We all hear the horror stories of fresh nursing grads who can't find jobs after school. Well, I don't want to be one of those people and I thought I'd share the steps I have taken as of now and for the future to hopefully prevent that from occuring:
I got my CNA license last October but haven't found a job because I wanted to focus more on acing my prerequisites. After having finished all my classes this past Fall 2013 semester, I got a job at my local community college as a student assistant, at the very school I applied for nursing school.
After my first semester of nursing school, I plan on applying to a hospital as a Patient Care Technician (I am qualified for this because I previously got my CNA license), and I will be even MORE qualified because I will have completed the "Nursing Fundamentals" course. The experience from this class combined with the clinicals will be very good.
While at the hospital, I will network with the nurses and staff (hopefully unit managers, too), and let them know how serious I am about my motivation, career goals, and ambition.
After getting my RN license, I will immediately apply to my local university's RN-BSN bridge program....... The catch is that I will still do PCT work undercover (to make sure I get some money).
Once I get my BSN, I should have absolutely no problem finding a nursing job, right?
Just so you know, this is exactly what I did. I even went a step further and took an extra class to become a LPN so I would continue working and have "nursing" experience rather than just CNA experience in the hospital.
Then, since I already have a bachelors degree, I enrolled in an RN to MSN program immediately.
None of this helped me. At all. Didn't get hired where I was working because I didn't have a BSN.
Yes I have a bachelors degree in another field. And I do have a job now, but the market is saturated. It took me 5 months and hundreds of applications.
Often you'll see a job posted that doesn't even truly exist. HR is required to post the job but in posting it, they already knew who they were going to hire. So you waste time applying to jobs that aren't even truly available.
Yes I have a bachelors degree in another field. And I do have a job now, but the market is saturated. It took me 5 months and hundreds of applications.
Often you'll see a job posted that doesn't even truly exist. HR is required to post the job but in posting it, they already knew who they were going to hire. So you waste time applying to jobs that aren't even truly available.
Not unless I'm the one they know they're going to hire. :) I don't plan on throwing my résumé into a black hole. I assume the internal applicants who express interest get first dibs, depending on qualifications of course. Is nepotism really that bad? Or is it only bad if it's not in your favor?
We had some issues with people who thought because they were an employee they had a sure shoe-in for a competitor's residency program. The residency program faced cuts and they only hired 20 people this semester so some internal employees were cut.
I was in a competitor who did not have a residency program and a shoe in for the emergency department but I chose ICU.
Personally, I think the internal employees should get a shoe-in. It's cheaper. I didn't have to spend hours on computer orientation and no need for background check or drug test as they did those things when I was hired. I am somewhat familiar with the hospital already so telling me to go to stepdown is easy. Telling me to go to a unit is easier than if I was a newbie.
I am a pct, and I am graduating in May. I still work my behind off every shift and go in with the attitude that I am not a shoe in for the job. No one is saying you don't have a good plan. But it is just not that easy. Pct/cna jobs are competitive now too.
Welcome to the real world. You can have a plan. But be flexible and ope. To suggestions.
I see. Like I said before, I will be flexible and open to suggestions. It is a tough field, but I believe it will be rewarding in the end. Actually, I may find out that nursing may not be for me, but for now I am gonna try and stay proactive and positive. Thanks, everyone :)
Not unless I'm the one they know they're going to hire. :) I don't plan on throwing my résumé into a black hole. I assume the internal applicants who express interest get first dibs depending on qualifications of course. Is nepotism really that bad? Or is it only bad if it's not in your favor?[/quote']
No the internal applicants are not necessarily getting first dibs. It's all politics. And nepotism is when you hire your relatives.
For example, a hospital attains magnet status and requires 80 percent of their floor nurses to have a BSN in nursing. Currently the floor is at 75 percent BSN. You graduate. You may have worked your butt off and networked forever, but you aren't hired bc you don't have a BSN and the percentages are currently too low.
You wouldn't know the percentage is too low bc it's certainly not advertised. And so they end up hiring from outside just to get a BSN grad when all the internal candidates were perfectly qualified.
Wow, that's pretty shady. I guess that also depends on where you apply to. BSN seems to be the standard nowadays, but i have no problem with that. Working at a hospital is not going to be my priority choice; my priority choice is getting whatever work I could get.
I certainly would apply to a RN-BSN bridge program after I graduate while looking for work. At the same time I will continue to volunteer at the hospital (by this time I would be considered overqualified to continue working as a PCT). That way, there won't be any blank space on my résumé. I absolutely have no problem volunteering.
I did apply for an RN to BSN program immediately after graduating. I think I applied that night. I applied to three and I took OU's because of the cost and because I worked my ADN GECs to fulfill the OU's requirements so I only have the 9 nursing classes and the 1 English class to complete.
guest769224
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I don't think that's a turn off at all. It may impress employers that you're advancing in your career.
You don't have to specify it's "nursing" you could just say school. Just my 2¢. Your decision