New Grad RN need not apply

[ohyeah]

Wow, what a monumental mistake I have made. I threw away a decent job to go back to school. I went back and got by BS in nursing. Now I am a licensed RN BSN with no future. When I went back to school I was told how the hospitals were screaming for nurses and how I would be able to "write my own ticket". Well, that is ********. There is not and never was a nursing shortage. NOBODY WILL HIRE A NEW GRAD. Unfortunately, I was not the only one to fall for the RN shortage line. 1000's of RN new grads are being spit out each year creating a mass oversaturated pool of unemployable, inexperienced RNs. Your local hospitals are too ******* cheap to have new grad programs so they import foreigners, most of which are Filipino, instead.

So, now what? I have a degree that is useless--my prior job is gone and I have no marketable job skills after 5 years in college. I have never been so disappointed in my life.

Yours,

Unemployed future "stale grad" with no prospects RN

[milobust]

OP, I've read some of your previous posts and, with all due respect, I DON'T think you should be a nurse. I would not want someone with your attitude caring for anyone. Many of us on the site have been through heck and back and have a passion for nursing that 1, 2 or 12 months of unemployment will never destroy. I don't know what entitles you to get exactly what you want when you want it but it's time to wake up. You want a guarantee? Too bad, doesn't exist. Good luck in your next non-nursing career.

[Music in My Heart]

...I DON'T think you should be a nurse. I would not want someone with your attitude caring for anyone. Many of us on the site have been through heck and back and have a passion for nursing that 1, 2 or 12 months of unemployment will never destroy...

Ah yes, the inevitable comment from the "it's not a job, it's a calling" crowd.

Though I was fortunate to find a job pretty quickly, I can empathize with the frustration and feelings expressed by the OP.

[whodatnurse]

To all the new grads having a hard time: Yes, it is brutal out there and it is a total blow to the ego after working so hard in school only to be faced with rejection. It took me a little while but I did find a job after going through a major disappointment when I did not land my dream job at the hospital where I did my clinicals. I accepted a position at an LTAC making a few dollars less but who cares! I'm just looking to get my experience.

A few words of advice -

Volunteer - even if it is a few hours a month (I still managed to work my bartending job). Keep in touch with your classmates and clinical instructors (you never know who has the inside track).

When applying for jobs, try to do it in person if possible - drop off your resume in person and keep visiting so they know your face.

Always dress professionally (you would not believe what people were wearing to interviews!). This means a suit - if it is something that you might wear out to a club - don't wear it to an interview! Dress for success.

Prepare for your interview - hospitals generally want to know what you would do in a difficult situation.

Don't give up. There are jobs out there - many applicants for few positions so be professional and personal.

Here is a great link to prepare for interviews. Focus on answering the ones that make you uncomfortable. This gives you the power to walk into any interview with confidence. It's OK to act confident even if you are not feeling that way inside!

Good luck. And for those wondering what market I'm in it is San Diego - one of the toughest for jobs.

Thank you for sharing your story on a day when I have never before felt like SUCH a lost soul who is NEVER going to work again. I didn't get the latest job I interviewed for...and...well, I suppose your first paragraph made me feel like someone genuinely understands just how dejected I'm feeling right now. :crying2:

Your perseverance and outlook have made me feel that maybe I too, with a good night's sleep (it has been an emotionally exhausting day), might wake up tomorrow and be able to put this latest defeat into better perspective.

[kids]

Nobody lied about a nursing shortage, it's just not as acute in some areas as it was. Look at where travel nurses are getting assignments, that is where the jobs are.

The over saturation of nurses in some areas will get better as the economy recovers. The economy was taking a dive wasn't a sudden and shocking event, it was apparent 3+ years ago- plenty of time to NOT pursue a nursing degree.

Anyone who thought that nursing was recession proof was very short sighted. It's only logical that high unemployment in non-healthcare jobs is going to directly impact Nursing Jobs.

Nurses are typically women.

At my hospital I'd wager that by far the largest majority of our part timers were married women with kids who only had to work part time due to their husband's stable job with benefits.

Guess what happened when the primary bread winner got laid off-

the part timers went full time to support their families and provide insurance. Those who couldn't find a full time slot that worked for them went part time plus per diem, most of our float pool is working full time. We're not calling any agency, they is no need, every open shift is being filled from within.

