Should I wait to apply for a new grad position?

Nurses New Nurse

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I graduated with my ADN and passed NCLEX in March. However, I haven't been job hunting until just recently because we were waiting to hear where my husband will be stationed next. We've just found out that we will be staying in our same location (Jacksonville, FL) for the next three years and so I have begun looking for a job. My only concern is that we have a week long family vacation coming up in July. It's been booked and completely paid for so we can't cancel it even if we tried. My big question is should I wait until after our trip to start applying for a job? I want to be as professional as possible and I don't think that being hired right now and then asking for time off immediately would be professional. Any advice would be extremely beneficial. I have no-one to personally consult on this with. :( Thank you in advance.

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Start applying! You don't want to miss them either. Just let them know. After they hire you.

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Would it look bad on me to be hired in and then turn around and ask for a week off so soon? That's my only concern. I'd like to have a job to return to after my vacation :laugh:

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Specializes in Psychiatry, Oncology.

Definitely apply. When you get an offer, make sure you let your HR person and hiring manager know that you have a vacation in July, so they can grandfather you in for that. Life is life. They understand.

But definitely bring it up when discussing your offer. Don't just start and then hit them with it.

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It's May. By the time you put in your application, someone reviews it, you get a call for an interview, you interview, they decide to hire you or not - it could be July. I mean, it could happen that one of the applications you put in this week gets acted upon, but unless you're in a really good market, chances are you're going to have to put in applications in numerous places before someone calls you back.

it's also fairly common for there to be a gap between accepting an offer and starting on orientation. Often they want to put together a "class" of new hires, so your start date might not be until after your vacation anyway.

When I interviewed, I was 33 weeks pregnant, and I was 36 weeks when I was offered (and accepted) the job. By then, my pregnancy was too far advanced for me to participate in the next orientation, so my start date was set for four months out when the next orientation was scheduled. I was surprised they hired me under those circumstances, but it goes to show that if they like you and want to hire you, they will make it work.

You don't really have anything to lose by applying now.

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Specializes in Psych.

When I interviewed, I was 33 weeks pregnant, and I was 36 weeks when I was offered (and accepted) the job. By then, my pregnancy was too far advanced for me to participate in the next orientation, so my start date was set for four months out when the next orientation was scheduled. I was surprised they hired me under those circumstances, but it goes to show that if they like you and want to hire you, they will make it work.

You don't really have anything to lose by applying now.

That's great to hear! I'm 31 weeks pregnant & somewhat looking for a new position. Glad to hear it's not always hopeless.

"It never gets easier. You just get stronger."

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That's great to hear! I'm 31 weeks pregnant & somewhat looking for a new position. Glad to hear it's not always hopeless.

In a weird way, it's sort of like a litmus test for your employer. How they treat you when you're visibly pregnant says a lot about how committed they are to playing by the rules (since pregnancy discrimination is illegal, but so easy to get away with). It also gives you insight to how family friendly the workplace is. You know if they hire you pregnant, they are looking to invest in you long-term, and that's the kind of place you want to work.

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