As you’ve undoubtedly noticed over the past few years, finding a nurse job right now is no small feat. But what may not be quite as evident is that it isn’t always easy being a nurse recruiter in today’s economy, either.
These stories, of course, are rare and much more likely to be found online than in a real employer’s office. But aside from these instances that make the rejection process easy for human resources professionals, what happened when YOU went in, gave what you felt was a great interview and still didn’t get the job? HR insiders confess about what works—and doesn’t work—in the hiring process.
Mistakes Nurses Make
When it comes to interviews, there are some mistakes you can make—things you may not have thought twice about—that can put interviewers of:
1. What did you say?
Katie Cwalinski, PRC, CSSR, Manager of Nurse Recruitment at the Cleveland Clinic, states, “Mistakes some nurses will make include speaking negatively about their previous or current position and/or supervisor, or talking only about a shift they need, not why they want to work in a certain clinical area or why they want to work for a certain organization.” It pays to keep your comments professional and positive when talking about prior employers.
2. Paperwork, please.
Some nurses have experience, but lack the documentation to prove their credentials. Amanda Oldfield, vice president of HR at Verizon Care Services based in North Palm Beach, Fla., says, “When you start losing those documents, we can’t hire you. You have to show the CEs from when you first graduated from school, and the nurses who have been nurses for 20 or 30 years don’t have that documentation.” Many times if a nurse can’t produce these credentials, she can’t get hired and has to retake continuing education hours.
3. Don’t sweat the small stuff.
If you’re looking to have your resume done by a professional, don’t bother. Most nurse recruiters are okay with a plain resume that simply states who you are and what positions you’ve held. Most HR recruiters are more interested in how you interact face-to-face.
4. You are what you wear.
You may have been given the advice to “dress up” for a nursing interview. According to our expert sources, this is a bit of a myth. Many recruiters are okay with nurses showing up in scrubs, but Oldfield cautions, “Some girls come in with scrub bottoms and tiny little tanks with everything hanging out, and that’s not appropriate.”
Reasons You Aren’t Hired
1. Out of the past.
Most recruiters won’t hire someone with prior criminal convictions. Emily Gutierrez, a nurse recruiter in Southern California, affirms, “We were not allowed to hire candidates who had convictions.” Oldfield goes a step further: “We’re finding that girls with minor misdemeanors on their record are coming up non-eligible. We don’t hire anyone with a record.” If you have a crime in your past, this might be a reason why you’re turned down for a job.
2. We just didn’t…well…like you.
Personality is another big reason for an HR person to turn down a potential candidate. Cwalinski states, “The top three reasons I turn down a candidate are poor communication, inappropriate responses and lack of motivation.” Gutierrez agrees. “Personality can be a turnoff. If the person doesn’t have a good bedside manner, I don’t want to hire her. Nurses are rated on personality, bedside manner and customer service.” Look at how you’re approaching your interviewer and ensure you come across in an open, friendly manner. If a recruiter doesn’t think you’ll treat a patient with kindness, you likely won’t get the job.
Other reasons nurse recruiters cited for not hiring a candidate included:
- Lack of experience
- Dishonesty
- History of drug diversion
- Lack of hygiene
- Failure to pass a basic competency test
What They’re Looking For
So what are they looking for? Cwalinski is looking for “whether or not the candidate is a cultural fit, if she’s had a stable work history, how motivated she is, what her long-term goals are, and her interest level and desire for career development.” Oldfield is looking for experience and basic skills. “If you come in and you’re presented well with all of your paperwork, can speak clearly and can hold a conversation with me, then you’re a good candidate.”
Advice for New Grads
Some of this may be a little depressing to new grads who don’t have the experience to battle it out in this tough job market. Gutierrez offers this advice: “For new-grad nurses, something I highly recommend is when you do your clinical rotation, do a great job because they’re watching you. Express your interest to the department managers and your preceptors, and possibly introduce yourself to HR, just to be more visible. Take your clinicals seriously because you might be one of the few to be taken on when the hiring starts. It takes $40,000 to train a new grad in a hospital. Make sure you’re a superstar.”
What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
I graduated last June with a BSN in nursing and I have been applying and interviewing like there is no tomorrow without any luck. I was offered a position 4 hours away from my home town but couldn’t afford to move. Then I was offered my dream job/shift, but the offer was rescinded because I was working home health and supposedly misrepresented myself (but I had included that information in my resume & application, so I do not understand how I misrepresented myself). Now I am stuck reapplying, but I keep getting rejected. I do not know what else to do. I feel so discouraged. Nursing has been my dream job ever since I was 7 years old and no one tells you nor prepares you for how difficult it is to find a job after you graduate. With or with out a contact on the inside it is nearly impossible.