Lots of 'retired' nurses came back to work for the same reason, their new careers or their spouse's employment tanked and they snapped up the few jobs made it to outside postings. New grads are expensive to train and usually don't stick around. Experienced nurses who have been out of the field for a couple years are quicker and cheaper to bring up to speed.

It also frustrates me to no end when I read post after post from new nurses lamenting the a lack of "new grad" positions, the implication is not much effort is being made outside the hospitals. If I needed a job I'd be on the street every day, dressed to interview, going door to door, filling out applications in person at any place that might possibly employ nurses.

[whodatnurse]

Such charitable assumptions some of you folks make about those of us struggling to find work.

[Music in My Heart]

Such charitable assumptions some of you folks make about those of us struggling to find work.

Yep, there's no shortage of posts declaring that the unemployed new grads are lazy/sloppy/greedy/picky/inflexible and that if they just weren't all those things then of course there are jobs for them.

Quite an unrealistic view, IMO. Especially the part about knocking on doors... just not gonna happen at any of the hospitals around here. Either you know someone on the inside who has some pull or else you go through the website... period.

My heart goes out to all the new grads (and old grads) who haven't been able to find work. I know that, for the most part, it's nothing about you... it's just the situation. I wish I could say that I think it'll turn around soon... I'm not so sure about that, though (the recent run-up on Wall Street notwithstanding).

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

OP, I've read some of your previous posts and, with all due respect, I DON'T think you should be a nurse. I would not want someone with your attitude caring for anyone. Many of us on the site have been through heck and back and have a passion for nursing that 1, 2 or 12 months of unemployment will never destroy. I don't know what entitles you to get exactly what you want when you want it but it's time to wake up. You want a guarantee? Too bad, doesn't exist. Good luck in your next non-nursing career.

Your post is absolutely permeated with judgmental undertones and overtones. The nursing profession is in need of nonjudgmental people. Please don't judge until you have walked one mile in the OP's shoes.

[footy7171]

you are all really scaring me! i am graduating ( lord willing ) in May, and I have put a lot on the line to go back to school.

after reading this post you all have me wondering if i should of been a school counselor instead!!! yikes!

[deemalt, BSN, RN]

Sorry, must have forgot to copy the link! Here it is...

http://www.son.jhmi.edu/resources/career/center/documents/interview_guide.pdf.

[nursel56]

*****

[whodatnurse]

Just wondering why so many people totally broadsided by this situation.

I'm ONLY responding to your very last sentence. I have nothing to say about the rest of it.

The classes that graduated between May 2009 and December 2009 absolutely were blindsided.

When I applied to my ABSN program in March of 2008, Nursing Jobs for new grads had yet to take a hit. Months into starting in the fall of that year was when our class realized just HOW bad it had become, when hospitals would come to our university for job fairs, only to inform us that they had nothing for new grads at that time. At that point we were nearly halfway through the program, and most of us had given up nearly everything to be there...so we saw it out through the summer of 2009.

Quite a few of my classmates were in hospital programs that paid their tuition in exchange for their agreeing to come work there for 2 years after graduating. About 1/2 of them were not hired...the hospitals forfeited their investment in them because they had nowhere to place them.

[JenniferSews]

I'm ONLY responding to your very last sentence. I have nothing to say about the rest of it.

The classes that graduated between May 2008 and December 2009 absolutely were blindsided.

When I applied to my ABSN program in March of 2008, nursing jobs for new grads had yet to take a hit. Months into starting in the fall of that year was when our class realized just HOW bad it had become, when hospitals would come to our university for job fairs, only to inform us that they had nothing for new grads at that time. At that point we were nearly halfway through the program, and most of us had given up nearly everything to be there...so we saw it out through the summer of 2009.

Quite a few of my classmates were in hospital programs that paid their tuition in exchange for their agreeing to come work there for 2 years after graduating. About 1/2 of them were not hired...the hospitals forfeited their investment in them because they had nowhere to place them.

I have a similar experience. I started my ADN program in 2007. I ended up repeating a semester so instead of graduating in May 2009 I graduated in Dec 2009. All my classmates from May found jobs within a few weeks. Some of my classmates from Dec 2009 are still looking, things changed that quickly! Some that had been CNA's in hospitals for 7+ years couldn't get hired as RNs at those hospitals despite years of promises. If I was a student in the middle of school now I honestly don't know what I would do. Nursing is all I ever wanted to do, but that's a lot of debt if you can't find a job afterward.