For those that got hired in new grad programs...

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Jun 27, 2012

:hug: the market is tough everywhere and you are not alone. i have posed several articles multiple times to let others know you are not alone.

check out the nursing career forum for tips and hints....https://allnurses.com/nursing-career-advice/

there is no nursing shortage. right now......there are multiple applicants for every position and many hospitals have hiring freezes. it is however, highly variant and a willingness to re-locate will help.
has the nursing shortage disappeared?
it's that time of year again. graduating nursing students are preparing to take the nclex and are looking for their first jobs. this year, many are finding those first jobs in short supply.
reports are rampant of new graduates being unable to find open positions in their specialty of choice, and even more shockingly, many are finding it tough to find any openings at all.
these new rns entered school with the promise that nursing is a recession-proof career. they were told the nursing shortage would guarantee them employment whenever and wherever they wanted.
so what happened? has the nursing shortage—that we've heard about incessantly for years—suddenly gone away?
the short term answer is clearly yes, although in the long term, unfortunately, the shortage will still be there. the recession has brought a temporary reprieve to the shortage. nurses who were close to retirement have seen their 401(k) portfolios plummet and their potential retirement income decline. they are postponing retirement a few more years until the economy—and their portfolios—pick up.
many nurses have seen their spouses and partners lose their jobs and have increased their hours to make ends meet for their families. some who left the profession to care for children or for other reasons have rejoined the workforce for similar reasons.
in addition, many hospitals are not hiring. the recession brought hiring freezes to healthcare facilities across the country, and many are still in effect. help wanted ads for healthcare professionals dropped by 18,400 listings in july, even as the overall economy saw a modest increase of 139,200 in online job listings.
for the rest of the article http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/co...sappeared.html
nurses are talking about: jobs for new grads
the big lie?
without a doubt, the main source of frustration experienced by recently graduated and licensed but still unemployed nurses is what could be called "the big lie."in other words, the television commercials that encourage young people to become nurses -- and then abandon them for months (or years) without employment; and the educators who tell them that the associate's degree is perfectly adequate to guarantee employment, that they will have their pick of jobs when they graduate, and that there is plenty of time to get a bsn later on. who knows whether it is greed, ignorance, or wishful thinking that underlies the fairy tales told to nursing students about their future job prospects? whatever the motivation, the disillusionment of our new grads is palpable. the jobs they expected after all of their hard work just haven't materialized, and some grads are getting pretty desperate.
medscape: medscape access
for the rest of the article you need to register for medscape but it is free and is a great resource and source of information
be a nurse...if you can
not too long ago, the threat of a growing nursing shortage prompted thousands of prospective students to choose nursing as a career, and nursing schools rapidly filled to capacity. nursing was frequently referred to as a "recession-proof" career, and the outlook for finding a job after graduation was rosy.
experience and employment: the vicious cycle

now, the bloom, as they say, is off the rose. it seems that many of our new grads are stuck in that perennial dilemma: they can't get a job without experience, and they can't get experience without a job. this situation was not anticipated by thousands of nursing students who were told, often repeatedly, that a global nursing shortage practically guaranteed employment for them.
consider, for example, the situation faced by new graduates in california. a survey of hospitals by the california institute for nursing & health care found that as many as 40% of new graduates may not be able to find jobs in california hospitals, because only 65% of the state's potential employers were hiring new graduates and generally planned to hire fewer new graduates than in previous years. overwhelming numbers of new graduates submitted applications for the few available positions for new graduates. it wasn't that the hospitals weren't hiring at all, but that they wanted nurses with experience.

what happened to the jobs?

