Hiring Freeze and New Grad

I know how you feel. I graduate in May and I hope I can find a job. We had a job fair and almost all the hospitals said "well we aren't hiring now but....maybe when you graduate". I hope they are right

Consider yourself hugged. I know the feeling. I graduate this May - I too have been dealing with the same problem here. Where are you? But on the bright side, if you've been in LTC you might have a better chance than someone who has not had that... Good luck to you :heartbeat

I too am starting my RN hopefully this fall and this economy is a worry. However I think that things go in up and down cycles and I think it will get better eventually. At least you are in LTC and this will be a plus when an employer asks what you have been doing. I doubt you will be in LTC forever. Good luck.

1. jan-23-09graduate nurse - 2east orthopedics
2e orthopedic unit
liberty hospital, liberty, mo full time
nights
1845-0715 2. feb-6-09graduate nurse - 2west telemetry
2west telemetry
liberty hospital, liberty, mo full time
nights
1845-0715 3. jan-27-09graduate nurse - 3south telemetry
3s telemetry
liberty hospital, liberty, mo full time
nights
1845-0715 4. jan-27-09graduate nurse - 3south telemetry
3s telemetry
liberty hospital, liberty, mo full time
nights
1845-0715 5. jan-27-09graduate nurse - 3south telemetry
3s telemetry
liberty hospital, liberty, mo full time
days
0645-1915 6. jan-23-09graduate nurse - 4east surgical/oncology
4e surgical/oncology unit
liberty hospital, liberty, mo full time
nights
1845 - 0645 7. feb-5-09graduate nurse - 6south medical/telemetry
6south medical/telemetry
liberty hospital, liberty, mo full time
nights
1845-0715 8. feb-5-09graduate nurse - 7south medical/telemetry
7south medical/telemetry
liberty hospital, liberty, mo full time
nights
1845-0715 9. feb-10-09graduate nurse - emergency department
emergency department
liberty hospital, liberty, mo full time
varied shifts
varies 10. feb-10-09graduate nurse - emergency department
emergency department
liberty hospital, liberty, mo full time
varied shifts
72

I am not sure what cities you are all located in, but I have resided in several major cities on the east coast with the current being Philadelphia,PA, and I still see job listings all over the place.

Yup Balto/DC same thing plenty of jobs to go around.

There may be job listings but if the hospital is on a freeze all the listings in the world won't matter. I know Penn is telling people they aren't even taking applications, yet there are listings for them online. So in reality listing does not matter

There are all kinds of job listings in my area, too. But:

Many of them are often job listings that a hospital's human resources department does not remove from a website in a timely manner. My classmates apply, only to find out that -- oops! -- that job's already been filled. This happens constantly. Or a hospital puts an ad in a paper to run for a fixed number of weeks, regardless of whether the job has been filled. Same story.

Jobs expressly labeled "new grad," and spell out that a preceptor will be made available, are virtually non-existent. I can count the number I've seen advertised in my entire state on two hands.

Hospitals are reaping a benefit of a poor economy by hiring veteran nurses, who are coming out of the woodwork for money and job security. They don't require the lengthy orientation that a new grad does.

Is it this way everywhere? No. But if you read this board a lot, you'll see it's this way in a lot of markets. I graduated at the top of my class in December. Fifty-seven job applications and two job interviews later, I am one of eight people in my class of 70 with a job, and only three of us landed full-time work. I started looking for a job in June, which is when hospitals in my area froze hiring for all but personnel deemed absolutely essential. I completed my practicum in an ICU where I was urged to apply for an internship. The program was then cancelled because, according to the manager, there were too many experienced nurses available, and nurses already on the unit were postponing their retirements. It's tough out there.

I just finished nursing school in Dec'08, and have come to the conclusion that the light at the end of the tunnel was an oncoming train. Rushing to flatten my nursing dream

Can you say "would you like fries with that?"