I am a male nurse, I was (most) recently turned down for a job at the psych unit with just short of 6 years experience in the same or similar settings. In the interview there was one woman who had offered me a position 2 years ago then HR screwed it up and sent out denials to all their recent hires they were supposed to get in touch with. One clearly liked me as she kept side tracking the interview into chit chat and out right laughing at my “dry humor” the third clearly didn’t want to be there. Now over the years I have the same stories as most men in the field to going all the way back to school, but once in the workplace most of this falls by the wayside quickly because coworkers care if you’re someone they can get along with and you’re competent…that’s it.
Ignoring “recent acute experience,” age, sex or any other aspect regarding being good enough to get an interview but not a job offer this is what is wrong and naturally is completely ignored. Everyone knows that the BIGGEST problem in nursing is, the 900lbs gorilla in the corner that shades everything….. Responsibility for hiring was spread around between multiple people because of “culture” and blah blah blah; what this has actually done is make it so that now the alpha b–ch in the room can shoot people down for whatever reason and instead of having to justify staffing shortages, low morale from same et al now she can spread the blame around. Whomever is in charge needs to hire qualified people, not by committee which exposes this fundamental process to every workplace to the cliquish BS most of us can’t stand.
I am grateful for this discussion. I do know experienced qualified nurses may have a difficult time getting hired. When I first heard a nurse complain about not being able to find a job I thought there must be something wrong with the nurse or the way she interviewed. Now after months or maybe even years of trying to transition back to bedside nursing I find I am unable to get hired. Even after being told by the hiring manager I answered all her questions “very well.” But no job offer. There is definitely something wrong.
My bosses have expressed over the years why they did not consider some candidates. Misspellings and misuse of grammar are the main reasons people are not called for an interview. One candidate even had her bachelorette degree from Ohio University. Check your resume’s. Spellcheck does not catch everything.
I am amazed and saddened that some of the recruiters you’ve quoted actually refer to nursing professionals as ‘girls’. REALLY?? How demeaning to imply that nurses are not competent adults. Don’t we hire professional women and men to work as nurses?
I was going to address this issue. I am of the male group of our species and have been an LPN for 16 years. I was the only male student in our class, however, I have met and worked with many other male nurses since graduating and obtaining my licensure. So, how come I continue to see articles like this one where the writers refer to nurses as only being females? Just saying.
One of my major concerns about applying for a nursing position at this time is that there is absolutely no feedback following the interview even if you specifically ask for it. You are given the stock answer of “We have decided to pursue other candidates at this time.” This rejection is usually done in an email or on a computer based employment website so you do not even get any direct human interaction to explain the rejection. How is anyone supposed to improve if they are not given any feedback?
Ageism is alive and well in the nursing profession. It may be the almighty dollar doing the talking because most experienced nurses do receive a higher hourly rate. However, I do not believe this is the only reason. Nurses over 40 are deemed to not be fast enough, to not be able to adapt to the latest technology, are not willing to “go above and beyond” the job expectations because they have children, aging parents, or any host of other “outside” responsibilities.
Experience matters! An experienced nurse should be valued! An experienced nurse is much more likely to stay in a position longer than the nurse who has not been in the profession as long. Obviously, this not always the case, but as I said “it is more likely”. The job is often more than just “a stepping stone” to something “bigger and better.” The extraordinary costs of orientation should be considered. Turn over rates on many nursing jobs today are staggering. Please work to RETAIN experienced nurses!!
I totally agree with you . Ageism is most definitely alive and well in nursing as I’ve found out these last few months . I had a good career as s nursing director and retired 15 months ago . Wanted to work part time. A day or 2 per week . Have interviewed off and on since Jan and had many interviews but no offers . I have a good resume and no blemish on my record . Still no offers ! Can only be one thing —- my age .
Also in this article, I was appalled that in this day and time recruiters are calling applicants “girls “ !! Very inappropriate!
I have been out of work for nine months not by my choice. I have applied to 72 Nursing jobs in that span and do have a per diem job but it hasn’t started yet. I am 62 years old and unable to retire financially due to my husbands recent death. No one can make me believe anything other then it’s my age. We all know it’s illegal but they do it anyway. Tell you you weren’t a right fit or my favorite response “We’ve moved on with another candidate.” I have been a Nurse for over forty years and have so much to bring to the table yet no one wants to give me a chance. This is not the way I wanted to retire from the field I have loved for so long.
