discouraged!!!

[BebobthefrogFNP]

I was recently denied a nurse tech position at a hospital. I have applied at other places but I am tired of waiting and waiting for a job offer. I was wondering if you all are going to work this summer to keep up your lclinical skills. I am very excited that in a year when I graduate and pass the NCLEX that I will have job offers or find it much easier to find a job.

[labman]

I think a lot of us are going through that issue. I personally did. I personally think a lot of the companies did not even call me back as a nurse extern position and makes me not want to apply there as a nurse (Trust me I do not hold grudges well maybe a little bit :-P). I decided when no jobs were comming to me that I would enjoy my last summer off work as least as possible since I am going to be nursing / going up to mid level practioner soon.

Well what I meant to say in a very long phrase is I am sorry you are going through troubles with jobs. If you get despirate you should try to get a CNA at a job you possibly want to work for. Or do a job that you always thought would be fun (like for me bartending would be fun).

[BebobthefrogFNP]

Thanks labman, your post made me feel better.

[labman]

For summer I am pretty financially fit so I decided to do some volunteer time at the domestic abuse shelter. Something I always wanted to do but had no time.

Also I did not mean not consider the companies that did not consider me but if they just did not even send a rejection letter and when I called they totally blew me off. A couple of them did and I will not even consider them for nursing jobs. I just feel it is super rude (I know they have a million applicants) but it is just common courdisey.

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

finding work requires getting out, filling out applications and going to interviews until you get a job. putting all your eggs in one basket is a very risky thing to do. you have no entitlement to be hired as a nurse tech at a hospital just because you are a student. interviewers are also judging applicants for their potential to be a good employee. you are going to be evaluated on whether you are going to have good attendance, be loyal, not be argumentative with supervisors, be helpful to other workers, and other criteria in addition to the fact that you are a nursing student. maybe the interviewers you spoke with didn't get a sense that you were the kind of employee that they felt would fit in with their company. maybe they didn't like your attitude or personality. maybe that's why you didn't get any job offers.

while i understand your disappointment at not getting hired, sitting around waiting for a phone call from the third facility you applied to is a waste of time. go to the websites of career builder and monster (and there are others) and read their information pages on how to find jobs and get hired. i would be going out to at least one facility every day to fill out an application and setting up job interviews until an employment offer came my way. i would also broaden my search. there are plenty of other types of facilities beside acute hospitals that would love to have a nursing student on their staffs for the summer. you should be able to get a complete listing of all the licensed hospitals and other types of nursing facilities (rehab, ltc, psych) in your state from the state agency that does the official licensing. that is usually the department of health, but it's easy enough to find out because this is public information. print the lists from their website and start by applying to facilities that are close to your home. you will be surprised to find facilities near you that you were never aware existed. they are all potential employers. nursing is not a job area that advertises it's open positions. we have to go searching for them mainly because we are specially trained to do this work.

[WDWpixieRN, RN]

One additional thing to consider is that this is the time of year that we're ALL out looking for these positions. One local employer (w/several hospitals) started their application process in January for internships and we all started this week. Once the internships are over, they are working hard to keep us on PRN in some position, obviously with the hopes of eventual retention as RNs once we graduate.

Summer jobs are often hard to come by unless you start early as college students from all over the country are heading home and are either going back to existing jobs or have lined them up early prior to getting home.

I wish you good luck. No experience is wasted whether it's in LTC or as a waitress if you just need some money.

[linzz]

Are you able to drive a bit further? Maybe something in the next town. I would keep looking. Like the others said, maybe a CNA job for the summer. A few in my nursing class did that, stayed part time during school and then were able to count that time in as seniority and could bid for part time jobs in these facilities until something they really wanted came up. Good luck.

[BebobthefrogFNP]

I applied to be a dialysis tech for Davita, CNA at another medical center, and faxed my resume to an urgent care center. I plan on going to more places tomorrow (I am not sitting at home waiting for a phone call), and I have been looking for jobs online. Thanks for the replies and good luck.

[StudyingNursing]

When I was a nursing student, I was hired in December for a summer externship position. I researched the hospital I wanted to work at, and found out when they started holding their job fairs and open houses -- it is earlier in the year than you realize. Waiting until now is too late. You need to start looking next fall for a job to have when you graduate, especially if you are looking to go into a specialized field; make a very good resume with a cover letter and send it to the recruiters, or hand deliver it if you are able. If you wait until the last minute, the positions will be full.