Poll to " former" new grads. How did you land that 1st job?

It was hard!!!! Sent out resume after resume, told everyone I knew, stalked employers who had a position available! For real I called them weekly! It's a tough hunt lots going for the same job as you who have experience! I eventually changed my resume from the cookie cutter new grad. version and added where I obtained experience during clinicals and procedures I had performed in bold to the cover of my resume. Clinical hours do not count as experience but I needed it to be noted that I had 750 hours of clinical time and had worked in various healthcare settings even though it was for free I was still there! Treat it like its a full time job and if apps are only online try to figure out a way to show your face in person! Good luck it will happen you just got to get that one year in!

One of my professors set up the interview for me, and I got it! I had done clinicals in this hospital and had a lot of good things to say.

I was hired by an HIT company a year before a graduated.... That got my foot in the door to a major (and majorly picky) CA medical center. I was interviewed with 350 others and landed a job after one interview, while all of my friends/classmates had to go through 2-3 interviews before they were hired. Just get your foot in the door somewhere, somehow! As a volunteer or something. Because I had my foot in the door already, it was relatively easy to get hired as an RN

Nepotism!

Went to the hospital, requested an application and filled it out. It was a long-shot as it was a psych facility and I didn't really have any psych experience or even desire to work in psych at the time, but figured that any RN job was better than no job. And I didn't have to stay past that golden year...

A couple of weeks later, I got an interview request. A few weeks later, I was hired and started the job. Two years later, I earned my psychiatric-mental health certification. Present day: I'm holding down two psych RN jobs--outpatient and inpatient--so I get the best of both worlds.

Now while I may consider dabbling in other specialties for the experiences, I love psych too much to want to fully leave it. Guess I got lucky and landed in my niche right away.

Networking while in school

Networking. I applied at every hospital within an hour of where I live. The job I ended up accepting was at a hospital where a family friend works. She forwarded my resume to the nurse manager on the floor I applied for and wrote me a letter of recommendation.

Same here, my nursing chair, set up an interview and just so happen I also had my critical care clinical there. So it worked out for me.

I applied online, followed up with emails, went to open houses for seasoned nurses. Though I didnt get that particular job, I was called the very next week by the same company at another facility. I interviewed for 2 different positions and did not get either. Third time was the charm, and just got another position in psych. Good luck!