I am sorry if this has been posted before, I am sure it has, but there are so many threads to look through!
I just graduated with my ADN in December, and last week found out I passed the NCLEX. I was so sure that I would be able to find a job right away that I nonchalantly called the nursing recruiter at the hospital closest to me (who had told me before that as soon as I got my license I would get a job there), and he told me there were no positions currently open for new grads. So I tried another hospital, and another, and another. Nothing. I have applied to nearly all open positions in nearly all hospitals in the Denver metro area and have not had any luck. I have also talked to all the nursing recruiters in all the hospitals. They all say the same thing (IF I even get a response): "We don't hire new grads" or "Our new grad program is full". I know we are in a recession and all, but come on...
So I put my resume up on Monster.com and was contacted by a staffing agency who said they do hire new grads, and that I would most likely start out at the VA doing med-surg. I will most likely take the position because a job's a job right? But it is not what I want to do at all, and I know me, I know I will hate it.
My question is: Should I take this offer from the staffing agency? Does anyone have any remarks about Maxim Healthcare? If I take this, and can hold out for 6 months to a year, will that count as experience enough to get a position in what I really want to do (OB nursing)? Also, my dream is to do travel nursing. If I take a med-surg job will I be able to get a travel job in OB or will I have to stick to med-surg? And one more: Are other big cities hiring new grads more than here? Should I move?
I had no idea it would be this hard, and I know it has only been a week, but I already told my current boss to take me off the schedule starting next month, so I really need to find something else, soon. I appreciate any feedback and/or similar stories!!
Hey all, just wanted to let you know that after constant badgering one hospital (their HR, and their ICU nurse manager) I have an interview tomorrow! I also have one for a clinic, but I'm hoping (praying) for the hospital.
Hey I just got a letter for an Open House for Nursing and Allied Health Professionals from The Riverside County Regional Medical Center, its on April 16th or go to www.rcrmc.org or www.rc-hr.com they have positions that require no experience. I'm not moving to Southern CA anytime soon, but if anyone is interested and willing to move should check it out...
Also if anyone knows of anything around Sacramento I am willing to commute up to 2hrs. Please!!!!!!!!!!
I apologize for not responding to this thread sooner, I didn't know it had gotten so much feedback! And thank you all for your advice, it is good to hear I am not alone in this crap situation.
Well it has been 2 months now since the job hunt began and I am no further than I was in Feb. I do have my Oregon license now, but there is nothing out there either. I have applied to new grad programs in Boston, Virginia, North Carolina, Wyoming, San Diego, Portland and Seattle, and have not had any luck whatsoever. I am lucky if I even get an email telling me so. I have contacted nurse managers when I can, and they all say I need more experience. How am I supposed to get experience if no one will hire me?!
So I got my job back with Hospice and am picking up shifts at a nursing home that I worked at previously. BTW, someone had mentioned being an LPN before becoming an RN helps... that's not really true. I had been an LPN for 3.5 years before getting my RN, and I am still in this situation. In fact I am back to where I started before school. It is very frustrating, having worked so hard for this and not seeing anything come of it like I wanted. For me it's not the money, and I'm sure it's the same for most of us. I have a passion for nursing, and I want to use it in a new way, other than helping people die.
I am hoping against all hopes at this point that if I stick with this for a year or so that it will count as experience and I can get a job in a hospital and hopefully the economy will be better by then. And I found out today that only one person out of 30 in my class has gotten a hospital job!! This really STINKS.
Specializes in ED, ICU, MS/MT, PCU, CM, House Sup, Frontline mgr.
hello all,
i had been an lpn for 3.5 years before getting my rn, and i am still in this situation. i am hoping against all hopes at this point that if i stick with this for a year or so that it will count as experience and i can get a job in a hospital and hopefully the economy will be better by then. and i found out today that only one person out of 30 in my class has gotten a hospital job!! this really stinks.
are you marketing yourself as a new grad rn??? if so, i think that is part of your problem. new grads have no licensed nursing work experience of more then 2 years (many employers will cut us off at 1).
have you been a lpn for 3.5 years?? that means you are not a new grad but an experienced nurse with a new degree and license, that is all!! if you earn a msn np later you would also not be considered a new grad; just an experienced nurse with a new license and degree! thus, you should be playing up your lpn work experience because you are a nurse and have been for a while. hiring mangers see you as someone they can train to do something else and you will cost them less money then an inexperienced new grad rn.
stay where you are at and redo your resume if you have written it up like an inexperienced new grad rn. now is a good time for you to apply... you are not competing with new grads. i know that the market stinks for new grads, but this is not a problem for you... you are not one of us. if you do not get hired, it is because of another reason... maybe the market stinks for experienced nurses in your area too? gl!
by the way, you are still welcome to remain on this forum.... being a rn is a new role for you and we can gain much from your past experience even if it is not in a hospital yet.
