Rejection email after CNA interview at school's hospital. Confused & Upset

[cjb19]

I got a call about a month and a half after the job I applied to was posted for a nursing assistant on labor and delivery. I just started my second semester of nursing school and due to work had to schedule my interview 12 days out from when I got the call. Everyone around me got my hopes up and said there was no way I wouldn't get it, and my friend at school had just gotten hired on a different floor as well. Its at the same hospital that is connected to the school and I know 2 people that are RN's that are recent graduates and worked as CNA's in their float pool as well. All of my instructors liked me, got great reviews from the clinical instructor, and did well in class (which I know doesn't mean much...). But my patients liked me and all of the nurses I worked with got along with me in clinical.

Interview I thought went well, the HR person wasn't insanely friendly or cheery but I nearly aced the competency exam in which we needed a 75% (got 1 wrong). I answered her questions to the best of my ability, and although I have no patient care experience outside of clinical I was humble and explained how much customer service experience I had and how much I enjoyed my clinical and working with patients and that I felt like I had the time management skills and compassion necessary for working as a CNA. I also mentioned my interest in labor and delivery, or women's health in general. She explained what I would be doing (which was kind of different from what the nurse manager and clin. supervisor I met with told me) and let me know if they decided to move forward with me I would receive an email to fill out my professional references and they would complete a background check. She then took me down to the labor and delivery floor and left me with the clinical supervisor who explained to me what I would be doing, how it was atypical of most of the nursing assistant jobs on med-surg floors, and that I would kind of be doing whatever was needed by the nurses and nurse manager, anywhere from paperwork, answering phones, cleaning up after delivery, baby baths, cleaning equipment, setting up the labor rooms, and transporting women to post-partum. She asked me about what I did prior to going, why I wanted to be a nurse, etc and I felt like I answered them as professionally as possible. Met the nurse manager, she told me how it was per diem and depending on how many patients they had at a time I might receive more or less shifts etc but it was really flexible. I can't remember everything I said but I definitely said I was extremely flexible, and although around 20-25 hours would be ideal, I would be willing to work more or less hours. They also asked me about my interest in getting hired on the floor after I graduated, and I let them know that it was something I was extremely interested in but I was still trying to figure out what exactly I wanted to do and had interest in the ICU/PACU but I knew what a special and awesome experience it would be since it was a hospital that dealt with over 4000 births a year and many of the high-risk moms in the surrounding 12 counties so they saw a lot of different situations and even had 3 of their own OR rooms.

Basically I'm SO worried I said or did something wrong and it sounded like the PERFECT job. I had the interview Friday am at 830 and was emailed at around 430pm with the generic "We enjoyed discussing your career goals, work history and other achievements. We were impressed with your fine record of accomplishment. Although you were an excellent candidate and it was a very difficult decision to make, we regret that we are not able to offer you the position at this time." I'm HOPING this just means they had already made their decision and had to interview me out of formality but the nurse manager/clinical supervisor was insanely nice and excited and gave a tour of the unit and everything :/. I want to get hired at this hospital SO badly and I have another application in for per-diem float pool but I'm afraid that this one rejection means I have no hope for anything else. What if thats the case and I can't get hired as an RN at the hospital I go to school at???? Bawled my eyes out Friday night and now I'm tearing up again I feel so hurt.

[caliotter3]

I would not be obsessing over this at this time. It is most likely that they already had their hire in-mind and only went through the motions to preclude any complaints about the process. Next time, though, I would not schedule my appointment late in the race. Just keep up with your positive impressions and hopefully your turn will come up in the next round. Good luck.

[Libby1987]

Rejection is so hard but it sounds like they already had someone lined up or equally qualified and had to flip a coin..

You sound very squared away, press on and don't let this tiny hiccup discourage you from any of it.

(I bet that's a popular floor for new applicants)

[cjb19]

Thank you for your kind words :) I realize this is 99% the reason barring some random thing they didn't like. Hopefully this will lead them to considering me for a different floor or the float pool.

[Gooselady, BSN, RN]

You come across as wonderful, excited and competent. We've all been turned down for that 'perfect' job after a great interview, or some similar scenario. I had a fantastic interview for a 'school nurse' position at a community college, it sounded so exciting and they showed me around, had me meet other staff. And then called me to say 'sorry, we chose someone else'. I was crushed, and in fear it must have been something about me or something I said. Same old, same old :)

Keep sticking your head into trying for employment. Apply for other positions actively, rather than wait for them to call you. A good resume and testing will sit in a pile of so-so's and look no different -- be assertive and insistent, that shows motivation :)

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Moved to our CNA/MA - Nursing / Medical Assistant forum

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

Hugs!! I know it hurts. But like the PP's have said, it might not have anything to do with your desirability as a candidate. Maybe they had 10 equally qualified applicants and had to "reject" 9 of them. Maybe there were hiring rules involved.

I'll tell you, when I interviewed for my current job, at the end of the interview she all but told me she wanted to hire me. She said the next step in the hiring process would be for HR to call me...but not to panic if I don't hear from them right away because they can be slow. Well a month later I hadn't heard anything, so I called HR and said "She made it sound like I'd be hearing from you in those weeks, so I'm just wondering if that's still the case, or if there's anything else you need from me?" I was told then that there were some internal shifting of staff, and they don't have a position for me at that time. I shed some tears over that b/c it was my #1 pick of any ICU of any hospital in my state. Well maybe 3 months later, I get a call saying the had a position for me and would love if I could take it. What happened was some internal applicant applied after I'd interviewed, and union rules said that internal applicants were always given preference over external ones. So despite that she wanted to hire me right away, something beyond her control prevented, but she called me back when she had another position, and said she hoped I hadn't found a new job in the meantime. :)

So anyway, there's my story of initially getting turned down but later worked out.

[mintygirl]

Why not call the lady who gave you a tour of the place and ask her what happened? Then at the end just thank her for her time, at the very least the next time around you might be reconsidered because things happen or the person they hire finds out they dont want the job, etc.

[hookyarnandblanket]

It could also be that outside of clinicals, you had no experience. Some hospitals will not hire people without at least 1 year of experience. Look on this as a great learning experience.

[Nienna Celebrindal]

(I bet that's a popular floor for new applicants)

I bet that's a popular floor period. I know at my hospital any position in that unit is like GOLD.

[peachescna]

What happens with this people is that they do nothing but follow protocols,

And they finally end up hiring the mayority of their emoloyees that really has strong connections even with 0 experience as CNA or other related positions.

Im not saying all of them but most of them surely are.

Sad but true . But do not give up i think someone here told you to contact the right person and ask what happened, good luck :-)

[Nursing2102]

I know it is upset to be rejected, especially at a job that you were looking forward to getting and were very exited about. Don't focus on what you may have said "wrong" or what you should have done better. The decision was made and unfortunately you did not get the position. Try looking for other options/positions. Other hospitals? Doctors offices? Call around and do some research. Ask the hospital when/if you can re-apply. Don't get hung up on this moment because it will fog up your vision on your other potential options that lay ahead of you.

Good luck and I hope you will find something that works out best for you!