Trying to stand out in a crowd of other new grad RN's

caliotter3 · Sep 18, 2010

Go in person to seek work. Dress for an interview and bring all necessary paperwork with you. Sometimes you will be interviewed and hired on the spot.

SwimRN10 · Sep 18, 2010

Wow thanks caliotter3, I hadn't even thought of dressing to interview. I'm going to start going around next week to drop off my resumes..thanks for the heads up :)

caliotter3 · Sep 19, 2010

This tactic works especially well if you are seeking work in home health or in long term care facilities. More than likely you will be given an appointment or told to use the website when you go to Human Resources at hospitals. But it doesn't hurt to go and show your face. Sometimes that is what does the trick.

**NickiLaughs, ADN, BSN, RN** · Sep 19, 2010

Yeah, that worked for me when I was an LVN. The one rough thing is a lot of places want you to "apply online" now, the big companies anyway. The little places are your best bet for that. But in this economy, any job is a job. I also made copies of all my licenses/certifications, so when the HR office would ask for everything to make a copy of it, I would just hand over the copies. They may not be who directly hires you, but they will put in a good word, especially if you are organized and polite.

ICUSkeenRN · Sep 20, 2010

Get your certs (acls, pals, nrp, bls, ekg, etc) and call unit directors personally

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Sep 20, 2010

This option might sound unpopular, and it is not a feasible choice for all new grads due to financial constraints and/or ties to the communities in which they live.

However, it would be a good idea to relocate out of the state to acquire that golden 1 year of hospital experience, and then attempt to move back. You will no longer have that "new grad smell," and will be more marketable to recruiters if you actually have some nursing work experience under your belt.

bradleau · Sep 22, 2010

Look at the smaller hospitals. They are more likely to take on a new grad than some of the bigger institutions.

Also do not count on a place "calling you back" once they take your resume'. It gets filed somewhere, but not where it can be viewed. Always dressing for the interview is good advice. I have gone in to apply for a job, and got hired that same day. One never knows. The employer may have just gotten a resignation that morning and will need to fill it. If you have any volunteer background or any other job experience using your people skills, that will help too. Good luck.

manager123 · Sep 22, 2010

Definitely apply on line for the bigger hospitals and follow up weekly if you are not called for an interview. Get the name of the nurse recruiter and make your call short and simple. Calling unit managers/directors is iffy. Most won't interview until HR clears the initial application and when you are one of many folks making that call it becomes an irritant rather than a foot in the door.

A few suggestions:

1. Get certs appropriate for the area you want to work. Don't even think about applying to critical care or telemetry areas without ACLS.

2. Consider working in subacute or SNF facilities for that first year. Learn to write a resume that promotes your leadership, teamwork, and other skills that will work for acute care so that the hiring manager sees how those skills translate back to his/her unit.

3. Get ANYTHING in nursing even if it is part time or per diem. Not working as an RN for a year, makes the hiring manager wonder about all the skills (and medication knowledge) you have lost.

4. Consider relocating if it is financially possible to do so but get the job offer first!

5. Re-apply for acute care positions in your preferred hospital by October (to beat the new grads graduating in December) and by March (to beat the new grad resumes for May/June grads).

6. Get letters of recommendation NOW from your professors (generally useless since the ones they write generally seem stiff and templated. . . . yes, I have had the same letter with just a name change from the same professor for 2 different applicants). Even better, if you had to complete a large number of clinical hours in a senior practicum with the same preceptor, get that person to write a letter. The best recommendation is not the "X walks on water and will be an asset to your unit". For me, I want to see what the weaknesses were and how these were overcome over time or if there was a barrier (not from the student) that prevented reaching goals.

7. Did you seem to do well on a particular unit during rotations? Apply there, or ask that manager (or who would know you) to put in a good word to the manager of a different unit you are applying for. Ask them for job hiring tips as well. I have sat with many new grads in the past 6 months to talk about things that might improve chances even though I had no openings on my particular unit.

8. Do NOT have mommy or daddy or a donor to the hospital call or write a letter to the CNO/ Nurse Recruiter/ Head of whatever department to tell them how much they would appreciate the hospital hiring you and how well you would fit into the hospital values. For me, it is total turnoff to receive such an email, phone call, or letter because if you come in with an attitude of privilege and have disciplinary issues, I don't want to have to talk to someone in the hospital about why I am coaching someone's pet project in an effort to improve their performance. Sadly, you may have to have this upfront discussion with relatives so they don't do it behind your back and ruin your chances.

