Frustration & No RN Job Opportunities

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I am so frustrated with not being able to find a RN position. I live in the philly area... I have applied to every hospital I can think of... I decided to make some calls to follow up on my application status and i get the ususal Nurse Recruiter answer machine stating" Please leave a detail message; your call is important to me and I will return your call asap". also I call HR and they bascially say to wait for someone to contact you." I guess i am just venting... I know that I am not the only RN grad looking and waiting to jumpstart my career. BUT Boy it's frustrating as well.... Any advice?:uhoh3:

Specializes in NICU.

MissNikkiRN.....I fully agree with what you're saying. As a fellow new grad trying to find a job, it's incredibly annoying for other people to come in and say.."oh you have to put your time in doing the grunt work that you don't want to do"... Perhaps when they started nursing that's how it was done. You put your "dream job" on hold a year or two to get experience working a job that you don't like. Certainly, that is also true today, BUT there are not a lot of those so called "grunt work" jobs to be had. New grads wouldn't be complaining about not finding work if there were jobs out there that we could get. Nursing homes and long care facilities don't even want new grads at this point.

So for you "experienced nurses" thinking that new grads are just being picky and holding out for our "dream job", please kindly take your thoughts elsewhere. Us new grads worked hard to get where we are (as you did when you were in school). We would just like the chance to now put our training to practice. I agree that we may have to "pay our dues" but there aren't even jobs available for us to do that.

Oh, and MissNikkiRN, props to you for going BACK to school to get your BSN. It will be worth it in the end :)

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linRdsNay I am glad that someone else is a realist. People tend to forget when they are no longer in the situation or they have never been in the situation. It is annoying to have someone sit there and say "you have to do this or you are probably not doing that" Don't get me wrong any piece of advice is welcomed but sometimes it has to be presented in a constructive manner. A negative followed by a positive.

I am glad that there are other new grads and experienced nurses that can relate to each other regarding this unfortunate situation. Right now it is tough out there for new grads and some experienced nurses to find a job. Let's face the facts, some people did struggle to find a job, some people are struggling to find a job and some people will struggle to find a job. It is what it is... So let's not say it is anything else.

Thank you linRdsNay, I have to go back for the BSN now. Well at least start. I do have an associates in liberal arts that I received before I went to Nursing school so some of those credits can be used. Hopefully it doesn't take too long. I have to say that I went to a job fair last month and every place that I went said the same thing, "Oh you know that you have to work on getting your BSN as soon as possible". It was like they weren't looking at anything else on my resume. I would have gone back sooner but I wanted to try my luck with a job first so that I could know what days and times I could go to school. I am trying to go online first and if that doesn't work for me they have classes on campus.

Let's keep up the good work and when it finally does pay off for us we shall be smiling

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Bariq, Just curious how did that job fair go?

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Specializes in acute care.

I am graduating with a BSN, I have some healthcare experience, I did an externship and I volunteer. I have also made it clear that I will work any day, any shift. No calls yet. :-(

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Specializes in M/S Short Stay/TCU.
Bariq, Just curious how did that job fair go?

Hi MissNikkiRN.... it went ok... most employers wanted a year RN exp... also hiring new grads seem to be a terrible roadblock for me and the rest of the new grads of the world..... :confused: But I had an interview for a part time RN position in LTC and they are going to take a chance with me. The admin of this facility said that she loves my enthusiasm and I believe that I answered her questions appriopriately... So I accepted the position and will start in April... I am sooooooooo glad it's part time and thats ok with me.... They will IV cert me as well... So I am truly Bless and grateful for this opportunity.... Hopefully doors will open for everyone else struggling for various RN Jobs.... :)

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This is depressing...........I am in DFW area (Texas) and I have literally applied for 20 internships ( I kidd you not, that is not a made up number!) and have yet to receive one interview and I am a LVN, but have no hospital experience. Good luck to everyone who is in the same boat and that looks like a lot of us!

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I am soooooo happy for you Bariq. This is just the beginning for you. Enjoy the start of your new career and keep in touch.:)

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Specializes in M/S Short Stay/TCU.
I am soooooo happy for you Bariq. This is just the beginning for you. Enjoy the start of your new career and keep in touch.:)

I will definitely keep in touch Ms. NikkiRN:)

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Wow this is amazing for me to read. I had no idea new graduates were having such a difficult time finding jobs. I am currently in nursing school and will graduate in May with a BSN. Just last week I was offered two positions at the local hospital, one in the ICU and one in Cardiology. I accepted the one in the ICU and will be starting once I graduate. I would recommend trying the midwest. From what I have heard every hospital in the area is desperate for nurses. From day one in nursing school the recruiters from hospitals in the area have been stopping by trying to get us to come to their hospital. I believe there are quite a few of my classmates that already have job offers, and the rest of them should easily find positions around here once they graduate. Give Joplin, MO a shot, there are two large hospitals in the medium sized town and both are hiring new grads!

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I am graduating with a BSN, I have some healthcare experience, I did an externship and I volunteer. I have also made it clear that I will work any day, any shift. No calls yet. :-(

Hey NY Dreamer, just curious where in NY you are from. Also, that is crazy that you have volunteered, done an externship and still nothing. I have recently tried volunteering and missed the monthly deadline for my first choice but the other two I called one said I have to come in and fill out an application and the other hospital had the nerve to ask me why I wanted to volunteer and said that if I was seeking employment volunteering was not the way to go. The funny thing was I had not said anything about seeking employment. LOL Times must be hard. Have you heard anything yet?

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I'm still in Nursing school, graduate in Dec 2010, and most of the people in my level are already finding Nursing jobs. I mean, we're getting hired as Techs for now and the floor managers are already talking about what we'll be doing once they hire us as RNs. It's really about who you know. Ask your former instructors if they have any leads or would let you know who to talk to. 100% of the students in our program get jobs within 3 months or so. They might not get the floor they wanted right away, but they still get hired.

Sorry you're having such a hard time. Let me know if you want the names of some of the floor managers or the Nursing recruiters I've been talking to or worked with. ;) They give bonuses for referrals!! Good Luck!

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Specializes in LTC, PCU, Med/Surg, Hospice, OBGYN.
Wow this is amazing for me to read. I had no idea new graduates were having such a difficult time finding jobs. I am currently in nursing school and will graduate in May with a BSN. Just last week I was offered two positions at the local hospital, one in the ICU and one in Cardiology. I accepted the one in the ICU and will be starting once I graduate. I would recommend trying the midwest. From what I hhe fave heard every hospital in the area is desperate for nurses. From day one in nursing school the recruiters from hospitals in the area have been stopping by trying to get us to come to their hospital. I believe there are quite a few of my classmates that already have job offers, and the rest of them should easily find positions around here once they graduate. Give Joplin, MO a shot, there are two large hospitals in the medium sized town and both are hiring new grads!

Not necessarily. I graduated from a school in Southeast Iowa in May 2009 and I had to move to North Carolina to get a New Grad job (which by the way is a bad market as well). Congratulations for already having a job lined up and in a good unit already. I have friends who are still in LTC from May and are not even looked at for a job in a hospital because they have no acute care experience and one of them is also graduating from a RN to BSN program and still not luck.

I actually now am on my 2nd job (Med/Surg) because the first one (Cardiac), I felt was too acute with too high of a patient-nurse ratio, I felt that as a New Grad I was putting my license on the line every day. This second one is still a high patient-nurse ratio but their acuity is not as high (no cardiac drips, no insulin drips, etc...).

Good luck to those still looking! I hope you find something soon.

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