Am I Marketable? At All?

deathisastar13 · Oct 4, 2011

Try and volunteer...that will count as experience!

Don't give up either! Stay positive!

poopprincess · Oct 4, 2011

You will get something-just be persistent. Stay on top of it and think outside the box. I know you want PEDS (I did too) but new grads are in no place to be picky. Put your app in at a Children's hospital and also at every other hospital in your area. If you have any LTACs, they are GREAT ways to get acute care experience. I graduated this yr. in May with no externship and no medical experience at all. I put in apps in Feb, Mar, April, and May and heard nothing. I just kept doing it and I also attended 2 job fairs which yielded 2 interviews and no job. AFTER I got my license, people started showing interest. I had a job 2 wks. later. Passing NCLEX speaks volumes, it's the real deal and then you will have something to bring to the table. For now, just focus on graduating. You still have a ways to go. Next year, start applying for new grad residencies in your area and as you near your graduation date, keep applying. Remember, you may not necessarily get your dream job to start but you will get something to give you experience that will land your dream job later if need be. Also, you said school for 4 yrs. so I am assuming a BSN program? You already have a upper edge. :)

MrChicagoRN, RN · Oct 4, 2011

Hi everyone.
Now I am a senior and time is ticking. I'm starting to apply to nursing care partner positions again but I feel like managers wont want to hire me because they know I will be graduating soon and it will be a waste of their time. Am I wrong?

Many managers find this a great way to recruit what new nurses they do need. We've hired at least 6 new grads in the past few years that started as Nurses Assistants.

Gives the manager an extended time period to evaluate the student & decide if they'd like to hire them.

luvtonurse · Oct 4, 2011

Thanks for the advice guys. Keep it coming

newgradchad · Oct 4, 2011

Stay positive you will make it! Don't let your fears get in the way of your success. I was once in your shoes: I didn't get the externships I applied to, couldn't get a job in the hospital as an assistant/aide/tech, I wasn't even in the top of my class. I barely made it. I feel like now I've always just made it because I didn't have enough confidence in myself, I always brought myself down and they kept me from getting hired. I graduated May 2011 and just got hired on a cardiac floor at Newark Beth Israel, which is amazing! If I can make it, you can make it. You've just got to be proud of everything you've done and stop comparing yourself to other people with other experiences. Your experiences and achievements are valuable too. Just show them how willing you are to learn. Don't beat yourself up for things you can't change. Stay positive and good luck!

P.S. I did volunteer work also and many places I applied to counted that as experience as well.

nola1202 · Oct 4, 2011

Yes! Go to hospitals with resume in hand and your 3 letters of ref from instructors, better to ask before graduation so you can get an early start. and ask to speak to the unit manager. Arrive before 3p (most have a staffing meeting around then) 1:00 seems to be a good time for a lot of them. Hand out your resume on different floors. Tell them you are a new grad and really want to work for them. Many unit mgrs. will talk to you despite the job postings that say "no new grads." There's a hospital in our area that hires new grads who do this despite the "no new grads" statement in the HR job posting. HR will go along with the unit mgrs requests. good luck and don't worry if it takes awhile.

PediLove2147, BSN, RN · Oct 4, 2011

Volunteer if you can and keep applying for nursing assistant jobs. It is not too late. I was hired my senior year in November! The job market is terrible but there are jobs out there. Apply, apply, apply!

Are you doing a preceptorship next semester? If so, get in good with the manager! That could lead to something.

Good luck and enjoy your senior year! :)

LoveMyBugs, BSN, CNA, RN · Oct 4, 2011

Apply to anything and everything you can.

Eventually you can work to where you want to be

As a new grad do not be picky, I started out doing flu shot clinics, then peds home health ( which I left due to lack of orientation/unsafe) I then got hired in a SNF. I have been working that job now for 10 months, 2 months ago I got hired into a large hospital system in their long term care pediatric unit for medically fragile children on call.

I hope to use that experiecne to work my way into the childrens hospital in my area

33762FL · Oct 4, 2011

You're just as marketable as other new grads who haven't had an externship and haven't worked as a CNA. And some new grads in your position get hired at hospitals. Not all, but some. I agree it's a waste of time at this point to apply to CNA jobs or hospital volunteer positions. You're too close to graduation to be hired for that. Right now you should focus on networking. If you have any friends or family who work at a hospital, you need to ask them to put in your resume as a referral. Networking is the way people get jobs, your chances drastically increase if you do it this was versus a blind online application.

evolvingrn, BSN, RN · Oct 4, 2011

I think it will be hard to get a peds nursing job if your in a tight nursing market (and probably a hospital job) but you will find something! i did work as a nursing assistant and its what helped me to land my first job but it wasn't because of the actual experience it was because of the 'connections' i made. Nursing is all about networking. You just have to find the right person and hope they want to help you get a breaK.. its how i have gotten both my jobs! good luck....... its still early in the year. I was in a unique program so the nursing managers knew me a little and talked to me (very little) but i always made the habit of going at the end of the clincal experience and thanking them for the opportunity and letting them know some of the positive things i had learned on their floor. sometimes i did that in person sometimes i did that by email. the advantage to doing it in writing is they actually visulize your name and your resume might trigger a mild recollection when your resume comes across the desk.

nyrn5125 · Oct 4, 2011

you do have ped's experience so maybe if no hospital can hire you yet apply at facilities for children with developmental disabilities. not sure where you live but depending on the area those places see as much turnover as a hospital. used to work there myself with patients 18y and older. don't give up, look at places that are a further distance than you would like to travel.sometimes your dream job is an hour away, but it's a job