May Graduate--Applying for jobs

Nurses Job Hunt

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Hi you lovely people!

I was having a talk with my cousin yesterday (she's older and MUCH wiser!) and she suggested that I begin applying for Nursing Jobs NOW, when I mentioned I wanted to start in March. So, this has started my entire search on Allnurses which lead me to MANY threads asking the same thing. So many responses were "Apply 6 months before graduation" or "Nurse recruiters say apply between Nov-Dec".

This has gotten me on the search to find hospitals in my are as well as out-of-state (I have been looking at residency programs, anyway). Since I'm young, she tells me the sky is the limit. I feel like this could give me a leg up on my graduation class. I would absolutely love to have a position before graduation.

My question is, for you all that applied for jobs 4-6 months prior to graduating, would you be willing to list your city and the place that interviewed or hired you way before graduation?

Also, what was the most difficult (if any) thing you encountered by applying so early? Did you get many rejections?

Thanks in advance for your responses I am very interested to hear your responses :)

Specializes in Cardiac Critical Care.
Well, that's great for you. Even though it's still not what I was looking for in my original post. I am applying for residency programs and have applied to two already. Since I have ready so many posts about the difficulty in finding nursing employment, I decided that's what I wanted to do. I might get all rejections, but I also might get a job you never know. So I really didn't need you to tell me that I didn't want to hear "honesty" when what I was looking for was EXPERIENCE from people who have done the same thing. best of luck to you in your career.

There's really no reason to jump down someone's throat because you didn't agree with their answer. Simply by taking the time to reply to your post, it's clear that not.done.yet was trying to help you out.

Specializes in Psychiatric, Med-Surg, Operating Room.

I say apply now and see where it goes--in different cities/programs it may be different. I did the whole apply 2-3 months before graduation and got rejection emails/no calls back. So eventually I stopped applying and just focused on passing my boards. Now that I've passed my boards, I've had 2 interviews and 2 more lined up. Again everyone's experience is different and even though I didn't have much luck with applying in advance, if I had to do it all over again I would--you never know..you might be the fortunate one to have a job lined up before graduation.

Specializes in LTC.

I'm not going to start aggressively applying until I take my boards. I did apply to a couple of hospital only because they had deadlines for new grad RNs. I do believe its a waste of time to apply to hundreds of jobs BEFORE having a license.... just my two cents.

OP- I would suggest that you get a job in the hospital such as a CNA or PCT if you don't already. Its always good to have your foot in the door.

Specializes in Med/Surg, Rehab.

I started applying in January before I graduated this past May. The pros: I got my resume and cover letter tweaked to perfection. The cons: It was a waste of time otherwise. I got ONE callback before my actual graduation date (out of 125 applications). I'm from the Boston area, and this callback was from Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. I went on an interview there for their new grad program but didn't get hired. However, after I graduated (but before NCLEX) I was hired by a skilled nursing facility and was hired soon after.

Most of the recruiters I talked to said they don't even consider applicants who aren't licensed, unless you're applying specifically for new grad programs that start in July/August. Otherwise you may be remembered as a nuisance to a hiring manager. Therefore I don't suggest applying for tons of jobs before you graduate.

Specializes in Cardiac Critical Care.

You could always call HR of the hospitals you'd like to apply to, and ask when they'd like to see applications. When you're applying to any job, you should do things based on the recruiter's timetable instead of your own (that has been my experience when working closely with the recruiter at my job).

I am also graduating in May. I have talked to a couple of PCCs and CNOs. They have told me to start applying in March so that is what I plan to do. Good luck!

Specializes in NICU.

Yep, I would. I called the manager of the unit that I wanted to work on the opposite side of the country from where I was and asked, got an interview in January with a yes and started orientation in late-August.

It's unit dependent, but some of the specialties will be more likely to hire earlier...good luck!

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