When to call?

[rokksteady, BSN]

I'm a new grad RN who graduated in May and passed my NCLEX last month. I had a phone interview with my dream hospital last Monday for a step down ICU position. I felt like it went really well and the recruiter told me she would be passing my information onto the unit hiring managers. She also told me I would need to have ACLS completed by the time I was hired, if they chose me. I forgot to ask when I could expect to hear from their managers. I did send the recruiter a quick thank you email the next day, but I'm sitting here in limbo wondering whether or not I should follow up yet or not. I did get my ACLS certification yesterday and I was wondering if it would be a good idea to call and let them know I'm official and ready to work, or if that's a bad idea? I don't want to come off as a pest, but this is one of the only critical care job leads I've been able to land as a new grad and I don't want to let it go!

[scaredsilly, BSN, RN]

I would scan the certificate and email a copy to the recruiter with a note to let her know you have done it. A call would be fine, but most likely go to voice mail (if they are anything like here) and then you would never know if they got the message.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

I agree with the PP. Getting your ACLS cert is a good excuse to send them a little "hey, I'm still here!" reminder e-mail. You could also follow up with a call as well saying, "I just emailed you my ACLS card, let me know if there's anything else you need, etc." That would fly w/o being considered pestering, IMO.

But I wouldn't do any more than that: after you call/e-mail, you need to be patient and wait.

Best of luck!

[rokksteady, BSN]

I updated my application and resume to reflect my ACLS certification and left the recruiter a voicemail letting her know and that I'm still very excited for this opportunity. Maybe send an email in a week if I don't hear anything? All my previous jobs while in school in the service industry and retail I pretty much got hired on the spot when I went to drop off an application so this interviewing and following up process is new to me! Thank you for the advice everyone!

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

All my previous jobs while in school in the service industry and retail I pretty much got hired on the spot when I went to drop off an application so this interviewing and following up process is new to me!

And a long time ago, nursing used to be like retail where you could walk onto a hospital unit and walk out with a job offer. On-the-spot offers are now the rare exception to the norm.

I guess you could send one more e-mail in a week or two...but IMO more than that is going to start seeming like you're pushing too much.

And I certainly hope that you haven't put your job search on hold while you wait on this opportunity! You should never stop the job hunt until you have received and signed an official offer.