New Grad Job Market: A Game of Chance

[sourapril]

It's no longer about whether you qualify for the job or not, or if you have more education and experience than the next person. Nowadays everyone passes NCLEX, everyone graduates with a 4.0, everyone has CNA experience, and yet still many spent months and even years to land that first job out of nursing school.

I don't think nurse managers and hospital administrators actually know the severity of the unhealthy new grad job market because all of them have given me the same suggestions (I only personally know one and other managers are friends of a friend): Get some CNA experience, Apply to new grad programs and Move to a different state. I have already done the first two and I think I may have to do the last one sooner or later.

Just weeks ago, I thought passing the NCLEX was mission impossible because I could not get my Kaplan Q bank score to be over 57%, but in the end, NCLEX seemed to be a piece of cake. Yes, I spent three hours at the test center but I passed on my first try. The thing is I never had PTSD with standardized tests or writing papers no matter how many times I had to do them and how hard they seemed. SAT, piece of cake. GRE, piece of cake, NCLEX, not exactly a piece of cake but maybe a slice of a cake?

However, I was traumatized multiple times when I applied for jobs.

First time was when I graduated from college with a BS in biology. That was in 2006 and no place would hire me. Eventually after 4 months of hopeless searching and going through some really dark period, my dad made some connections and I moved hundreds of miles away to work as a research assistant in a very cold place where the winter was long and harsh.

Second time was when I graduated from grad school with a public health degree. Still, no places seemed to want me so I moved again miles away to take some low-paying job with a well known national nonprofit organization in a hot desert where 100F was accepted as a comfortable and normal temperature. You would think third times a charm, but I was again denied for an entry level position.

Friends, good friends nonetheless I made at school became competitors and strangers, and they didn't give a damn whether I found a job or not. They stopped talking to me or hanging out with me as soon as they found a job. The more sympathetic ones would say, "you will find it" or "it's not just you." Eventually everyone moved on and moved away.

Yesterday, one of the CNAs whom I used to work with connected me with the HR person of a good nursing home. Hopefully I will get an interview and maybe even a job next week. Sometimes I asked myself why I kept going back to school when obviously what employers wanted was experience. Does two college degrees and one master degree means nothing to employers anymore? Is an intelligent person who published 2 papers in well-known scientific journals, who have volunteered for years, who had CNA experience, clinical research experience, and teaching experience not hireable in this market? Then why on earth do schools charge students a fortune to get a piece of paper, and more students want to carry tens and thousands of student debts so that they can put a B.S.N. after their names?

I chose nursing because I genuinely care about people and interested in healing them and helping them resolve whatever issues they got in their lives. Maybe that's no longer a good reason for why you want to become a nurse. Maybe I should erase that from my cover letter (note to self: don't mention you care about people just list your experience and accomplishment). If I was rejected by as many guys as the number of potential employers who rejected me, I would not want to date anyone anymore. I probably would even quit asking guys out after 3 rejections. And yet, here I am, filling out yet another job application, writing another cover letter, to number X employer (I lost counts on how many jobs I applied)...expecting a different result (maybe I will get lucky and get hired this time). Someone smart once said: "insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Maybe I am insane.

P.S. the last quote is from my hero Albert Einstein, who also said, "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." I think I am that fish who tries to climb a tree or pollinate a flower and believe I am not good enough.

[JeanettePNP, MSN, RN, NP]

This was good for you to read. You need to prepare yourself early on. Make friends with people that work where u want to work. Learn about the area you're interested in. Try to be top of your class.

Making friends is good advice. Being in the top of the class, not so much. I feel I invested way too much effort in school on getting top grades and not nearly enough on cultivating relationships and starring in my clinical rotations.

[hardkorthree]

I graduated as one of the top members in my class, mainly because I studied 2-3 times more than anybody else by locking myself in my room. I decided not to get a CNA's license, because a local factory was giving me 72 hours a week during my summer and winter breaks. Now, I can't get any bites as a registered nurse. My parents recommend I go get a Master's degree right now, however I have to believe any kind of experience is needed for now.

[adventure780, BSN, MSN, RN, APN]

nursing homes are always hiring, even if you work per diem or part time someplace it is worth it

[my_purpose]

It's no longer about whether you qualify for the job or not, or if you have more education and experience than the next person. Nowadays everyone passes NCLEX, everyone graduates with a 4.0, everyone has CNA experience, and yet still many spent months and even years to land that first job out of nursing school. I don't think nurse managers and hospital administrators actually know the severity of the unhealthy new grad job market because all of them have given me the same suggestions (I only personally know one and other managers are friends of a friend): Get some CNA experience, Apply to new grad programs and Move to a different state. I have already done the first two and I think I may have to do the last one sooner or later.

Just weeks ago, I thought passing the NCLEX was mission impossible because I could not get my Kaplan Q bank score to be over 57%, but in the end, NCLEX seemed to be a piece of cake. Yes, I spent three hours at the test center but I passed on my first try. The thing is I never had PTSD with standardized tests or writing papers no matter how many times I had to do them and how hard they seemed. SAT, piece of cake. GRE, piece of cake, NCLEX, not exactly a piece of cake but maybe a slice of a cake? However, I was traumatized multiple times when I applied for jobs. First time was when I graduated from college with a BS in biology. That was in 2006 and no place would hire me. Eventually after 4 months of hopeless searching and going through some really dark period, my dad made some connections and I moved hundreds of miles away to work as a research assistant in a very cold place where the winter was long and harsh. Second time was when I graduated from grad school with a public health degree. Still, no places seemed to want me so I moved again miles away to take some low-paying job with a well known national nonprofit organization in a hot desert where 100F was accepted as a comfortable and normal temperature. You would think third times a charm, but I was again denied for an entry level position. Friends, good friends nonetheless I made at school became competitors and strangers, and they didn't give a damn whether I found a job or not. They stopped talking to me or hanging out with me as soon as they found a job. The more sympathetic ones would say, "you will find it" or "it's not just you." Eventually everyone moved on and moved away.

