Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Step 1/5

I've been officially out of school for two weeks now, which means I need to find a job. Until lately, I have taken the laissez faire attitude about it. But now that a real opportunity is at hand, it's time to get this done.

My parents would prefer I work at this one specific hospital for 3 reasons:
1) If I work there, my mom could retire and we could still live at our apartment and wouldn't have to move (only nurses and doctors that currently work at this hospital can live in the apartments).
2) I can put my money into my student loans and pay them off sooner (and buy a car) since I won't have to pay for rent.
3) I am not financially stable to get my own place.

I have been praying about finding a job, and it seems the God has answered quite clearly. Last week, while talking to a family friend who works at the hospital, my dad realized that he is good friends with the nurse manager on her unit. This past Sunday night, while my mom was at work, she received a call from one of the nursing recruiters telling her she was coming up on her unit to drop off some things. The nurse recruiter NEVER goes on my mom's unit so this was out of the ordinary. The recruiter and my mom started talking, and my mom mentioned that her daughter was trying to apply. The nurse recruiter asked for my number so she could contact me. The next day, I got a call from her. She told me all about the application process and to call her if I ever needed anything.

The application process is quite lengthy. First you fill out the online application, which takes about 30-60 minutes. You receive an 10 question email questionnaire, which you fill out and email back. They then set up a phone interview. If they are pleased with your phone interview, they set up a panel interview made up of about three or four people. During the panel, they ask which units you are most interested in. Based on your interview and interest, they recommend a unit for you. The last step is an interview with the nurse manager of that specific unit. So far I have completed Step 1 out of the 5. I just received the email questionnaire, but more on that later.