Applying for New Grad jobs with gaps in resume

[stockmanjr, BSN]

I was hoping to get some suggestions from the board about how to handle my situation. I graduated from my first degree right around the financial crisis and worked in the business world unfortunately my employment there was extremely short as the firm went into crisis almost as soon as I got there. While I was looking for employment after that I became ill and was out of the work force for several years. Within those years I did extensive volunteer work and also completed pre-reqs which I thought at the time would have been for PA school but ended up becoming extremely useful for nursing. As I was finally starting to reboot my life I decided that PA school wasn't for me and that nursing was my calling. Meanwhile my dad unfortunately started to decline from Parkinson's and thus my life once again was temporary put on hold leaving me only able to do flexible jobs like Taskrabbit. I was finally able to start nursing school in January 2016 and and so incredibly excited to be graduating with my BSN later this month. My concern is how to discuss this with potential employers. Both the issues that led to these gaps are in the past with my illness resolved and my dad sadly passing away last year. I'm a completely different person and a much stronger person because of all of this. I really hope these gaps in my resume aren't going to be a road block for me getting a position and would truly appreciate any suggestions that you guys could give me.

[SteelGrey]

Short story: I had employment gaps, got offers from every job I interviewed for as a new grad, and it was never even discussed.

Long Story:

Soo I'm not sure where your from and I know it depends on region, but I have found the market to be very favorable of nurses and even new graduates- as in the ball as in your court. I would suspect in the business world that you came from or a tight market, it may be different and your concerns are different.

Are any of the hospitals or locations you did your clinical coursework at discussing new graduate programs or hiring opportunities? Sometimes the hiring factors are geared toward just starting out students and not so much emphasis on your work history.

I too had a career change, second degree, cross country move with employment gaps and it was never discussed. What mattered was passing your NCLEX, and your references. Use your clinical instructors and hospital networking contacts for ways to highlight your experience and motivation.

Also, have your new grad resume reflect your education, certifications, coursework and relevant clinical experience/work experience. I found I didn't have room to list every job I've ever had or worked part-time as a student etc. Make it all about nursing.

And if gaps are reflected in your application in some way and they are brought up, just speak honestly about them. We all have bumps in our life and they are unavoidable.