Reaching out to those who applied for jobs before NCLEX

Nurses Job Hunt

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Hi everyone,

I am looking for some responses from new grad nurses who took the advice of applying for jobs BEFORE the NCLEX and were successful in either securing an interview or job. I read many posts on allnurses and most of the advice is to apply before. Well, I am graduating in about 2.5 weeks, pending the last exams. I really want to start applying now but heard from a recruiter that they won't even look at your application until you pass the NCLEX. I hear different on this site so I don't know if she was just saying that to see who REALLY wants the job.

Thanks in advance for any feedback!

P.S. I'm in Massachusetts also.

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I haven't taken my NCLEX and I don't even have a date, and I got 2 interviews.

I only applied to places that say "license by XYZ day" then waited like 6-8 weeks (busy time in school), then got the interviews.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Hiring practices vary a great deal. Many facilities simply do not hire anyone before they have a license, despite the fact that graduate nurses can legally practice as an RN prior to taking NCLEX. The biggest barrier? If a grad does not pass NCLEX, they have to be relegated to an unlicensed position & cannot even participant in training programs that involve areas that are restricted to nursing scope of practice. Many organizations just don't want to deal with this hassle.

Keep looking, you may get lucky and find a 'GN friendly' employer.

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I received a job offer before passing NCLEX, but was told that I had to have a license in hand before actually starting orientation.

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I graduated from nursing school in May 2013. I received job offer prior to passing nclex. Just had to pass nclex by start date.

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It's best to go by what each individual hospital's guidelines are. I asked the same question on here not too long ago (due to different posts I was seeing about getting jobs prior to NCLEX) and received varying advice. The main consensus was to only apply for GN positions or residencies, but after seeing several RN positions pop up at hospitals in my area that I was very interested in (as I'm graduating in July), I decided to contact HR and see their policy regarding hiring RNs. Some hospitals I contacted were willing to hire you prior to graduation and NCLEX with the contingency of passing the boards within a certain time frame after graduation, while others would not allow you to apply to the RN jobs without having a nursing license. Whatever the hospital says, I would go with. With applying online without certain credentials for a position, you may be "marked" in the future when trying to apply if you don't follow their directions.

Good luck!

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Specializes in Cardiac Care.

I got a job where I currently work as an aide about a month ago. I take the NCLEX on Tuesday and I graduate officially on Saturday. My official start date will depend on when my transcripts officially post (assuming I pass the NCLEX), but will likely be beginning of June.

Several of my classmates have job offers with late May start dates. We are in the Midwest.

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Hello! I'm a new grad and waiting for my NCLEX testing date, but there is a job I want to apply to, so i'm going to take a shot at it. However should I be disclosing that I'm not registered yet somewhere in my resume or cover letter? I'm a little lost so any help is appreciated!

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