4th Chance after Bad Advice. Follow Up Letter Redemption Help Anyone?

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First off, let me just say Im not an RN but I am in pre-RN classes. Hopefully this doesn't matter to you guys though....

I am a CNA2, this is concerning my 4th face to face interview for a hospital position (different hospitals). I had never heard of the thank you note 24 hours after. I did do a follow up email after my first interview; which was the morning after my last day of clinicals and happened to be for a wildly unbelievable dream job.

In it I did say thank you and mention the features of the facility and position I liked most. But after I didn't get the position and found out a few other things, I gave up on the follow up emails. Now I know there was a million more things wrong I did at that interview anyway.

So this time it's been a week since my interview, which was very different than all the other interviews I've had because I wasn't asked any of the typical questions, in fact I was hardly asked any questions at all, the only similar one was- do you have any questions.... My least favorite question!!!

Keep in mind I have zero work experience as well, outside of clinicals. And interviewing is new to me, and I am obviously really bad at it. We never went over the interview process in class, I had to ask the charge nurse what to wear and say the night before my first interview. Bless her heart, I love her, but she is old school. And her advice must have been out dated. She was adamant about wearing my scrubs to the interview. Which, until I found this site, luckily before this last interview, I had done each time. My second interview I asked my teacher if there was anything else I could do that would help..."just flash that gorgeous smile"....was the response.

Ive never heard of this "thank you note" thing. It's past the deadline for that I see. I really really need this job financially, and besides that; its a teaching hospital where career advancement is encouraged and they have programs that could pay for my RN schooling. I can't blow this letter.

She (the unit manager) was extremely receptive and accepting of the fact I have no experience. The hospital is huge and state of the art. And I have a few other things I'm worried about also. The woman from HR was helpful to me as well, and I know it's late, but I didn't know about the thank you note thing- and now I would like to thank her too... And perhaps address an issue that belongs in another forum here.

So before I ruin another great opportunity with my inexperience and lack of any guidance; I implore you to spare me more discouragement and pretty please give me some advice on a what kind of letter to write at this point. I am so new and feel so awkward and like I've already messed everything up! And I can't tell you how much I need the job or what a difference it can make in my life right now.

Im Sorry for the length of this post. I'm super nervous and anxious, and really have nowhere else to turn to for solid advice and help for something so crucial to my future.

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Specializes in School Nursing.

Eris- I don't have a lot of advice for you as in my 42 years on this earth, I've never written a thank you note to a place I have interviewed. I just wanted to reply and let you know I would hire you, you're well spoken (or written, as it were) and obviously have a great head on your shoulders. Your coming here and looking for the best advice possible (and the fact that you look for guidance from those around you) shows me you're responsible and eager. Good luck to you, I think you have good instincts.

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Specializes in hospice.

Is it ever too late to say thank you? IME, no.

You could email both with thanks for their time and helpfulness, and ask if a decision has been made on the position yet, and if not, when you might expect to hear something.

Close with how much you want to work for the organization and express the hope that they find the right person who will be an asset to the team.

What could it hurt?

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Eris- I don't have a lot of advice for you as in my 42 years on this earth, I've never written a thank you note to a place I have interviewed. I just wanted to reply and let you know I would hire you, you're well spoken (or written, as it were) and obviously have a great head on your shoulders. Your coming here and looking for the best advice possible (and the fact that you look for guidance from those around you) shows me you're responsible and eager. Good luck to you, I think you have good instincts.

Thank you so much for the encouragement. It genuinely means a lot to me. I am very eager and I have been a bit worried that maybe my eagerness and enthusiasm to work and learn comes across in a negative light when I am interviewing. Like maybe I wouldn't do my job as a CNA effectively because I was too interested in learning other things outside my scope of practice? Or maybe I just come across as a spazz?? I don't really understand how wanting to work can be seen in a bad light, but like I said- I literally know nothing about this whole field or process other than I know it's where I belong.

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Is it ever too late to say thank you? IME, no.

You could email both with thanks for their time and helpfulness, and ask if a decision has been made on the position yet, and if not, when you might expect to hear something.

Close with how much you want to work for the organization and express the hope that they find the right person who will be an asset to the team.

What could it hurt?

Thank you that sounds like a very low key, yet professional way to get back to her. As she didn't really say how long to expect to wait. I'm just nervous about asking "when do I know" questions. I know this sounds dumb but I feel like I jinx myself when I do that with jobs. Weird right?

Thank you tho for the concrete suggestions. It is soooo appreciated. I am going to write the email today.

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Specializes in Medical/Oncology.

Hey Eris,

I don't know if my comment will help you but I just wanted to share my two cents on this matter.

Personally I have not heard of an interview etiquette until recently. Many people (and one book) told me I should thank the interviewers for their time by way of either thank you card/email. I sent my first thank you card 2 days ago, about 4 days (including the weekend, since my interview was on a Thursday) after my interview. I even used Priority Mail and paid almost 7 bucks to send the card. I haven't heard back from them and it's almost a week. I don't know if the card makes any difference in their hiring decision or not, but in my opinion, it doesn't hurt to do it. All in all, the card and stamp may cost only a few bucks but it showed that you appreciated that the interviewers gave you some of their time out of their busy day to interview you.

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Ditto the above. I just went to the state job service for a job search seminar and the hiring manager who spoke to us said he always prefers email to snail mail or phone calls because it's so fast and easy to keep track of. I agree with sending an email pronto. Don't worry so much about what and how to say it. Trust your instincts. But remember....That hiring manager is BUSY! Keep it very brief and to the point. I.e., "Thank you. I enjoyed meeting you. I am a good fit for the job because (one or two sentences, max.) I hope to hear from you soon. Sincerely."

PS -- I'm a little leery when the interviewer doesn't ask any questions. I wonder if he/she was the regular interviewer or a fill-in, because that's unusual. I mean, how can they get to know anything about you? Unless they felt your resume told the whole story. Did that person already know you and your work record? Anyway -- hope everything works out to your advantage. Good luck!

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Oh -- and PS again for those looking for resume, cover letter, and job search advice, See NRSKarenRN 's article on allnurses.com, "Resume Tips: Perfecting Nursing Resume, Cover Letter, and Online Nursing Job Applications." She has provided lots of links in the article to other resources for job seekers, too.

See also: "How to Answer the Most Common Nursing Interview Questions," by TheCommuter. There are additions to that also, same title with "I,II, and III." Allnurses has a wealth of information on how to do it for job searchers.

Links to articles:

https://allnurses.com/nursing-resume-help/resume-tips-perfecting-717056.html

https://allnurses.com/nursing-interview-help/how-answer-most-748905.html

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