Am I admirably persistent or just delusional?

1 I graduated in May with my BSN and am currently licensed and ready to work. I immediately applied at Dream Hospital upon graduation. I have had several very positive clinical experiences at this hospital, and many of my friends work there and rave about how much they love their jobs. Everyone I know who has been a patient there has had nothing but great things to say about their experiences. They have a fantastic orientation program, the best pay I have ever heard of, awesome benefits, tuition reimbursement, the list goes on and on. They appreciate their nurses and treat them very well. I want a piece of that.

I got a quick response, before I even applied anywhere else, and an interview with the nurse recruiter followed, which went very well. At Dream Hospital, the recruiter interviews the new grads first, and then refers them to interview with the manager of whatever floor has a suitable opening for the next interview. Knowing that this is where I really want to be, despite the fact that it is notorious for taking a really long time to get to that next interview, I decided to wait it out for fear that if I got an offer somewhere else I would most likely accept it, then I would miss out on an opportunity at Dream Hospital and be kicking myself. I am not the type to ditch a commitment after I've made it.

Fast forward five months later, and I still don't have the job. My friends who know the recruiter have told me I did everything right, I am doing all of the right things to follow up at the right times, and that if she were not interested, she would definitely not be leading me on. The recruiter and I have developed a good rapport by this point, and when I see a new opening on the website and contact her about it, she assures me that if it is not filled by an internal candidate by the time the 11 day posting period is up, she will definitely call me. In a phone conversation she said to me, "I know you're going to get nervous when you don't hear from us for a while, but if you don't hear us say we aren't interested, then that's a good thing. Most people end up getting impatient and we lose them to other hospitals, but we do want you [new nurses in general] here. I don't want you to think we've forgotten about you, it's just a matter of waiting for the internal candidates to finish moving around within the hospital." Sounded pretty promising to me.

The position I reeeeeally want is on the telemetry floor, which just so happens to be where one of my best friends from school works. My friend took the liberty of personally and enthusiastically referring me to her manager, who advised me to apply whenever a position on the floor opens up and she would be happy to interview me. Great!

And a position opened up! So I relayed this information to the recruiter, and asked how I should go about applying since I am a new graduate and I need to go through her since technically I am not applying for the "staff nurse" position listed online but the "new graduate" position that I have already applied for. She said that she was sorry but the position had already been [snatched up by an internal candidate] (how the manager of the floor didn't already know that when she told me to apply is beyond me), but next time one opens up she will most definitely call me and set something up with Manager.

Since then, another position on the floor has opened and been quickly filled again. Discouraging.

I have still not applied anywhere else, because I still have hope that if I keep showing interest, eventually all the pieces will fall into place and it will be worth the wait. In the meantime I am working as a waitress and I don't hate it. My bills get paid, it's not about the money. I've been enjoying the extra time I've had to recharge and take care of myself again after spending my entire life in school. My feeling is, what's the rush? I have the rest of my life to be a nurse. And nurses are infamous for relying on their gut instincts. My gut just keeps telling me I'm doing the right thing.

But countless conversations with friends and acquaintances about "my situation" have left me feeling like I am the only one who feels this way. Everyone seems to think I'm just crazy. Honestly, and I mean be brutally honest...

Am I??
sounds like your doing the right thing to me, I have been doing the same thing trying to get an assistant job during my last year of BSN. Just gotta push the managers/HR harder than the rest and we'll eventually get work

I would say no. I have a friend who specifically wanted to work at the hospital I work at. She was told there were no job openings, so she said she didn't care about the money, she wanted to work there and asked for a volunteer position. Needless to say I'm happy to say she was the first one they went to when a position opened up.

You're not crazy to keep following up with a hospital you're particularly interested in, but YES, you are utterly and completely insane to not at least be APPLYING to other nursing positions. By now, you could have potentially had as much as 5 months of experience at NotYourDream Hospital, which would actually help you get a job at Dream Hospital. Start applying everywhere you can, and take the first job that you can get. You'll be gaining skills that will help you get a job elsewhere. And who knows, maybe NotYourDream Hospital will turn into NeverKnewHowMuchIWouldLoveIt Hospital.Now, get out there and start applying for jobs!!!

You need to apply elsewhere...I mean start right away. You may just find another position that you absolutely love. Do you really want to be graduated one year and still not using your license. You can always re-apply later at the dream hospital once you have some more experience. Expand your search ASAP

I guess my question to you would be: have you quantified how long is long enough to wait? From your description, I think you have reason to be optimistic about your chances of being hired at Dream Hospital. But still....those darn "internal" candidates may continue to crop up and beat you to the punch.I have seen too many new grads post here that after a year without working, they are now considered "old grads" and are not being considered for any new grad positions. I would hate to see that happen to you.

I'd say you are both persistent and delusional. You may be impressing the nurse recruiter with your persistence and willingness to tough it out. But to be honest: if after 5 months she still can't get you in there because of all these "internal candidates," I'd start wondering if you really do have a chance to get in there, that she may be stringing you along after all. Maybe she is without realizing it...or wanting to admit it.In addition to applying at Dream Hospital, start applying elsewhere ASAP. Sitting on the couch waiting on the dream job isn't going to help you get that golden year's experience you need as a new grad. Instead you'll be an old grad and they have even worse luck in finding work because they're no longer "new" yet lack experience. You can't do that to yourself just because you're blindly devoted to working only at Dream Hospital.Besides, no one says any job you get has to be forever--you can always leave once a job opens up at Dream Hospital that you actually can get in for.Good luck whatever you decide.

Don't forget.. the longer you go not using those freshly learned new skills, the more likely you'll lose them. Besides, who can sit around with thumbs up the yahoo when there's bills to pay? Just get ANY job.

i really hope you eventually get the position you are wishing for!no offer = no job. apply elsewhere until that status changes.

I would be applying at every hospital I can. And I would take the first job offered to me. You can work somewhere else for a year, then go back to your Dream Hospital after you've gained a year of experience under your belt.Right now, you have NO experience under your belt and if you continue to "wait it out" for Dream Hospital, the longer you are without gaining experience. I would think in 5 months, that recruiter could have referred you to the hiring manager of any unit if she was really interested in you working there.The longer you wait it out, the harder it's gonna be to get hired as a "old" new grad.

Keep chugging along and do apply elsewhere...you sound like a very tenacious person--a very admirable quality...J

Quote from MeriwhenI'd say you are both persistent and delusional. You may be impressing the nurse recruiter with your persistence and willingness to tough it out. But to be honest: if after 5 months she still can't get you in there because of all these "internal candidates," I'd start wondering if you really do have a chance to get in there, that she may be stringing you along after all. Maybe she is without realizing it...or wanting to admit it.In addition to applying at Dream Hospital, start applying elsewhere ASAP. Sitting on the couch waiting on the dream job isn't going to help you get that golden year's experience you need as a new grad. Instead you'll be an old grad and they have even worse luck in finding work because they're no longer "new" yet lack experience. You can't do that to yourself just because you're blindly devoted to working only at Dream Hospital.Besides, no one says any job you get has to be forever--you can always leave once a job opens up at Dream Hospital that you actually can get in for.Good luck whatever you decide.

FACT:Nurse Managers and Nurse Recruiters are notorious for being obtuse when it comes to potential employment discussions.There are many, many, many internals that will want the same job you are wanting. That job will go to anybody with experience of any kind before it goes to you... internal or external applicant.YOUR "TO DO" LIST FOR TODAY:Apply elsewhere and everywhere... Spend all day, and tomorrow too, and the next day.