Help! Great resume but still unemployed

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Apr 9, 2014

I am so sorry you've been caught up in this situation. Please believe me, it's not YOU. If a new grad with your qualifications walked into the employment office anywhere that had a more decent economy, you would be hired in a heartbeat.

I am assuming from your post (you relocated to Minn after graduation) that relocation is not an option. It seems like you are already following all the normal avenues; widening your search to include all types of settings, obtaining additional certifications, volunteering, etc. Hopefully, someone will come along with advice specific to your location.

Sending you big-time job MOJO . . .

ecsmith6 · Apr 9, 2014

Thank you! I appreciate you taking the time to respond! I've been reading your posts on other threads--you sure do have a lot of wisdom!

iPink, BSN, RN · Apr 10, 2014

Unfortunately what you're not doing is applying to the nursing homes/rehabs. Absolutely keep trying for the hospital jobs but you can't narrow your search to hospitals. To me, it didn't make sense to work in a grocery store as a licensed nurse and completely blow off working in a nursing home. At least you would be working in the capacity of a nurse. Just my two cents.

I do wish you all the best.

Concerto_in_C, BSN, RN · Apr 11, 2014

The Midwest sucks compared to other parts of the country, Chicago is a nightmare for job seekers, Rockford sucks too, but I knew a manager in Rockford, she had offered me a position many years ago in 2008, so I had a personal connection that helped me tremendously, and thus I ended up working in Rockford and generally speaking I'm happy. I work with a good bunch.

I remember back in 2007/2008, before we realized there was a recession, we already had signs of trouble. My classmates from UIC were being turned down for RN positions at Chicago hospitals where they had worked like 5 years as CNAs. In a healthy economy they were being rejected by their own managers who had known them for years.

Those rejections probably multiplied x 10 in later years as the full impact of the recession became known.

If you can't get an offer from the place where they know you, then you certainly have grim prospects as an outsider, unless you have some amazing qualities that make you stand out from the crowd. Young people with little or no experience generally don't have amazing resumes, amazing resumes become available much, much later, with several years of experience, with demonstrated growth, and without any disciplinary issues.

If I had friends or family in Texas or West Coast or East Coast I'd move in an instant. The only thing that prevents me is I don't want to be alone in a strange state, without any friends or social life. In many parts of the country, the labor market mostly recovered from the recession. In the Midwest it did not. The only thing that Midwest has in abundance, is 1 million directionless, unemployed people with bachelor's degrees.

Nonetheless · Apr 11, 2014

The Midwest sucks compared to other parts of the country, Chicago is a nightmare for job seekers, Rockford sucks too, but I knew a manager in Rockford, she had offered me a position many years ago in 2008, so I had a personal connection that helped me tremendously, and thus I ended up working in Rockford and generally speaking I'm happy. I work with a good bunch.
I remember back in 2007/2008, before we realized there was a recession, we already had signs of trouble. My classmates from UIC were being turned down for RN positions at Chicago hospitals where they had worked like 5 years as CNAs. In a healthy economy they were being rejected by their own managers who had known them for years.
Those rejections probably multiplied x 10 in later years as the full impact of the recession became known.
If you can't get an offer from the place where they know you, then you certainly have grim prospects as an outsider, unless you have some amazing qualities that make you stand out from the crowd. Young people with little or no experience generally don't have amazing resumes, amazing resumes become available much, much later, with several years of experience, with demonstrated growth, and without any disciplinary issues.
If I had friends or family in Texas or West Coast or East Coast I'd move in an instant. The only thing that prevents me is I don't want to be alone in a strange state, without any friends or social life. In many parts of the country, the labor market mostly recovered from the recession. In the Midwest it did not. The only thing that Midwest has in abundance, is 1 million directionless, unemployed people with bachelor's degrees.

Sorry, but the west coast and east coast have awful job markets as well.

I thought the Midwest had a bounty of nursing jobs for BSN's but I guess I was wrong.

Concerto_in_C, BSN, RN · Apr 11, 2014

Sorry, but the west coast and east coast have awful job markets as well.
I thought the Midwest had a bounty of nursing jobs for BSN's but I guess I was wrong.

We hire new grads all the time, but Rockford is hardly a high desirability area, so the city experiences a brain drain as talented young people run away to live in parts of the country that are more prosperous. Our demographics are different, there is a lot of poverty; young people in the area have a hard time graduating from high school, let alone getting a BSN. You don't see brilliant but unemployed young people with Master's degrees standing on every street corner as in Chicago.

If you are going to be looking for a job in a hip area where the population is prosperous and nursing colleges are more numerous than you can count, then it's going to be tough, because the abundance of the nursing colleges basically creates a diploma mill system. The goal is to make maximum profit by making you empty promises of a career in nursing.

Without a doubt many people succeed in getting their dream job straight out of the program, and then they come here to Allnurses to brag how easy it was, but perhaps they don't realize just how lucky and unique they are...