Cant find a job in almost 6 months. Thats ridiculous!

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Hello from a very frustrated and depressed Israeli RN.

It's been almost 6 months since i started looking for a job and i still dont have any. I have applied to a numerous hospitals for so many positions and no one calls me back.

I graduated from college cum laude, i passed my NCLEX-RN from the very first attempt, i am very motivated and eager to work. The only problematic thing is that i dont have much of experience(6-8 months pure experience).

But then again, i apply only for those positions that do not require experience at all, like positions for new grads or for positions that require only limited experience. And still i do not get any calls back. In close to 6 months i had only 2 interviews, THATS IT! What is wrong with me besides the fact that i am not a very experienced nurse? But I solved it by applying for specific positions that would accept even a new grad. How come they reject me and immediately decide they dont want me if they dont even know me and I answer their criteria? What i learned that hospitals hire their new grads, who studied in the nursing school, affiliated to their hospital. While being a student, during hospital training and practice or part time work, students book in advance their places in the hospital and go to work there as soon as they pass their NCLEX. So the ONLY people with no experience that the hospital will accept-is its own students. Is it fair to other nurses? I dont think so. Sort of discrimination isnt it? So i am neither their new grad, nor a very exprienced nurse. Where do i come in the picture? Nowhere, right? So S***w me and dont hire me.

Its ridiculous and sad that in almost 6 months i applied for about 30 different positoins and i do not get ANY CALLS BACK WHATSOEVER. Is it normal?

Ok, one last thing to ask-there are companies that provide employment to nurses and other medical professions-like"Nursing stuffing" whatever.

Its not travel nursing but if you agree they send to to different hospital every shift within the city or state. You're being like a substitute nurse for a specific shift in a specific hospital. The company however offers you a benefits.

I dont know whether its worth working like that but what to do if every hospital doesnt want me for a reason i dont know about.

Thanks for the attention

P.S. I live in Conway, Arkansas, and i applied to all the hospitals in Little Rock, not just my 1 local hospital.

Also i didnt come to the U.S. with employment visa, but with K-3 visa(my husband is U.S citizen and i will be getting my green card soon)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Try travel nursing or agency nursing. I attended an LPN/PVN program in Arkansas but left (went back to my hometown of Chicago and found just tons of work)...the experiance you will get from agency...give it a try...:twocents::nurse:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

If you haven't already done so I suggest checking out the Nursing Career Advice forum. There is a lot of good information on polishing your resume, cover letters and interviewing.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Do you have a heavy israeli accent? I ask because I wonder if that might be construed as a potential issue in employment. Not that I think it's a justification for not hiring you, but considering where you live I wonder if that is a factor. I live in the deep south (originally from the N.W.) and the bias that runs rampant is disturbing. Not that it's not a problem everywhere, but it's a bit more prevelant here in my opinion. When I was reading your post it just occured to me that perhaps your nationality might be a factor.

In any case, I hope you find work soon.

Adri:icon_hug:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

:nurse: :nurse: :nurse: :nurse:

Agency nursing will give you the experience that you would need. You do have to go to alot of different places and learn a lot of different routines. Most hospitals post the jobs for the hospital employees first and then advertise them. Maybe the hospitals hired from within. Don't give up. There is a job out there somewhere for you. Traveling nurses also get lots of experience in different settings, but you have to decide how far you are willing to go. And the assignments are usually for 13 weeks or more. Maybe your area doesn't need nurses like other states do. I live in Kentucky and they are begging for nurses here. Good luck.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I do not mean to sound too much self confident but m accent is not that much of a problem, coz my English is perfect. I speak English very well.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hi, there, I'm an LPN in Arkansas.

Sure hope you find work soon.

I don't understand why you are not getting calls back, I hear they need RNs here as much as anywhere else.

I wouldn't think, if you did have an accent, that it would be a problem.

I hate to hear that people think we are biased here in Arkansas, I don't consider myself biased. I grew up here.

However, I'm not everybody, I'm sure there ARE people who are, but that's EVERYWHERE, not just in the south.

I've worked in a local nursing home, and we had students from Africa there quite often, with heavy accents, they were some of the best workers I've ever worked with. They are here going to RN school and do CNA jobs while in school.

It was difficult for me to understand them at first, but after I'd worked with them for awhile I could understand them.

Anyway, language accent, is not your problem, but hope you find work soon, and just wanted to say hello and welcome to Arkansas. {Doesn't make you feel too good tho, if you can't find work.}

Have you tried the Human Developement Centers....they are state jobs, and there is a big center in Conway.

I work at one here, in Arkansas, also. They do employ RNs. Not hospital work, but if you're looking to go to work, it might be a thought.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

You may want to have a neutral party take a look at your resume and cover letter. By having different people critique your resume, you may be able to improve it and at least get that call back and initial interview. After your foot is in the door, the rest is up to how well you sell yourself in person. I thought my resume was great, until I had a DON friend of mine take a look at it. There were numerous areas for improvement. You want to be able to put your best presentation forward with your resume and coverletter. Sometimes recruiters only have a few seconds to look at a resume. Does your's present well???

Good luck!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med/Surg, School and Camp Nursing.

Sorry to hear you are frustrated. Have you tried to follow up on the applications/resumes you are submitting? When I graduated from nursing school last year I sent out tons of resumes and applied to many jobs at hospitals online via their websites. I found that if you don't call and follow up on your resume/application they don't always call you back. One HR recruiter in a hospital told me that she received so many resumes that she just didn't have the time to scan every resume and cover letter in great detail so she picked a select few to call for interviews. The job I eventually got was the one that I kept calling the recruiter and following up with her on her timeframes for interviewing and hiring. I feel today that if I didn't gently bother her, I wouldn't have gotten an interview. Good luck to you.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Education, Acute, Med/Surg, Tele, etc.

I too got stuck with 8 months of searching before I found the job (that I just left after 3.5 years). It was heartbreaking and horrid!

This time around I went with agency (wish I had had that advice when I was unemployed!). I love it! Flexibility and get to work at the hospitals that didn't hire me, and now they LOVE me! Karma baby! LOL! IN fact, one that I applied for numberous times is thinking of buying out my contract so I can work there! I just giggle to myself thinking 'wow, you didn't even give me the time of day last month, now look...you will pay out the nose for me!".

Good luck to you...and seriously look up agency nursing...I am SOOOOOOO glad I did!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I think there is something being left out of the equation here, I don't see any way you could apply for 30 different positions as a RN in 6 months and not get even one callback. I had the same thought as one of the other posters, your accent could be creating a language barrier that many employers would want to avoid. I worked with a guy from africa that, as far as I know, spoke perfect english, it was just that I couldn't understand a single word he said because of his accent, so it was very difficult to work with him, nice guy though. You state that you don't have a problem with your accent, so there must be some other glaring reason why you are being rejected with such regularity.

How is it that you have the 6-8 months experience? Does that mean you worked at one place for only 6 months? Did they fire you? If there is a spot on your record from that, that could be hurting you.

Is there some difficulty for these places to hire you due to special circumstances regarding your visa/citizenship status?

What else can you tell us?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Case Management.

I agree, can't see from what you say why you would receive so many rejections and no approvals. I would say review your resume, make sure there are no lapses in time that would make it look like you werent doing anything. If there are gaps in school or job, put in there what you were doing so they know you kept busy. Also, make sure your cover letter matches your resume and job requirement for the position you are applying. cover letters can put off a prospective employer if it is not taylored to the job you are applying for. Also, just as important, is a thank you letter addressed to the person you interviewed with.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment