Help! I'm SO Frustrated!!!

[jujuwah]

I have been applying to ALL of the major hospitals in the Twin Cities area since October 2014 and have STILL not landed a job! I literally put out 10-15 applications a week and I have even hand delivered a couple. I've had around 5 interviews, and although I'm not the most experienced, I feel I'm pretty competent and have had (what I thought) were some really successful interviews.

A little background.

I graduated in 2011 from Inver Hills (3.8 GPA) and then got my BSN at Chamberlain College of Nursing. I have since then worked for 1.5 years at a LTC/TCU facility. I also have 1 year experience as an RN at a residential group home. For the last 1.5 years I have been on maternity leave but have been working as a Certified Lactation Counselor because ultimately my dream in to work in maternity. I am also a Certified Birth Doula and have take an Electronic Fetal Monitoring class online. I know that OB nursing is a hard field to get into, but I can't even get into an acute care position at the hospital!

Is it really that hard these days? I feel like I put in my time in long term care and, according to everyone else, should be able to land a job at a hospital. I'm not a new grad anymore and I have my BSN. What gives?

Does anyone have any insight on what I should do? I'm applying to almost EVERY single position I qualify for regardless of full time/part time or day/evening/NOC shifts. I feel like I have been black balled or something.

I would appreciate any feedback. I'm REALLY passionate about L&D and would even do it for free if I could, but I'm finding it impossible to get my foot in the door

Help!

[Ella26, BSN, RN]

Hi Jujuwah,

I'm sorry to hear that you are having a tough time, even with a BSN. The Twin Cities market has become brutal. Is it possible to follow-up with the interviewers to get some feedback on your interviews? Just keep trying! Your persistence will eventually pay off! Also, eventually, to get some experience, maybe you might have to look outside of acute care to get your foot back in the door.

[dinah77, ADN]

Wondering if the OP has had any luck?

[dinah77, ADN]

FYI, I know for a fact Fairview Ridges will be hiring for post-partum soon- can't say for sure if they will post as no experience needed, but they do go back and forth between no hospital experience needed and hospital experience needed.

[CMKnurse]

I graduated last Dec and feel your pain, it's stressful! I have been lucky enough to find a job, with no previous hospital work experience or connections. Here are just a few tips that have worked for myself and some classmates…

-Find networking events. Allina, Abbott NW and Fairview all had them and I went to numerous ones, basically whenever I was free for it. Its a great way to get in front of recruiters and hiring managers, and you never know who you might make a good connection with. You can find out about them by following the major hospitals on linked in, or by contacting the HR/recruiting department directly.

-Don't apply for EVERYTHING! In fact, that was one of the most surprising things I learned through networking with recruiters and is one of the biggest mistakes applicants make. Apparently if you are applying for everything under the sun, it makes it seem you are desperate and that the job you've applied for isn't your "real passion". (I know, passions aren't the biggest concern when first graduating, we just want a job! but apparently this is a red flag for them) They also said that as they flip through the hundreds of applications for each position they start to recognize names that they've seen tons of times before and then just automatically throw them out, basically saying that they remember declining that one in the past, regardless of why, so don't give it another look. I tried to only apply to 2-4 positions within a month for each hospital, so picked ones that I figured I had the best chance at or listed multiple openings.

-Once you apply, be aggressive. Every position I applied for, I found a way to find the name of the nurse manager of the department and contacted them. You can look online or call information desk and connect to the nurse station and ask. Then you can get first and last name, phone number, sometimes email if you are good. Then call and/or email the nurse manager to tell them you just applied and are extremely interested in the position and why (briefly), or even just ask if they hire new grads. If they like what they hear, they can pull your app from the recruiter. Granted, not every manager may like applicants personally reaching out, but it's one way to make yourself stand out and to take control of the situation.

-Lastly, try to find any possible connection to available jobs. Look for jobs at the hospitals/units you did clinicals… then you can reach out to them raving about how much you loved your experience there and really want to work there. Managers would love knowing that if they hire you, you really want to be there and won't be looking to jump ship at the next available option!

Hope this helps. I did each of these, as did almost every classmate that landed a job… the ones who have just been blinding applying are still searching. Good luck!!