after four months Ive had two interviews and well a whole lot of nothing happened. I still have a part time non nursing job and am in the process of trying to return to school for my RN. But the bills are stacking up and not enough money to go around. Ive applied everyplace within a 30 mile radius and nothing, I was told by another nurse that in the area that we are in that you need to be a RN cause LPN is really hard to come by....which Ive found to be very true.
I dont know if Im interviewing wrong since my confidence has been shaken since being let go from my last nursing job, or maybe my references are not as good as I thought, or if my resume isnt as good as it should be.
My sister is looking over my resume, and Im thinking of maybe contacting a reference checking service.
Ive applied to jobs online, in person, snail mail... and nothing I even follow up to see if anyone had even looked at it, and still nothing. I feel very discouraged, like I shouldnt have even become a nurse to begin with and I hate that feeling cause I really enjoy it, even if some days are horrible.
My story is similar to yours, but not involving the legal stuff (I don't think!). If you look back on the board you can find my sad story of being screwed over by my last floor manager. (She didn't like me because I couldn't magically give myself 10 years of ED/CC experience and knowledge in 6 months, so I was a "bad nurse" and she looked for any reason to force me out of my job. They also said I was in breach of my employment contract after forcing me to resign, and are making me pay $5K lump-sum for "quitting early.")
So here is what I am doing for a hiring strategy (You might be doing the same thing):
1.) As much as I hate it, two or more days a week I sit down at the computer after putting everyone to bed and apply, apply, apply. (I even applied at a local gym for part-time work! AND WAS TUNRED DOWN!! Talk about a confidence killer!) If I think there is a remote chance of getting a foot in the door, I apply. Cut and paste has become my friend!
2.) I contacted my local free clinic and my church and have been volunteering as an out-patient nurse one day a week. This is to keep my skills current and show I am doing something in the nursing field. I might be wrong, but I think this looks good on my resume and shows I'm not just sitting at home. It is also helping to rebuild my confidence, as I feel I am contributing to something in my community and my lisence is not going to waste. It also gives me more current supervisor references to list, other than my last manager.
3.) I keep in touch with all my old co-workers via email and Facebook and let them know I am still alive and still looking and willing to accept most anything. I also have all my friends out looking. If finding a job is about "who you know," well, I know a lot of people! Eventually something has to come up!
4.) I am putting all my "soft skills" to work. I let people know I am a BLS instructor. I write articles. I also used to be in sales, and am bringing those skills back into play.
5.) I joined a community group. It gets me out of the house, introduces me to more people, and helps me get my mind off of beating myself up over not having a job. No one likes a sad girl!
Like I said before, this is a sucky situation, and I don't want to come across as some Pollyanna who toasts marshmallows while the house burns, but we can't turn back time and we can't change the fact that we are now shafted. But we can control what happens going forward.
Wow what a great attitude! Hopefully you will get something soon, keep it up!
carolmaccas66, BSN, RN
2,212 Posts
Wow what a great attitude! Hopefully you will get something soon, keep it up!