29 applications in and still no job!!!

Nurses Job Hunt

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I graduated a few months back, passed NCLex last month on my first try, had good grades and excellent references but little job history as I was a stay at home mom for most of my adult life. I've now put in 29 applications and haven't even gotten a call for an interview!!! I'm not sure what to think but this is getting to be discouraging and my husband is losing patience with being the only support for the family. SIGH

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

the market is very tight. there is no nursing shortage. the jobs maybe posted but there are hiring freezes due to the economy. nurses have returned to the workforce because their s.o. is unemployed and nurses who planned to retire cannot because we lost our butts in 401k when everything crashed. there are nursing schools churning out grads at an alarming rate to take advantage of the economy and the flocking of society to the "recession proof" healthcare field...with no positions to fulfill. there are hospitals that offer "internships" or "residencies" that you pay them to train you available but they are few and far between and don't guarantee employment. right now it just stinks out there :sniff: hospitals are "short staffed" but they want it that way......due to budget cuts and hospitals are still laying off.

https://allnurses.com/nursing-news/jo...ds-662139.html

https://allnurses.com/nursing-first-j...ew-636865.html

medscape: medscape access requires registration but it is free

the big lie?without a doubt, the main source of frustration experienced by recently graduated and licensed but still unemployed nurses is what could be called "the big lie."in other words, the television commercials that encourage young people to become nurses -- and then abandon them for months (or years) without employment; and the educators who tell them that the associate's degree is perfectly adequate to guarantee employment, that they will have their pick of jobs when they graduate, and that there is plenty of time to get a bsn later on. who knows whether it is greed, ignorance, or wishful thinking that underlies the fairy tales told to nursing students about their future job prospects? whatever the motivation, the disillusionment of our new grads is palpable. the jobs they expected after all of their hard work just haven't materialized, and some grads are getting pretty desperate

there are multiple applicants for every position and many hospitals have hiring freezes.

has the nursing shortage disappeared?

it's that time of year again. graduating nursing students are preparing to take the nclex and are looking for their first jobs. this year, many are finding those first jobs in short supply.

reports are rampant of new graduates being unable to find open positions in their specialty of choice, and even more shockingly, many are finding it tough to find any openings at all.

these new rns entered school with the promise that nursing is a recession-proof career. they were told the nursing shortage would guarantee them employment whenever and wherever they wanted.

so what happened? has the nursing shortage—that we've heard about incessantly for years—suddenly gone away?

http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/co...sappeared.html

the short term answer is clearly yes, although in the long term, unfortunately, the shortage will still be there. the recession has brought a temporary reprieve to the shortage. nurses who were close to retirement have seen their 401(k) portfolios plummet and their potential retirement income decline. they are postponing retirement a few more years until the economy—and their portfolios—pick up.

many nurses have seen their spouses and partners lose their jobs and have increased their hours to make ends meet for their families. some who left the profession to care for children or for other reasons have rejoined the workforce for similar reasons.

in addition, many hospitals are not hiring. the recession brought hiring freezes to healthcare facilities across the country, and many are still in effect. help wanted ads for healthcare professionals dropped by 18,400 listings in july, even as the overall economy saw a modest increase of 139,200 in online job listings.

you are not alone....:hug:

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Specializes in Emergency/Trauma.

i applied to over 100 within my first month of being licensed. although i was hired at an outpatient women's clinic 30 days after my nclex, i am still applying to open hospital positions. i have close to 200 applications out currently, and actually finally have a few interviews coming up at my dream hospital. i fished around online for who their nursing recruiter is, and i called and talked with her for awhile. every new grad looks the same on applications- you need to talk to someone to stick out.

good luck!

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ESME12 - exactly!!!!There are over 600,000 allnurses members, just think what we could change if we stuck together, educated the public, and made the truth be known!?

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HR are gatekeepers of the hospital who filter out applications based on the criteria posted for the job. It doesn't matter that a nurse manager might make an exception for you, the NM probably will not even see your application because you don't match the job requirements.

So my advice to you is to skip HR completely, at least in the begining. Put on some business casual attire or scrubs and march right up to the nurse managers office on the floor you want to work on. Try to arrive a few hours after shift change. Introduce yourself and say you're a new grad looking for a job. Drop off your resume. If the NM invites you in to talk to her, its a win. You get some facetime with the NM while she looks over your resume. Try and be extroverted for 15 mins, even if you're shy. Make a good impression.

I graduated in 2010 and I put in 2 applications before I got a job.

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Specializes in orthopedic/trauma, Informatics, diabetes.

I applied for about 50 positions. Got 4 interviews (3 at the same organization). Ended up getting a job where my clinical instructor from first semester of Nursing school ended up. Almost all of my classmates that got jobs either already worked there in some capacity or made contacts through clinical/precepting.

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Specializes in ICU / PCU / Telemetry / Oncology.

Expect to have an arduous Job Search if all you're doing is "submitting applications" without personal contact ... you need to go out there and meet people that hire face-to-face if you want to see results. Without this effort, you are just one of hundreds of resumes they receive. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. I should know.

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I'm in Colorado and have started to apply in California after seeing how many places are hiring. I could get a CA license by endorsement. Are they even hiring new grads with no paid experience? I have some really great experience after doing 9 mos in medical ICU and excellent references from my preceptors.

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And I haven't yet found ANY places close by that I can walk in and talk to a human. Well, except I did find a nursing home today in my local city that said to bring the resume in person. I'm going there tomorrow.

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Specializes in Rehab/LTC.

Yep, nursing homes are probably going to be your best bet. Get some experience there for a couple of years and then maybe move on to home health. The jobs are with the elderly population.

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BearishBob

So my advice to you is to skip HR completely, at least in the begining. Put on some business casual attire or scrubs and march right up to the nurse managers office on the floor you want to work on. Try to arrive a few hours after shift change. Introduce yourself and say you're a new grad looking for a job. Drop off your resume. If the NM invites you in to talk to her, its a win. You get some facetime with the NM while she looks over your resume. Try and be extroverted for 15 mins, even if you're shy. Make a good impression.

WOW. I am impressed. I graduated in May in PA and due to a change of events I got my license switched over to IL. I have sent out about 100 applications and still nothing. Its a little hard for me to just "pop" in to see a nurse manager considering I still currently live in PA, however from what you said- I'm realizing it might be worth it. Just one question for you or anyone else who has tried this: Do you always get positive reactions to this? My first thought when I read this was that I would be annoying the Nurse Manager and that I would come off obnoxious. I know how busy nurses can be and how hectic change of shift often is. Is there a best way to approach this? because I feel like my mindset is a little off right now....

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Specializes in "Wound care - geriatric care.

You are kidding right? 29 applications? I've heard of people who only got a job after 2000 applications! I'm about on the 350 mark. I'm doing about 5 a day and I know it takes a long time to get one done so you have to be patient.

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and so, after these 100's of applications in many states, you guys did get jobs, right?

I finally got a job 8 months after graduation, 5 months after passing the NCLEX. And only because one of my professors got me the interview. It sucks out there. Good luck!

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