Thought Interview went well, then a denial...

gobananas15 · Nov 5, 2010

I would think it is acceptable....that is what I am doing! At least where I am from, there is limited GN/internships available at every hospital I think they would assume that people are going to be applying for numerous positions. Besides, it is not too realistic to only count on ONE job!

gobananas15 · Nov 5, 2010

And also, same thing happened to me I interviewed with a dept that was my dream job and I was not selected. It is very hard to not take it personal! But gotta get used to it I suppose until the right one comes our way.

Gem0607 · Nov 5, 2010

Same thing has happened to me. Also, I went to drop my resume off to some of the local hospitals where I live and was told by one HR person that I probably won't be considered because I have been out of school more than a year. Thing is I have been applying to that hospital ever since I graduated so what was the deal then? This job search journey is really something else.

NursePati87 · Nov 5, 2010

Hi anuong05,

I applied to the hospital where i completed my preceptorship. They required 2 letters of recommendation from clinical instructors and i decided to provide them with a total of 4 (2 from clinical instructors + 2 from their own nurses that precepted me). I was also able to get in contact with the hospitals nurse educator which gave me nursing preference (I guess this means that i would be hired over other candidates). Once the panel interview came along with human resources, nurse manager, charge nurse, and nursing director (yes everyone and their mom was there as if i was interviewing for department head) I thought i had everything figured out. The nursing director also said "hope to see you soon and we will contact you in 48-72 hours". Well low and behold i received an email saying "we have decided to pursue other candidates". Yes let me tell you it was a blow to the chest because I went above and beyond what the application criteria required (on top of high gpa so on and so forth) but do you know what i learned from all this work and effort? That at the hospitals time and expense I got interview experience and i know that there is something better out there for me. Like I always say patience is a virtue. So dont feel down because everyone goes through rejection no matter what field you are in and the thing that you must remember is to look forward to the future.

fonentz · Nov 5, 2010

At least I'm not alone. I had an interview for a job that I really wanted about three weeks ago. I also thought the interview had gone well. Today I received my rejection letter. It's difficult not to take it personally. I went on-line and found an example of a response letter to send to them. I am going to send them a letter letting them know that although I am disappointed, I appreciated the time they took to consider me and their professionalism. I let them know that I would still like to be considered for any position which may become available in the future & wished them the best. I then applied for as many jobs as possible on-line. It's been six months since I graduated & I'm beginning to worry about too much time lapsing between my graduation and my first job. :sniff:

whodatnurse · Nov 6, 2010

Absolutely continue to apply.

I interviewed for my dream job back in July and was devastated when I wasn't hired. Two months later I saw they had another opening and decided to give it another shot and apply again. This time I wasn't even selected for an interview! At this point I decided I had nothing to lose by calling and asking if there was some particular qualification they were looking for that I just didn't have (I figured why keep wasting my time if there was no way I would ever be considered.) The HR person was very helpful and explained that there was nothing at all wrong and that they just happened to be getting an unusual number of applicants with a lot of experience. She encouraged me to continue to apply. About two weeks after that, I got a phone call from her, saying they suddenly had another opening, and asking if I wanted to come interview. She also mentioned that they decided to just select from the pool they had already obtained from the last posting. Well, the third time turned out to be the charm and I am now finally a WORKING RN.

The rejections suck big time...but try to keep faith that the nos are bringing you one step closer to yes. You WILL get there.

llg, PhD, RN · Nov 6, 2010

Definitely keep applying. The fact that you were not selected the first time does not mean that you did something wrong. I might just mean that someone else with better/more credentials than you ALSO did a good a good job in the interview.

As Whodatnurse's story illustrates, sometimes it takes a couple of tries to have things work out. The fact that you continue to apply shows that you are REALLY interested -- and that's a good thing.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Nov 6, 2010

I've had interviews that I thought went well and was all but offered the job. Then I was rejected or never heard back despite following up. It happens

When you are rejected, remember that it's not always because of you. They might have had another candidate come through after you who for whatever reason was deemed a better fit, or had an internal candidate who got priority because they're already an employee, or the position was yanked/put on hold and so they're not filling it now. Don't let it beat you down. Keep applying to jobs both in that hospital and elsewhere. Good luck!

NurseVN · Nov 9, 2010

I finally received the official rejection letter in the mail. So I sent a letter to thank them for the opportunity to interview and reinstate my interest. I haven't heard anything for the postings that I applied for after the interview....Good luck to everyone and thank you for the kind words.