New grad vs 6 months experience and laid off

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Hello,

I started my job about 6 months ago on a surgical unit in a hospital I was hired for a telemetry residency and was hired for that unit, after I was off orientation I was moved from that unit due to lack of space, too many nurses. I was told I'm off orientation, go down to HR and reapply to different positions around the hospital to keep my job, eventually, I was moved to a MED-surg unit, which isn't what I was hired for. I was very upset at first but tried to stick it out. Eventually I became the black sheep, no support from peers, over working myself, working 15 hrs a shift with a 10 min break and not getting paid for extra time. My 6 months review came up, the laid me off, stating they have an excess of nurses and over hired. No one will hire me with only 6 months experience and I'm not a new grad, so what do I do now? I even thought about just erasing them from my resume, to get an interview but then that's lying and not a good idea.. It's depressing and I'm out of options :(

Im in a black hole, any advice will help

Thanks

Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Since I assume that you were receiving a paycheck with FICA deductions during that period of employment, it WILL turn up on any future background checks. Do you know if you're categorized as eligible for rehire? See if you can find out. That makes all the difference. If you're listed as "not eligible for rehire", it indicates that your employment was terminated for cause rather than a layoff - if you put 'layoff' as reason for leaving and they see 'not eligible for rehire', it will look like you're not telling the truth on your application.

Your post is full of "it's not my fault", "I was treated unfairly" phrases... It may be a good idea to do a careful analysis of what went wrong and determine what you could have done differently to produce a better outcome. It's not that unusual to get fired, but your chances of getting another job will be enhanced if you are able to turn it into "lessons learned" that you can share with a prospective employer.

FYI, if you ever find yourself in a situation where you're working and not paid for it - take appropriate action. This is illegal; you are entitled to be paid for all hours worked.

Best of luck to you in your Job Search.

If you were laid off and not fired for a reason (for instance, poor performance), then you are not in a black hole. You are actually in good shape. Side note: If you were forced to quit, then go to your local social services and file for unemployment checks before the money runs dry ;)

The one advantage you have over new grads like me is that you have experience and what's even better is that you have at least 6 months. Thank [insert your higher power's name here] that they did not eliminate you before you reached 6 months!

There are actually jobs that are looking for RNs with at least 6 months experience. If you are willing to move, and you were laid off due to over hiring, then, with your med/surg experience, then you should have no problem finding a job with your qualifications.

Plus, there are other ideas you can do, but since we are both looking for jobs...yeah.

One other hint that I will give you is that there are other ideas listed on allnurses. Check them out :)

My performance, is actually better than most and I am eligible for rehire. I was told once again to go to HR and reapply to different positions around the hospital, which I did but most managers are saying they would like 1 year experience. I didn't do anything wrong besides asking for certain days off due to reservist duties which they knew upon hire and just being one of those unlucky people that were in excess. Don't mean to sound like the typical "it's not my fault" I don't have any issues with patients I get gifts and cards, I'm always 30 mins early, I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

But Thank you for the advice

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