Anyone relocate without a job and was successful landing one soon after?

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Hi all,

I have been thinking about this question and decided to just throw it out here to see if I can get some help.

I graduated with an associate degree in December 2011, and passed the NCLEX about 9 days ago. I am a single mom who really really needs to work. I started applying for jobs before I graduated and since I passed the nclex but it's been rejections all the way (I am aware it is not just me).I must have applied to 100 jobs by now.

I am willing to work in nursing homes but the nursing homes in my area are not hiring. I have called several of them and even went in person to some, travelling as much as 2 hours to get to a few of them, but it is the same story.

So I have the following questions:

If you relocated to another state/city, can you tell me which city and yor opinion about the employment prospects?

Secondly, does anyone have experience of being hired at a ltc/skilled nursing facility while out of state?

So any suggestions with places I can consider? I was under the impression that Michigan, Texas,Oklahoma,are not too bad but it seem that may be incorrect.

Finally, because of my son's health, places like Eagle Pass (or the border towns),Minot or very rural locations etc is not an option for me. My son has a blood disorder and I need to be close to a children's hospital or at least a place where they will be familiar with his condition.

Yeah I know it won't be easy but I welcome all suggestions including private messages.

Thank you for your assistance.

p.s. I am currently in a compact state and I have a compact license.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

I relocated out-of-state without a job lined up, but this took place back in late 2005 when nursing jobs were abundant in most states. After receiving my temporary license that had been issued by my new state of residence, I landed a job in a nursing home the next day.

I highly doubt you'll be able to find a LTC/skilled nursing facility job out of state because many of these places still have paper applications. The easiest way to obtain a LTC position is to walk into the facility while dressed nicely and ask for an employment application. In addition, if you apply for out-of-state jobs, you will likely need a license in that state to even be called back.

I would look into mid-sized cities in the lower Midwest such as Lawton, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Wichita, Topeka, etc. All of these cities have multiple hospitals with multiple pediatric units. Oklahoma City has OU Children's Hospital. In addition, all of these cities have suburbs with smaller facilities that should generate healthcare jobs.

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Thank you TheCommuter. I appreciate your response. I actually applied to positions in OKC, Tulsa and Wichita before I was licensed. I will try again now that I have a license.

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My husband is active duty and stationed in SC. I was still living in FL during NS (and while he was deployed to Afghanistan). I got my license in FL and then tried getting a job in SC while my endorsement was pending. All I got from apps were crickets! Finally my endorsement came in. I reapplied to the same hospitals and a nursing home. I got 3 interviews and 2 job offers within the first month! It should be easier for you with a compact license!

Good luck in your decision!

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Another active duty spouse here- I graduated in May '10, passed NCLEX June '10 and moved from CA to VA 2 days later. I started applying for jobs at the end of July/ early August, had my 1st interview mid-August and first job offer 2 days later. I had another interview and subsequent job offer in Sept; both jobs had start dates in October. My goal when moving here was to start working in Sept/ Oct, so that I could get the kids settled in school before starting work. Both job offers were on med/ surg units at hospitals in DC. The only hinderance I had was that I had missed all of the July starts, so I was limited to the hospitals that had new grad programs starting in Oct, which were only those 2. I applied to those jobs with a CA license and there were no issues with me not applying for a DC license until I had a job offer.

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Specializes in Trauma ICU, Informatics.

That is a very tough decision. I had a friend in an ENTIRELY different field do that and was VERY UNSUCCESSFUL. When I was looking for work...back 2010/2011, I seriously considered relocating without a job. I figured the hope of finding something AFTER I had moved would be more promising. But when I did the math, it wasn't worth the trial and error. And I'm not a single parent. So for you, I would say more so to stick close to home until you have a job in the bag. Be motivated and keep searching. Your best motivator should be your son. And believe me...100 job applications doesn't even come close. When you get a comma between your numbers, then we'll start talking. Here is a link to my success post and the response to it was more than I ever could've imagined. Good luck to you!

https://allnurses.com/success-stories-nursing/i-got-job-532817.html

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