Stalking - dropping off resume to nurse recruite/HR without appointment

[nonnocere1988]

Is it too much to walk into a hospital with your resume and ask to see a nurse recruiter? There is nothing on several hospitals sites indicating who to reach out to. I suppose I could call first, but I don't want to give the hospital a chance to say "just apply online." I feel like it would either show dedication if I walked in with my resume, or it would be invasive and I need to chill out. What say you?

[estrellaCR, BSN, RN]

In NYC three years ago as new grads, me and some classmates took two days (we each went on different days) to go to all hospitals and try to drop of our res in person. We were dressed well, spoke politely etc. We all got the same eye roll from each HR department and told "You are supposed to apply online". If somehow you can contact a manager by phone or email and then have invitation to show up to drop of your res, then it works. But a stranger popping up unannounced while the nurse manager is dealing with daily work, will only mess up your chances. Surprisingly (or not), me and my three classmates each had our first job at hospitals that we had not dropped in to HR and we had applied online only and did not know anyone....did we get blacklisted for dropping in at the other hospitals? who knows but it def didnt help. but after months of patience we had interviews and offers from other hospitals.

Drop in and apply in person may help in areas where there is really a "nurse shortage" such as areas where most people dont want to go to...rural areas/small towns, unpopular states ie the Dakotas, Wyoming, Montana. I have read on this forum that small towns hospitals in Pennsylvania are new grad friendly and so are border towns in Texas. Try to find NM email on google...look up "nurse manager or recruiter" "Nameof Hospital" and e-mail and you may find it on some page.

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

The environment is unionized where I live also. It doesn't matter how much I might want to hire someone who walks in......all internal applicants are screened and hired first. All applicants are directed to the online site as well.

[siimplyelyRN]

Hey @XoXoNewNurse, (hoping you get this notification)...

My husband suggested I do the same thing you did, drop off my resume personally to the unit that is hiring. I like the tip you shared of calling a manager ahead of time. Did you just call them and tell them you were going in to drop of a resume or how exactly did you tell them. I'm so shy I wouldn't know what to say.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

Hey @XoXoNewNurse, (hoping you get this notification)...

My husband suggested I do the same thing you did, drop off my resume personally to the unit that is hiring. I like the tip you shared of calling a manager ahead of time. Did you just call them and tell them you were going in to drop of a resume or how exactly did you tell them. I'm so shy I wouldn't know what to say.

The poster you are responding to hasn't visited the site in nearly 2 years. I would be sure to find out from HR if it is even acceptable to visit a unit unannounced. In many facilities, it's not acceptable- it could even be considered trespassing. HR exists for a reason. You need to follow appropriate procedures or you can risk being blacklisted at that facility. Appropriate procedures in the vast majority of facilities is going to be apply via HR's predetermined method (usually online these days).

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

Hey @XoXoNewNurse, (hoping you get this notification)...

My husband suggested I do the same thing you did, drop off my resume personally to the unit that is hiring. I like the tip you shared of calling a manager ahead of time. Did you just call them and tell them you were going in to drop of a resume or how exactly did you tell them. I'm so shy I wouldn't know what to say.

if you did this in the metro NY area you would risk being barred from hire. Many hospitals have HR off site for a variety of reasons. If you showed up for anything other than work or visiting you would be directed by the security guard to the computer kiosk to apply online. If you showed up to the offsite HR dept unannounced you would likely not get past the reception desk. I've witnessed the latter scenario several times when I did temp work in the corporate HR office of a major regional healthcare system years back. It was sad to watch eager new grads follow advice from well meaning friends that don't live in the area and as such aren't aware of the additional security needed/utilized. The other reason is theinitial applications are screened blindly to reduce the risk of prejudice & discrimination. Only credentials and education are reviewed vs the job description hence the importance of proper key word use in resumes and individualizing resumes for the job.