hard time finding job in Sacramento area

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I am just wondering of anyone else in the Sacramento area is having a hard time finding an RN position?

I recently moved to the area from out of state and I have 1 year med/surge experience. I have been looking 2 months with little to no feedback from the hospitals I have put applications in at. I know that the economy is to blame, but am I the only one not getting call backs? I called a nursing recruiter for advice and it was pretty much pointless. She just told me to apply online and if the manager "likes" me they will call. (This is what I have been doing!) I need advice!

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Specializes in Telemetry.

Hi, I am not an RN, but a CNA and EMT and have had the same problem in the Sac area. Sometimes I wonder how the recruiters stay employed when all they seem to do is say "just keep applying online." :chuckle Stay persistent and maybe go directly to the hiring manager where the availability is. I think that it helps to know someone on the floor you want to work on. When I've gone in to the hospitals, I've been told that there are hiring freezes on new employees except for RNs, so that is good news for you. You'll get in somewhere soon. Good luck!

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Chemical Dependency, Psych.

Hello!

I am moving to Sacramento area within the next couple of months and, too, have been looking for a RN position. I have looked often on sites such as monster.com, where there are right now 5 pages of 'staff nurse' positions in Sacramento area. Some of the hospitals hiring, for a variety of positions, are: Kaiser Permanente, Sutter Health, Maxim Health, CHW Mercy Healthcare. careerbuilder.com has 104 positions listed within 30 miles of Sacramento. I know that Univ. of CA at Davis Medical Center, is very close to Sac. and they have positions as well. Are you willing to try another speciality to get your foot in the door? Keep me posted on what you find, and if you want, I can let you know what I come across! Are you already out there? We are still in the midwest, buried in snow and freezing our fannies off, looking forward to our relocation to either El Dorado Hills/ Granite Bay/Roseville area.

Best of luck to you!

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Several of the hospitals in that locale have hiring freezes currently in place. And the job situation has gotten much tighter there in the past few weeks.

And if you look at the specifics of most of those ads, they are for specialty areas and for those with experience in those areas. The goal is to have the orientation period as small as possible since the nurse is receiving pay but is not counted in the staffing numbers for the shift.

This is happening all over the region and not just in the Sacramento area.

Having a position and actually hiring at the moment are also two very different things as well. I would highly recommend that you have a job in hand before moving to the area.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Chemical Dependency, Psych.

Thanks Suzanne4 for your insight- guess those ad can be deceiving... Guess even if there is something that 'fits', there would be lots of competition for that one position...

Is this freeze occuring all over the Bay Area as well?

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Is this freeze occurring all over the Bay Area as well?

YES!!!

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UC Davis Medical Center isn't "close" to Sacramento--it's IN the heart of Sacramento itself (and not in neighboring Davis). So definitely keep that one in mind.

I have heard from recruiters that the ads on Monster and other boards are not accurate--only the jobs that appear on the actual hospital websites are accurate. They give a much better picture of what the nursing job outlook is like on those sites... in the newspaper, too, where they list a lot of agencies but not actual jobs (and so people searching help wanted ads for any kind of job continue to think that nurses totally have it made!).

For the person planning to move to El Dorado Hills/Granite Bay, keep Marshall Hospital in Placerville in mind. I don't know the hiring situation currently, but not long ago they were hiring when the Sacramento hospitals weren't. Same for Yuba City/Marysville, which is quite a commute, but definitely doable.

Suzanne, I'm curious--do you know why the job situation in Sacramento has gotten harder in just the last few weeks? I didn't realize that.

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Unemployment is jumping up weekly in CA right now. That means that more and more are losing their health insurance. As well as that more and more nurses that are already working at a facility are picking up more hours to work since chances are good that a spouse may have been laid off.

This is not just specific to the capital but to all over the state as well.

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Thanks Suzanne4 for your insight- guess those ad can be deceiving... Guess even if there is something that 'fits', there would be lots of competition for that one position...

Is this freeze occuring all over the Bay Area as well?

The Bay Area may not have a freeze in place in many areas, but the region is saturated with nurses. Without considerable experience in an area, and in particular a specialty area, finding a job in something like med-surg is going to be almost non-existant. And minimum of two years of experience or one is still considered a fairly new grad as well.

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We are all in the same boat. If you find a program hiring share the love! hehe

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