Feeling down and very discouraged :(

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Hi everyone,

I feel like crap. I have been out of school since December and have only had two interviews. I apply for EVERYTHING, drop off resumes, email management etc. I interviewed yesterday for a postpartum position and I thought it went really well. The manager showed me around the unit afterwards and I received a lot of positive feedback from the interviewers. I followed up this morning and asked when the manager would be notifing candidates and she said next week sometime. A few hour later I got an auto email from the company saying the positions have been filled. I sent the manager an email trying to clarify but she has not responded yet. Maybe she just pulled the positions because she has enough candidates? I don't understand why she would say next week when that wasn't the case. I am SO dissapointed! I feel like I wasted two years of my life going to school and took time away from my kids and family for nothing. I don't understand how people with no working experience get jobs over people with years of medical experience. I have kept my head up and been positive through all the up and downs of this process the past year but I find i am at my breaking point. All I ever wanted to do was be a nurse :(

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.

I am very sorry to hear about your situation. Is relocating a possibility for you?

Have you considered federal jobs? USAjobs.

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Specializes in Med-Surg; Infectious Diseases; Research.

I am sorry to hear about your situation and recognize how frustrated you must be right now. I would need a clearer picture of exactly what's going on but just based off your post a few questions come to mind:

1. What degree did you get? What kind of program did you attend?

2. Did you apply to hospitals where you completed your clinicals? Usually those are the first to grab new grads.

3. You may be applying to units that typically require at least 2 years of experience. Med-surg floors are always hiring. Are you exhausting all of your options or trying to force a square into a round hole?

4. What kinds of hospitals are you apply to?

There is no shortage of nursing jobs. You just need to make sure that you are matching yourself well with facilities.

The final hiring decision was clearly not up to the nurse manager and she probably will not answer you out of sheer embarrassment.

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Specializes in ED RN, PEDS RN, IV NURSE.

Agreed with PP. I took 2 jobs out of school. I applied everywhere and had 5 job offers in two weeks from starting my search after I'd received notification that my license was active.

I was offered:

A dialysis job

A hospital med surg job

Peds urgent care

Iv nurse out patient

Home health

There's got to be something you are doing wrong, maybe your resume?? There aren't nursing job shortages but damn do you have to be persistent! Not saying that you aren't, what I'm saying is if you can pinpoint what you're doing wrong you can reverse it and get hired!!

Keep the faith!! It wasn't for nothing!

Might want to consider relocation as well.

I applied to:

Miracle workers

Indeed

Hospitals directly and Craigslist

Then I saw what was in the area and went to their websites directly as well.

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Specializes in Emergency.

LinkedIn sometimes has job postings for nursing positions, or try looking at online job posting sites like Monster.com or Jobs.com, and such. Your state or province may also have a database where facilities may post job openings specifically for health care professionals.

Keep in mind, statistics show that it takes two to three years for new nurses to land their dream job. You may have to work in public health or long term care before getting that coveted position in the hospital.

Lastly, sometimes you need a little job search break. Take a week or two off then start fresh!

Good luck with your search! Don't give up!

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Hi Kim,

I have to disagree with you. I am in CA, Sacramento to be exact. There are six nursing programs locally that I can name off hand. The market is saturated with new grads and we all look the same on paper. I have my ADN and working on my BSN; I will be done in June. I have been applying to the hospital I did clinicals at since I had my IP; this was my first interview with them. I apply to med/surg, tele, neuro...everything. I have made cold-calls, dropped off portfolios, etc. I am revamping my portfolio and going to try a few more angles. I heard back from that ANM, she told me she is going to keep me in mind for one of the positions that are going to post shortly. I guess that auto-email, always sends to candidates, even if you are offered the job.

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