Job search tips for new grad NPs

[FullGlass]

Hello, everyone. I've been lurking on AllNurses for awhile and this is my first thread. I'd like to start a thread on tips for new grad NP job search.

Please don't get discouraged. There are lots of jobs out there. I'm a new grad NP and am getting lots of interviews for great jobs that pay well. Yet, on paper, I have a lot of negatives: middle-aged, never been an RN, "old" new grad (graduated December 2016), Adult Primary Care NP when it seems everyone wants FNP or PMHNP. I changed careers in mid-life and my previous career had nothing to do with healthcare. My only positive is that I went to a well-known school with a good reputation. Oh, and I do have a lot of experience with job search as someone who has had to find a job and as a hiring manager. I live in California.

I started actively looking for my first NP job the week of November 6. It took a couple of weeks for the job search to start producing results, but 4 weeks into this, here are the results:

- Good phone interview yesterday with an Indian Tribe clinic in beautiful Lake Tahoe (Nevada side)

- Face to face interview next week for specialty NP role Fresno for prestigious clinic

- Face to face interview with primary care clinic in Calexico (El Centro area) TBD

- Today (Saturday), had 2 hour phone interview with incredible rural health clinic in Hawaii, they are going to schedule a follow up video conference

- Tomorrow (Sunday) have phone interview with sleep clinic in Chico

- Monday phone interview with clinic in beautiful Northeast California

- Monday phone interview with clinic in Northwest Oregon

- Tuesday phone interview with clinic in Northeast California

- Numerous email conversations in progress with employers and recruiters

If you look at the above, the theme is that I am flexible on location. Most of you are in your 20s and 30s. Your first job is not forever! After a couple of years, with experience, you can more easily get a job in competitive markets like NYC, San Francisco, LA, etc. There are literally jobs going begging out there and in many of these areas, they will pay you MORE and the cost of living is way less! Not only that, many of these areas are eligible for federal and/or state loan repayment programs. It's a great opportunity to pay down debt and build up savings while gaining valuable experience and providing a true public service.

Let me know your thoughts.

[db2xs]

California has a super long processing time for NP license - 3 to 4 months typically but some people get delayed up to 6 months.

Why is the process so long? My NP preceptor said it took her six weeks, but that was probably almost a decade ago.

[FullGlass, BSN, MSN, NP]

Why is the process so long? My NP preceptor said it took her six weeks, but that was probably almost a decade ago.

I have no idea. California takes the longest of any state.

[db2xs]

In the Western U.S., almost all the job listing ask for an FNP. At my school, they told us the West prefers FNP, while the AGNP is more accepted in the East.

This is news to me, as a California resident. What sorts of jobs are people looking for that require them to be an FNP? Considering that I have zero desire to work with children, I will be avoiding positions that tell me I have to work with children. It may limit my job search, but life is short and why be miserable? Just my two cents.

[David2017]

Thank you FullGlass for sharing your experience. Like you I am a middle-aged man but I have been in nursing for 20 years mostly in hospice/palliative care and home health. I started applying November 29. Since then I have been contacted by a couple of recruiters who expressed interest in scheduling a phone interview with me. But I will follow your footsteps opening the horizon quite a bit more. Hopefully that will produce more fruits.

[FullGlass, BSN, MSN, NP]

This is news to me, as a California resident. What sorts of jobs are people looking for that require them to be an FNP? Considering that I have zero desire to work with children, I will be avoiding positions that tell me I have to work with children. It may limit my job search, but life is short and why be miserable? Just my two cents.

Most primary care positions on the West Coast specify an FNP. If you aren't an FNP or Peds NP, then you won't be working with children.

[aprnKate]

Thank you for your kind wishes.

With regard to the cost of an NP education, please apply for the Nurse Corps or NHSC scholarships. I wish I had done that sooner - it would have saved me a lot of $. A lot of people don't even apply, just assuming they won't get it (a mistake I made). The application process should be starting soon, so check their websites. The scholarships are full-ride, including a $1300 living stipend! In return, you have to provide public service in a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) for 2 to 4 years, depending on the length of your scholarship. These are rural areas, but also many small to medium size cities.

In addition, the federal government, as well as many states, have loan repayment programs for working in underserved areas. For example, California will repay up to $50,000. Alaska has a very generous program - $20 to $27K a year for NPs.

My other tip is to talk to your professors about scholarships and grants, as well as the financial aid department. My last year of the MSN program, I was chatting with a professor and it turned out she had a bunch of $25,000 scholarships that financial aid didn't know about! It was a grant she had won for the school.

Finally, go to the best school you can get into. This has been a topic of contention here, but so many of the employers and recruiters that have contacted me have said, "I saw you went to XYZ school! Great school, so I wanted to talk to you!" This is especially true for MDs that are hiring NPs - the school is very important to them.

Good luck to you!

I agree on getting the best school that you can get into but it doesn't have to be expensive or Ivy League. Work with people from public state schools that are NPs and Ivy League school graduate NPs. No difference, they get paid the same even in the government. I came from a small NP school in TX and work with NP colleagues who are Ivy League same experience level.... same pay.

[FullGlass, BSN, MSN, NP]

I agree on getting the best school that you can get into but it doesn't have to be expensive or Ivy League. Work with people from public state schools that are NPs and Ivy League school graduate NPs. No difference, they get paid the same even in the government. I came from a small NP school in TX and work with NP colleagues who are Ivy League same experience level.... same pay.

To clarify, I want to warn people not to go to shady for-profit schools that admit anyone with a pulse. There are plenty of reputable schools out there. However, my point is not that people from the best schools get more pay - I agree with you that is not generally the case. Someone who went to Yale is going to get more attention and will likely get more interviews. I'm just being realistic. That advantage tends to decline over time, as work experience becomes the most important criteria for evaluating job candidates. Always go to the best school you can get into. There are plenty of scholarship, loan repayment, and loan forgiveness programs out there.