Frustrated New grad!!!!!!!

Nurses New Nurse

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I am a new grad and it has been a year since I graduated and I can't get a job. I feel so discouraged because I love nursing and I wanted to be a nurse for a long time. I thought going to nursing school was the hardest part but finding a job is the hardest things in school they tell you nursing is in demand and finding a job won't be that hard were they wrong or what. I just don't want to give up yet but it has been a year since I graduated and I feel like I forgot everything. Now I have decided to go back to school to get my BSN completion maybe this would help. I know a lot of other nurses are feeling the same thing like me and I should be patient but its frustrating and very disappointing spending a lot of money in nursing school and having dreams of staring your career but only to wait a long time for it.

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This scares the heck out of me! What state are you in? Have you considered moving to where they hire new grads? I think in this economy, you might need to go where the jobs are, at least for a year or two until you get some experience. Have you tried Long Term Care places or just hospitals? In my state, new nurses do not get hires, so I am looking to relocate after graduation.

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Hello! I was just wonderin what course have u taken? what is ADN am i right? this is both nursing I understand. I read somewhere a program called nurse preceptor prog. or RN Residency prog. is it the same and is it an edge to be an NCLEX passer and a BLS/ ACLS trained applicant. Please enlighten me. Thank you so much. God Bless

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ADN is associate degree in nursing it’s a two year degree and not a four year. I am still an RN but I just have a diploma and not a BSN you could always go to school and complete your degree. I am going back to school this fall to complete my degree.

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Im am right there with you! it has been a pretty much a year for me and I get more rejection letters then anything. I would feel better If I could just get one interview. it like you can't even get a chance! Soon I will have to give up and work somewhere else because the gov isn't gonna wait for me to pay my student loans, nor is the bank!

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I am here with you as well. It is has been six months since I graduated. All hospitals in my area state they are not hiring new grads. I feel like I have an expiration date and when it's been a year I will be more undesirable to hire than those that are just graduating. I too am looking to pursue my BSN so I can atleast have a more recent graduation date. I cannot move as my husband has a job here. I have entertained the idea of commuting to cities 2 hours or more away and even possibly other states but with two kids the scheduling would have to be very flexible and what would I do about being on call? So, here I sit just waiting for things that are out of my control to improve and hope the hospitals will start hiring again.

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I totally feel your pain! I graduated August last year with a Bachelor's Degree but didnt take my NCLEX until october.. partly due to being so nervous and scared of failing. After feeling like an absolute failure for two days while waiting for the result and realizing i passed, i was on top of the world. I figured finding a Job couldn't possibly be as bad as people had been saying. IT WAS! I applied to EVERY hospital i knew existed in my area (I live in Massachusetts and there are alot of major hospitals here). I also applied to nursing homes and was told i needed at least a year experience. I was shocked.. i didn't think passing out meds to a bunch of elderly folks needed a year to master. I had NO call for an interview. I was borderline depressed! I got my break however when i went to a sub-acute/rehab hospital and asked to personally speak to the DON. I was asked if i have an appointment and said yes 'coz that was the only way i knew i could talk to her. When i got in her office, she looked at me wondering who the hell i was and who died and borrowed me big enough balls to walk in her office without prior invitation. I then sat down and just spoke to her on a woman-woman level. I told her i knew she was about to give me the "we dont hire new grads" bullshyt but that she should have pity and give me a chance- Apparently, this impressed her and she figured i could be a valaubale asset to the company. I was bold, confident which she liked. I was hired on the spot- no interviews, cori check.. nothing. After looking for a job for over 2 months, i finally found one! It wasnt easy but just keep persevering. Do NOT give up. Once u get a job and start working, you are NO longer a new grad. Opportunities open up. Please don't give up.. you WILL find a Job. Keep praying and searching. God's time is the best. Remember, everything happens for a reason.. keep at it. you'll find one. Hit me up if you need someone to talk to..

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I totally feel your pain! I graduated August last year with a Bachelor's Degree but didnt take my NCLEX until october.. partly due to being so nervous and scared of failing. After feeling like an absolute failure for two days while waiting for the result and realizing i passed, i was on top of the world. I figured finding a Job couldn't possibly be as bad as people had been saying. IT WAS! I applied to EVERY hospital i knew existed in my area (I live in Massachusetts and there are alot of major hospitals here). I also applied to nursing homes and was told i needed at least a year experience. I was shocked.. i didn't think passing out meds to a bunch of elderly folks needed a year to master. I had NO call for an interview. I was borderline depressed! I got my break however when i went to a sub-acute/rehab hospital and asked to personally speak to the DON. I was asked if i have an appointment and said yes 'coz that was the only way i knew i could talk to her. When i got in her office, she looked at me wondering who the hell i was and who died and borrowed me big enough balls to walk in her office without prior invitation. I then sat down and just spoke to her on a woman-woman level. I told her i knew she was about to give me the "we dont hire new grads" bullshyt but that she should have pity and give me a chance- Apparently, this impressed her and she figured i could be a valaubale asset to the company. I was bold, confident which she liked. I was hired on the spot- no interviews, cori check.. nothing. After looking for a job for over 2 months, i finally found one! It wasnt easy but just keep persevering. Do NOT give up. Once u get a job and start working, you are NO longer a new grad. Opportunities open up. Please don't give up.. you WILL find a Job. Keep praying and searching. God's time is the best. Remember, everything happens for a reason.. keep at it. you'll find one. Hit me up if you need someone to talk to..

wow :eek: I need to do that lol!!! Thank you so much for sharing those encouraging words!

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big kuddos to the last post for finding a job!

i'm a new grad here with a bachelors degree and I find it very difficult also. I've only seen a couple hospital who did prefer BSN vs associate, but overall, i was treated the same as any new grad. no experience? no job. being bold is the key.. internet apps are a waste of time..

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Specializes in NICU.

All of the postings areound here say 'BSN preferred'. I have one, it's gotten me NO WHERE. With no experience, recruiters don't care what degree you have.

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Wow! I'm about to graduate this May and I know jobs are very hard to come by. I've been hearing about the horror stories for a while... what states are you all in? Can you relocate/ Are you looking nationwide? I know the tri-state area (Esp. NJ) is not hiring new grads unless you were signed with them for their program and even that doesn't guarntee you a job. Also heard somethin about UMDNJ asking new grads TO PAY for positions (b/c it takes a lot of money to train us apparently and most new grads leave after acquiring a year or 2 of experience) which I think is absolutely ridiculous....I'm just gettin nervous as the big day comes closer!!!

Good luck to everyone! :up:And I hope luck turns around for all of us!! Will say a prayer tonight for us all!! :)

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Specializes in NICU.

My husband has an awesome job here, so relocation isn't a possibility. I'm in Connecticut. I just moved here, (went to school 800 miles away), so not only am I a new grad, but it's also really hard to network because I know zero people here. It's frustrating, because when we were being wined and dined to come out here two years ago, the economy in CT hadn't tanked yet, so there were literally recruiters chasing me around a room giving me their cards, and promising jobs once I graduated. This was a great situation at the time, because the economy had already tanked in MI, due to the decline of the auto industry, and hospitals were already tightening up their hiring. So at the time it was a great move. Now.....well, I'm glad at least that we can live off from my husbands salary, because those very same recruiters won't give me the time of day.

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