After 20 MONTHS of job search.....i give up.

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So, after 20 months of looking for work as a nurse, i've officially given up. Im putting the mistake of going to school to become a nurse behind me and moving fwd as a receptionist. If i knew wasting all that time, and money going to school was only going to give me $60,000 of debt i would have done something more productive. Do you know what a 60,000 vacation could be like. But i'm just stuck with debt and a BSN that will never get used cause no one wants to hire me!!!!

If one more person tells me to apply to North Shore, I'm gonna smack them. Does everyone really think I never heard of them and i didnt apply there.

I hate what not having a job has done to me. Ive become an ANGRY, BITTER person that HATES PEOPLE. I cant say I hate nursing cause no one has ever given me a chance to work. SO, I HATE THE PROCESS OF BECOMING A NURSE and looking for a job as a nurse. I HATE all the people I tutored in school for them to pass their classes, my so called "friends", who ive never heard from again since they got jobs!!!

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Specializes in Long Term Care.

Hello SKNY, I would like to start off by saying hang in there you are not the only one. Have you applied to any agencies..Quality Healthcare, Bayada Nurses, White glove? Check out Advance for Healthcare Careers.

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Skny, don't give up!!! I know you don't want to hear another word about lij but they are having an open house tomorrow for the new women's center that will be opening!

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I had to take a position upstate. I was just recently hired at Bassett Medical Center. I was in the same boat as you for so long.

Have you tried upstate NY?

I also made a thread in the volunteer nursing forum. Check it out maybe it will help you. And if you have the means, and time you should look into it, so you don't lose your skills. Some of the suggestions were really helpful.

And to the person who suggested agencies, they don't take new grads (well the ones I checked out), they only will if you have some good connections. Which I had at the time but nothing became available at the hospital (I volunteered at this hospital).

And thanks for the heads up about open house with the NSLIJ system. But honestly, I tried so many times there. It ain't worth it.

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Same here! I totally understand what you feel! I even think there might be a group of new nurses that are unemployed somewhere...ugh.

There are jobs, but those are the crappy ones. Bad companies, bad schedule...etc.

If you are trying to get to a hospital, try talking to people. All the nurses I ask about their hospital experience told me they got their jobs through friends. It's sad and upsetting, but true.

It's amazing to think that there is really nurse shortage, but yet, hospitals are not thinking long-term and only hiring experienced nurses because of the costs of training new ones. Plus, since economy is bad, old nurses aren't retiring yet. I heard it is even cheaper for hospitals to get foreign nurses than to train the ones already here.

I'm sure you were exploding and just wanting to release all the anger... but don't let it get you. Things aren't easy at the beginning. I'm in the same boat and sometimes I think I want to go back to school and do something else. But at the end of the day I realize I do want to be a nurse and I have to fight to get what I want.

What kind of job have you been doing? unemployed for 20 months? wherever you are, ask around. Even carry your resume, you never know.

Chin up! things are always better than you think :)

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Also, have you guys thought about endorsement in other states. I did NJ and PA.

I did finally get a callback from a hospital in PA that I applied to before I received offer upstate.

Now, that I think about it though I should have gone to MA or Washington DC.

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guys... I just started my nursing class , it's first semester...

just one big question, maybe you can offer me some insights...

HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO GET A JOB AS NURSE RIGHT NOW & IS IT REALLY BAD IN THE MARKETS RIGHT NOW?

I've seen new RNs got jobs and some don't, why is it so? can someone give me an exact answer to what's goiong on, I don't want to end up with no jobs...

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u have to know the right people to get a job. u wont get anything on ur own....i know i'm still unemployed.

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hand delivered some....was told to my face....we dont have positions for new grads, we dont hire new grands, "u dont have any experience...oh, come back when u do!"

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this is sad! I don't understand, even if you know somebody (so called connections), you are still a new grad, what makes you different? If you are new to a hospital even if you have experiences, you are still new, need to learn new protocols and so on! skill wise, everybody received same training, all passed the same exam, tell me what's there to worry about new grads? if you need to take 80 patients at each floor, even with a lot of experiences, you may still end up with mistakes, isn't this sound fair? I don't understand, with the same licensure, why is everybody treated so differently? if it's because the wage, then lower it, I'm sure new grads can survive the low wage til she/he proves otherwise, isn't that beneficial to hospital budget? maybe I'm just being naive about the politics. but why give so many hopes when there's none. I'm sure it must be tough on those who still in search of jobs, wish you guys good luck, or even yet, maybe you guys should team up and do something about this, because to me, it's just not fair if facilities hire ppl simply based on connections. Everyone deserve the same opportunity. Just like when were picked by nursing school, they eliminate ppl based on GPA and not something else!

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Specializes in MICU, Intermediate Care Unit.

One thing that has not been mentioned is the new grad retention rate. Not only does it cost a hospital alot of money to train a new grad RN (they are paying an RN salary but not yet getting the workload out of them) but many, many new grads leave the hospital within 1-2 years after being hired because nursing school just DOES NOT prepare you for what it's like to be an actual hospital staff RN.

With that said, nursing is cyclical. There is no nursing shortage currently in the greater NY area unfortunately for new grads and those with limited experience. In a few years there will be a major shortage again; history has told us this.

The only advice I can give to new grad RN's as an experienced RN is to truly consider finding a job in and moving to another state for the time being. I understand that for some this is not at all possible, but for some it may be.

Best of luck to all of you!

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I agree with a lot of what you guys are saying. Every nurse was a new grad at some point. Everyone deserves a chance. For those of you in nursing school, introduce yourself to people on the unit while you are doing your clinical rotations. Don't be afraid to ask for a business card. Ask questions and show interest. Identify the nurse manager and introduce yourself. You can even talk about the hiring process. Good luck!

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