9. If you get an interview, dress professionally! Remember all the interview techniques you have learned in classes. Be prepared for a panel interview as many places are involving staff in the hiring process to look at "fit". It is ok to be nervous, we get that part. Do not be pompous and full of yourself. This is not the time to tell us that you blamed parents for not raising your patient properly or that their culture was a barrier to your care when asked a situational interview question. (yes, this happens as well).

10. The job market is tough . . . for now. I have seen a lot of these cycles over my lifetime. You will eventually get a job but it might not be in your "dream work area" to begin with.

11. Absolutely send a short letter (or handwritten thank you note) to the manager after the interview. It does make you stand out in a good way if it is short, sweet, and just thanks them for the opportunity to interview. Don't get pushy about calling us back in a few days or such. We will be calling interview folks back to let them know if they are going to be offered a job.

12. Be humble but not shy. If you were a 4.0 in school weave it into your letter or interview but make sure we understand that you know that you have a lot to learn and you are not G-d's gift in a nursing uniform to our unit.

One last thing, double check your resume or application letter as well. I realize that people are sending out vast numbers of applications. I don't appreciate getting a letter that begins with "I am applying for a position in your hospital only to have a different hospital listed. Yes, I also look at how the letter is titled if is an email. Make sure you don't title the letter Hospital A.doc if you are using it to apply to Hospital B. These sound really silly and minor but in a tight job market, it says to me this person does not pay attention to detail and it makes me wonder about their clinical performance. If you are applying to hospital with a 2 hour drive from where you live, do NOT tell me you left the local school area and moved to X area "because it sounded like a nice place to live and you are now working as a barista". Makes me wonder about your common sense and logic and would you be able to accurately assess a patient condition change! Yes, these are all true.

Good luck to all of you!

stillinschool · Sep 22, 2010

hi i will be interviewing soon in Dec/Jan.... just to clarify, dressing professionally? you mean nice slacks, crisp blouse right? not scrubs?

i have one emloyer on my resume where we did not part ways nicely, they let me go when i asked for personal leave to take care of a family member ill for 2 months. now this employer is giving me a bad rap. do i still include them on my resume? otherwise i have a great working record and history. thanks!

manager123 · Sep 22, 2010

Application time frame: If you are graduating in December, you need to apply by October. If you are not graduating until May/June that application in December/January will get lost and forgotten.

Dressing for success: Think business casual. You don't need to wear a 3 piece business suit for an entry level position. Dress or skirt outfit (with hose, please) or good slacks, crisp blouse WITH a casual jacket/blazer are fine. The jacket pulls it together. No camisole, sleeveless shirts, open toed shoes, casual sandals, and for heaven sakes, wear hosiery (even if just once in your life). If you are doing a rotation and the manager wants to coordinate it with your schedule on the unit, then dress code scrubs are fine. . . clean, neat, unwrinkled scrubs.

Former employers: Now, a few things hit my radar with the "bad rap". One, your employer should have been required to grant an FMLA leave if what you say is true UNLESS you had not worked enough hours to qualify. If that is the case, you need to speak to it. Otherwise, reading what you wrote is a deal breaker for me for dependability and possibly honesty.

So, here is the deal. . . employers will only call former employers AFTER the interview IF the manager is interested in a candidate. We don't have time to check everyone that applies and we narrow the search. During the interview, simply state that you had a family emergency and left abruptly to provide care and you were unable to qualify for FMLA. We don't want gory details about the family issue. Tell us how sorry you were to have to leave abruptly when you couldn't qualify and how you realize you left your employer in the lurch and that it might be mentioned you left with less than 2 weeks notice as a result.

Is there someone on the unit that provide a positive indication of your work habits prior to that? If so, talk to them and ask them if they would be willing to speak to managers as you apply for jobs and list that person's name and how to reach them. Most reference checks in California funnel only through HR. Any negative information can be used as part of a suit by the employee and most managers will simply refer calls to the HR department as they have been instructed.

The killer question is "are the eligible for rehire"? If the answer is no, that raises flags. If you can share that during the interview (usually you are asked if there is anything you want to add or if you have questions) that you had to leave abruptly and how sorry you were to have to do that and you probably violated their HR policy for lack of a 2 week notice, speak up then. Keep it brief. If you happen to have a copy of a good recent performance evaluation from there prior to that, bring it and share it. If it was the job from hell, you were a terrible employee and it showed, then speak minimally about it (and don't blame other people such as the charge nurse, manager for your performance issues) and simply state it was not a good fit for you but you were trying your best until the family emergency.

carlyfry · Sep 22, 2010

I gave my thank you card in person to my new grad manager one day after my interview and was hired 3 days later. I really believe that hand delivering my thank you card helped me get hired.