I'm becoming very discouraged - Page 3

I'm in the same boat as you (as are many new grads!)...I just earned my associate's degree in June and got licensed in October and have probably submitted 200 resume/apps! Here's my strategy, maybe some of this would at least help you get an interview:

1. Find out which hospitals will hire both your degree type and new grads. If you know anyone that works at that facility, make sure to put them down as an "employee referral" as this could flag your application to the manager.
2. Craigslist! Who knew it was such a gold mine of job postings, but I've found that this is where the clinics and LTC facilities post their openings first and its usually alot easier to apply, most of the time they post an email to use to send them your resume and cover letter.
3. City, County, State, Federal job sites. Sign up for all of them and check them every day! I've found that there are new jobs there at least a few times a week and I've had good success being able to get interest...I just went to an interview for a state hospital this week and feel like I have a good chance of getting an interview at our VA hospital as well.
4. Google...on days when my usual sites don't have much, I use Google to find those LTC, Assisted living, clinic, dialysis centers or ambulatory surgical centers that are in my area and search their company websites for jobs...you would be surprised at how many small companies just post it on their website and don't advertise it.
5. Local paper (online version) job classified...this has been kind of hit and miss for me, there was about a month where there were alot of postings (I got one of my interviews from this search) but its definitely tapered off lately...I check it maybe twice a week now instead of daily.
6. Reach out to your classmates that have jobs and ask if they know of anything opening up soon at their facility. It seems like the hiring comes in waves so you probably just missed that first wave. Once the holidays are over, hiring managers will get re-focused on hiring more people. But don't slack off during the holidays because if a facility wants to have someone start by Jan. 1st, now is when they are calling people in for interviews.

Don't get discouraged...you are a professional now and most professionals don't get a job on the first interview. You're also a new grad so understand that as a new hire, you will take more time (aka cost more money from the budget) to train and get ready to be on your own. This won't necessarily hold you back but you have to convince them that you're worth it! I created a document that has all of the hard interview questions already prepared and then I update it for that specific facility...I include their mission statement and change my "why do you want to work here" question to be specific to them. It works and after 4 interviews, I am so much more confident with my answers, I don't stumble over my words, and I think it will only be a few more weeks or so before I get some sort of offer. Learn how to answer the questions succinctly and not ramble off topic...nothing is more annoying than someone who talks just to talk...practice with someone if you need to.

Also, don't discount part time or temporary jobs as this will help you start to work on that "one year of experience" requirements that we all see so often in job descriptions. Perhaps you have to work two part time jobs for a while? Be creative, volunteer at the facilities want to work at, and don't give up!!

Good luck!!

Nursing has ALWAYS had its phases like this. I went to a career fair in the mid nineties when I was in middle school and there were nursing recruiters there telling me to try another profession because there was an oversaturation of nurses, plus the economy was bad then as well. Fast forward twenty years now and it's the same thing, so don't give up!!! I graduated in May passed the NCLEX in June and am a candidate for a position in a PICU in my area, who does hire new grads. I started receiving interviews since September. I tweaked my résumé to point out my skills and experience, which made my résumé stand out more. They will tell me whether or not I have the job within the next week. So far, this is the only position that I applied for and made it this far! My classmates and I also gave each other leads and encouragement as well. At least in my area, it takes about 4-18 months to land a job. If you can, research any certifications that you can take, even a CNA or tech job to obtain facility experience-try to build hospital experience, because most places worry if you can deal with the high stress levels and politics that the facility engages in. If you are able to, take a chance and go to another state. Most places have been contacting me from TX NM, and CA and will pay for relocation, housing, and training. That is my next step if I can't or don't have a position within a few months.

"One would think there would be someone willing to hire me. I always see about 10-15 openings per facility I check but they all say they don't hire new nurses. Makes me wonder if they ever get the positions filled. One hospital is even using all their day shift nurses to pick up and work extra day's and night shifts but won't hire new grads even though they are loosing their staff left and right. Just doesn't make since to me." -OP

This is common near me.

Think outside the box. Try dialysis clinics. County jails. State prisons. Detox clinics. Methadone dispensaries. Skilled nursing facilities. And many (if not most) of these places pay better wages than your local hospital.

I think the OP is a new grad, so things like dialysis usually require experience, want 2 years medsurge or ICU to start with THEN they will offer to train you in dialysis, at least that's the requirement in my area.

That's interesting. Where I live, dialysis clinics are one of the surest bets for new grad RNs with no experience. It's usually the other way around here. A new RN will have to spend a year or two in a job like dialysis and *then* he goes out and tries to get a med surg or ICU job.

The dialysis clinics in my area say "willing to train new grads". Unfortunately, the recruiter there told me that jobs are so hard to come by they had a good amount of experienced nurses applying to choose from.