New Grad RN-->No Jobs, Then what?

cyram81APRN, MSN · Oct 11, 2011

Long Time Reader First Time Poster. I graduated from RN program last year and have been searching for the job in California. After almost 1 year of extensive search in San Diego, OC, LA, Bakersfield, SLO, Salinas, SFO and beyond, I have decided to give up. There are absolutly NO NURSING JOBS for new grads in California. I am ready to move to any other part of country but based on what I hear on this forum, its almost same scene everywhere else in the country.
I applied for Nursing Assistant and LVN positions as well but learned that hospitals and other health care facilities already have plenty of RNs working as Nursing Assistants/LVNs and plenty more are lined up to pick up the same.
Here are my "lessons learned" based on 1 year of job hunting as a new grad Nurse and 3 years of Nursing Education:-
1) The whole "Rewarding Nursing Career with endless opportunities" thing is actually a big scam and a ponzi scheme getting played on all of us who started or switched over to this career.
2) Senior Nurses, Nursing Colleges and Main Stream Media is running this scam to suck money from us. It was the duty of Senior Nurses and Nursing Academics to advise new students about NO JOBS in nursing. But they did exact opposite and misguided us all. They knew about it all along but misguided us on purpose. So much for the sake of ethics and integrity of this profession.
Dont believe those Yahoo Articles and Main Stream Media hype about the jobs in Health Care. There are NONE. If you are lucky enough to find one ... you will probably work on minimum wages only.
3) To all the students who want to take this as a profession ... Dont believe the Johnson & Johnson Ad ... Thats all a bunch of crap. You are better off becoming a plumber/mechanic/engineer than a nurse.
There are no jobs in nursing. You can get the hyped "Feel-Good" experience of nursing by volunteering at your local senior center or at your kids school. Dont waste your time, money and energy on 3+ years of RN/BSN, hoping to get the same fulfilling job experience.
4) To all the RNs in my situation ... if you dont have any short term financial issues, stay focussed on your research. It may take a while to find anything decent.
I spent almost 3+ years of my life, lots of money, energy and time away from my kids to become a nurse. I can not get any of that back.
At this point, I am all loaded with Debt and no job to bring food on the table. So with a broken heart I say Good Bye to Nursing.
Starting at my local Walmart this week as checkout clerk.

Have you tried joining linkedin.com? There was a recruiter from CA telling me about a GN position. I recommend that website, that way you could actually track down the recruiter and talk to them on a daily basis to keep in touch with them and keep them to have you in mind when a position opens up. I'm sorry to hear that you had a tough time looking for a job as a nurse. Have you tried Mollen Immunization Clinics? I graduated in Dec 2010 failed NCLEX in Jan, study and took NCLEX again in May, got the license and started with 10-15 apps a week. Mollen accepted me in July, started work in Sept and now hired to be a case manager for a health clinic. It may take awhile to get a job, but keep on trying. YOU worked so hard and got the degree. Mollen is partnered with Walmart and Sam's.

BTW, you can network with other RNs from all over your county when working with Mollen. The days I have off, I go see who's working and switch contact information and that is how I got a job an hour away from me. Not going to like the drive, but a job is a job. Go network and meet new people. You may never know what you will stumble upon. =D Don't give up. Not just yet.

HappyGo1 · Oct 11, 2011

Hello,

I just want to update on my new grad experience. I was really bummed out a year ago not being able to get hired. I finally got hired in march in a sub acute care. I am so happy there. They took me on as a new grad with no facility experience( i don't count home care as experience;i washed clothes and changed diapers). I suggest to all the newbies, reach out to anyone who can get a good word in for you. i got hired because a friend of a friend's relative knew the facility's administrator. I never met that relative, but they put in the word and i got hired. It wasn't an easy interview or process, but i can now say i have some real experience. don't give up. The work is hard, my back hurts and I never get to enjoy my full break. But oh my god I love the feeling of working in what I went to school for. No job will be perfect and you will get in sticky situations. If nursing is your calling don't give up. Try anything.

