Moving to Vermont after graduation in December

[cat1235]

I'm from / living in South Carolina. I'm moving to Vermont when I graduate the nursing program in December. As a general rule of thumb based on my research - I should start applying for jobs at least 2-3 months before graduating - meaning September (next month) or October. Should I start applying this month, even? I have a friend who just graduated and lives in SC and applied in Texas and got a call back the next day - that gave me hope that a job might pop up quick for me as well. I'm sure I'll find one there sooner or later, and all new grads I know have gotten jobs pretty fast - but if I could score one before I even graduate it'd really be nice to have that on lock before I make the move.

Also, I have my LPN and worked part-time and then PRN once school started back up fulltime, so that should help me as well, right? And I will have graduated from one of the best places in SC for nursing ...everyone in the state knows that Midlands Tech produces great nurses and that the pass rate is high, so hopefully my school's reputation will follow over into Vermont when I apply.. and I know it SHOULDN'T matter .. but let's be honest ... when you know people it helps, and my boyfriend has so many connections in VT, including family members that work in the hospital, so while I'm not relying on that fully of course - it's nice to at least know someone might be able to mention my name to someone, ya know? (I had a friend who got her first nursing job thru a neighbor) Also, SC is under the compact state license thing I think? Meaning by having a license in SC, I'm also eligible to practice in "most" other states in the US. But Vermont is one of those states that requires you to have an individual license in their own state. So does that mean I'll need to have an actual license in VT before they hire me? Or do you think it'll be contingent on me passing the boards and then I just have to have a temporary or full license by the time I start working?

All of this is so confusing and I just want to make sure I do everything I'm capable of doing NOW, BEFORE I graduate, so I'll have as much under my belt as possible. I'm even considering fitting in some volunteer work to add to my resume. I want everything I can get.

Thanks!

[cat1235]

Also ... it this makes any bit of a difference in anyone helping to answer my questions .... I do intend to apply for a license in Vermont and SC. Meaning, I'm not someone who is only looking to get a license in Vermont IF I can get a job there ... I already intended to move there so it should look pretty promising to the hospital I apply to if they can see that I have already applied to have an RN license in their state, right? Since they know I plan on moving there already? Of course, if I start applying within the next 2 months I won't actually have a license pending there yet as I wouldn't have started that process yet ... but if I were able to get an interview I could let them know I am moving there ...so And I'm just getting a license in SC too since this is my home state and a license here also covers me in many other states, and since I want to do travel nursing at some point, I figured I'd go ahead and make sure I have my license in states other than VT since it's not covered under the multi-state licensure thing.