Re: Hospitals hiring in Virginia Originally Posted by smn2009
I can't speak for any other hospitals in the Hampton Roads area; but the Sentara Health Care System IS currently hiring. There are at least 5 positions online for new grad/no experience RNs!!! In particular, from memory, I know that Sentara Leigh has one or two jobs posted. Within the job description you will see, "Experience: Licensure: Currently licensed to practice as an RN by the Commonwealth of Virginia, or a recognized compact state, or eligible for new graduates."
!!!
It's not merely "word of mouth": I've spoken the to Sentara Recruiter many times since April. She knows me pretty well by now
The Sentara recruiter was blunt and said they place their own school's graduates first, then they consider their own employees, THEN there's a few hundred applications after that from both new graduates and experienced nurses they go through. So unless you have an kick-butt application that can really (REALLY!) stand out from the masses and/or know someone on the inside, you're not going to do very well here even though the listing says "or eligible new graduates." In fact, the suggestion about Northern VA came from a Sentara employee in HR.
Chesapeake isn't hiring GNs now either, neither is Riverside. Probably similar with CHKD, but their recruiter is a lot harder to get a hold of. Those are the ones I've dealt with.
I don't mean to discourage Epona or anyone from trying when I say "Forget Hampton Roads". Definitely double-check with facilities as things change rapidly and what's true today may not be true tomorrow. But the reality (right from the recruiters' mouths) is that getting hired as a GN here today is an uphill battle. If you don't live here already, don't relocate here just because SLH has a couple of postings saying they'll consider new grads...because the odds are nowhere near as good as they sound

Get the job
first, then move here.
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