*UNEMPLOYED NURSES*

Nurses Job Hunt

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Ello~

I'm just curious to know, for those of you who are unemployed nurses, exactly how long have you been looking for work? What are you (LPN,RN,BSN-RN,MSN-NP,etc.) How many previous years of experience do you have? Where are you located? How many applications do you think you have placed? What about interviews? Add anything else that you want! Vent, tell us how you REALLY feel, give your opinions/outlooks on everything.

Specializes in med-surg.

We need to start calling our State representative, call NPR CNN and let them know that American NUrse born raised studied in America are not able to find employment. Charity begins with self. We should not be importing Nurses. Can we start a petition to the health department. Please someone do the research find who we can write to. put it on facebook twitters and all the others.

Specializes in L&D/Maternity nursing.
RN with BSN with 4 years experience in NH in long term care, research, 6 months hospital. unemployed for 8 months, countless online applications, just had 2 interviews. Got a job offer that wanted me to start in less than a week, requested a later start date due to insufficient day care, awaiting answer!

I am in NH as well and have been licensed for 9 months and just recently got an offer as well (hospital setting). I had my pick of a March 28th start date or an April 18th. I opted for the April date as I too need to arrange day care for my son.

I am curious as to where you will be working! If you feel comphy in sharing, PM me. If not, I totally understand. :-)

Congrats and good luck!

It's been my experience that the most decisive factor in getting hired is having at least a couple years of experience in the area they're looking for.

Your right, my comment is geared more toward new graduates. I dont know not one new graduate that got a job unless they had personal connections in the facility where they got the offer.

i am in nh as well and have been licensed for 9 months and just recently got an offer as well (hospital setting). i had my pick of a march 28th start date or an april 18th. i opted for the april date as i too need to arrange day care for my son.

i am curious as to where you will be working! if you feel comphy in sharing, pm me. if not, i totally understand. :-)

congrats and good luck!

hi melmarie23 was in nh now in california good luck to you in your new job!

sorry i was in nh now cali

Specializes in Urgent Care, Pediatrics, Hospice.

Count me in.

Unemployed since 11/2010. Started in '09 as a new grad LVN at an urgent care clinic. The completely irregular shifts that turned out to be mostly nights and weekends finally took their toll on my family so I left in 8/2010 to join a pedi practice. I took a significant paycut, but I absolutely LOVED that job. I looked forward to going to work every day. The doc I worked with told me all the time that they were so happy to have me. Thanked me constantly for everything I did. Never ever said a negative word to me. Never once criticized me. Told me daily what a great nurse I am.

Then he fired me out of nowhere.

The day of my 90 day review I walked into his office thinking we were about to discuss my 90-day pay increase. Nope. Fired. I was completely blindsided and was never given a reason. (I'm in Texas and it's a right to work state - they can do that here.) I was just told "It's not working out." I had no warning. I had never been fired before. At the time, my partner had been laid off after over a decade with a huge company. I lost our family's only income that day. I filed for unemployment and my partner cashed in his IRA so we had money for rent and bills.

So now this job that I loved is a huge black mark on my resume. Three month stints don't look too good. On top of that, I now have the added stigma of 5 months of unemployment. My partner, thankfully, found work right after Christmas. My unemployment benefits run out next month unless I file for an extension. I spend most every single day applying for anything I can find. LTC, Home Health, Clinic, Private Practice. Any LVN job really. Going to job fairs. In 5 months I have had 3 face to face interviews. That's it.

I feel like taking that job ruined my entire career. Nobody wants to hire me. I am a nurse and I can't practice. It's so frustrating and I feel really helpless.

I am in the NYC area. Licensed in CT and in NY. One year experience as an RN and another year experience as a CNA, both in oncology and hospice.

I've been unemployed for 7 months in 2 days ... losing hope ... crying often ... unable to pay bills ... very scared.

RN graduated with a 3.8 gpa in 12/2010. Seattle area!! Over 200 applications, 1 call with 1 interview, and although it was for a new grad/residency position, they went with the experienced candidate. My classmates who are getting hired either already worked at the facility or know someone high enough on the food chain to get them in.... Currently I am barely getting by waiting tables... And, I quit a decent paying job to go to nursing school, and for what? for $20,000 in loan debt, oh and the ability to utilize critical thinking!!

RN graduated with a 3.8 gpa in 12/2010. Seattle area!! Over 200 applications, 1 call with 1 interview, and although it was for a new grad/residency position, they went with the experienced candidate. My classmates who are getting hired either already worked at the facility or know someone high enough on the food chain to get them in.... Currently I am barely getting by waiting tables... And, I quit a decent paying job to go to nursing school, and for what? for $20,000 in loan debt, oh and the ability to utilize critical thinking!!

I have been able to find work in two places to hopefully gain the experience that will eventually qualify me for a good paying job. One is home health and the other is the care of the elderly. I know these are not the highest paying Nursing Jobs but you got to start somewhere I guess. I feel like I too was duped by all these money makers that get us to pay them money promising employment only to discover that our credentials are worthless in the eyes of these nuts who are doing the hiring and yes, I am calling them nuts.

I have proven to myself that I am a good nurse. I needed that because of all of these rejections. But suffice it to say that it is not nurses who are hiring us. It is these outsourcing agencies and people who know nothing about what it takes to be a nurse who are doing the hiring and firing. They are judging us based on what? I would REALLY like to know because I am clueless how they can send me 400 letters stating that there are other candidates more qualified when a) the job sits on their employment board for months after this and b) who are they comparing me to and without ever meeting me? How do they know if that candidate is "more qualified?"

I want to say too that I can't pass these interviews from these people once I get past that process. When you ask me what's the worst thing that happened to me, the first thing that comes to my mind is the worst thing that's happened to me. But that is the wrong answer. So then I'm lying to get a job? What does that say about me if I'm telling you the most mundane thing I can think of and how it helped me improve myself and my character? BS!!! :cool:

Specializes in CCU.

I am very fortunate as my Job Search experience has been positive. Now, this has come with some sacrifice. When I first graduated I had to leave my home of 27 years to relocate in order to get a nursing position. I sort of looked at it as going away to college (lol...at my age). But it has now given me the option to move back home, however, I've decided to stay where I am. there are Nursing Jobs out there, but in my situation, I found it took relocating to get my start. For those of you searching...it may be something to consider.

Well, here's my strategy: I'm going to start as a volunteer for the employer I would like to work for. Crazy? Yes, maybe 4 or 5 years ago in the days of sign-on bonuses and hiring frenzy (this employer, like many, is currently not hiring at all). Nowadays it may be one of the only ways to get a decent job.

It's very difficult for me to find a job that will work for me due to family obligations. But I'm hoping that something will come out of this. Hospices actually need volunteers (to be able to get funding), so they value them very much. It'll be nice to be appreciated, for once, even if the financial payoff is - for now - naught.

And no matter what comes out of this, I'll be able to put it on my resume. (Meanwhile, I'm getting by by tapping into my 401k from a previous employer; gotta do what you gotta do, I need the money more now that in the future. Taking a stop-gap job at Walmart wouldn't help me at all!)

Best of luck to all of us looking for work in this rotten job market!

DeLana

P.S. The wild cat days that employers are currently enjoying and exploiting will come to an end; this is inevitable. And then they will pay... or find themselves without desperately needed nurses, because we owe loyalty to no one, especially not those who treated us the way they are currently doing it! We won't forget, and we won't forgive.

Specializes in Home Health.

I was out of steady work for 7 months last year until I found a good job in November.

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