New graduate moving to colorado please help!

U.S.A. Colorado

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Hello all!

I am looking for some help and guidance from those who know about the RN job market in Colorado! I am a soon to be graduate from New York University! I have high expectations and aspirations for my career. I have heard that the job market is not promise out in Colorado and I would like any advice / help / information about what the job market is like for newly graduated RNs. I have grown up in NY my whole life, and I am very much looking forward to this exciting change of scenery. My boyfriend will be going to graduate school, so we are planning on moving at the end of July/beginning of august. I have done very well in my nursing program and although the job market is not great in NYC, but I would undoubtedly be able to get a job here.....and I would be nervous if this is not the case in CO.

We would be living in the Golden area, but I would be willing to travel to Denver, Fort Collins, Boulder, Colorado Springs, and any other area which is an hour / hour and half away. Please let me know ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING you know about RN jobs here, along with any advise you have! I want to move very badly but I need to make smart decisions and make sure there is a job market out there for me, I give myself until the end of September to land a job because my loan repayments start in November. Thank you SO SO SO much!

I'm sorry, but I have to disagree. I graduated from University of Colorado in December and everyone I've kept in touch with who graduated with me has found a job. Don't just apply for "new graduate" positions. Go speak with managers in person. Bring your resume. Sell yourself. Don't fill out hundreds of mindless applications that are just going to get rejected by HR and never be seen by managers. If you TRY to get a job, you will. Trust me, they're out there.

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ColoradoRN-

Thank you so much for your optimism, I was really starting to get upset. I plan to do all of that and more, trust me being in NYC I know that just filling out online applications will do absolutely nothing! I will absolutely do all that you have said! Thank you so much for the advice! I wish I could get some more information out of you via message but I can't PM haha. Congratulations on graduating and getting a job! :-)

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Specializes in Psych.

I graduated in December and about 1/3 of my class is still unemployed. I'm a firm believer that I can learn useful skills from any position, so I would highly recommend casting your net as wide as possible (aka psych and LTC). There are hospitals about 3 hours south of Denver that welcome new grads, so you might consider doing one of their programs for a year or so, then transitioning back to Golden.

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.

Maybe it's just me. Maybe having a husband and children and a mortgage colors my perception. If you aren't depending on your income to live and pay bills, then by all means, go for it. But if you are depending on the job you find in order to live, i think it would be really foolish and risky to make a move as a new grad to an area that's notorious for having way more new grads than jobs unless you already have a job lined up.

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I'm sorry, but I have to disagree. I graduated from University of Colorado in December and everyone I've kept in touch with who graduated with me has found a job. Don't just apply for "new graduate" positions. Go speak with managers in person. Bring your resume. Sell yourself. Don't fill out hundreds of mindless applications that are just going to get rejected by HR and never be seen by managers. If you TRY to get a job, you will. Trust me, they're out there.

ColoradoNurseRN - Thanks for your response. I'm supposed to start at CU in June and am on the verge of turning down my spot in part because all of all of the horror stories I've heard about the job market. Yours is one of the few optimistic stories.

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but can you tell me a little bit more about the jobs you and your classmates have found? How long did it take for most people? What are the places that hired people?

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Specializes in ICU + Infection Prevention.

Keep in mind that ColoradoNurseRN attended UCSHS which (along with Regis) supposedly creates the most desirable new grads in the area which, thus better chances of getting hired.

OP consider that you have no working relationships with any of these hospitals nor any insider contacts, while local new grads "know people" from living in CO and rotating to these hospitals during school. I'm not saying you therefor are SOL, but it will be a handicap.

Also, consider how long your boyfriends grad school lasts and whether he'll be staying in CO after. A lot of these nursing residency and new grad programs are requiring a 2-3 year work commitment on top of the 6-12mo ng program and leaving early can be tens of thousands of $ in penalties.

Also note that this claim about experienced St. Anthony's Central (SAC) nurses leaving due to the move will be matched by nurses from other facilities wanting to switch to SAC when became closer to them.

