Help! New graduated registered nurse having difficulty finding a job!

[Butterfly70]

I am a new graduate registered nurse in ADN program and have a difficult time finding a job in the hospitals. I have some experience as a student nurse in clinical rotations in some hospitals but I don’t have any work experience as a registered nurse. Most of the job applications for the hospitals have requirements such as at least one year clinical experience. Can I use my clinical rotation experience ( student nurse experiences) or the skills that learned during my nursing program for this requirement? Should I apply for “registered nurse” positions or just apply for “New graduate nurse residency program”?  I don’t know what I am doing wrong but almost all of my applications so far have been denied or rejected. I appreciate any advice or suggestion. 

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

LTACH, LTC, dialysis. Good options for a newly graduated nurse. Chin up, have someone look at your resume, keep applying 

[Butterfly70, ADN, RN]

1 hour ago, Rose_Queen said:

@Butterfly70, the credentials listed after your name here state ADN, RN. Have you enrolled in an RN to BSN program? That could be another one of your roadblocks- many are looking to hire BSN nurses due to the 80% of bedside RNs holding a BSN goal.

If you are not getting interviews, you may benefit from having a professional review your resume. You may also benefit from practicing interviews with someone you trust to give you honest feedback.

But ideally, it's time to start looking outside of the hospital setting. A nursing job will get you nursing experience while no nursing job is going to make you less attractive the farther out you go.

That is actually the reason I would like to get job in large hospitals because they offer gradrate nurse residency program that helps to get bachelor degree. I am willing to get my BSN and that is my goal too.

[Butterfly70, ADN, RN]

16 hours ago, igtgrnokbye said:

You’ll get a job. Just have to figure out what’s going on. Are you considering SNF or LTC?

Not yet, but I think I have to start doing that soon.

[JadedCPN, BSN, RN]

8 minutes ago, Butterfly70 said:

That is actually the reason I would like to get job in large hospitals because they offer gradrate nurse residency program that helps to get bachelor degree. I am willing to get my BSN and that is my goal too.

You could always transfer to a hospital after getting enough experience to make you look desirable to a hospital, so your goal for BSN can still be achieved. 

You are best to get a nursing job as soon as possible, even if it isn't in the hospital, rather than waiting around for a hospital job.

[midwifebetts, ADN, BSN]

You can put your clinical rotation experience on your resume in a section that says, “Clinical rotation experience” or something like that. As long as you don’t list it like a job. It is helpful sometimes because some programs get better opportunities than others. 
 

Apply to everything that you are interested in. You never know. Especially right now. Good luck. 

[HiddencatBSN, BSN]

2 hours ago, midwifebetts said:

You can put your clinical rotation experience on your resume in a section that says, “Clinical rotation experience” or something like that. As long as you don’t list it like a job. It is helpful sometimes because some programs get better opportunities than others. 
 

Apply to everything that you are interested in. You never know. Especially right now. Good luck. 

This is what I did. It's not nursing experience but different programs will have different exposures and rotations and if you present your education in a way that highlights what you have learned from it, it's perfectly appropriate for a new grad resume. 

 

[Butterfly70, ADN, RN]

Christmas Day and still NO job!

[JadedCPN, BSN, RN]

8 hours ago, Butterfly70 said:

Christmas Day and still NO job!

Did you ever start applying for non-hospital jobs like suggested? Did you have someone review your resume and interview techniques like suggested?

[Ellen NP, MSN, NP]

All new nurses have clinical experiences during school. They do not count for  ‘experience.’ If the hospitals are truly looking for experience, you do not qualify. 

[kbrn2002, ADN, RN]

COVID is throwing a major wrench into most places hiring practices. Either they aren't hiring at all because of a drop in non-COVID patient census or they only want experienced nurses that can be up and running with minimal orientation.  I understand it's discouraging to be in this situation but really all you can do is keep applying. Expand your applications to places you might not consider your first choice such as LTC, corrections, clinics etc.  WHo knows, you might find out you like it and if not at least you'll be getting that all important experience for your resume when it's time to start reapplying to hospital positions.

[Quest5, BSN, MSN, RN]

I agree with many of the suggestions made in earlier posts, especially that you consider opportunities such as LTC and Dialysis. It’s also possible you may not be marketing yourself well.

My experience has been that the typical new grad RN resume many nursing programs may recommend does not adequately capture the older graduate’s experiences and skills. A career counselor at your college can often help you translate that background for your resume in terms of new grad RN / nurse residency jobs as it’s likely you have some experience that can be reframed to appeal to recruiters/ unit managers, e.g. evidence of maturity, leadership, and communication skills, although you may need to supply the counselor with new RN position descriptions. Be sure to list that you are bilingual because even if you have an accent the obvious can be overlooked. (In interviews you can mention the percentages of the local population who share that language if you do your research and can quote recent census data.) Be positive and persistent and do consider expanding your job search horizons; not everyone gets an acute care hospital position right out of the program. I have mentored several bilingual/ multilingual ADN grads, who began in LTC or home health, who took advantage of every training opportunity offered, including beginning their BSN programs, during their 1-2 years in that first job. When they moved into experienced RN positions in hospitals, each of them progressed rapidly because they’d used the time to build superior skill sets. Best wishes for your success!

[SmilingBluEyes]

Hey there is NO shame  in LTC/SNF nursing. I did it. You get a lot of valuable clinical skills and decision-making experience. Oftentimes, this is the first job for many a new grad out of school. Try LTC; you may even love it.