new grad nurse job

U.S.A. California

Published

i graduated on May 2008, but due to family emergencies, i had to delay boards for a few months. I finally passed my boards and when i applied for job, it seems like there are no facility who's willing to hire me especially because of my zero experiences. I need advices on what to do. it doesn't make any sense because i thought we still have nurses shortage but it so hard to find a job.

Sorry to have to say it, but there is no shortage in CA at this time. The state actually received funding a few years ago to increase the number of nurses that graduate to cover the baby-boomers that were soon to retire. But with the economy becoming what it is, nurses are not retiring, and are actually picking up second jobs or more hours at work.

New grad programs that were starting this month have also been cancelled at the last minute by some facilities.

Next new grad programs are not going to be until July/August at the earliest in hospitals. They are also receiving about two to three hundred applicants for about 20 positions. And many times, even though a position is posted by HR, the manager has already selected someone that has rotated thru that unit or did a nurse externship at the facility.

You are either going to need to go the route of long term care or look at going out of state. There are many new grads that are not able to find work at present. If you can go out of state, both Iowa and Wisconsin are actively recruiting and they are taking new grads there.

Best of luck to you.

hi suzanne4,

thank you for sharing all your knowledge with us. i have some questions. as a nursing student who has just started clinical rotations, is it best to try to do most of my clinicals at the same hospital to built professional relationships with the nurses? will doing so increase my chances of being hired by the hospital after graduation? also, what is the process that student nurses have to follow in order to be hired as a nursing assistant? i hear that many hospitals in the bay area have stopped hiring student nurses or CNAs. i wish professors would at least discuss the current nursing saturation in the bay area because a lot of us have no idea just how difficult it will be to land a job.

Network is the key here. Try to develop relationships at the hospitals where you do clinicals, talk to the managers, aply for CNA jobs after finishing your med-surg rotation and even there are no jobs, eventualy something will come up. Try to have a goal and stay focused on it. If you manage to land a CNA job, your chances to get hired as a nurse later are significantly higher but you need to be very proactive in this environment. It took me almost 6 months to get hired as a CNA back in November. Good luck, keep your spirits up and make sure you get the best grades you can get so it will put you at the top of the list for a new grad program.

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