Yesterday, one of the CNAs whom I used to work with connected me with the HR person of a good nursing home. Hopefully I will get an interview and maybe even a job next week. Sometimes I asked myself why I kept going back to school when obviously what employers wanted was experience. Does two college degrees and one master degree means nothing to employers anymore? Is an intelligent person who published 2 papers in well-known scientific journals, who have volunteered for years, who had CNA experience, clinical research experience, and teaching experience not hireable in this market? Then why on earth do schools charge students a fortune to get a piece of paper, and more students want to carry tens and thousands of student debts so that they can put a B.S.N. after their names?

I chose nursing because I genuinely care about people and interested in healing them and helping them resolve whatever issues they got in their lives. Maybe that's no longer a good reason for why you want to become a nurse. Maybe I should erase that from my cover letter (note to self: don't mention you care about people just list your experience and accomplishment). If I was rejected by as many guys as the number of potential employers who rejected me, I would not want to date anyone anymore. I probably would even quit asking guys out after 3 rejections. And yet, here I am, filling out yet another job application, writing another cover letter, to number X employer (I lost counts on how many jobs I applied)...expecting a different result (maybe I will get lucky and get hired this time). Someone smart once said: "insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Maybe I am insane.

P.S. the last quote is from my hero Albert Einstein, who also said, "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." I think I am that fish who tries to climb a tree or pollinate a flower and believe I am not good enough.

How funny. I immediately connected with this article when I read it, but the clincher was the Einstein quote. One of my favorites, lol. In nursing it's not about what you know (i.e. great GPAs) but it's about who you know!

[NextGen]

Getting your first nursing job is tough because there are so many new grads out there and more graduating every day. BUT getting your first job in any field has not changed in decades. Yes, you have to have the education that is appropriate for that job. For nurses, you need to pass the NCLEX. More and more hospitals are requiring BSNs for their new grads. Again, this should not be a surprise to anyone. If it is, you are not paying attention to the job market.

Next, what makes you special? Did you work as a CNA or BO while in nursing school? Did you volunteer at a hospital for any length of time? When you did either of those, did you bust your butt to get noticed or sit around texting on your cell phone? If you worked your butt off at those jobs and the nurses knew you were going to nursing school, then they would have offered to give you references.

Before starting nursing school, I set up an informational interview with a nursing recruiter at the hospital I wanted to work at. Besides reviewing my resume, she gave me this advice:

1) Get on payroll - even if its a PRN job as a BO.

2) Volunteer 3 hours a week - if you work your butt off for free, the nurse manager knows you will work your butt off when you get paid.

3) Every minute you are at the hospital is an opportunity to prove what your work ethic is - don't waste a single minute gossiping with the employees or texting. If you show that you want to take care of patients, nurses will be knocking on my door when you graduate telling me that I have to hire you.

The nursing recruiter was right. I did all three of the above, passed the NCLEX on a Tuesday and was hired one week later.

[Hockey Lover]

I would look into an ADN instead of a BSN...Gwinnett Tech in Ga has a program that is well known by hospital HRs because the students are ready to work. We get abundant clinical experience, and often first calls by hospitals for nurse extern programs during the summer, which leads to a job!

With your other degrees, why spend the money for a BSN? You get the experience, then transition later when the hospital will cover the cost...

[thenursemandy]

I know of several nurses that got nurse tech positions and later hired on as rns because they were top of their class. They stood out as ambitious, smart and eager to learn. Good grades aren't enough. YOU HAVE TO TAKE INITIATIVE and promote yourself to prospective employers and people with authority. It wont be handed to you because you made good grades.

[CacaoHeart]

If I understand you correctly, it seems that while you realize that experience is what counts, each time you've started to gain experience after finishing a degree you've then switched careers so that you have to go through the initial hurdles all over again.

From what I've seen so far, it's not simply CNA experience that counts, it's working at a place where management will like you and then offer you a position as an RN when you graduate. All the people I know of that just graduated from my school and left with job offers already secured received their offers from their current employers. Not all students can maintain a full time cna job all the way through nursing school, but holding a PRN position at at least one hospital and building a relationship with management could go a long way.

[Bel84]

It has been almost two years since I've graduated from nursing school and still have not landed a job in a acute care setting. I have applied everywhere in the state of Florida. I've couple people coach me on my résumé and cover letter and still nothing. I've gotten few phone interviews but never a face-to-face interview. I've been depress, sad, angry all at once and especially confused. I've tried going to the hospitals meeting with the nurse recruiter, I've even went ahead and met with the nurse managers on the floor and still nothing. I don't know what else to do. With my financial situation at a stand still it will be difficult to move out of state. Any suggestions anyone

[NextGen]

What have you been doing during those 2 years? Have you volunteered at a hospital every week to get your foot in the door and get references? Have you applied for CNA jobs at hospitals to get on payroll and get some references? Do you have the appropriate degree from a valid nursing school for the hospitals you are applying to? Have you looked at the VA? Have you tried home health care or LTC? Again, what have you been doing during the past 2 years to improve your chances of getting hire?

[Jmira.BSN.RN]

I just very recently graduated nursing school and am currently waiting for my ATE for NCLEXRN. I've been peeking around job postings but most in my area require an active license to apply. What suggestions, if any, do you guys have that I should do until my license is active and can find a job. Volunteering is something that crossed my mind

[CacaoHeart]

You say you have not landed a job in an acute care setting, what about other settings, such as home health or retirement centers?