fed up- cant get a job

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hello all. im just at my wits end. I have gone through 4 long years of school, studied and (thank god) passed the NCLEX my first time, but now i have another blockade. i cant get a job. not only can i not get a job, i cant even get an interview. i decided to take the summer of and relax, but this has turned out to be disastrous since every hospital i have applied to has already hired their new grads. I have a pretty strong resume and have sent my application to nearly 15 hospitals. i ahve been waiting for some sort of reply from anywhere but havent heard a peep. today i spent all day trying to call the recruiters of the hospitals or talk to HR to see the status. most times i get the same stuff-we'll contact you if we want you. and most places say not to bother coming in just give application via fax or email. i dont know what to do. please help. thanks

Specializes in med surg, school nursing.
Unfortunately, a lot of hospitals tend to hire new grads in waves, usually near May or December graduation time. This is due to the amount of training and cost involved for new grads and that it is easier to train all the new grads at one time since most of the new grads take the same orientation classes. You can try going to more career fairs (I always found it easier and more successful to talk directly to the recruiters) or waiting it out to the next wave of new grad hires near the fall graduation. Good luck and I really hope you can land that first nursing job soon! :)

I agree. I graduated in May of '07, took the summer to study for NCLEX, passed NCLEX in July and then started applying. I am still looking....most hospitals in my area hire twice a year, so I am trying to get in a new grad program for January/February.

Good luck!

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I live near Dallas--a friend/neighbor JUST got TWO offers for internships at Dallas hospitals.

She's 50, so apparently age doesn't always hold one back.

She does have a couple of years experience but right now (the past year) has been working at the phone company having felt very frustrated by the available positions locally.

So it is possible.

I would say, perhaps if you were willing to work nights? It is an unattractive shift but that can make all the difference--and then when you have been doing that for a while, a year or so, and a slot opens on days (somewhere else if not at the hospital or whatever where you are working), go for it then.

In the meantime, about once a month pester the HR departments or the nurse managers at a place where you want to be considered for an internship. Your name will be familiar and since you will have been very nice and polite, there will be a pleasant thought associated with your name.

Every little bit helps.

Meantime--you might check out long term care or doctors' offices. If there is a volunteer opportunity nearby, sign up and go. You will have all kinds of contacts with other nurses as well as with physicians who might be looking for someone, even part time.

You might also check the local hospices. I have been surprised that they will usually hire someone fresh out of school.

No matter what, look for relatively low pay. Face it, until you have some experience, you aren't "proven." Accept the lower rates and bide your time, learn your craft, be friendly, personable and a SAFE nurse, and before you know it, you will have a position you love at a compensation that pleases you.

If you give up, you get nothing.....

So hang in there!

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I have a different situation. I am trying to return to the nursing work force after 14 years of raising a family. I don't mind spending the money for a refresher course but I have heard that it is not even close to a guarantee. I would very much like to return to my chosen profession but I haven't gotten a warm welcome, either that or I'm being too choosy.

Hi Dianaa-

I am in a similar posn. I haven't worked bedside nursing since 2000. Raising my youngest who is now six and in school FT. My area is Peds/PICU (and former exp in Adult Onc). I started calling and EMailing all of the local hospitals. I put together my resume (I have licenses in CA and CO and all current CEUs) and sent that out to likely looking posns online.

My first call-back was from the same hospital (Health One aka Columbia) for which I worked in CA years ago..recommended I do a refresher course, and didn't express much interest in me at all

I checked those out. YIKES!!! $1200 and you have to find your own clinical - course is online...Or through Corporate Ed thru the Comm College..$2200 , (same) online course, six weeks of labs every friday night 4 - 9pm and then 120 hours of clinical..and nope you don't get to choose your area..you can request and that's it.

Didn't give up..kept calling, EMailing, etc. FINALLY a recruiter from Children's in Denver, CO called me back. She was GREAT! She told me the refresher course was really geared toward Adult Med-Surg NOT Peds, PICU, NICU. Told me Children's would orient, etc. She said there really IS a nursing shortage (I was beginning to doubt that frankly!)

Altho I am looking for only part time she said I'd need to do full time during the orientation phase and may have to rotate days/nights shifts mo to mo. GOOD thing is that Children's gives you "credit" for how many years you've been an RN and so therefore the new grads coming in don't have seniority over you, an experienced RN for days/nights.

So, recruiter sent my info and resume on to various units and am waiting for the call for an interview.

Meanwhile, she also suggested I try our County Hospital (Denver Health) and a smaller hospital with a general peds unit if I don't find what I want at Childrens.

So - I am going to bite the bullet and get in however I can. Meanwhile I'm completing more CEU's (peds pharmacology and peds acute - emergent care)..40 hours!

I NEVER had to do nights..I sure hope I can survive THAT one... Right now I am thinking only one step at a time. Got to keep my focus...Get my foot in the door.

If you are interested and have exp in the Adult area the refresher course (tho time consuming and tedious) sounded like the way to go bcs altho you are basically giving away 120 hours of work you DO get the contact at the facility and that will probably get you in the door.

And re guarantees...??? Who EVER guaranteed anything in nursing? Not in school..not in my past jobs either..Life is what you make of it. If this is something you want - GO FOR IT!!;)

Well - good luck - to us both!!!

