Unsure of asking...

[NurseLife88]

So I recently landed my first hospital job in an area that I am very excited to be in. The entire process from start to finish has been surprisingly great. During this process I was under the impression that several people more qualified than myself were being interviewed and that there were two open positions , fast forward and I have found out I am the only new hire(only one was open I guess?!). I am not at all complaining and am in fact even more thrilled at having been given this opportunity. So here comes my question. I would like to ask my nurse manager during our meeting what is was that made her want to extend the offer for the position to me vs. other applicants. I guess I am curious to this because to I would like to live up to whatever it was she saw in me. I do feel I will be a good fit here but still curiosity gets me and I want to live up to standards so to speak. I am on the fence though as to whether this is an appropriate question to ask and really unsure of if I should I ask at all or keep my mouth shut and just be grateful to have got the job. Friends and family have said asking will make me come off as arrogant or cocky and I don't want that. I just want a better idea of what she saw me being capable of so I may really try to aspire to that even more than the normal. Any advice would be helpful and sorry this is so long.

[NICU Guy, BSN, RN]

It is possible that they applied to several different units and accepted positions in those units.

[iluvivt, BSN, RN]

No I would never ask as it makes you seem as

if you are individual that needs a lot of praise.wheter or not it is true. It really doesn't matter as you have the job so focus on the next step!

[NurseLife88, ADN, RN]

So to update I met with my manager yesterday and chose not to ask the question for some of the many reasons listed here as well as a few others. Meeting went well and although it wasn't directly discussed it was hinted at to why I received the job. I'm just thankful to have my dream job and ready to hit the floor. Thanks for the good advice everyone.

[oldpsychnurse]

If you ask, be prepared to hear the answer. I thought for years I got my first job because I was the only applicant. My NM finally told me one day it was because the other applicant turned down the position. That was quite the shock! But I worked there for over 20 years, with excellent reviews, and the other nurse went on to have an affair with one of the docs and caused a lot of disruption, so I guess things worked out for the best. The moral? Just be happy when good things happen, and don't look that gift horse in the mouth.