Old New Grad - Over 1 Year without a Job

mo2rn, BSN, RN · Aug 17, 2012

Mo2rn, I have the same story as you. Graduated with my associates in June of 2011, received my license in September, and then started applying for nursing jobs like crazy. I stopped counting resumes/aps I'd filled out and sent after the 100th one. I've had a whopping total of 2 interviews. Both places that I interviewed at told me that they liked me and that I would be passed along to a second interview. One was a recent interview so I am still holding my breath with that one and will actually be calling them today. The other one, I never heard from again. I even called them and emailed them trying to get a response (no I did not stalk them) and they would not reply or return my phone calls. I figured that they went with someone else but I still wanted to find out why they didn't send me to the second interview as they stated they would, and perhaps give me any pointers as to where I went wrong. No replies.
I believe that I know where my problem lies in not getting a job so far. I'm 43 and I've spent the last 16 years being a fulltime stay at home mom. My last actual job was in a clerical position for a medical facility but it was eons ago and the facility has since moved and my old supervisor is long gone. So basically I have no real world working experience and I'm competing with so many people who are half my age who have experience as nursing assistants. It doesn't matter that I have real life experience, doesn't matter that I have had 4 children with various medical issues to deal with, doesn't matter that I helped take care of my grandmother with Alzheimers until her death, doesn't matter that I have volunteered in the local school system for years, etc....... None of that seems to count because I didn't do those things in a medical facility. I have my days of feeling really down about the whole "no job" situation but then I kick my butt a little and pull myself right back up. I've recently started applying at facilities that are 2 hours away, where I could work 2 or 3 days per week. I know that I would hate the drive but if it were only a few days a week I could survive in order to work and get experience. Moving to another state is not an option for me. I am not going to leave my family, that is not negotiable.

I truly feel your pain, i do not think your age should be a factor; in fact it should actually be a positive. These days it is so hard to tell what employers are looking for. It is amazing that once you know someone it is not as difficult, i am trying to network as hard as i can and hopefully that angle will pay off. We all need to keep trying, even though it is easier said than done.

BellasMommyOBRN · Aug 17, 2012

I'm sorry all of you are having a tough time finding jobs It must be location....I had a difficult time at first but after september (I graduated in may 2011) had better luck.....just keep trying.

I remember my first interview....ugh....and how "great" I thought I did. With practice it became better.

Finding a job is a stressful/annoying/drawn out process!!

I wish you all luck and commend you all for not giving up.

Chad Collins · Aug 18, 2012

I will be graduation in east tennesee next spring and I already know I have to move. we have a dozen nursing schools pumping out nurses twice a year and only x amount of jobs available. it's gotten so bad the hospitals have stoppped hiring full time, aka no benefits, and only doing prn hiring for almost all new grads.

mo2rn, BSN, RN · Aug 19, 2012

I'm sorry all of you are having a tough time finding jobs It must be location....I had a difficult time at first but after september (I graduated in may 2011) had better luck.....just keep trying.
I remember my first interview....ugh....and how "great" I thought I did. With practice it became better.
Finding a job is a stressful/annoying/drawn out process!!
I wish you all luck and commend you all for not giving up.

Hi Bella from your post it seems as though you have gotten a job. If you don't mind can your share the location where you got a job as a new grad.

mo2rn, BSN, RN · Aug 19, 2012

I would really like to hear form new grads who got hired after one year and how was the process from getting an interview to finally landing the job.

applesncherries · Aug 29, 2012

what other state is hiring new nurses? considering moving too.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Jan 12, 2013

There is already a thread at AN regarding this new-grad petition: you can find both the link to the petition and discussion of it here:

https://allnurses.com/first-year-afte...ew-807670.html

Leonardo Del Toro, RN · Jan 12, 2013

I also live in "cutthroat" southern CA and it is indeed brutal.

CA is indeed brutal to new nurses. I finally gave up and started to look in the most remote areas of the country specially the ones no one would want to go. I finally found one hospital at the edge of the Nevada desert which took me in, but man what a struggle to drive and live there. Still I'm tankful for what I have. The next huge nursing shortage is brewing as I write this. Big hospitals are really getting close to the edge. Staff is thin as a paper and they are just making by grilling a small staff of nurses, if a bunch of nurses leave now there will be trouble...and I think this is about to happen as the economy heats up...keep your fingers crossed.

talknw · Jan 18, 2013

marcos9999, do you mind can you tell me what is the name of the hospital you got hired at the edge of the Nevada desert? Thanks

AngelaNielsen · Jan 24, 2013

I am a May 2012 graduate with my BSN. I looked ALL over Cali, even rural areas and nothing. Not one call, interview, anything. I started looking in Texas, and received 5 calls offering interviews. I was offered a position 20 minutes after one of my phone interviews. It is in Midland/Odessa area, so smaller town (about 200,000 people in the area), mid sized hospital (about 340 beds) and they are the only trauma center in the area- plus they are going to train me in the ICU!! Which is almost unheard of here for a new grad. Plan on getting my 2 years experience and moving back to Cali! If you can move for a bit, I would say DO it! Dont waste your time sitting around Cali when you could be getting your experience elsewhere and moving back in 2 years! Best of luck to you all- it is so tough out there, and I know exactly how discouraging it is to have worked so hard and to be rejected so many times.

katm0 · Jan 28, 2013

I am a May 2012 graduate with my BSN. I looked ALL over Cali, even rural areas and nothing. Not one call, interview, anything. I started looking in Texas, and received 5 calls offering interviews. I was offered a position 20 minutes after one of my phone interviews. It is in Midland/Odessa area, so smaller town (about 200,000 people in the area), mid sized hospital (about 340 beds) and they are the only trauma center in the area- plus they are going to train me in the ICU!! Which is almost unheard of here for a new grad. Plan on getting my 2 years experience and moving back to Cali! If you can move for a bit, I would say DO it! Dont waste your time sitting around Cali when you could be getting your experience elsewhere and moving back in 2 years! Best of luck to you all- it is so tough out there, and I know exactly how discouraging it is to have worked so hard and to be rejected so many times.

