Help! I can't find a job in Houston!

scibruin · Jan 25, 2011

I can't speak much to how the job market is in Houston, but over here in southern cali its bad. I graduated in may 2010 and i found a job a little before christmas, but don't start until next month. So technically i was looking for a job for about 6 months, and i am one of the lucky ones. Out of my graduating class of about 50 or so students i know of 4 of us that have found jobs. Seriously, its bad. I too had never struggled with finding a job. For all those months after my nclex i heard absolutely nothing back from anyone. no calls and only rejection or generic emails. it took a friend of a friend who i don't even know to put my name out there and help me get an interview. that ONE interview turned into a job offer. It only takes one! good luck. its tough out there but just keep applying, improving your resume (adding ACLS, PALS, EKG & Pharm), voulenteer work, and don't give up!

a job will find you eventually, you just need to keep working hard and don't give up. Someone told me once looking for a job should be taken like a full time job, so 8 hours a day you should be doing something to find a job. I wish you the best of luck!!

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Jan 25, 2011

So sorry you are having this much difficulty landing your first job...

Be sure to extend your search to suburban/community facilities. There is enormous competition to get into all the formal new grad programs - and these fill up fast with people who did their clinical in those facilities. Outlying hospitals are not likely to have formal internship/residency programs, but are usually very supportive to any new grads that are hired. Tx Childrens West (on I-10) is opening in April, and I think that the new Methodist campus out there is also gearing up for full services so you may want to check with them.

You may also have better luck after you pass NCLEX. In the current economic climate, many hospitals just don't want the hassle of having to deal with a new grad who does not pass NLCEX & has to be downgraded to non-licensed status until boards are passed.

Keep swimming!

TXgirl83 · Jan 25, 2011

Thanks for the replies. I never thought it would be so difficult, and once I got here and still nothing came I began to suspect what you said HouTx. I know most of my friends who stayed in the area where we went to school all have jobs either in hospital or with other various agencies. I'm just going to keep moving forward and focus on boards this week. :)

NeoNurseTX, RN · Jan 27, 2011

Being that it's the end of Jan, internships have already started and most of them required application in mid-fall 2010. Also, we have a LOT of nursing schools around here. I'd definitely start looking at smaller hospitals and get a year in SOMEWHERE and move on if you don't like it.

TXgirl83 · Jan 28, 2011

Oh yes, I know. I applied for many of them in the fall. Believe me I have put in more applications that I can count. I have every intention of going to some of the smaller places, the hard part is finding them. I don't know a lot about the area and my boyfriends family aren't in the medical field. I've been following leads I've gotten, but it is still difficult, which is why I came here :)

hunnybaby24, BSN, APRN, NP · Jan 28, 2011

Well I'm sure aware now that you have to be proactive in getting a job. You must call them and talk to the recruiter, not expect a call back. You are competing with hundreds of applicants that just have graduated too. Houston has seven plus nursing schools pushing out new grads each semester so competition is fierce. Keep in contact with the nurse recruiters and show sincere interest in their hospital. Hopefully this will give you some leads. And like the others mentioned go to outlying hospitals too. Good luck!

lilypad2424 · Jan 31, 2011

Oh yes, I know. I applied for many of them in the fall. Believe me I have put in more applications that I can count. I have every intention of going to some of the smaller places, the hard part is finding them. I don't know a lot about the area and my boyfriends family aren't in the medical field. I've been following leads I've gotten, but it is still difficult, which is why I came here :)

Hi there, and welcome to Houston!

Congratulations on your BSN! You will find a job, just keep plugging away. Here is some good info,

1. Look in the Sunday paper. There are job fairs fairly often with lots of medical companies. You can email your resume to .... [email protected]. Once you are in the system, they will contact you via email about upcoming events. This is how I got my current job.

2. You may have to take a job that is not exactly what you want, or that you have to drive a fair distance to get to.

3. Call the hospital/company/nsg home/etc. and find out who the hiring manager is. Try to get your resume to their personal email address rather than through HR. The market is sooo tight right now, especially with new grads, as we have LOTS of nursing schools here.

4. Ask everyone that you come accross if they know any nurses, or anyone in the medical field. Nursing is just like anything other job, "it's who you know."

I hate to hear this, I too went through it after I passed boards, and I had 3 years LVN experience! The best advice is this, know that you will find a job. Pretend in your head that you have a job already and it will be shown to you. Much luck to you, and let me know if I can help in any way.

TXgirl83 · Feb 1, 2011

Thank you! I am going to spend all this week on the phone calling people and trying to make some connections. I have also seen a couple of job fairs I'm going to go to if I can. Now that I'm done with boards I can breath a bit easier and focus completely on the job hunt! Thanks again for the encouragement!