New Jersey New Grads, RN

decartes · Sep 12, 2007

Awww. I feel for you. I would suggest going to the upcoming nursing recruitment events coming up. There will be a lot of different organizations in one site so that you can submit resumes, ask questions, gather info packets and practice your interview and interaction skills with recruiters.

MAISY, RN-ER, BSN, RN · Sep 12, 2007

Go to Advance for nurses website for current job fairs, go to your school's job fair, see what other local schools are having job fairs. Place your resume on Monster.com.

Apply at hospitals online, in person, and CALL, CALL, CALL. You must make a pest of yourself. There are tons of applicants for positions, new grads must be oriented and some hospitals have specific times per year that they hire new grads.

Make sure your resume is tailored to each position you are applying, have someone else look at your resume and make sure that it is as complete and fleshed out as possible.

Know something about the hospital you are interviewing for, have an idea of where you would like to work, dress appropriately for the interview, practice interviewing with a friend. Use your schools career couseling center and have them critique you.

This is all I could think of at this time. I know from personal experience that they don't call you back without prompting. MM was angry I had taken a position with St Barnabas-I had called both many times as a followup to interview. St B's called back first and was actually my first choice for an ER spot. MM dropped the ball and I told them so, but it was ez to do ...I had a job.

Good Luck

Maisy;)

luv2yoga · Sep 18, 2007

Are you located where you could work in Pennsylvania? I am close to the border and interviewed at both NJ and Penn hospitals. The Penn ones are MUCH more attentive and interested. And I was impressed with the people and the places. If you can, I would look into it. You'd be going against the flow of traffic once you get on Days, and some hospitals are even hiring straight to Days for new grads! Good luck to you.

EMERGENCYRNNJ · Sep 18, 2007

I am in Monmouth County. I've applied to every hospital around. I was willing to commute to RWJ, but never got a call back. I guess I'll just keep trying and waiting

Thanks for the input.

ear · Sep 20, 2007

It is tough out there. I know some of the monmouth county hospitals are hiring new grads. It just depends on if you want to work there. Also, get to some nurse recruitment fairs. There is one on Sept 27th in Long Branch.

Good luck to you! Do you have your heart set on a hospital or are other types of facilities interesting to you?

~ear

SteveNNP, MSN, NP · Sep 27, 2007

Did you check out http://www.meridianhealth.com? Riverview and Jersey Shore Medical Center were trying to snap me up as a new grad a few years ago! I did a summer externship, and was offered a Critical Care Orientation as a new grad. I worked 3 south and ICU as a PCT and loved them.....

Firefighter26 · Oct 10, 2007

I bought into the hype and believed that recruiters would be camped out in my front lawn throwing bags of cash at me. I even made extra room in my driveway so there wouldn't be too much congestion with all the driving in and out.

Reality was somewhat of a shock but I understand. With all the new grads coming out of the schools in June/July there were only so many spots open. First offers went to those who externed. Then offers went to family and/or friends of management. Then came those who started applying after their first year of school. Then there were the slackers like me who stated looking for work when they actually passed their finals.

I was a good student. Nice GPA, active in student affairs, excellent letters of reference from the faculty. Retired career firefighter with a proven track-record of being able to assess and perform under harsh conditions. I even had a letters of reference from the fire commissioner and the mayor (!). I retired at the rank of Captain with several commendations.

The stark reality was that in the Northern NJ area there were a heck of a lot of graduates flooding the marketplace over the period of several weeks. Facilities need to pay double salary for the first 8, 10, 12 weeks of orientation (depending on the hospital's program)...one salary for the new grad and one for the preceptor(s). Plus the time/expense of further classroom training, ACLS, PALS, basic dysrhythmia course, etc., etc.

Not that there weren't a few offers; but there were just a few. Some places never returned my calls. Other places interviewed me but I could tell from the start it wouldn't work out. Once nurse manager was showing me around the floor and stopped to berate a few of the nurses right in front of me. It wasn't a floor I was particularly interested in anyway so I excused myself and left before the interview was over. Appropriately enough I took the fire exit out.

I first went to the hospitals in the city where I had worked for over 25 years. I know a lot of the nurses personally but when I went to HR the reaction was pretty much the same..."Congratulations! Let me know how it works out for you."

I'm now in my third month in a busy ER. Is it my dream job in my dream facility? Maybe not. Is it a foot in the door? Absolutely. And after a year (and we all know how fast a year goes by) I won't be a new grad. I'll be an RN with a year's experience and doors will begin to open. Or maybe I'll be perfectly happy where I am and decide to stay on. The people I work with are great and management is supportive. When my boss walks through the department and sees me ready to pull my head off my neck she gives me a smile and says "Give it some time. You'll be fine". What more could a new employee ask for?

The point is, year one is where we grind it out. Year one is where we pay our dues. It's all well and good to be choosy but being too choosy will land you sitting at home after 6 months wonder where all the jobs are.

theatredork · Oct 22, 2007

I pretty much had the same experiences mentioned in this thread. I graduated in May from an associates program, but didn't take my NCLEX until August. Even then, I didn't start applying for jobs until after I got my results, just to be on the safe side.

It's been 2 months of intense searching in NJ, and I have not heard a single thing back from any hospitals I've applied to, other than an email saying that 'new grads aren't being hired by the facility at this time'. So, needless to say, I was extremely discouraged.

I was able to go to a few job fairs in NY though that really came through for me. Within a week of both ob fairs I had calls to set up interviews about positions that were open. My NY license was still pending, but I was up front about that information.

I think what really paid off was getting my ACLS and PALS certifications this year as well, even before I was done with school in may I took ACLS over spring break, and then took PALS last month. I figured I might as well be prepared, since I knew I wanted to work in an ICU or ER.

I was able to get 2 job offers within weeks of each other, and I actually waited until I had the job I wanted. So I'll start working as a nurse in November in New York, even though I live in NJ. Luckily, my New York license arrived on Saturday in the mail.

Best of luck to everyone in their job search. If you need any advice or have questions about anything, please ask.

-Kevin

dashie2007 · Nov 28, 2007

Trinitas in Elizabeth has new grad bridge program. They ussally do it twice a yr, by the time the program starts you have to have your liecence. I started it the end of july. I feel once i get my year in more thing will open up with a yr experience. Good luck

piscesrn · Jan 5, 2008

Hey Kevin,

How long did it take you to get your NY license? Is it really 6-8 weeks?

And did you just go to the website and fill out the paperwork? I know that it's about $140 and there is something about child abuse and ....forget what else has to be completed...I live in NJ thinking about getting a job in NY.

thanks!

theatredork · Jan 5, 2008

Hey there,

It did take about 5-6 weeks before I got my license number, and another week until I got my license in the mail.

As long as you have your NJ license you can file for a NY license by endorsement. You fill out the same paperwork, but you have to submit a form to your nursing school where you graduated from. Also, you do have to take two additional online courses: Child Abuse & Infection Control, both of which are available at http://www.elearnonline.net/statemandate.aspx?x=44.

You need to print out the forms and mail them in, like you did for your NJ license. There is also an additional website you must go to for license verification, NURSYS. The link is on the NY Nursing Board website someplace.

Just know that they will not process your application until they have received the entire thing, including confirmation that you've completed the two mandated courses. You don't have to send that confirmation, they get it automatically when you pass the exam. They also need the portion that your school will send out.

Basically, just stay on top of your school, mail everything in right away, and finish those courses ASAP.

Good luck with everything! What hospitals are thinking of looking at in NY?

~Kevin