What should I do? Is this bad?

llg, PhD, RN · Feb 13, 2010

I hate to say it ... but I would consider doing what you suggest -- in other words, take the SP job, but still keep the Btown job option open. However, note that I said consider: I'm not sure I would do it. Here are some things to consider:

1. You can only get away with doing that sort of thing once. It is very unfair to SP and you don't want to develop that sort of professional reputation. So, if you resign the SP job to go to Btown, you need to be darn sure that the Btown job works out. You need to be prepared to stick with it even if you hate it! Are you really 100% sure that the Btown job will work out and make you happy? You can't afford to make the wrong call on that.

2. Perhaps working at SP for a year or two wouldn't be so bad. Go into it with an open mind. If the first 2 or 3 weeks of employment tell you that SP is a good place to work, I would probably stay there for at least a year. The peds experience might open up options for you later that the adult med/surg experience won't -- and it would preserve your reputation. If the first 2 or 3 weeks of employment at SP lead you to think you will hate working there, then Btown becomes a gamble that might be worth taking.

I would probably go to SP with a REALLY open mind -- prepard to stay there for at least a year if it turns out to be a good place. But I would keep my application "in play" at Btown -- to keep that option open if needed. But I wouldn't take the Btown job unless I were really confident that it would work out.

Read a lot of the threads here on allnurses started by new grads who general med/surg jobs in big "impressive" hospitals. Many, many times, it doesn't work out. Those types of units are often very busy and provide the least orientation and the least support for a new grad. Investigate that thoroughly before you throw away a good job at SP (if it is indeed good) to take that gamble.

johnsmith1 · Feb 13, 2010

okay i tend to ramble so i will try to make this as short as i can...
i'm new grad rn and have been looking for work since october 2009. well i was finding nothing in my area. so i considered relocating to a town 2.5 hours away. we'll call it btown. well i applied for a med/surg position and lord and behold, my stuff actually got forwarded, i got a phone interview, and then i got an actual interview! however, hr has been backed up and i was supposed to find out last week if i got the job. well i called and guess what, now they say it will be at least 2-3 weeks before i know anything because they are backed up and still haven't gotten all the interviews done. i really really want to relocate to the area for the job and because i will actually be moving in with my old college roomie.
well, this past week i actually got a call back from a nursing home for special needs children that i had applied to months ago. we'll call it sp. i got an interview and got the job if i want it, i just have to let them know. orientation starts tuesday! so after hearing that btown still wont know for 2-3 weeks, i have decided to take the job in my area.
however... if btown offers me the position i want to take it. i already know that the next available orientation is like at the end of march for btown. so... i mean, i could work with sp for over a month or more. i could get experience (it is skilled nursing so there is a lot of gtubes and trachs and stuff) and inform btown of this, which may boost my chances of getting hired too.
i mean... i feel bad for sp... but at the same time i could really use the money and experience, and obviously if i don't get the btown job i will stay at sp. i wish i could wait the 2-3 weeks to hear from btown, but sp offered the job and would like to start orientation on tuesday, so it didn't give me much time to make a decision.
so i mean... what your adive/opinion? does it happen a lot? i just feel bad, and i mean, the job offer may never even happen, but if it does, i would be leaving sp after only being there like 6 weeks.

its hard for new grads to find jobs now adays

Music in My Heart · Feb 15, 2010

I can't add much to llg's excellent post.

I would say, though, that I would also consider it. These are extraordinary times and call for extraordinary actions.

I presume that you are an at-will employee. Given that, you owe the employer nothing more than they owe you... your best effort in exchange for acceptable pay.

One caveat, though: If they specifically ask for a time commitment (my employer did), keep your word. Don't agree to something that you're not willing to back up.

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Feb 15, 2010

The problem is that you probably will get in little to no experience in the brief period at SP. In most places, that is barely enough time to get through the facility orientation/paperwork.

Also, it essentially wastes SPs time, money, as well as unduly stresses the staff to start to orient a new grad, just to have them fall through quickly. It also "poisons the well" against other new grads coming in, pushing facilities to regret investing time in them, or requiring contracts for set periods of time of employment.

You will make money but you will have wasted SP's time and money that they are "investing" in you and the future. This may be legal but really is not an ethical thing to do. And there may be another new grad out there that wants that job and is willing to stick it out. And it also makes you look bad.

Nurses and nurse managers talk. What you do may come back to bite you, later when you least want it to.

It's kind of like accepting a date from I guy that you really do not like, to go to the prom, letting him get the tux, rent the limo. And then cancelling on him, when a better guy comes along.

If you are certain that B-town will work out, and really want Btown, you need to wait til Btown calls. If you go with SP, you need to count on working there 1-2 years. It is expensive to invest in a new grad just to have them leave.

Is there any way that SP can hold the job for a while?

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Feb 15, 2010

Caroladybelle summed it up nicely.

And look at it this way: how would it feel if you rearranged your whole life to accomodate working at Btown, then one month into the job be told "sorry, we're letting you go because the candidate we really want just said Yes". If you're in an employment-at-will state, that could very well happen. Karma...it does happen.

I know it's a rough job market, but even in an at-will state, it's not fair to SP to sign up and then resign. It also won't look good on your resume: leave it off and you have an employment gap to explain; leave it on and a future employer will see you jumped ship with SP and wonder if you'll do the same with them if hired. And as it's already been noted, nursing is a small world and word gets around it fast.

That being said...phenomenal opportunities for new grads are few and far between. So if you decide to work at the SP, I won't tell you don't take Btown if it's truly your dream job and it opens up...just be prepared to deal with the consequences of your decision. And be willing to stick Btwon out, like llg said. Jumping ship twice in a short period definitely won't look good for you.

If I were in your shoes...I honestly wouldn't know what to do either, even though I know what some of the consequences could be.

Good luck.

Music in My Heart · Feb 15, 2010

how would it feel if you rearranged your whole life to accomodate working at Btown, then one month into the job be told "sorry, we're letting you go because the candidate we really want just said Yes". If you're in an employment-at-will state, that could very well happen.

Or, the day before you're supposed to start, they call you up and say that they've cancelled the position. It certainly does happen.

I don't think you owe the employer anything (though you're honor-bound to follow through on your commitments - if they ask, and you commit, the keep your end of the deal).

Most employers have no loyalty whatsoever to their employees beyond paying them for the work that they perform (and some even try to dodge that to whatever degree they can).

As llg and Meriwhen have both stated, there is a definite downside to jumping so quickly but you need to do what's best for you.

2012guest · Mar 2, 2010

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