Hey there just some words of encouragement. . . .I graduated May 2008 and did not find a job until September 2008. I applied to what felt like every hospital in the country, I spent hours every day filling out applications, making phone calls, and visiting hospitals. Finally I found a job 1600 miles away from home, and with 1 week notice packed up my life and moved accross the country. Of course for some people this is not realistic, but keep looking and you will find something.
are you marketing yourself as a new grad rn??? if so, i think that is part of your problem. new grads have no licensed nursing work experience of more then 2 years (many employers will cut us off at 1).
have you been a lpn for 3.5 years?? that means you are not a new grad but an experienced nurse with a new degree and license, that is all!! if you earn a msn np later you would also not be considered a new grad; just an experienced nurse with a new license and degree! thus, you should be playing up your lpn work experience because you are a nurse and have been for a while. hiring mangers see you as someone they can train to do something else and you will cost them less money then an inexperienced new grad rn.
stay where you are at and redo your resume if you have written it up like an inexperienced new grad rn. now is a good time for you to apply... you are not competing with new grads. i know that the market stinks for new grads, but this is not a problem for you... you are not one of us. if you do not get hired, it is because of another reason... maybe the market stinks for experienced nurses in your area too? gl!
by the way, you are still welcome to remain on this forum.... being a rn is a new role for you and we can gain much from your past experience even if it is not in a hospital yet.
i hate to say this, but even with lpn experience you are still considered a new grad. i have 13 years lpn exerience and none of it counts except to adjust my pay rate. i graduated in may 2008 and it took me until this past march to finally get a job offer. i did not qualify to apply for anything other than "new grad" positions. trust me, you are competing with new grads. hr will see you as a new grad, even with lpn experience. i have even asked if i should apply for rn positions that are not new grad postings, i was told no unless that posting really doens't specify.
I am not considered an experienced nurse, believe me, as much as I wish my 3.5 years counted for anything, it does not. I have asked all recruiters about this and they say I am a new grad. I have also applied to many experienced positions and they all say the same, "No RN experience means you are a new grad". So yes, I am competing with all the other new grads out there.
Hey, I'm in the same boat. I graduated in december.. worked 2 months on a floor that def wasn't my first choice.. and had to quit. This is the bigger hospital that thinks they're the best thing everrr to grace the state... and just wasn't too fond of the whole situation. I even passed up 2 jobs I really wanted (Newborn Nursery & OR) at a less popular hospital because I thought this big one would give me the great opportunities. Well, I left after 2 months and now can't find a job. Say I'm still considered a new grad and won't let me have anything other than basically telemetry (even at the hospital that had the nursery and OR jobs). I can't get experience unless someone gives it to me.. so I'm just going to keep looking! Hopefully something will come up that I like. I am about to breakdown and take that other telemetry job, but when they have listings for day & night shift as well as clinical coordinator.. that makes me think the situation is NOT too great in that unit. so we'll see! I'm keeping my fingers crossed something comes up soon!
Check out Saint Louis, Missouri. Not somewhere I ever imagined living in my glamorous expectations of life, but it is actually a very awsome place to be. Lots of well know hospitals with decent new grad fellowships. The city has some great free stuff to get into and over all I feel like it is a different version of Austin TX. (I'm from Houston TX and my sister lives in Austin, so I'm very familiar with the difference between big city and cool city/town)
I personally did not have a hard time finding a job after school (I graduated May 08) BUT I had been working for the hospital system that I currently still work in for the 4 years prior to applying for a nursing position. Thus, for all you guys out there who are about to start RN school or are in the middle of it, please do yourself a favor and get a job in a hospital part-time ASAP. Yes, I know that your teachers will tell you that you should not work while in school, or that you can make a ton more money in a shorter time working in a bar or as a waitress, but non of that will help you land a job after school.
I personally did not have a hard time finding a job after school (I graduated May 08) BUT I had been working for the hospital system that I currently still work in for the 4 years prior to applying for a nursing position. Thus, for all you guys out there who are about to start RN school or are in the middle of it, please do yourself a favor and get a job in a hospital part-time ASAP.
What interesting advice... I don't have any medical experience yet, I'll be starting nursing school in the fall. Do you think that working a part-time job that's more administrative might help me find a job when I graduate? Like filling out forms, typing etc??? TIA
NickiLaughs, ADN, BSN, RN
2,387 Posts
Hey all, just wanted to let you know that after constant badgering one hospital (their HR, and their ICU nurse manager) I have an interview tomorrow! I also have one for a clinic, but I'm hoping (praying) for the hospital.