New Grad RN -CA Hiring Timeline

U.S.A. California

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I am a May 2018 new graduate RN who is relocating to Los Angeles post graduation. My question is with regard to the typical amount of time it takes CA new graduate RNs to secure employment.

In my home state, the vast majority of new graduates have secured positions prior to graduation. For example, although I am slated to graduate the second week of May and will be licensed soon after that, I was already receiving job offers in February. It seems pretty clear to me that this is not the typical outlook for new graduates in the Los Angeles area, since I am only now beginning to see job postings open to new grads.

My question is this: Realistically, when do most Spring new graduate RNs begin work in Los Angeles/SoCal? I get the impression that most positions do not actually start until August-October, which I assume is due to the lengthy time it takes to complete CA nursing licensure.

*Edited to add: I don't know if this matters, but I'll add that I'm graduating from a dual BSN/MSN program. I don't know if that gives much of a competitive edge in hiring or impacts the timeline.

camilles93

35 Posts

I am relocating from the Las Vegas area to Orange County with my BSN. From my experience so far, I've received calls from recruiters telling me to apply when I have my actual license. I have had other people who graduated before me, tell me the same. Most CA hospitals will not look at you without a license. In regards to these residencies that allow you to apply without... Ive had zero luck. I've received zero calls from CHLA, Rady Children's, UCLA, and I am currently praying I will hear from Loma Linda. CHOC is my next focus. While in nursing school I worked as a Nurse Apprentice for 1.5 years in a very large, dedicated pediatric emergency room and I haven't gotten even a rejection email. Lol. I just never hear back. It sucks. Keep your head up. I've heard of most new grads scoring a spot by September who have graduated in May, and it was not until they received their license.

Specializes in Anesthesia.

First off congratulations on completing a dual BSN/MSN program! That's awesome! Is the MSN portion of your program advanced practice or advanced generalist? Where are you relocating from?

I'm completing my MSN (Master's Entry) program in San Diego this month as well, and I was able to secure a job offer in San Diego in March with a tentative Aug start date. I also received offers out of state as well, where it seems to be a lot easier to secure employment. Several of my classmates have received offers at local hospitals in San Diego and in LA through the formal residency programs (Sharp HealthCare, Scripps, CHLA, Rady Children's, VA, UCSD). The formal residency programs in CA pretty much just want you to be licensed by the program start date. Here's a few in CA that I can think of: UCSF, UCLA, Stanford, Sharp HealthCare, Scripps, UC Davis, Palomar Health, Eisenhower Medical Center, USC, etc.

As camilles93 stated, most other places in California want you to be licensed prior to applying. Probably has to do with how competitive CA is and they don't wanna extend offers just for people to fail their boards and be in a tough situation.

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