I agree. Age does matter, sex matters too. Should not….
I too am having a hard time finding a position – I am even willing to take a non nursing position in a medical setting – Health Unit Coordinator, Patient Service Specialist, etc. and am getting rejection after rejection. I am shy less then one year of 40 yrs at the hospital. My positon was eliminated due to budget reasons – new management, etc. I am not ready to retire nor want to be “forced” to retire. And for those of you that think you can refuse to answer age related questions on an Intranet application you can’t because the computerized application will not let you go forward. Really – why do they ask what year you graduated from high school??? Also, anyone can do an internet search and find your name and age.
I am forty years old and have been a nurse sixteen years. I have no lapses in employment but I also cannot get hired anywhere. They want young and cheap RNs. I am at the top of the payscale and am not desirable for employment at any hospital despite a wealth of experience. It’s disheartening that they took new grads over me for a recent position I interviewed for. Actually, make that six positions I interviewed for.
good article-gee, it’s interesting because I met all of the criteria that the HR folks were interested in and yet received a letter from a very well-known agency in my state telling me that they were not interested in hiring me. Perhaps it is because I am over the age of 60? AEGISM does exist in nursing! I have experienced this since I was in my 50’s and have talked w/lots of other r.n.’s who have also been effected by this and we all agree–hospitals, home health agencies, urgent care facilities are all looking for younger applicants. THIS IS A FACT! BSN,R.N. in New Jersey.
Why do they say “girls”?
I have done everything right, according to the advice/reasons given in the article. I have been looking for a job since September, 2012. I just had my 64th birthday. I am convinced that I don’t get hired because of my age.
I definitely agree with you. I have had no lapses in my career, and yet I get interviews (or are they really just a courtesy interview?) I feel employers in the prescreening tests ask if you are lees than 40, or more than 40 are screening the applicant based on age ( of course you can respond do not wish to answer, but how does that appear to the test scorer.) So you are honest and state you are more than 40, and you never hear from them.
Why ? because they think you want too much money, you are too old too learn (even though your resume demonstrates you are a life learner.) Or is it the aging appearance even though you have kept your appearance up. Example: you have mother/baby experience, but they are really looking for a younger nurse who they believe can relate to the younger mothers based on appearance. It makes no difference the amount of experience you have accumulated in this area, that is the hiring directors philosophy. How can a sernior looking member of society communicate with the young adult? We are educated, experienced, have excellent work ethic, but not desirable to employ.
I try to assess if they are a good fit for what we do. I am honest with them regarding what we do and the challenges. I tell them I want them to be happy too, if hired. I also ask them to tell me “stories” of events in other jobs (not necessarily even nursing jobs) where they had a difference in opinion with a patient/customer, a supervisor, a co-worker. I listen for red flags, like statements of Well I told her….I listen to see if they just ignore issues or discussed, if they discussed at the appropriate time, in the appropriate place, with the appropriate people in on the conversation or within earshot. I never like to hire someone afraid to speak up but I also want it done in a professional manner. I also like to ask what they did next if no resolution was reached. Sometimes there is no winning with an irate person, be it patient, customer, boss, co-worker, there are times you have to simply walk away. I also like to ask them if they are looking for a place to settle in or if they are just out testing out areas. I think that is a fair question, as we spend tons of time training, and our particular clientele need the same staff year after year, so they trust us.
I think personality goes beyond a pretty face. It’s how you interact with the interviewer- are you warm & receptive, relaxed/confident & pleasant? Or is your body language cold & distant, guarded and reserved? It’s always acceptable to call and ask why you didn’t get a job… then if it’s something you can change, you can address it for the next interview
Is it really fair to judge personality based on a 20 to 30 minutes interaction. I think some people just have the ‘likable’ faces while other people have been told to have ‘mean’ looking faces while they are not really mean. Are recruiters simply looking for ‘preety’ likable faces? If thats the case then maybe that shoulb be a screening criteria at the nursing school recruitment level. I feel sorry for people who just can not get the good job for reasons unknown to them.
Absolutely agree. Interviewing is total BS. Essentially they are seeing if you can BS with them…. Not sure it’s a great skill to seek out. If you cannot get a regular job do a travel contract – find a hospital unit you like – make friends and nicely nice with the manager – and they’ll most likely hire you…