Hard time finding a job

[KAW1962]

A few months ago I moved to the South San Francisco Bay area. I have been diligently searching for a job for the past month and have applied for about 10 positions at this point, but I am getting hardly any feedback whatsoever. One hospital at least had the courtesy to email me to let me know that the positions I had applied for (three in all) were already filled.

I have a diploma from a reputable school of nursing back east and have 11 years of solid medical / surgical experience. I have never had this much difficulty getting a job and was wondering if anyone can shed any light on the subject. Could it be that I lack a degree? I would surely think that my experience alone would be enough to land a job.

Any feedback would be appreciated!

[suzanne4, RN]

Blame it on the economic downturn in the area. As more and more lay-offs occur, then more and more people are without health insurance as a start. Next is the issue that more nurses are picking up extra shifts or have returned to the bedside to practice because their spouses have lost their jobs.

Nest problem that you are up against is the large number of nursing schools in the Bay Area and therefore a surplus of nurses in many cases.

If you had at least a couple of years of critical care experience, then it would be easier to find work.

This is why we keep telling everyone to have a job lined up first before moving out. Things are quite different than they were even 6 months ago.

I am going to move this thread to the CA forum since it is specific to the one state and locale.

Best of luck to you.

[KAW1962]

Thank you for your response. I had emailed a local recruiter who works at a hospital that has an excellent critical care orientation program, as well as several ICU positions available. I inquired as to how to go about applying for such a program but she won't even give me the time of day. It is very discouraging indeed. I keep picturing myself taking a job where I have to say "would you like fries with that?"

[Charlotte205]

ITA. nurse recruiters have so much power these days. gone are the days when there was a huge shortage and recruiters were very accommodating and nice to applicants.