by rencontrezmoi

I am a senior nursing student in a BSN program... I will graduate in May, 2009. My school is in Pittsburgh, but I want to go home to the Philadelphia area after I graduate. Over the last month or so, a lot of people in my class have been talking about job applications and hospitals to which they have already applied. Am I way out of the loop here? I had no idea everyone would start applying so soon! It's November... I planned on waiting until at least after Christmas. Should I be starting the job hunt now? When did you or will you begin applying?

Re: When will you/did you start applying?

I've wondered the same thing.

Re: When will you/did you start applying?

I graduated May of this year. I started applying in January. I got my top choice.

Re: When will you/did you start applying?

I started applying before my NCLEX and again after, still no luck here in Oregon. Melissa

Re: When will you/did you start applying?

Congrats HeartsOpenWide on getting your top choice. When you started applying in January, did you apply for GN or RN positions?

Re: When will you/did you start applying?

I got a RN position. They do not hire GN, they do not accept IP licenses, I could not start working until I passed my boards. A lot of hospitals are not hiring GNs in this economy; it costs about 60,000 to train a new grad, hospitals can not afford to start training on some one that is not guaranteed a license.

Re: When will you/did you start applying?

You should have started applying 3 months ago!

Jobs are VERY VERY VERY difficult to find right now. Try to lock something in now. Talking to my class mates and others on average the wait is generally 3-6 months with 300-600 apps being sent out.

If you do not have an offer before you graduate then expect to wait many many months.

Re: When will you/did you start applying?

Hmmm... I just reread my post and realized that I told you I'd be graduating in May 2009, but that's incorrect. It should be May 2010.

Re: When will you/did you start applying?

I'm in my first semester of an accelerated program and am already talking to prospective employers. Graduation is only 13 months away!

Re: When will you/did you start applying?

Graduate in December and began applying this month. The online application process takes a few hours to set up, so you might as well do it early. Also, the jobs posted now will be filled by January and (hopefully) there will be new ones up to replace them.