HELP! I'm a New Grad! How do I get a job????

[StudentMidwife]

Hi Fellow Nurses!!!!

I just passed the NCLEX! Yeah! But now I have no idea how to get a job. My EL-MSN program is offering little help; I post my resume online and only get rejection letters; and all the New Grad programs in the Orange County, CA area are being cut, reduced, or are otherwise impacted.

Who do I talk to about getting into a new grad program or even just getting a job? How does one go from being a new grad with an RN licence to working? I don't understand the process and I'm really scared of just being rejected because the job market is awful and times are economically tough.

My family is living on rice and beans right now and my car is in jeopardy of being reposessed because of money issues. I NEED to be working asap, and I don't care what area I'm in. In fact, because I am going to be a student nurse-midwife come next fall (I've been accepted into grad school on the condition that I get work experience), I'd rather have med-surg or some whole-patient oriented floor.

Help. I'm really dejected, and sleep a lot because I just meet rejection at every turn.

Thanks. I really need help.

Praying,

Annie

[NC Girl BSN]

Someone posted on here last week about how California has too many newgrad and not enough positions. Some people are having to relocate. This is a problem in alot of areas all over the country. You have to start applying all over the state of Cali and surrounding areas. Unfortunately you may be out of luck because most new grads started their search in January. At some point if your eating rice and beans you may have to break down and apply to clinics, nursing homes etc. to make your ends meet. Again look at old post on this forum and you will see the problem.

[RedhairedNurse, BSN, RN]

Be a pain in the butt if all else fails. That's what I did and it worked. I called

the nurse recruiters on a weekly basis until they gave me an interview and even

called after the interview. I was politely bugging the heck out of them.

[Not_A_Hat_Person, RN]

Be willing to relocate. I ended up moving 250 miles for my job.

[jjjoy, LPN]

Be a pain in the butt if all else fails.

Yeah, that.

Unfortunately, there is no sure-fire approach to job hunting. So try EVERYTHING! In addition to on-line apps, go in person to HR departments, EVERY week. They may be rude and brusque. But they may also be helpful. Every place and every person is different. You don't know til you try. And try more than once, as well. See if you can get the names of the nurse managers of various units and try contacting them directly, politely inquiring about their unit. Some may be annoyed. But others will see it as indicative of the kind of assertiveness they'd like in their employees. Ask nurse friends with jobs if they're willing to introduce you to their nurse manager. Again, be persistent. Call folks back. Follow up. Check back in. You might happen to call the same day that they get a new budget that allows for a new hire.

Unfortunately, you will probably continue to "meet rejection at every turn"... at least until you do get a job offer. Remember that you only need ONE job offer, so whenever someone says 'no' there still can be that one potential offer out there somewhere. If you can, try not to think of not getting a job offer as rejection, think of it as a learning experience. Or you could think of each rejection as one step closer to getting a job offer. One day in the future, you'll being saying "I was rejected X times before this offer"... each time think of it the X minus 1 rejection... it's a bit of mind game but it can help keep from getting too down. Salespeople often give this type of advice in dealing with rejection.

Keep on keeping on. Best wishes!