can't get a job

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I completed school in February of this year, and I still don't have a job :crying2: I guess relying on online applications is not a good thing, but most of the girls i went to school with got their jobs through online applications. I have went onto units and into LTC facilities, and, still nothing. Last week I had a short phone interview that ended up in me becoming disillusioned and upset because I was told that an "LPN who has been out of school for as long as I have will have a hard time getting a job". I had tried to explain to the lady interviewing me that I was out of childcare since we just recently moved into a rural district, and i think she was just annoyed because she was desperately looking for someone to start like the next day!

Point I'm getting to is....any other LPN facing this crisis (in Alberta)? I have tried redoing my resume and really trying to "sell myself" but still... I really want to get working and the longer I sit waiting, the more confidence I lose not only in myself but knowledge and skills as well .

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I took an online workshop on "Job Searching" and they said 80% of all positions are filled without employers advertising. This is shocking as most job seekers look through ads as their first method. You have to tap into the "hidden job market." Simply put, you have to network. Start attending networking fairs and career fairs.

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I took an online workshop on "Job Searching" and they said 80% of all positions are filled without employers advertising. This is shocking as most job seekers look through ads as their first method. You have to tap into the "hidden job market." Simply put, you have to network. Start attending networking fairs and career fairs.

This doesn't really work in Alberta due to the centralization of hiring.

Where the OP made her biggest mistake is expecting the prospective employer to care about her lack of childcare. If you are actively looking for a job that means you have all your ducks in a row. Childcare and back-up childcare arranged.

Depending on how "rural" rural is, the chances for employment are limited. Starting casual is often the only option

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Oh my, well all I can say is good luck. I might have to agree with Fiona59 that you can't expect a prospective employer to care about your lack of childcare. I know, it might sound cruel of them but that's why when you have an interview they always ask for what YOU can do for the organization/agency rather than what the organization/agency can do for you. Again, good luck, I know it can be tough.

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You have to look at rural Alberta. Usually a nursing home, small hospital and a couple of doctors in the area. Only a certain number of nurses can be absorbed into that set up.

Edmonton's hospitals provide the bulk of work for nurses in Fort Saskatchewan, Leduc, Sherwood Park, etc. Small town with their own facilities but still considered rural. Calgary does the same for smaller towns around it.

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This doesn't really work in Alberta due to the centralization of hiring.

Where the OP made her biggest mistake is expecting the prospective employer to care about her lack of childcare. If you are actively looking for a job that means you have all your ducks in a row. Childcare and back-up childcare arranged.

Depending on how "rural" rural is, the chances for employment are limited. Starting casual is often the only option

No, I wasn't expecting the prospective employer to care about my lack of childcare.......I applied for the position back in April before I even knew I would be moving into the country. 5 months down the road I get a call, and try to explain that I just recently moved and therefore I would need to get "my ducks in a row". The point I was getting at was the fact that I was told as an LPN who has been out of school for as long as I have, would have a hard time getting a job. So that doesn't apply for RN's who have been out of school for just as long?? That was what I was trying to get at!

I am about as rural as a person get can get, southwestern Alberta 20 minute drive to the Rockies! Not a good move on behalf of my career, but still willing to commute wherever I have to go. I have been applying like crazy in Calgary, and, although the freeze is supposedly done, jobs aren't just falling out of the sky.

Am I wrong for applying online, waiting for a call and then following up? Or, should I just skip applying online and hit up the units directly?

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Hitting the units wouldn't win you any points at my hospital. Unit managers have enough to do without fielding cold calls.

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You're right, the longer you're out of school the harder it will get to find employment. Employers will probably wonder why you have no experience yet or if you are leaving out a job off your resume due to getting fired, etc. Also I think employers want you relatively close by so they can call you in on short notice. There is definitely hiring going on now in Alberta so I would take a close look at myself and my resume. Fiona is right, nobody cares about your situation and that response will bring you down every time, employers want you available when they need you, they don't want to hear about your childcare problems because they know this issue will keep coming up whenever they need you. In all honesty your attitude (poor) shows through in your posts so I would really take a honest look at your total presentation.

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No, I wasn't expecting the prospective employer to care about my lack of childcare.......I applied for the position back in April before I even knew I would be moving into the country. 5 months down the road I get a call, and try to explain that I just recently moved and therefore I would need to get "my ducks in a row". The point I was getting at was the fact that I was told as an LPN who has been out of school for as long as I have, would have a hard time getting a job. So that doesn't apply for RN's who have been out of school for just as long?? That was what I was trying to get at!

I am about as rural as a person get can get, southwestern Alberta 20 minute drive to the Rockies! Not a good move on behalf of my career, but still willing to commute wherever I have to go. I have been applying like crazy in Calgary, and, although the freeze is supposedly done, jobs aren't just falling out of the sky.

Am I wrong for applying online, waiting for a call and then following up? Or, should I just skip applying online and hit up the units directly?

I don't see why not to be honest if you're really desperate for a job. Yes, some will disapprove but some not so much. What exactly do you have to loose? Talk to the HR department.

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I don't see why not to be honest if you're really desperate for a job. Yes, some will disapprove but some not so much. What exactly do you have to loose? Talk to the HR department.

I'm sorry, I've stopped laughing. AHS is a total mess and a nightmare right now. It is also the employer on the majority of Albertan nurses.

HR is a joke, a myth, a source of wonderment. I work in one of the largest hospitals in the province. Our HR staff are only available by phone at specific hours. You are instructed to leave a voice message in between. On a mailbox that is perpetually full. I've watched my manager spend most of the morning playing phone tag with them.

Then there is the branch of HR that isn't even in the hospitals anymore but located in an ivory tower downtown. Our payroll system still isn't in sync. The health regions that were amalgamated into the superboard still have their own pay systems. We don't even get our payslips on time anymore.

We are cut so close to the bone that on some units Charge Nurses have assignments. I've heard of unit managers doing admissions because they are down a nurse. So the unit managers are paddling just to keep their heads above water, some are even acting as Charge on their units, trying to fit in the mandatory meetings, and deal with an HR department that works in a mysterious way. Managers right now are having to rehire some of their staff due to the freeze being lifted. Last year, all positions were posted as temporary, now they are being made permanent and the incumbents are having to apply for their jobs and their managers are having to deal with interviews and paperwork for existing staff to keep their jobs.

They just aren't into walk ins looking for work. It might work in Ontario, or even some LTCs but not in an Acute setting.

Thank you Mr. Duckitt and Premier Stelmach.

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I work in the US and my hospital laid off a couple hundred nurses earlier this year..hence we are now short and they are not hiring..even before the lay off charge nurses and sometimes management has patient assignments..

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How I see it, it's better to try than not try at all. If you don't try then how does one expect to land a job. I don't think sitting around and looking at the computer screen really helps. When looking for a job always look for different methods to search for those jobs. It's not easy, you do have to be aggressive because it's competitive. Fiona59's hospital is one hospital out of 1000s other facilities, each facility is different so just try it out and see. Have you considered moving? I know it would be hard because you have child(ren) so I don't know how you would feel about that. All I have to say is don't limit yourself, think positive and be innovative.

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