How to get a job at American Red Cross.

Do you work at American Red Cross? How did you find the job? How did you get that first interview?

Any advice for someone trying to get in?

No Ive never worked at red cross but would love to

I have applied for several positions and have never received a reply or email acknowledgment of my submission. In my case, I have over 18 years of IT experience with 8 years of management and senior management level experience and have received zero responses.

I have heard through my network that the most of the positions posted on the job boards are done to comply with EOC regulations. The majority of the senior level IT positions are given to friends and colleagues of the most senior levels of the organization. If true, it is truly sad.

Host said: Do you work at American Red Cross? How did you find the job? How did you get that first interview?

Any advice for someone trying to get in?

All I did was look up their website and e-mailed the HR person at the regional office in Cleveland,near me. I have had horrendously bad luck in finding a phlebotomist position and she sounded like she was actually willing to give me a chance-and then I found out that for some reason,the Cleveland base expects you to travel,by yourself,to the 19 counties they serve. I just can't figure that out. Don't these counties have their own blood drawers? How are you supposed to be at a blood drive early in the morning if you have to drive over several counties?
I would think all blood collection sites have approval unless you are talking about yourself. If you are certified then you shouldn't have any trouble getting in (famous last words).

I have submitted several applications for positions I qualified for- and nothing. It's helpful to know it's not just me.
thx

I was highly qualified for a position I recently applied for and didn't hear anything from them. It was a Communications and PR specialist position. I have a BA and MA in communication/PR and worked in comm./pr for over 7 years at a similar national/regional non-profit. Never even received a rejection letter.

good luck. maybe they only hire from within

Thanks. you are well qualified- better than me- so I feel a little less bad. thank you.
good luck.
try AARP

I am currently temping at the Red Cross throiugh an employment agency called Professionals for Nonprofit Staffing. Their phone number is 202-719-9600.

The folks at Red Cross are nice, but from what I hear you may have to temp for a very long time before getting hired.

One gentleman I talked to here temped 1.5 years before getting hired. If you don't need benefits, I'd say that PNP is the best way to get in.

I worked at the Red Cross NTL/Blood Region Center as a Team Leader in their Telerecruitment in St. Louis, MO 2005-2006. I went to a job fair to follow up with an application I had placed online for a position at Disaster Services (that was higher paying) and the recruiter there told me that that position had been filled (even though it had just been posted that day) tried to shoe-horn me into a part-time Telerecruiter job (mind you, I am a college grad with several years of experience and they were pushing me to be what amounted a $9/hr telemarketer). I was between jobs at the time, so I thought that I should go ahead for the interview. I arrived for the interview and I was kept waiting. I asked the security guard at the front desk to try the person I was waiting for again, but there was no answer. It took the guard going up to HR to finally get someone to see me, just to tell me that the person who was supposed to interview me was not there. We rescheduled. I came in again for an interview and the person was not there again. I called to see what was going on, and left several voicemails to the HR recruiter. After two weeks of waiting, he finally calls back. He had been out on vacation (he neglected to put an 'out of the office' message on his voicemail). We rescheduled again and (since he probably felt bad) offered me an interview for a Team Leader job that paid a lot more. They had lost my application, so I had to fill out another in the lobby while I waited. I interviewed and got hired on the spot. I found out quickly that that particular center and that particular department are not very professional, the manager at the time was one of the types who wanted all the 'glory' but none of the 'blame' and he liked to chastise his team leads for things that were out of their control. He ended up getting in trouble with HR because he had Team Leads doing Manager functions. It was a big mess. The other divisions may be fine to work in, but that was my experience

I have worked at the American Red Cross HQ in downtown Washington for many years. I had no idea how many people wanted to work here! Folks, it's just a regular job, with good points and bad. I can only speak about jobs at HQ in Washington, but I can say that with the advest of the internet they are now inundated with resumes and must use some sort of scanning device to search for keywords.

Also, they do not just hire from within, we all came from outside at one point or another. But there are a LOT of layoffs at ARC -- I've been laid off twice. The pay for the Wash. area is not so bad bt remember it's a non-profit organization, not a for-profit one. If you want a huge salary, go to law school. I also disagree with a previous poster who said that all sr. management is composed of cronies of staff. Not so! We all have to go theough the same application process, even if you're applying to be the VP of IT.

