VAPA New Grad Program 2011

[RNnicu42]

Hey Everyone,

VA Palo Alto opened up their new grad program for Fall 2011. The have specific requirements for the cover letter and resume so make sure you read the requirements. It says they will start calling for interviews in the beginning of September. Good luck everyone

[lovecakecookies]

I know that the way the VA works is first they certify you, basically saying that you meet the minimum requirements for the job and you will get an email about that. Then they score you after you have been certified, and then based off of scoring and other factors, like cover letters, they forward certain apps to the hiring managers. I have several family members that work there, some high up who are involved in hiring processes (not for this position, or nursing for that matter) and they explained the process to me. They also said VAPA has a notoriously slow HR dept. so it may take a while to hear back from them. I have applied for other positions and it took me about 2 weeks to get my certification email.

ohh my.. sounds like a longg process... do you happen to know how many positions are avail?

[hwisconsin]

I am pretty sure the announcement said that there were 10 openings!

[penny112]

Yeah, it said 10 openings. And it is a long process :/ i hope things start moving along soon. Good luck to all of us!

[patteRN]

I just spoke to HR at VA Palo Alto, and they said calls will be made by October for interviews. which is a bit longer than i expected. i guess we'll have to be patient!

[hwisconsin]

Did they happen to mention how many applicants there are??

[patteRN]

hwisconsin,

All he said was that they've only gone through 300 applications. I didn't ask how many total they received. wouldn't be surprised if it was over 1000.

[minipoo2]

October? Spoke to HR last week, they said they received about 700 apps.

[patteRN]

hm...interesting to know they've only received 700, considering other programs have received 1000+.

[hwisconsin]

Has anyone recieved one of those generic emails that the VA sends out saying that you are qualified for the position and your name has been hired to the selection officials (like what they send for their other positions...i.e. Notice of Results or NORs)? I haven't, I was just wondering if anyone that applied had.

[penny112]

Has anyone recieved one of those generic emails that the VA sends out saying that you are qualified for the position and your name has been hired to the selection officials (like what they send for their other positions...i.e. Notice of Results or NORs)? I haven't, I was just wondering if anyone that applied had.

Nope, they haven't sent those out yet. The VA is sloooow.

[hwisconsin]

Gosh I wish they would hurry up!! :)

[Harp123]

A friend of a friend works in one of the medsurg units and told me they already started interviews. Not sure about ICU/surgery. Program begins early next month. Anyone here get called for an interview yet?