A quick check of the SAC job site shows that there is no exodus and SAC is hardly hiring any nurses at all and half of those jobs are supervisory, the other half are 1-2 year experience minimum.

I recently spoke with a SAC nurse recruiter who said that no new grads are being hired right now due to the amount of experienced candidates and when they are eventually, no new grads will go to ICU without first doing at least a year of Med Surg.

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Here are just a few example of new grads that I know and their job situations. I did not get my job through any connection, I didn't know anyone at the hospital and I did not do a rotation their either. It also was not a new grad position, the job posting asked for a nurse with experience. I went to hospitals, met managers and handed out my resume. I had 3 interviews and 2 job offers, none from anyone I had any connection with. Some people I know got jobs through knowing people, from senior practicums or internships, etc. but also many people got jobs on their own merit. You can't just apply for new grad positions. For example, even though SAC says they do not hire new grads (or are not right now), this IS NOT TRUE. I know one new grad who went to SAC and handed out resumes (like myself) and was offered a job on the telemetry floor. This was not a new grad position and the job description asked for 1-2 years experience. This individual did not take this job because they took a job in the ED at Porter instead. This person also did not know anyone in the ED at Porter and had no prior work experience. Another person I know handed out resumes at St. Joe's and got offered 3 interviews and 2 jobs. These were also not new grad positions. She also did not know anyone at this hospital. I think that many people just aren't willing to put in the legwork required. Just my two cents.

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I would also like to say that just checking job posting isn't enough. The unit where I was hired didn't even have opening when I first met the manager, but she called me two weeks later with openings. Online searching isn't going to get you anywhere. Furthermore, a lot of hospitals like to hire out of state nurses, and just going to CU or Regis isn't a deciding factor. It sounds like the OP went to a good program and has good grades. A hospital wouldn't simply hire a CU grad over her "just because".

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Specializes in LTC, Psych, M/S.

I have 2 friends who recently graduated from FRCC ADN program in Fort collins.

one worked thru a staffing agency as a CNA and was placed at the VA (in Denver) for several months. She said upon graduation she networked heavily and went to talk to the nurse managers, ect. Some of the unit nurses even went and recommended her to the mgr. The response was 'sorry, no new grads.' She did get an interview at NCMC. The mgr called her and told her that she would have loved to hire her and she did an excellent job with the interview but she had to hire an experienced RN, but to continue applying and that she could use her as a reference. She ended up getting a part time job working night shift at a LTC and another part time job with a home health company caring for a pediatric patient who needs constant nsg care. She graduated last May. I asked her about the rest of her class and she said the only ones she knew of who got acute care jobs were a couple guys who relocated to the midwest.

My other friend graduated just last semester and works as a unit assistant at PVH. She said the unit mgr told her she really wanted to hire her as a RN but there were no openings currently so she is still working as a tech waiting for an opening as well as at a LTC, also on night shift.

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So if I am not currently in Denver (but would like to move there) how do you suggest I go about contacting nurse managers and "putting myself out there"? I have done all the 'mindless online application' processes, and now I'm ready to bombard nurse recruiters/managers, and make them believe that they can't live without me working for them!

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I personally think you have to make a trip out here and go meet with them in person. I also tried calling and emailing nurse managers individually, but no one ever got back to me. Going through recruiters and HR is useless, you have to speak with the managers directly. And in person. Just my opinion.

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Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.

That's funny, the last check in we had was that majority of the students that graduated last semester (they were a semester ahead of us) majority of them have jobs. They update the director and staff when they pass boards and find jobs. One of the girls worked as an Aide at PVH and now she is a RN there. 10 people in my class are on contracts and interviewing now for positions. 6 UNC students are on contracts also. But they are don't with the contracts. My semester was the last. They said it might take a few months to find jobs, but there ARE jobs out there. Just might have to adjust your list of wills and wont's and network and nail one of them. PVH just had a New Grad job posted that wasn't par of the contract students and they had 3 for the internal postings.

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