Should I call the HR woman? And what should I say?

[DizzyLizzyNurse]

Ok I'm reposting this since no one answered me.

Hello! I graduated from RN school in December. I am studying to take my boards right now. My dream is to be an L & D nurse, although I am open to other areas. There is a girl I went to high school with (I'm 28 years old now) and I ran into her at a local hospital while visiting a friend. When I ran into her I was still in school. She is a L & D nurse. I told her about my prior experience and that I wanted to work in that department. We became friends on Facebook. She messaged me Friday and told me there were some PT openings and I should apply. I went ahead and applied online and listed on the application that I had been referred by a staff member. I messaged her back and thanked her. She messaged me back and gave me the number and name of the personnel woman.

My question is should I call and ask for her? What should I say? I'm not really sure. I don't want to call and give the attitude that I should be hired simply for knowing someone, especially when I don't really know her well. Any suggestions???? Thanks in advance.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

There's absolutely nothing wrong with appearing eager and excited about the possiblity of a job you would love to have! Go ahead and contact the HR contact and let her know that you just want to make sure that they don't need any additional information from you. Many online application processes are cumbersome and confusing, so she is probably used to having to reassure people.

You should mention who referred you, but make sure you don't give the impression that you are best friends or anything. In many organizations, employees get a 'bounty' payment if they refer someone who is hired - so you would definitely want your friend to get credit if this is the case. FYI - HR departments keep track of how each applicant heard about the job -- and use this information to evaluate their recruiting efforts.

Best of luck to you. Let us know how it turns out.