Best advice -- keep trying. HR, like many organization,s has been laid off and outsourced like crazy.

Thank you! You sound like a very nice person!

NONE AT THIS TIME.

I would suggest against working for the ARC North Central Blood Division. I'm not stating this as a "disgruntled" employee, but as a reasonable person who has experience with good companies. The benefits (med/dent) are very good...in fact some of the best I've ever seen. Problems here are MAJOR and as follows: - No real employee recognition. Very poor and mostly absent ability to reward or motivate employees. - Very poorly managed. If you're a bottom ladder employee, often you will take orders from 3+ confused individuals at the same time, all who have different ideas on how to perform a technique or do a job. - Terrible communication and progress. If you want something done or an answer to a question, it must go through many, many channels before it can be approved. - Substandard pay. Phlebotomy pays quite well compared to other related fields, but don't expect to retire on it. Management pay is generally lower than comparable jobs. If you are in nursing (LPN/RN), you will make anywhere from 40% to 70% less than your career field demands. Management is also below comparitive markets. - The Corporate Effect. The North Central Divison is currently going through a terrible trend. In the past, employees were far more appreciated (emotionally) and less financially. Now what I call the "corporate effect" has taken hold. This means the company pays another business entity to handle "life issues" (help, life lines, 1-800 #'s) and tries to be market savvy. In doing this, they demand more work in less time, appreciate their employees less, adjust salaries in all areas (good and bad), repremand staff without looking at the heart and humanity, and become a huge cog of robotic effeciency. It is rapidly becoming an emotionless, boring job. Consensus here agrees. There is no fun. It is HIGHLY stressful. Each division is vastly different. Talk with honest staff "behind the scenes" before you make your decision.

I am an LPN and have not worked in 4 years. I have been/am on disability for chronic auto-immune illness. My illness has been stablized with meds. I have not been hospitalized for two years. So, I am looking to get back into nursing while my health is in remission mode. My background is mainly of behavioral health. My experience consists of working inpatient drug rehab, and in psychiatric facility. While working at psych hospital, I have worked with children, adolscent's, adults, and geriatric pts.
I have only been an LPN since 1997. I do have an active license to practice in my home state. I am currently taking courses through Western schools online for CEUs, although not required for LPNs in state of PA. It is strictly for my own benefit and for review.
I am in OVR program to find job, hopefully in nursing. Also, I have been applied for a few nursing positions, independently. Today, I received a call from my OVR counselor, saying they may have a job for me through American Red Cross. I am sure that I will find out more at the job placement interview. But, I would like a heads-up on what an LPN does, for American Red Cross. I have no phlebotomy skills. Actually, I did learn phlebotomy when I went for Medical Assistant back in 1993. However, at that time, I was petrified to draw blood. I may be willing to learn again. I just doubt that I would be good at it. But, I am very willing to learn, again. Since, being a nurse I feel a little more confident.
So, what are duties of LPN with American Red Cross?

janna57 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania said: I am an LPN and have not worked in 4 years. I have been/am on disability for chronic auto-immune illness. My illness has been stablized with meds. I have not been hospitalized for two years. So, I am looking to get back into nursing while my health is in remission mode. My background is mainly of behavioral health. My experience consists of working inpatient drug rehab, and in psychiatric facility. While working at psych hospital, I have worked with children, adolscent's, adults, and geriatric pts.
I have only been an LPN since 1997. I do have an active license to practice in my home state. I am currently taking courses through Western schools online for CEUs, although not required for LPNs in state of PA. It is strictly for my own benefit and for review.
I am in OVR program to find job, hopefully in nursing. Also, I have been applied for a few nursing positions, independently. Today, I received a call from my OVR counselor, saying they may have a job for me through American Red Cross. I am sure that I will find out more at the job placement interview. But, I would like a heads-up on what an LPN does, for American Red Cross. I have no phlebotomy skills. Actually, I did learn phlebotomy when I went for Medical Assistant back in 1993. However, at that time, I was petrified to draw blood. I may be willing to learn again. I just doubt that I would be good at it. But, I am very willing to learn, again. Since, being a nurse I feel a little more confident.
So, what are duties of LPN with American Red Cross?[/QUOTE

Oops, I hit reply by accident, before I previwed my post. Please forgive typos and grammar mistake I noticed]