Hi there. I'm an old grad with no nursing experience from CA and planning to apply in Texas. I just don't know where to start. It's frustrating to look at my résumé over and over again and don't know why I don't receive call back...if its not too much to ask, how did you do it - in regards to license reciprocity/ endorsement? Did you apply having TX license already? Honestly I'm scared but my husband and I are willing to take a jump just to have experience and go back to Cali after 2 yrs. Any advice will be much appreciated. Thanks in advance and congrats on your new job!

gothichipchick · Mar 9, 2013

This is an old post but I will reply to it because I wanted to let old "new grads" know that there is hope.

I graduated in Fall '09, got my license a month after graduation and then immediately (as in 3 days after I took the NCLEX) moved overseas due to husband's military orders. I did not realize how bad this situation was going to be for a new grad RN but what else can you do, right? I wasn't going to tell my husband I wanted to stay here in the states with the kids while he serves a 3 year overseas tour on his own. Anyway, as soon as we got settled there, I started volunteering at the only hospital (Naval) that served the military population in that continent. They don't hire new grads but what they told me was that some unit managers hire volunteers after they have spent a year volunteering at their units. Basically, they can count the hours spent as experience as well as the clinical period of nursing school. It sounded like a great deal so I went ahead and did it. After a year, the unit manager had to "transfer" to another duty station so the "deal" was forgotten. The new unit manager had a new way of managing her floor so basically all my efforts went down the drain. But because I had a great preceptor, I stuck with it because I was truly learning a lot from her. I didn't care anymore about the military hospital's constant changing policy of hiring new nurses. I was only there to keep my skills up and because the corpsmen and nurses that I worked with were supportive and great people.

A year and a half later, I was offered a position as a substitute nurse at the DOD (Dept of Defense) school on the base where we lived. It was per diem but I wasn't picky so I took it. The school nurse was ALWAYS there so I never had a chance to sub BUT I told her I was interested in volunteering anyway so I could at least learn something and so I did. Basically, the while time we were stationed on that island, I was a "Professional RN Volunteer". I did La Leche League, PTA, Red Cross, and any medical related volunteer activity available.

Fast forward two years later, we are now back in the states and I could not find a job. Surprise! I was an old new grad. I couldn't even think about where my batch mates are at in their career because it only made me depressed. The "curse of the military spouse" is the blank or job-hopping spots on her resume. Still, I kept up with my volunteer work - local military hospital, homeless clinic, visiting nurse association, and another clinic for the uninsured. I volunteered 16 hours or more per week combined for a year.

I still kept applying and I got better at making cover letters, researching companies, and tailoring my resume, etc. that I was able to secure an interview for a new grad position. I did not get the job but I was able to get the contact info of the nurse managers. Yes, I sent each of them a handwritten thank you note. Now, I don't know if this had anything to do with it BUT when I received the "rejection" letter from the HR recruiter, it was not the usual generic "we regret...blah..blah" but it was carefully and professionally tailored to me. It sounded really genuine and warm. In the end, there was also an invitation to apply for the next cohort. All in all, the letter gave me hope that despite the fact that I was not chosen at that round, I did not suck.

Fast forward this week - I got a job offer working part time for a family clinic. One provider, 1 RN, 4 hours, 5 patients = one on one care. The position required 2 years experience - I applied, interviewed, and got the job. The director was impressed by my resume and how the interview went that the HR recruiter later texted (yeah, texted) that they were going to "up the offer to $__". I was flabbergasted, I didn't expect it but there it was - I GOT A JOB.

True, it isn't hospital experience. It isn't full time. It will not be the same as a new grad internship position BUT it is a job (a paying) and it is a start. Now, I don't know what I will do if the new grad internship spot opens up again but I will cross the bridge when I get there. For now, I am thankful for the job.

Oh and for moms out there, I am a mom of 4: 17 y/o, 7 y/o, 5 y/o and 17 months. I homeschool my kids and thankfully, my supportive hubby works full time. I went to nursing school while I homeschooled and hubby was constantly deployed. That was harder than giving birth but it can be done.

Okay, this was a long one but here are the lessons I have learned:

1. You don't suck. If you survived nursing school, you can survive anything but if you don't get a job right away, take comfort in the fact that when God floods the world again, nurses will get a seat in Noah's ark. :)

2. Don't be lazy in tailoring your cover letter and resume to the company you are applying for. Lots of people mentioned this over and over again. Lazy doesn't get you anywhere so start Googling!

3. Send a thank you note even if the interviewer or recruiter/s treated you like crap or if they made you feel like you didn't want to work in their unit afterwards. It doesn't matter. Manners are important - ask your mother.

4. If you secure the interview, Google "Top 10 Hardest Interview Questions" or something like that and force yourself to answer each one of them. If you have to write down the answers, do it. Muscle memory, remember? Thinking you can "wing it" is lazy. Besides, **** always seems to hit the fan when you are nervous and then you don't remember anything when the interview commences. Write it down!

5. VOLUNTEER and do your best to keep your skills up when you can. Do not be idle. Network. Be nice to everyone you meet. Even minions will be able to help you one day. You already know this so I don't need to repeat it. :)

So there you go. That is my story. Thank you for listening, good luck and never lose hope.