Help! I'm a new grad and can't find a job

[I RN A]

Hi, I 'm a new grad.I've graduated Dec. 08, 2008. Just took NCLEX and waiting for results. My school has a contract with one of the local hospitals, where I had to work for 3 years or pay them back if I don't want to work there. After I've graduated I had gone through interviews and was told that there are no positions open at this time and I have to wait. 3 month later I was contacted by a nurse recruiter, who explained to me that everyone from my class was hired and we will start working by the end of this month. I even have gone through a part of the health screening, and then she called me a week later and said that my contract was released. They have released some of my classmates as well. I don't know why. I started my job search and found out there are no jobs for new grads. Most of the hospitals have started their programs in January, and will not start again till June. Meanwhile, more new grads are coming and I have no idea what to do. I keep trying and applying. I've been told by one of the hospitals that they have 3 positions open and 150 people applied. What do I do? I'm devastated. I have gone through BSN program, and always thought I could make my dream to come true. But I guess, I could throw my degree down the drain and all of my hopes to help people aren't real.

[feralnostalgia]

can you move?

[I RN A]

yes. it means i don't have to pay $17,000 back. But I'm out of job. Looking hard, applying everywhere I can. And I can move, but don't know where. I'd move anywhere to get 1 year of experience.

[torisam]

There's full time work in Northern Ontario Canada!!!

[Private Peds Nurse, LPN]

Have you possibly thought about the military? If I were younger, I would have tried the military if I had it to do all over again.

[emmalou*]

I can empathise with this, being from Australia. I graduated from uni in the mid 90s and there wasn't really a nursing shortage back then as such, and a lot of people didn't find jobs straight away. I remember nursing tutors saying "oh you'll all have trouble finding jobs because you have all this competition from other unis" blah blah (I actually found this attitude very counter-productive and quite negative). All up, in my town, there were around 1500 grads and probably only around 800 jobs but pretty much everyone ended up getting a job in the first year out.

I think you need to forget about recruitment agencies and directly contact hospitals in other states, and Canada for a job, by phone if possible. As someone else said, try aged care or community nursing until you get the job you want. That is what a lot of my friends did when we left uni. Not sure about the US, but in my country, regional or country areas have a really big shortfall in health professionals, particularly nurses so you might want to look at moving to a smaller town or one that is a bit more isolated than usual.

In a couple of years nurses will be in demand again and you'll have your pick of jobs. Try to hang in there and keep trying and being persistent.

I don't know if this will help, but when I was looking, I emphasised by experience in working as a nursing assistant while I was at uni, to show I had experience and initiative, and I also repeatedly told hospitals I really wanted to work there and they were my employer of choice. Back then, we didn't use email, so this was all by phone and frankly, I think this helped a lot. Emails are easy to ignore. Phone calls, not so much.

Good luck.

[Silverserene]

which program did u graduate from? I'm currently attending LACC for ADN in my first semester. I know that there is a hiring freeze in LA county, but I just assumed that they would give new grads from their program priority.

[I RN A]

I wanted to thank you all for your support! I don't mean to sound upset, and I keep looking. I don't think that I'll give up. Unfotunately, I can't join a military. I'll explore all of the possibilities such as nursing homes and outpatient offices. I have graduated from CalState University and got my BSN. I hope it is easier for ADNs to find a job, but as I have encountered with my job search, it is very hard to get even a call back for a new grad. I have started looking in November, but since I was obligated by contract to work for the particular hospital, I didn't look hard. Now since the contract is released, I have tried to look hard and will continue looking into different opportunities. Do any of you know what the nursing job market in Michigan looks llike?

[starletRN]

You might also want to try nurse travel agencies. I'm a new grad and I got a call from a travel agency interested in hiring me. I just didn't go for it because I found something in my area at the same time.