2 out of state interviews costing me $1500

[smileymimi]

Hello guys, it's my first thread here on allnurses.com. I love reading posts here. =)

I live in New York and I graduated in December 2009.

As you all know already, hospitals close down here one after the other because the city is broke from generous Medicaid program for the majority of population in certain areas.

After I got my license in March, I started to apply to out-of-state hospitals and thankfully I got two interviews scheduled for next week (2 different states.. haha..)

My first interview is on Tuesday and they want me to report to Human Resources.

The second interview is on Thursday and I'll be going to maternal health unit.

I'm spending $850 on flight tickets alone, plus three nights in motel, cab fare, and expenses totaling to about $1500.

My concern is that sometimes there's more than one interview for the process. It could be HR, nurse recruiter, nurse manager, etc.

I'm afraid my first interview will be followed with second or third on different dates.

If that's the case then I'll be sacrificing couple of grands for something that's not certain.

I know most of the places don't pay for interview costs or relocation fees anymore.

I wonder if they even looked at my address.

I was just so happy that I got calls for interview and didn't ask them much information on the phone.

Do you think I should give them a call to confirm and request to see nurse recruiters and potential nurse managers all on the same day or wait until I interview?

Do you think I should ask about interview costs or just don't bother...

I don't want to turn them off in anyway you know. I'm definitely willing to relocate immediately.

If you can give me some advice, I'll be greatly appreciated~! :)

Thanks and good luck to everyone. :redbeathe

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

I don't have a lot of advice about minimizing costs, sorry.

However, my understanding is that you can deduct a lot of your job hunting expenses on your tax return. I'm not sure exactly what could be deducted, but start saving every single receipt from the trips, and see at tax time what you can write off. If you tossed any receipts, see if you can get copies or reprint them.

Hope this helps and good luck!

[MC1906]

I would call and ask them about covering the cost of interviews. If they were going to cover them upfront they would have said so. They may however have a moving allowance that they give you once hired. I would call the recruiter back and confirm your appointment/interview. At that time I would mention that your coming from out of state and you just wanted to make sure everything was going as planned. I would also ask questions to clarify the interviewing process. You can't expect them to meet your needs if you don't let them know what they are.

[smileymimi]

Thank you Meriwhen, MC1906 for your comments.

I will call them for confirmation and I will save the receipts just in case!

If any of you have any experience similar to this situation then please share.

That will be helpful.

Have a great day. =)

[llg, PhD, RN]

I have done several out-of-state job searches in my career. If you tell the hospitals your needs, they can probably schedule all appointments for the same day -- or at least on 2 consecutive days so that you only have to make one trip for the interviews and a 2nd trip to find a place to live. They don't expect you to make several trips from out-of-state. They deal with this all the time.

But if you don't bring it up, they may not realize that you have this issue.

I've never heard of a hospital paying the travel expenses of a new grad to interview. If they do pay, then there is probably something seriously wrong with their work setting to make them that desparate. However, some hospitals have loan programs to help with relocation expenses (though most are just loans, not extra money) for staff nurses. I'd only ask about that AFTER they offer you the job. Wait until they have decided they want you, which gives you a little more edge in the negotiation.

[smileymimi]

Thank you! That really clarified me well. =)