CalNurs · Oct 12, 2011

Yes I did the whole llinked-in, facebook, twitter route. Tried extensive networking ... joined local religious groups, churchs, borderline cults and even offered to convert to Judaism (if they can offer me a job as an RN in a certain Jewish Sounding Hospital on West Coast). Nothing appears to be working ... and I have been doing this now for almost a year ... HR folks have been telling me that they receive thousands of resumes for a single RN position and are simply overwhelmed. There are some new Grads from 2008/2009 batch that have not yet got their first job offer.

There is one thing that does appear to work for some of my batchmates. I mentioned it in other threads as well. There are easy opportunities to be had if you are willing to relocate outside USA. After going crazy with their job hunts, some of my batchmates finally moved to South America (Guatemala and Peru) and India after accepting Nursing Positions there. According to them there is indeed true shortage of nurses in these third world countries. Pay is not great and lifestyle/working style is third-world-like but yes they do have a Nursing Job/Career ... I guess its better than sitting idle or enrolling in BSN/MSN simply because we can not find jobs as RN. At the current rate it may take an entire decade for the available new Grads pool to find the Nursing positions. Not to mention that we have a new batch of hundreds of LPN/RN ready to be graduated in couple of months. They will also start competing with this unemployed pool of thousands of new grad RNs and the vicious cycle continues.

cyram81APRN, MSN · Oct 12, 2011

Yes I did the whole llinked-in, facebook, twitter route. Tried extensive networking ... joined local religious groups, churchs, borderline cults and even offered to convert to Judaism (if they can offer me a job as an RN in a certain Jewish Sounding Hospital on West Coast). Nothing appears to be working ... and I have been doing this now for almost a year ... HR folks have been telling me that they receive thousands of resumes for a single RN position and are simply overwhelmed. There are some new Grads from 2008/2009 batch that have not yet got their first job offer.
There is one thing that does appear to work for some of my batchmates. I mentioned it in other threads as well. There are easy opportunities to be had if you are willing to relocate outside USA. After going crazy with their job hunts, some of my batchmates finally moved to South America (Guatemala and Peru) and India after accepting Nursing Positions there. According to them there is indeed true shortage of nurses in these third world countries. Pay is not great and lifestyle/working style is third-world-like but yes they do have a Nursing Job/Career ... I guess its better than sitting idle or enrolling in BSN/MSN simply because we can not find jobs as RN. At the current rate it may take an entire decade for the available new Grads pool to find the Nursing positions. Not to mention that we have a new batch of hundreds of LPN/RN ready to be graduated in couple of months. They will also start competing with this unemployed pool of thousands of new grad RNs and the vicious cycle continues.

You are right about the vicious cycle for those who are still looking for a job when those graduating getting the pick. I believe you may be right about the ponzi scheme, but there may be a silver lining somewhere. Linkedin.com may or may not work for some folks and I'm sorry to hear it didn't work for you. Hopefully you will bump into someone who has the information you may need in order to start your career. =)

It took me 6 months to realize that bedside nursing is not for me. That may be why it took me 6 months to find a job. But then again, the hospitals never returned my calls. So maybe I was never meant to have a hospital job. There's a reason for some things and other things there are no reasons and it can be stressful.

Good luck on your endeavors!

CalNurs · Oct 12, 2011

Thanks for those kind words Cyram

Only way this vicious cycle can stop is if all our Nursing schools shutdown for atleast 2-3 years. But we know they will never do that. I am seeing the ads for RN, BSN, MSN programs all around me .. even here at allnurses.com.

New students (cows-to-be-slaughtered !) are braught into the Nursing Ponzi scheme as they eagerly await for their "Acceptance Letter" into the program ... And Nursing Institutions and Academia is still thumping about "Nursing Shortage" ... Its almost mafia like.

