Application response times?

ChewyEMS13

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Hey guys. I applied to a couple ambulance services to get my career in EMS started. I was just wondering about the length of time it takes for services to "get back" to you. The reason I ask is that I am very intent on starting my career out as soon as possible for various reasons. I also have another bit of info..

I am also thinking about applying as an ER Tech, but I would rather work in a rig. I am, however, not opposed to working in a hospital setting. (My end goal is actually to work as a RN and a Medic). My current plan is to wait about a month for these ambulance services to get back to me before I apply to a hospital. After that, I could drop down my time in the hospital to part time and work on a rig full time.

My question is.. Is a month a pretty good time to wait for the ambulance companies to get back to me, or do they take longer? Keep in mind that my current employment situation is way less than ideal. This may sound like an impatient question, but if you knew my situation, I'm sure you would understand.

Thank y'all for bearing with me. I'd just like to hear what the professionals have to say about this. Any opinions welcome!
 

mgr22

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Anywhere from after a few days to never is when you can expect to hear. There's nothing wrong with following up after, say, a week if you haven't heard. Just don't become a nuisance by calling every day.
 
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ChewyEMS13

ChewyEMS13

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Anywhere from after a few days to never is when you can expect to hear. There's nothing wrong with following up after, say, a week if you haven't heard. Just don't become a nuisance by calling every day.

Do they contact you if you didn't get a position, or only if you got it. Basically I'm asking if they don't get back to me for about a month, I can assume I didn't get the position?
 

PotatoMedic

Has no idea what I'm doing.
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Do they contact you if you didn't get a position, or only if you got it. Basically I'm asking if they don't get back to me for about a month, I can assume I didn't get the position?
Yes and no. The hospital job I just got hired on with took three months from time of application to someone calling me about the position. Hospital systems are known to be slow and usually wont contact you if you are not moving on past the application phase. You can always call and ask about the application.
 
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ChewyEMS13

ChewyEMS13

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Yes and no. The hospital job I just got hired on with took three months from time of application to someone calling me about the position. Hospital systems are known to be slow and usually wont contact you if you are not moving on past the application phase. You can always call and ask about the application.

Thank you. I will give it about a week until I call and ask what's up. Thank you! Do you recommend applying for a hospital gig if none of the applications are accepted?
 

PotatoMedic

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Thank you. I will give it about a week until I call and ask what's up. Thank you! Do you recommend applying for a hospital gig if none of the applications are accepted?
Honestly apply anywhere and everywhere because you never know if someone will call you back or not. At some point you will get an interview and possibly a job after that. But in the beginning something is better than nothing. And hospital jobs are not bad at all. Usually better benefits, better schedule, and better pay.
 
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ChewyEMS13

ChewyEMS13

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Honestly apply anywhere and everywhere because you never know if someone will call you back or not. At some point you will get an interview and possibly a job after that. But in the beginning something is better than nothing. And hospital jobs are not bad at all. Usually better benefits, better schedule, and better pay.

This is true. I respect your opinion, but I think I am going to hold out a month to see if any of the rigs call me back. That truly is what I took the class to do. however when I did my 12 hour shift in the Emergency Department of our local hospital, I enjoyed that a lot. There were many benefits of being in a hospital. If you don't mind me asking, what do you do?
 

mgr22

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Do they contact you if you didn't get a position, or only if you got it. Basically I'm asking if they don't get back to me for about a month, I can assume I didn't get the position?

Unfortunately, prospective employers don't always care about closing loops with applicants. There's no standard lead time I could quote for you. Just know that most business people aren't going to be concerned as you are right now about your future.
 
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ChewyEMS13

ChewyEMS13

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Unfortunately, prospective employers don't always care about closing loops with applicants. There's no standard lead time I could quote for you. Just know that most business people aren't going to be concerned as you are right now about your future.

And I'm so "giddy" about my future. I'm only 20 and I'm actually starting to do something with my life, working towards something, y'know?
 

DrParasite

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3-6 months is not uncommon. keep applying to everywhere until you get the job offer.

you can try following up with the agency, but in all likelyhood, they won't respond; most have more applicants than open positions, and some places even keep the job listing posted so they can collect applications until they need to fill a spot, then they go through the stack.
 
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ChewyEMS13

ChewyEMS13

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3-6 months is not uncommon. keep applying to everywhere until you get the job offer.

you can try following up with the agency, but in all likelyhood, they won't respond; most have more applicants than open positions, and some places even keep the job listing posted so they can collect applications until they need to fill a spot, then they go through the stack.

Good to know.. Thank you
 

Lo2w

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Private service doing transfer/transport can be days/week; municipal 911 can be weeks/months.

My full time city 911 was probably a 2-3 month process. Applied first week or so of June, got the call end of July for 1st interview and then around 2 weeks after for 2nd interview another 3-6 for the actual offer.

My PRN transfer gig? Submitted the online form, got a call back in a few days, set up an interview and hired in the interview. The few other transfer jobs I either worked or interviewed were similar with offers day of it within the week.
 
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ChewyEMS13

ChewyEMS13

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Private service doing transfer/transport can be days/week; municipal 911 can be weeks/months.

My full time city 911 was probably a 2-3 month process. Applied first week or so of June, got the call end of July for 1st interview and then around 2 weeks after for 2nd interview another 3-6 for the actual offer.

My PRN transfer gig? Submitted the online form, got a call back in a few days, set up an interview and hired in the interview. The few other transfer jobs I either worked or interviewed were similar with offers day of it within the week.

Yeah, it's been almost 2 weeks now applying to private companies and none of them have gotten back to me yet even for an interview. I've looked online and talked to people in the field; noone seems to be hiring right now. I'm not giving up on applying! I'll eventually get in there..
 

Lo2w

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Yeah, it's been almost 2 weeks now applying to private companies and none of them have gotten back to me yet even for an interview. I've looked online and talked to people in the field; noone seems to be hiring right now. I'm not giving up on applying! I'll eventually get in there..

Turn over is pretty good in the industry. If you get an offer with a private do your research, some can be shady and there may be good reason they're offering a bonus or offering a slot with barely any face time. I had one offer me a job after a 10 minute phone screen. 3 minutes of Google turned up 2 pages of hits on the company's settlement for Medicare fraud.

Any volunteer squads in the area?
 
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ChewyEMS13

ChewyEMS13

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I'm not entirely sure if there are any volunteer squads. I'm sure there are, I just don't know about them. How would I find that out?
 

Lo2w

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I'm not entirely sure if there are any volunteer squads. I'm sure there are, I just don't know about them. How would I find that out?

Just Google or ask around. Volunteer fire is more likely but I know of at least one volunteer ems in my area.
 

ParamedicStudent

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Depends how much they need you.

I'm in a system where they are short staffed, more than others. I got a call a day after my app.
One company, I got an interview the same day I put in my app
 
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