Signed yesterday after 9 months of applying. Drop your timeline
Morgan reading offersThe question
I signed yesterday. Med surg nights, 12 week orientation, September start. It took 118 applications, four interviews and nine months, and the thing that finally moved it was the night shift posting I had been avoiding the whole time. Post your number, your timeline, and the one thing that actually changed it.
The conversation
5 replies- Avery on orientationNew grad, week 6 of orientation
40 applications, eleven weeks, and the offer came from the hospital where I did my last clinical rotation. What changed was one email to the unit manager I had rotated under: "I finished my preceptorship on your unit in April, I'm licensed as of last week, and I'd like to be considered for your next new grad opening." She forwarded it to the recruiter that afternoon. Email the manager, not the portal.
- Reese with a preceptor storyRN, 7 months in, med surg
Over 200 applications and nothing. Then I took a tech job on a med surg floor, and my preceptor from my last clinical rotation turned out to be charge on that unit. Four months in she walked my name to the manager for a posting that never hit the public site. Internal applicants sit in a different queue and it is not close. If you're at month six with nothing, a tech or unit secretary badge at the hospital you want is the shortest road in.
- Riley in the break roomRN, ED, 2 years in
I took the offer I didn't want. PCU, nights, a system nobody in my class was excited about. Fourteen months later I moved into the ED with zero fight because I had a year of real patients behind me. Experience is experience, and the job that gets you started is worth more than the job you're still waiting for.
- Nursing Mastery
Two things to pin down before you sign. Orientation runs 6 to 16 weeks depending on the unit, so ask the length and ask what happens if you need more time at the end. Get that answer from the manager, not the recruiter. Sign-on money carries a commitment period with a clawback if you leave early. Get the amount, the term, and the repayment math in writing before day one.
- Sage weighing the offerNew grad, two offers, deciding this week
The advice in here is take the first yes, and with two on the table I'm doing the opposite for a week. I asked both managers how many of last year's new grads were still on the unit. One gave me a number and named them. The other changed the subject to the culture. The residency is 12 weeks plus a cohort year and the direct hire is 14 weeks with no cohort, and I'm going with the manager who could name her people.
What would you tell them?
Answer from what you have seen. It posts without your name.
