Graduated 2yrs ago, haven't taken nclex, how to be marketable..

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I graduated 2yrs ago and plan to take nclex-RN before the end of the year. I realize that the job market is not very good and is especially worse for a new grad like me with no experience and who has been out of school for a while. I was wondering if any of the nurses could give me advice on what I can do right now to improve my chances of getting a job in the future.

Am planning to subscibe to the American Journal of Nursing so I can remain current on nursing issues. I also thought it might look good on my resume.

Any advice on what else I can do to improve my chances?

Thanks!

Specializes in Women's Health.

Yea, why haven't you taken your boards? and what HAVE you been doing for 2 yrs? The recruiters will want to know!

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You will never be marketable as a nurse until you take the NCLEX and obtain a license.

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Specializes in ICU, ED, PACU.

You need to find a GREAT reason for having waited so long to take boards. Even with that you need to apply broadly accross the nation to land a job with such a large gap. Take ANYTHING offered. It doesn't matter if its the worst nursing job in the world paying the least possible. You are going to have to pay for the break.

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your going to be in trouble finding a job but that's not even the issue right now because you don't have a license. Everyone without a license has the same chance of landing a nursing job, none. You might have real trouble passing with this much time away from school. It's like starting from the beginning. If you put on your resume that you subscribed to a journal, whoever you sent that resume to just assume you didn't get that job and start applying to other places without that inclusion.

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Thank you all so much for your responses!!

I dont think I have a very good reason for not taking the nclex sooner, at least not good enough for a recruiter. I had babies after graduation and decided to stay home and raise them. I ended up procrastinating taking the exam and now here I am. Looking back I should have taken it sooner.

I recently began studying and hope to take the exam soon.

I will look into joining a professional organization. Also, after I take the exam I will see what other certifications I can get. As for the jounal subscription, I wasnt sure whether I could include it in a resume so thanks for the clarification.

Thank you all again for your responses!

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.

The number one thing you can do to be marketable is take your licensing exam. I am very concerned for you - I know there is no way I would be able to pass the NCLEX two years after graduating nursing school.

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How hard was it to pass your test after waiting so long? What steps did you take in studying?

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.
How hard was it to pass your test after waiting so long? What steps did you take in studying?

This thread is 4 years old. I doubt that OP is around to answer questions.

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Specializes in Oncology.

Looks like they waited another two years after making this thread to take their nclex.

https://allnurses.com/nclex-discussion-forum/taking-nclex-whats-819560.html#post7207334

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I passed the nclex 3 years after I graduated. I have a small medical equipment company and business was really good so I waited. And then about 18 months had passed and I signed up for Kaplan and studied. The test shut off at 150 and I failed. I sighned up for hurst studied again for a few months and went for my second attempt. Got all 265 and failed. I got busy with work and waited almost a year to even think about testing. I was doing some review on YouTube and saw some Nursity reviews. I paid the $260 to nursity and spent a month spending maybe 90 minutes a day studying. I took my nclex at the 3 year mark got all 265 questions and still wasn't sure if I passed. I went home thinking maybe I was meant to do something else besides nursing. I got on my computer did the Pearson view tricked and got the good pop up. I still didn't think this was my time. I checked dopl the next day and it showed i had an active license. I cried when I realized I passed. If you've waited a long time to test you still have a good chance. But don't be like me, take your boards within 90 days of graduation.

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How did your job search go after this?

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