Applying for New Grad positions in San Diego, CA

[karmyk]

Hi, everyone! I'm relocated to San Diego, and I've been trying to apply to some new grad programs in San Diego. My school (in Northern California) didn't provide very much guidance for the job application process to us, so I'm not sure if I'm going about the process correctly...

I've been sending in applications over the past few months (since mid-December) to new grad programs in the San Diego area, but I'm at a steady state of limbo in the process. I went to a job fair in November, and most of the recruiters told me that I needed to apply through the job postings on the websites. Sometimes, I'll get a confirmation that my application was received, but that doesn't happen very often. It's been fairly difficult to get in contact with recruiters, but I've been trying to do it without being too annoying or overbearing (I know people are busy, and I'm not a priority at the moment).

Is there another route that I should be taking that I'm not familiar with? Or does anyone have any suggestions? Or is the job market down here extremely saturated?

[San Diego New Grad]

Hello Karmy,

Welcome to San Diego. I was in the same boat as you--applying to different new grad programs, but not hearing anything. I've been told that the market is saturated with new grads here in San Diego, but I've never seen any official publication that has statistics on the ratio of new grads to new grad positions in SD.

As much as you might not like it, you have to be a pest--it will show the recruiter that you really are interested. If you can find out who the hiring manager is, then try to contact him/her directly as well. I know a few of us in my class, myself included, had to do that.

What hospitals and units did you apply to?

[karmyk]

Not being from the area, I applied to hospitals that friends knew about and that I was able to get a decent amount of information on-- Scripps, Sharp, UCSD, and Kaiser. The VA doesn't have any published jobs, but I send an initial copy of my resume in response to some posted openings at Balboa. I've primarily been applying for telemetry and cardiac observation openings.

What's the best resource to find out how to contact the nurse manager? Is that just through calling the units that have openings?

[San Diego New Grad]

The VA lists their positions on the federal website. Do a google search for "usajobs" and the link to the website should come up. You can type in "registered nurse" and narrow the search by location. I've heard they only take new grads with BSN's, but that's second hand information, so I can't say for sure.

You can ask the recruiter who the hiring manager is--that might also indicate to them that you are serious about applying for the position. I don't know if they'd be willing to give out that info. One of my classmates actually went to the unit and gave her resume directly to the hiring manager. Pretty gutsy, but she got the position.

Sorry I can't be of more help.