Get To Work Part 8 - Workin' 9 To 5

We might actually get this done before a part 10!

As I mentioned in my last Update post, I still haven't heard anything back from the state health care recruiter.  This is beyond 'not professional'.  It's downright rude.  But I still have to maintain MY professionality, which means not contacting her every day.  As my therapist said, my urgent matter is not their urgent matter.  As I sent an email on Friday the 12th, my plan was to wait until Friday the 19th if I didn't hear anything.  

I'll probably still 'check in' on the 19th, but I have better news than that now.  This morning I got an email regarding an appointment for next Wednesday morning.  At the last prison I worked at.  It's an official interview, with the required paperwork including references, a LEIN request (a legal background check) and a PREA check (a specific check for history of sexual abuse).  It even has the email of those that will be on the interview panel.  It will be the HUM I worked with, the Warden I worked with, and the person who is the new HR director at the facility.  

They even listed that the job is for an eight or twelve hour afternoon shift.  Either 1400-2230 (2 to 10:30) or 0930 to 2200 (9:30 AM to 10:00 PM).  I'd prefer the eight hour shifts since I have to tack on an hour commute to and from work making a 12 hour shift almost a 15 hour day.  When you work two of those days in a row, it SUCKS.  That's wake up Monday morning at 6 AM, shower at 7, leave for work at 8, work, get home after 11 at night, eat, go to bed, get up and do it all over again then suddenly its Wednesday morning.  And yes, you can work three of those days in a row.  IT SUCKS.  But my answer to them will be 'whatever works best for you'.  I already know it will be the eight hour shift as I'll cover more days that way, but saying 'whatever works best for you' makes it sound like I'm putting their needs first.  

I look at this as nothing but good news.  I could technically still go in and fall flat on my face.  I could technically still go in and have either the HUM or Warden already pre-disposed against hiring me.  But I refuse to look at the bad possibilities and instead focus on the good.  I have m foot in the door.  Interview on the 24th.  Their approval on the 25th.  Reference checks sent out on the 26th and back by the 1st.  Offer made by the 3rd.  Start date either the 6th,  13th, or 20th.  

My training, assuming they give me the full on training, will be for six weeks.  That means I should be working a normal shift by December.  

Now, the interview is SPECIFICALLY for the RN position.  But the interview panel strikes me as a little odd.  The HUM makes the most sense as she's the head of healthcare.  The Warden kind of makes sense as he's an African American man, and the State has specific requirements for interview panels and having minority representation on them.  With the HUM being a woman and the Warden being an African American, they have the minorities covered.  The other person on the panel SHOULD be one of the nurse managers.  They'd be my direct supervisor after all.  

There's several ways to read into this.  One is just that they're not available.  I know one was on maternity leave, although I'd think she'd be back by now.  The other one should be there, though she may be on vacation or it's her day off so they just fill it in with someone who is comfortable giving interviews... the HR director.  Another way to look at it is that I may intimidate the supervisors.  After all I was the supervisor for the one that was on maternity leave.  While I will have no problem having her be MY supervisor, that doesn't mean it's a two way street.  Maybe she's just not comfortable interviewing me specifically.  But that doesn't make sense for the other supervisor because, so far as I know, they don't know me at all.  They came from a different facility.  

And then there's the other possibility that's sneaking into my mind.  Maybe... just MAYBE... this is a two way interview.  An interview for this RN position and a soon to be opened RN Manager position.  

This comes to mind because it's not all that common for the Warden to sit in on interviews.  There are plenty of minority staff members that can sit in on interviews.  Don't get me wrong, he's happy to do it, and I've sat in on interviews with him before for RNs.  But it's not common.  It's a "we couldn't find anybody else situation".  And as far as I know, the other supervisor, the one that I don't know, is also an African American.  They'd be perfect as you would WANT the supervisor to be in on the interview.  Unless you are ALSO interviewing for an RN Manager position, in which case you would NOT want them to sit in on the interview.  You generally don't interview possible colleagues.  I never interviewed a possible nurse manager.  

The only thing that makes me a little hesitant on that is that most of the time you have the Director of Nursing sit in on those interviews.  That would be especially important as the Director of Nursing that I worked under during COVID and I didn't exactly work well together.  We butted heads.  If she's still there I'd imagine she'd want her two cents on my hiring.  

But again, this might be the first of a two part.  Like "Hey, we're hiring you for the RN position but in January we know the RN Manager position is going to open up, so we want to make sure you're interested and will stay around for that."  If that's the case, I'd still have to interview for the nurse manager position once its open but the Warden would have been able to sit in and give his blessing on me directly.  

It's just something fun to think about in the back of my head.  

Regardless... I have an interview.  Unless there is someone else that already has the job or the HUM or Warden already have their mind made up against me, I can't imagine me screwing this up and NOT getting the job.  I'm qualified, I've done this job before, and I've done this interview process so many times that I could probably list most of the questions here and now.  

I'll let you know how it goes after the interview!