Thank You Cards

[lifeisgood2012]

Is it appropriate to send out thank you cards to the DON at agencies I am interested in/gone face to face with someone (HR usually, not the DON) for taking the time to review my resume and application? I don't know if that is overkill or not - I was thinking it would give me a second time to mention/show them that I did show up in person and am interested in working at their facility.

I am just pulling at strings here. I am a new graduate (LPN) and have done thank you cards in the past after doing interviews - but its a whole new world out there now and I am competing with so many other new grads to get my foot in the door.

Any other suggestions on helping me "stand out" from the crowd?

I am so thankful to have a friend who is in the area that is an LPN - she has been helping me TONS with networking - I am not worried about my cover letter/resume looking bad because I DO get call backs and have talked to people face to face at facilities - its just the "1 year experience" issue. My friend is telling me to try to get my foot in the door as a Med Tech - it won't count as LPN experience but any healthcare experience will help. She is going to look at my resume and cover letter over the holiday weekend too. This week it has been 4 weeks since I have been endorsed here and I have really gotten depressed about not being able to find anything yet - I haven't even gotten an interview yet - she keeps telling me how tough it is out there and to just hang on. Its nice to have her and this board to provide me with some direction and cheerleading.

Anyway - I know I just need to keep at it - its hard when you are concerned about other things - but no one said it was going to be easy right? And being a nurse/working in healthcare is what is in my heart to do so lets keep pushing - we can do it - right? Right! :loveya:

[Patti_RN]

Sending brief, well-written notes can never hurt. It reminds the DON or HR person they talked to you and keeps your name and details fresh in their minds. Be warned, however that for every hiring manager who likes an unusual approach, there may be others who find it 'pushy' or intrusive. You'll never please everyone, nor would you ever know which managers like which approaches. I think this can do far more good than harm, so I'd certainly try it.

You could accept a job as a patient care tech (I'm sure your friend didn't mean a Med Tech--that's a whole other job that requires 4 years of intense biology, chemistry, med tech school, and a state certification.) The other path to try is volunteering at a hospital and networking that way. Volunteers are very respected, appreciated and often can choose the specific volunteer job they want. If you do this, try to get a position where you'll interact with others and use that position to let people know you're looking for an RN job. (But, don't spend much time schmoozing or they'll think you're lazy and a time waster!) The great thing about volunteering is you can put that entry on your resume whether you spent 40 hours/ week or 4 hours/ month at a facility. You might even volunteer at two or three different hospitals--you'll have the advantage of extra exposure and networking, and you might see which place you like best as far as working atmostphere.

[JetBlitz]

Yes! Go for it.

From my experience, sending a thank you card is and has been extremely helpful. Even if after the HR interview I do not get a position, I STILL send a thank you card so that there is a positive rapport left just in case a new position is available in the future.

Again, always follow etiquette: after a face to face interview, give 48 hours before emailing or hand-writing a thank you note. Reiterate your interest, remind them of your name and when you met, and share something positive about your meeting together and something positive about the company. Lastly, make it clear what positive things YOU can offer to the company; avoid the usual "hard worker," "energetic," and "motivated" words --- these are a given.

Lastly, it doesn't hurt to be polite at all with thank you cards (I prefer hand written notes since that shows attention to detail). If HR sends a thank you email/card back, that means they really appreciated your efforts, and hopefully, they'll give you a time frame as to when they will get back to you with a 2nd interview. This will give you an opportunity to ask if it is ok to call them back if after 2 weeks you do not hear from them to call HR back if they have any further questions you can answer or if you can assist them with anything.

Best of luck!