most experts blame the crumbling economy for ruining the job prospects of new graduate nurses around the country, but as usual these days, the truth is more complex.
uneven distribution. the demand for nurses was supposed to exceed the supply by the year 2010.the question of whether we truly have a nursing shortage right now is a fair one. the answer, it seems, is "it depends." apparently, it depends on where you live and where you are willing to work. neither the distribution or supply of nurses, or the demand, is uniform. some geographic (mostly rural) areas have a shortage of nurses, whereas some urban locations are witnessing an oversupply of nurses. new graduates seeking jobs in these regions will face a very competitive job market.
economic recession. the shrinking job pool is widely believed to be a consequence of the declining us economy. temporarily at least, economic pressures and job losses in all industries have induced thousands of experienced but aging nurses to forego retirement and even increase their working hours to support their families.
medscape: medscape access again requires registration but it is free no strings...

bluechick112 · Jun 27, 2012

Hi nurs1ng,

I was hired in to a new grad program in the bay area a couple months after graduating nursing school. I didn't have the most outstanding GPA (I think somewhere between a 3.75-3.80), and I wasn't licensed at the time of application or interview yet either.

I think there are a few things that helped my application get through:

1) I reorganized my resume and formatted it differently from the typical formatting that everyone else uses.

2) I had an internship as well as worked in a hospital as a tech for 3 years, so I really highlighted that on my resume as well as my volunteer work

3) I really took time answering essay questions and taking the 100 question survey during the application. I put careful consideration in to everything I submitted.

4) I personalized every cover letter to the position I was applying for and really researched the organization and their mission statement and incorporated that into my application.

Present yourself with confidence once you get that interview, and take time in practicing your interview answers so you feel more comfortable with stories you can provide.

It is a tough, tough world out there right now, so sadly out-of-state opportunities may be something to look in to (although even that is difficult at this time). Best of luck! Try and keep positive.

StarryEyed, RN · Jun 28, 2012

Just 1-2 months??? I had an agonizing 11 month wait until I started my first full time RN position. Don't give up!!! Take another job while you're still applying. ANYTHING!! You said you have family to support, and for yourself you just can't give up in 1-2 months. I got two full time offers at the same time, I would say the following is what helped me stand out for the new grad program:

2 months of giving Flu & PNA vaccines, it was a paid RN position

2 months of per diem RN position with a blood bank

couple weeks of volunteer RN position at a hospital (basically shadowed RN's and helped CNA's)

I also had my BLS, ACLS, and PALS

Then a couple things that my application (not resume) had that not most have was:

a year of living abroad

accelerated 2nd degree BSN

almost trilingual (2 fluent, 1 conversational)

I basically showed and told them (in the interview) that those 11 months were not wasted and I wasn't spending my time only sending applications expecting results. I explained every single gap in school or employment. I ended up at a place a absolutely love so i wouldn't take back those 11 months for anything if it meant I'd end up somewhere else. In fact, if I had known it would've taken so long I would've travelled with my left over loan monies.

sd-ace · Jun 28, 2012

Totally agree with the above. Take any type of nursing job that you can in the meanwhile. I worked part time for a physician's office doing shots, appts, checking patients in, etc. I volunteered at my current hospital for 6 months and networked my butt off. Nursing is also my second career with two BS degrees, so it helped to have professionalism and assertiveness on my side. My hiring manager told me that my previous experience was what landed me the position as well as my professionalism. The hospital is into hiring new grads who can be assertive and know how to talk with physicians (stand their ground, advocate for pts) as well as handle the workload working with people from all walks of life.

It also took me nearly a year to find my new grad position (hundereds of applications, 6 new grad interviews). I also walked my resume into hiring managers offices and was able to get meetings through friends who already were working. By the way, working for an institution as a tech or assisstant before getting hired is the way to go in my opinion. Most of my friends from school found their jobs this way.

Get as many certs as you can without overdoing it. I had my BLS and ACLS. I've been told by friends that it's not a good idea to apply for a med-surg position with PALS and NRP on your resume because it shows that you are interested in peds and not entirely focused, but if you are applying for an ER position then it's fine. Show your cofidence without being too overconfident. I too found the job that was meant for me (or it found me). Good luck in your search!