New Grad in Toronto Cannot find job

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Hello All,

I am a new grad RN that cannot find a job. I graduated in April and passed the NCLEX shortly after. I applied to the Nursing guarantee initiative and unfortunately did not find a job, now I am stuck feeling so depressed. I have applied ALL OVER Ontario, also Nunavut, I have sent so far OVER 240 resumes with only one response. I went to the interview, stayed over night since it was 8 hours away from where I lived and bombed it because I was so nervous, not only that I was not prepared for medication type of questions :((

I have had my resume looked over by TWO employment agency services. I change my cover letter for each job postings.

I have contacted the RNAO for help but they are useless, I have emailed the lady that reviews resumes 3 times and I doubt she even read my email since she has not even responded.

I have contacted health force ontario which claims to be committed to supporting nurses and they are also useless, I was told just to keep applying for jobs from the HFO and RNAO sites.

I have applied for a job in the U.S and they called me within a week. However, I was not aware of the LONG and EXPENSIVE process to become licensed in the U.S. So as of right now I want to focus on getting a job here in Ontario. Of course if I am still out of luck I will have no choice but to apply to the U.S.

I have become very depressed and I cry all the time, I am so frustrated that most jobs require at least 1 year experience, I am also frustrated when I see nurses complain about their shifts when theres nurses that cannot find work that would die for that chance.

As bad as it sounds I would work for less, I love nursing I would take a big pay cut just for the opportunity to work as a nurse, unfortunately with unions I know that is not possible but if it was I would do it.

I need help, places that would give a new grad a chance.

I'm a single mother, I'm so desperate right now.

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Hang in there. The economy is tough & all of this stuff varies so much region by region but keep trying. I have read that although much is computerized, it still can pay to go out there & drop resumes off in person.

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"Long story short, the first day I handed out resumes got me an interview, and the second day I handed out resumes a month later, got me the confirmation that I had been hired. So here are some tips for those of you just graduated or soon to graduate…"

She too had tried just applying online & got nowhere with that method.

Good luck.

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

Although most places will only accept online applications. Hang in there. Ontario is one of the toughest markets

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Thanks, I've tried this method and unfortunately the response has not been positive. I have been told that I need to apply online and I've also once had my resume MAILED back to me with a note attached that they do not take paper copies of resumes :( . However I will continue to try.

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I know I should hang in there but it is tough when bills keep piling up. Especially with Christmas coming up its hitting me even harder. I have even applied to any and every position in a health care facility, from the unit clerk, cleaner and laundry positions just to get in.

I just don't understand why they say there are lots of opportunities in Ontario if thats not true. I would understand in the city it would be tough but i've read that rural is in demand. I've applied to rural Ontario without a callback. Even rural nursing requires years experience to get in.

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

Who said there were lots of opportunities in Ontario?

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1). Health Force Ontario "If you're a nurse who is looking for a dynamic and rewarding career, then Ontario is the place for you. As nurses are in demand in the province, you'll find great flexibility in terms of career path and many career opportunities available to you. Additionally, the Ontario government recognizes the importance of your role and is committed to supporting you."

2) RNAO "Nurses are needed more than ever in Ontario. The biggest population cohort, baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964), is aging. Their health care needs in the home and the community are rapidly expanding. Plus there is greater value being placed on illness prevention in society. Currently, the province's ratio of 72 nurses to every 100,000 people lags behind the nation's average (83 to every 100,000).The good news is that a career in nursing in this diverse, exciting province has never looked brighter."

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.
1). Health Force Ontario "If you're a nurse who is looking for a dynamic and rewarding career, then Ontario is the place for you. As nurses are in demand in the province, you'll find great flexibility in terms of career path and many career opportunities available to you. Additionally, the Ontario government recognizes the importance of your role and is committed to supporting you."

2) RNAO "Nurses are needed more than ever in Ontario. The biggest population cohort, baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964), is aging. Their health care needs in the home and the community are rapidly expanding. Plus there is greater value being placed on illness prevention in society. Currently, the province's ratio of 72 nurses to every 100,000 people lags behind the nation's average (83 to every 100,000).The good news is that a career in nursing in this diverse, exciting province has never looked brighter."

lol yeah what they fail to mention is that because of funding cuts most of the vacancies left by those retiring nurses will remain unfilled. If you want the true picture talk to a nurse working in the province.

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Have you applied for Residential Care yet??? Do you want to start from somewhere you can earn a bit of experience? I don't know about Ontario, but in BC a lot of Residential Care areas and also Rehab are under the same health authority as the hospital. So, if you work that way, you can get seniority to get into a hospital position as well (the seniority applies for all of the facilities/hospitals in a specific region +2-3 hrs in distance on the map.)

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

They don't have health authorities in Ontario. Your seniority only counts for the facility you are working at.

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I know I should hang in there but it is tough when bills keep piling up. Especially with Christmas coming up its hitting me even harder. I have even applied to any and every position in a health care facility, from the unit clerk, cleaner and laundry positions just to get in. .

Human resources and nursing managers do not see it as a positive sign when qualified nurses apply for unit clerk, cleaner and laundry positions, this tactic will get your resume ignored.

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Health Force Ontario perpetuates the myth that their is a nursing shortage for their own job security, if the Ontario Ministry of Health recognized that there isn't a shortage of health care workers, they would stop funding Health Force Ontario and the people working there would lose their well paid jobs. The RNAO perpetuates the nursing shortage myth to support their lobbying of the Ontario government to fund nursing jobs and nursing school seats. RNAO are staying the course, even though Ontario is producing a surplus of new grads, RNAO is trying to minimize the severity of the next nursing shortage, unfortunately, new grads are taking longer to get their careers started and as a result are becoming disillusioned.

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