Besides high unemployment of new grads RN, I am seeing another interesting outcome of the vicious cycle. Because of high unemploymnet and huge pool of lightly experienced nurses; RN salaries are rapidly declining.

Some of my linked-ins are putting $10-12 per hour on resume just to get the foot in. Personally I was ready to work on minimum wages if clinics/hospital can even offer me an RN position.

At the end-of-day, I have to pay off my education debts and bring food onto the table. I can not keep on searching for a job indefinitly that realistically is just not there.

To top it off, from my perspective, there is now no real difference between working as a nurse or flipping burgers at McDonalds or working as a retail clerk. They all are paying pretty much same.

Its just that some are a bit more glorified than others.

cyram81APRN, MSN · Oct 12, 2011

Thanks for those kind words Cyram
Only way this vicious cycle can stop is if all our Nursing schools shutdown for atleast 2-3 years. But we know they will never do that. I am seeing the ads for RN, BSN, MSN programs all around me .. even here at allnurses.com.
New students (cows-to-be-slaughtered !) are braught into the Nursing Ponzi scheme as they eagerly await for their "Acceptance Letter" into the program ... And Nursing Institutions and Academia is still thumping about "Nursing Shortage" ... Its almost mafia like.
Besides high unemployment of new grads RN, I am seeing another interesting outcome of the vicious cycle. Because of high unemploymnet and huge pool of lightly experienced nurses; RN salaries are rapidly declining.
Some of my linked-ins are putting $10-12 per hour on resume just to get the foot in. Personally I was ready to work on minimum wages if clinics/hospital can even offer me an RN position.
At the end-of-day, I have to pay off my education debts and bring food onto the table. I can not keep on searching for a job indefinitly that realistically is just not there.
To top it off, from my perspective, there is now no real difference between working as a nurse or flipping burgers at McDonalds or working as a retail clerk. They all are paying pretty much same.
Its just that some are a bit more glorified than others.

Is that really the pay over there? OMG...I would drown in my debts and be behind if I get paid with that wage. But a job is a job. During the 6 months studying for NCLEX the second time, I tutored math for middle schoolers just to get cash and it was about 10-12 bucks an hour. The hours were flexible. Yeah there are more schools than there are programs or preceptors willing to educate the new nurses. I even called a few family members to say I finally got a job and they were like "that's not bad in this economy" which means it is getting worse all over United States. The OTA pay are pretty low now since the students here are just accepting any pay rate just to get a job. But the pay rate for entry level nurses are about 19 bucks here and still it is hard to get a job with a hospital getting sued and two private companies basically owning this town. I have never seen this much problems. I hope it gets better for those who need a job because this is ridiculous.

nursedmf · Oct 24, 2011

OH K I am a new grad from Alabama and have my ADN in nursing. I am having extreme difficulty finding a job. I have looked everywhere. I have spent endless hours applying on the web and walked in to many LTC and clinics to hand out my resume. I feel I am never going to get a full-time job. I have a prn position in PACU and feel I will not get the training I need as a new grad. I took the position because it would be some experience and I could obtain my ACLS and BLS certifications. I am worried I am a single mom who put myself through school so I would beable to fuction independantly but the way its looking that is not going to happen. I am beginning to get dishearted and feel as if Its me and not the current economy. Can anyone please share some light on this situation and maybe some places I havent tried applying to ?

mmm333, LVN · Oct 25, 2011

PRN in PACU is not that bad. Many people have nada and are 2 years out of nursing school. Get in there and let the scheduling people that you are ready to work anyplace anytime, beg for hours, get experience, if you stall then change jobs. You're going to have to climb the ladder, it will make you stronger in the long run. My first job was in a complete hell-hole. I stepped up to a better place and now I have two interviews at hospitals. Keep at it, it might take 2 years.

