New Grad RN: Struggling With Finding a Job

Nurses General Nursing

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Hi Everyone,

First I want to say thank you for taking the time to read this. I graduated in May and passed my NCLEX mid-July and now I am hardcore struggling with finding a job. Is it really that difficult to find a job as a new RN? I am becoming hopeless but I am not giving up. I am sure you all understand how frustrating this is! I have easily applied for more than 20 jobs and even redid my resume and cover letter from scratch and had several people look over it. I have not been called for a single interview and whenever I check the job portals it says "not selected at this time." I have my RN license for NY (went to college in manhattan so I am looking to stay in the new york city area), BLS certification for the next two years, and I was involved in leadership positions along with volunteering which includes the medical team at the NYC marathon, student nursing for the Red Cross, and a pediatric unit and ER at a hospital and other experience as well. I also made a LinkedIn and plan on reaching out to nurse recruiters and talent specialists/HR for hospitals (has this worked for anyone???) Nursing is my passion and I am eager to start my career, it just seems like I am super stuck at the moment and don't know what to do.

Specializes in oncology, MS/tele/stepdown.

I've heard on here that NYC is a very hard market. Have you ever considered moving elsewhere for a year or two? I did a travel contract in Scranton, PA and they were starving for nurses. There's always non-hospital jobs.

I did over 30 applications before graduation. You're not doing anything wrong... this is normal, especially in tough markets.

My advice is to try to apply or meet with hr in person.. even if it's just to drop off letters of recommendation or your cover letter.

My other advice is to keep busy. It's flu season. Can you work with a flu clinic? Volunteer with a free clinic? To keep busy and get some experience and references.

I agree, keep pressing on. Look for opportunities to tutor nursing students, volunteer at one of the hospitals of your choice. You may be surprised with the connections you make by volunteering. Also consider other nursing environments such as public health, home health, school nursing. Most importantly stay positive.

Specializes in Medical cardiology.

Do you have a network you can call upon? Teachers, clinical instructors, family/friends, people you worked with while volunteering?

Good luck. I'm 10 miles from Boston and it is very hard to get a job here as a new grad if you don't have a connection to the hospital (by working there already or knowing someone who knows those that hire). Ultimately, my last clinical instructor was the key in my finding a job. She told a nurse manager about me and he hand picked my app from the sea of apps. Obviously I had to pass all the tests to show them I was exactly what they needed. I have a desirable resume and a serious passion, but it was that networking that I've worked on tirelessly since sophomore year that ultimately made the difference. Call upon those people! Think hard.

Man....this is so bizarre to me! I am a new RN (also graduated in May), and I applied to four places. I got offered positions at two, and then after I'd accepted the second, got call backs from the other two for interviews! I did not have many shiny accolades or accomplishments to pad my resume - but I did have a stable job history as a CNA. However, I live in the rural South.

Networking with classmates and other links you made in your program may be of help - but is it at all possible to move temporarily out of the city, into a more rural area close by? You might want to change your focus from simply churning out sheer amounts of applications, to re-connecting with old contacts and targeting locations where you know someone and asking them to put in a good word for you. At least in my area, referral bonuses are common. I knew someone at the company where I now work, and they were VERY eager to put in a good word, since it'll put some money in their pocket once I've been there a year. If not, you may need to refocus your energy into relocation - I know it's not ideal, but it's better than working full-time job-hunting with nothing to show for it.

Best of luck!

Specializes in Medical cardiology.
Man....this is so bizarre to me! I am a new RN (also graduated in May), and I applied to four places. I got offered positions at two, and then after I'd accepted the second, got call backs from the other two for interviews!

I'm so happy you got the pick of the litter in a sea of jobs! Good luck with the one you chose.

I wish it could be like that for all of us! And I also feel bad for the areas in the country that have an actual nursing shortage (not just hospitals that don't want to hire more of the MANY available RNs).

We have a glut of qualified BSNs coming from the many universities up here. In my class alone there were nearly 100 students, and we graduate students in May and December. I literally cannot count the amount of nursing programs in a 10 mile radius. They're all pretty good too, so we end up with hundreds (or more!) of new RNs looking for jobs 2x/year. I only wanted to work at this one hospital that is less than 10 minutes from my house*, and I know it's hard to get in. I nearly cried in shock when it actually happened. I could never land a job there during school, so I did other things to make myself stand out. It. Is. Stressful! Many took jobs in places they didn't expect in order to practice.

I'm always jealous of you gals (& guys) that don't have to stress about finding work. I literally worried about it 10x more than completing any of my classes or passing NCLEX. I completely understand the worries OP has.

In NY (not just the city but all the way up the Hudson valley and Long Island) you are not going to get a job without a BSN. It honestly doesn't matter what else you have on your resume because they are not even going to look that far. If you really want to work in nursing, you're going to have to go somewhere else for a couple years to get experience. And I do mean go somewhere. There are some places in rural upstate that you might be able to get in the door or there are plenty of places if you are willing to relocate further but don't expect it to be someplace desirable (no offense to anyone's rural town but there's a reason they can't attract nurses). I hate to be the bearer of bad news but applying to 20 jobs is nothing in NY, I can't tell you how many people have applied to hundreds and gone years without a bite. And it really isn't about the numbers. The painful reality is that there is essentially nothing you can do without a BSN + experience to get a job within commuting distance of NY. You're gonna have to make a choice between location and career and the sooner you do it, the better off you'll be.

Specializes in Pedi.

The Northeast is saturated with new grad nurses. Your OP doesn't say if you have your BSN or not but I agree with the poster who said if you don't, it's likely not going to happen in NYC.

Specializes in NICU.
I have easily applied for more than 20 jobs...I am looking to stay in the new york city area

Found your problem.

NYC -- in fact, most large metro areas -- are saturated with new grads, as they're desirable places to live and tend to pay better. You need to either apply to pretty much everything in NYC, or cast your net wider geographically.

Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.
Man....this is so bizarre to me! I am a new RN (also graduated in May), and I applied to four places. I got offered positions at two, and then after I'd accepted the second, got call backs from the other two for interviews! I did not have many shiny accolades or accomplishments to pad my resume - but I did have a stable job history as a CNA. However, I live in the rural South

That pretty much sums it up. The job market in the South is nowhere near as competitive as that in NYC. And yes, I've lived in both locations so I know of what I speak.

There is something here to note, OP. I know you'd rather stay in NYC but you also have to be realistic. A year can go by really fast and before you know it, you'll be an unemployed old new grad...and they have far worse job prospects than new grads.

If you really want to stay in NYC, you should broaden your search to include specialties, settings, and shifts that you weren't willing to consider before. If location is your priority, then you have to compromise and not be as picky on the job end.

If you continue not having luck finding a job in the NYC area but are not willing to compromise on specialty, etc., you may want to start looking in less saturated/competitive job markets. It need not be forever: get your year or two of experience elsewhere and then return to the city.

Best of luck.

Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

Temporarily relocating to get that golden 1-2 years of experience can mean the remainder of your career can be spent back in the Big Apple.

Something to consider. Indianapolis is open to new grads and has half a dozen direct flights to NYC daily. Reasonable cost of living. Plenty of cultural stuff, sports teams, night life. You could do a lot worse.

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