Anyone Hiring New Grads Now?

mom2a1c2 · Sep 28, 2011

I drove by Arizona Heart Hospital yesterday on the freeway, and there was a big banner hanging on the building that said "Now Hiring!" I don't know if they are hiring new grads, but it's worth a shot. Good luck!

fromtheseaRN, BSN, RN · Sep 30, 2011

about a month ago i saw some postings for banner desert in l&d, and said they DID accept new grads. i'm sure they went quickly, but it was a good sign. good luck!

SNIXRN · Oct 3, 2011

Mayo, Banner... Don't waste your time applying for positions that require experience, apply to ones that accept new grads. Also, get ahold of the nursing recruiter or supervisor - let them know why you would be a great fit.

Good luck.

boru · Oct 7, 2011

RNinWhite is correct... I'm in the newgrad boat also and took the advice of others that said, apply to jobs other than 'new grad' postings (which are pretty rare). I wish I wouldn't have wasted all those hours typing in applications... Ive applied to hundreds of jobs like that.

Like if it says: experienced preferred... HRs seem to be phasing out the word preferred for the most part... but today it doesn't mean new grad.

look on scottsdale healthcare's job site, there is basically a caveat that says external new grads need not apply (they just say it nicer).

It is possible to get a job as a new grad in a hospital... I'm just saying it's not probable (more like hitting the lottery... but it does happen).

Your best bet is to focus on clinics and sub-acute facilities... some of them are hiring. Once you get in there then keep looking at the hospitals, at least you'll have an income and be getting some sort of experience while you are waiting.

I wish you all the best... but you're not alone.

luvazsun, RN · Oct 7, 2011

I'm not a new grad, and I still cannot find a job here. Be careful about applying to clinics or LTC, or med-spa's, hospitals don't consider those "experience". I worked in a clinic for almost 2 yrs and was the only RN - it still doesn't count for acute care experience. Uggh!

boru · Oct 7, 2011

I totally agree with you leeanna, I worked for one of those places for a little while as an RN... and let's just say it wasn't for me. But maybe someone else would have better experience there. I didn't feel I was nursing there, I didn't have time to do that... I had too many pts that needed their meds and their dressings changed. Some of these facilities you can have 19-20 pts with just a CNA to help you... it's a lot of responsibility.

Yes, I also agree that the hospitals won't consider it acute care exp... and that you will still be considered a new grad. It's not fair but it is what it is. Just please understand that some of us are in a desperate situation... does it look better to not work at all? Maybe it's just my opinion, but I feel that the longer you don't work, the worse you look to a potential employer.

Thank goodness for school!... I can collect all the degrees I want. It's great that I can bust out all these APA papers, and discussion questions on nursing theory until I'm blue in the face. But unless someone will give us a chance, all of these letters after our name isn't going to matter. The best education is on the unit...

At this point, I wish the hospitals would just offer us new grads lower pay for the first year to offset the cost of the new grad training. It wouldn't conflict with the experienced nurses payscale and we could be assigned a preceptor for longer periods of time to help with their pts. I'll take lower pay, I just need the opportunity to learn.

I read this article a few months ago that a hospital in Houston was going to start a new-grad residency for 6 months and was hiring 100s of graduate RNs (GNs they call them in Texas)... the trick was that it was a non-paid position, and at the end of it you would be re-evaluated for hire. Crazy right? But that's where we are... it's how desperate we've become. If I lived there I would have considered it... anything for a chance to get rid of this new grad label.

Sorry for the rant...

arwerth, BSN, RN · Oct 14, 2011

Just wondering if you've found a job yet. I saw that you had written on a Chamberlain thread as a current student (assuming recent grad). I am strongly considering Chamberlain for the Spring but was wondering how long it takes recent grads from there to get jobs. Are your classmates having trouble as well?

boru · Oct 14, 2011

arwerth, I'm assuming your addressing the author of the original thread? I didn't go to Chamberlin, but I hear it is a fine school... one of the better out of the privates.

I would never discourage someone from still pursuing their RN because of these hiring issues... it will eventually turn around. To be clear, there ARE RN jobs out there for new grads... it's just a question of quality of job. Over half of my classmates are still not employed as nurses (but those are the ones trying to get in hospitals only).

Also, the appeal to going to a private school (chamber., PIMA, apollo, ethel bauer, or whatever theses schools are called these days) was that you didn't have to wait on the MCC list for two years. The cost of most of the privates was around $50k, and the cost of a community college was around $10K.

A few years ago, you could go to a private school and begin almost immediately and finish earlier... therefore you could begin your RN career earlier than most of those that waited on the list. Making an RN salary earlier in some cases justified the higher cost.

However, because of the job market today, that justification for a significantly higher pricetag on your education may not exist. I would still hold out and go to an MCC school and then bridge over to ASU or GCU to get your BSN.

SunSurfRN · Oct 26, 2011

I have found Phoenix to be brutal as a new grad. I started working here, albeit in home health, and then moved on to subacute. The hospitals just continuously reject my application. I started networking rather than throwing in online apps and thats how I just landed an ER job after 7 months of home health/subacute.

boru · Oct 26, 2011

Congrats sunsurfRN, in this market that is a great accomplishment. I agree that networking is the way to go... or as we used to call it, it's not what you know but who you know.