cyram81APRN, MSN · Oct 25, 2011

OH K I am a new grad from Alabama and have my ADN in nursing. I am having extreme difficulty finding a job. I have looked everywhere. I have spent endless hours applying on the web and walked in to many LTC and clinics to hand out my resume. I feel I am never going to get a full-time job. I have a prn position in PACU and feel I will not get the training I need as a new grad. I took the position because it would be some experience and I could obtain my ACLS and BLS certifications. I am worried I am a single mom who put myself through school so I would beable to fuction independantly but the way its looking that is not going to happen. I am beginning to get dishearted and feel as if Its me and not the current economy. Can anyone please share some light on this situation and maybe some places I havent tried applying to ?

New Grad in AL is getting tougher unless you have all the certifications, volunteer experience, and networking are three top things in order to land a job. I moved out of AL because I know I was not going to find a job in the town I was in because there was only one hospital. If you are able to drive a good distance to work, do it and do whatever you can to get your year experience.

I am driving 45 min each way to work m-f, and I have zero experience in the job I obtained. But the directors are willing to take a chance on me to mold me into what they need and want. Buddy up with someone to take care of your kids when you work and other way around when it's the OP's turn to work.

cyram81APRN, MSN · Oct 25, 2011

Thanks for those kind words Cyram
Only way this vicious cycle can stop is if all our Nursing schools shutdown for atleast 2-3 years. But we know they will never do that. I am seeing the ads for RN, BSN, MSN programs all around me .. even here at allnurses.com.
New students (cows-to-be-slaughtered !) are braught into the Nursing Ponzi scheme as they eagerly await for their "Acceptance Letter" into the program ... And Nursing Institutions and Academia is still thumping about "Nursing Shortage" ... Its almost mafia like.
Besides high unemployment of new grads RN, I am seeing another interesting outcome of the vicious cycle. Because of high unemploymnet and huge pool of lightly experienced nurses; RN salaries are rapidly declining.
Some of my linked-ins are putting $10-12 per hour on resume just to get the foot in. Personally I was ready to work on minimum wages if clinics/hospital can even offer me an RN position.
At the end-of-day, I have to pay off my education debts and bring food onto the table. I can not keep on searching for a job indefinitly that realistically is just not there.
To top it off, from my perspective, there is now no real difference between working as a nurse or flipping burgers at McDonalds or working as a retail clerk. They all are paying pretty much same.
Its just that some are a bit more glorified than others.

I know it and it's tough. But yes, there is no difference in working as a nurse or flipping burgers because they all come down to one thing getting paid to put food on the table. I worked as a cashier and server in a restaurant before and that was hard work, going to work at 8 not leaving until 10:30 6 days a week in the summer just to earn some cash for the upcoming school year. Crazy, but doable.

nursedmf · Oct 25, 2011

Thanks for the replies! I am getting my BLS and ACLS certifications Thursday! Im thankful for the experience and hopefully it will land me a fulltime job. Its just im worried about how im going to the pay the bills I guess I will go back to being a server or something until something more permanent comes along. I just got my hopes up thinking I could land a job soon. I went to school to beable to take care of my little girl on my own its just very disappointing.

magnoliophyte · Oct 27, 2011

I'm a new grad (may 2011) and unemployed as well, but jeez louise, CalNurs that comes across to me as some seriously off-kilter stuff.

The recent economic recession had massive repercussions to all sectors of labor. Going in to nursing -never- entitled any of us to jobs. We suffer right along with everyone else when economic conditions get stormy. This is just the reality of for-profit healthcare systems.

No one suckered me in to studying nursing, I did it because it's what I want to do with my life - and I'm not going to give up going after what jobs are out there based on some kind of petulant catharsis that global economic conditions *gasp*...affect me too!

I don't know, I hate to have to talk like this, but if you're going to seriously begin comparing nursing to flipping hamburgers, then why are you even bothering? If you would find those jobs as equally rewarding to you then maybe you're putting yourself through some needless stress