give me a letter and I make copies.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

You could always ask for a letter to be addressed, "To Whom It May Concern," and bring it with you to your interview. I know some places want it sent, so they can be sure that you didn't write it yourself; if you ask your faculty to include specific contact information in the body of the letter, that should take care of that.

[RunBabyRN]

I'm glad you asked this! I'm in the same place as you, and am trying to figure out navigating through letters of recommendation. The way the job market is here, I plan to cast a wide net, like you, so that's going to be a lot of letters getting sent out!

Good luck!