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Specializes in Women's Health, L&D,hi risk OB.
So sorry you are having a rough time of it. In hindsight, perhaps taking the summer off was not such a good choice. The employers may look negatively on this. Are you able to relocate? What about long term care for a short period of time to get yourself established? Does home health interest you? Keep trying and putting out as many resumes to different employers as possible. Good luck and I wish you the best.

Time off sometimes is a lifesaver too. It allows new grads to gain perspective and lower cortisol levels. It seems alot like surfing to me--you gotta catch the wave. Try LTC for a bit. You might just like it or it could give you all you need. Focus.

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Update** i finally got a job. It seems like the past 2 months have gone by like an eternity. All i can say for all those still struggling keep hope, you will get a job too

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.
Update** i finally got a job. It seems like the past 2 months have gone by like an eternity. All i can say for all those still struggling keep hope, you will get a job too

What type of job did you land?

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:balloons:CONGRATS Coogar-

I got a job too!!! And after I accepted (NICU position at The children's hospital in Denver, CO) I got two other offers..yahhooo!!! I guess the these things just take time..I pretty much inundated the market with my resume online. I also did about 50 CEUs while I was waiting...that helped me feel a lot more confident and up to speed. Then I completed the NRP course (just haven't done the demo to get my cert yet)...Honestly - that helped! The recruiters all told me there really IS a nursing shortage. They said the market has changed bcs 10 years ago where it was difficult to get something as a new grad - NOT anymore..you can get into critical care units (where they like to train their own) fairly easily. :balloons::balloons:

Yeah!!! I am soo excited!

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congrats on finding the job

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i understand where you are coming from. i am from north jersey as well, and graduated in august. i have been sending out my resume since graduation and still haven't heard from anyone. if anyone has any advice, pls post or send me a PM. i am licensed for NYS and am feeling very discouraged.

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i graduated in may 2007. failed nclex a few times. finally got my license in october. applied to every hospital in my area. still have no offer. very frustrated right now.

i had one inteview though not so long ago. it was very unprofessional. there were asked questions such as why i couldn't pass my board exam. in addition i don't have much of working experience. :( i was stay-home mom (3 children).

i'm very frustrated. :( :( :(

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i graduated in may 2007. failed nclex a few times. finally got my license in october. applied to every hospital in my area. still have no offer. very frustrated right now.

i had one inteview though not so long ago. it was very unprofessional. there were asked questions such as why i couldn't pass my board exam. in addition i don't have much of working experience. :( i was stay-home mom (3 children).

i'm very frustrated. :( :( :(

It is no one's business how many times you took the NCLEX before you passed.

Do not volunteer that information! They will not ask you and if they do, then look at them and tell them the date you passed it.

If you passed it, you passed it. You are a nurse.

Go get 'em.

And stop confessing!

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Specializes in Emergency.

Despite what one thinks the Nursing Biz is cyclical. When there is a shortage an RN is gold, with a glut an RN is dirt. This is nothing new in the late 80's there was a big shortage of RN's as many were either reaching retirement or had left a thankless and (sometimes) low paying job over the years and now suddenly there was a shortage of RN's. Hospitals were offering "sign-on" bonuses starting pay was going up it was on the 6 o'clock news. So what happened, Nursing Schools filled up, it got competitive just to get in (sound fimilar) wash out rates were high the school's cut no one any slack, you could be replaced. I was told by the time I got out in 1994 with a BSN, RN pay would be around $20/hour. I graduated in May, passed my NCLEX (first year of 'em & passed on the minimum 75 questions) in late June took July off and then started looking for work. However, now there was a GLUT of RN's and a New Grad was clearly at the bottom of the barrel one might be a bit better off with a BSN in getting hired, however, no one was paying more for a BSN. Hospitals told us not to even bother with a resume the pay had gone down to $11.20/hour. After getting rejected from every hospital, even when I volunteered to work for free in the ER at SLU (my school) just to get my foot in the door, there was nothing. I then went to the (poor) inner city Hospital (Regional in St.Louis) and to one in the "hood" across the river, which is were I finally got in. I believe it was early November. Now since that time I have never been out of work. I had to start in Tele (not what I wanted) and could easily have moved into the ICU (again, not what I wanted) but after 2 years and a legal challange (I think the "male" head-nurse preferred cute woman) I moved to the ER. It was a tough "City" ER with lots of gang-bangers, we did it all, MVA's, GSW, house fires, adults/peds. I figured I wouldn't last too long as the "boss" didn't want me to begin with but I busted ass and in the long run he was let go and I worked there for 6 years. The only reason I left was for alot more money, yes I'm kind of a whore:balloons:. So :welcome: to the world, sooner or later you will get a job, many Nurses will leave for whatever, another field will get hot, fewer people will go into Nursing, Hospitals will offer sign-ons ......you get my drift. The "REAL" question that should be asked/examined is what is the difference in pay from a first year Nurse to a Twenty year Nurse? When I started, the "experienced" soon to be retired RN who was training me probably made less than $3/hour more than me, fresh out of school--that's what REALLY sucks:down:

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