Everything leads to believe that new nurses are needed. The aging population, the baby boomers, the aging nurses working, longer lives lived, more chronic diseases present etc....
My dilemma and question is, how can hospitals and health care facilities afford not to hire newly graduated nurses. They should be getting the manpower from somewhere. Are they relying only on overworking the experienced staff only. If they rely only on experienced nurses they are using a constant amount of people for a growing population of people with diseases.
This is what I do not understand, either the hospitals are using workers from some obscure source that I am not aware of or there is a mystery going on here.
People relocate for various reasons, though. Sometimes you need a change of pace, or want to experience new things. This doesn't always mean that the person will just up and leave. I am relocating, and the people who hired me have been very supportive and kind. Thankfully, there are people out there like this. I also feel that there is a fair amount of stereotyping of new grads, which is unfortunate.
Are you a new grad with zero experience? If so, why did your employer hire you over local people? What did you have to offer that made you more attractive than a local resident who was/is more likely to stay in that area long term? Can you share that "something special" with the readers so that they can learn how to be the one chosen for the job even though they have no relevant experience and no ties to the local community?
There's a depressing dichotomy revealed in the responses to this thread:
One group saying, "You have to be willing to relocate to find that first job" (along with an implication that those still without work are unwilling).
Another groups saying, "We only want to hire local grads. There are more than enough and we think that they'll stay put."
Again, it's a catch-22... if you're not fortunate enough to have connections at a local hospital - and one which has the budget to hire new grads - you're facing an up-hill battle.
Wow, thanks for the encouragement llg. Keep in mind that many years ago, you were also a new grad. Its very disheartening to see how some of you view us new grads. Where is your compassion? To answer your question, why they chose me:
1) I had 3 letters of recommendation from various clinical instructors
2) I made a good friend who lives and works there, and was kind enough to give me a chance
3) I was an honours grad, and very involved in my nursing school community. Won 3 awards too.
4) While I have A LOT to learn about nursing, I am eager to learn, and motivated. My previous work history involves hotel and retail management. Nursing is customer service.
5) I prepared myself, and interviewed well. We hit it off.
I hope that clears things up, and perhaps will make you think a little more positively about a new grad :)
Wow, thanks for the encouragement llg. Keep in mind that many years ago, you were also a new grad. Its very disheartening to see how some of you view us new grads. Where is your compassion? To answer your question, why they chose me:
1) I had 3 letters of recommendation from various clinical instructors
2) I made a good friend who lives and works there, and was kind enough to give me a chance
3) I was an honours grad, and very involved in my nursing school community. Won 3 awards too.
4) While I have A LOT to learn about nursing, I am eager to learn, and motivated. My previous work history involves hotel and retail management. Nursing is customer service.
5) I prepared myself, and interviewed well. We hit it off.
I hope that clears things up, and perhaps will make you think a little more positively about a new grad :)
I'm not "negative about new grads;" I am trying to help them be successful in their job searches. They need to hear the truth, not some "pie in the sky" fantasies. If they want to get hired in a new city, they need to learn how to market thenselves so that they are attractive job applicants.
You were lucky that you had a connection that helped you (the good friend who lives and works there who gave you a chance). You also seem to have an academic and career background that is stronger than most of the new grads looking for work. Most new grads need to pick places "where they have friends" when they consider relocation ... or family members, etc. Their chances of a successful job search will be much greater if they consider those things (like you did) rather than focus mainly on cities in which they have no connections. Even if those friends/family members are not in health care, emphasizing your ties to a community and your reasons for making it your home makes good sense as a job search tip. That's just a plain and simple fact -- and my efforts to help the unemployed nurses get jobs by teaching them that fact makes me their friend, not their enemy.
Hi llg. Yes I thank my stars every day for her. I am very lucky. And I had another offer later from my instructor. Absolutely, and especially at this time, connections help.
Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
Hi llg. Yes I thank my stars every day for her. I am very lucky. And I had another offer later from my instructor. Absolutely, and especially at this time, connections help.
Your list has several really great strategies in it and the only thing I might take a bit of issue with is "nursing is customer service". It is learning how to know the most effective communication strategies for the situation, and customer service training does help in that respect. Though I wish the customer service people I talk to from my cable company were better at that.
I don't really see the "connections" issue as an unfair one-up. If I happened to know a really great new grad and knew of an opening for that new grad would I hesitate for a second to put the two together? Heck no! People don't normally refer sub-par people to their employers.
I hope you are contributing to those "how did you do it" threads in the First Year After Graduation forum.
Yes you are correct, Nurse156. When I said "customer service" I am using that term loosely here, to mean, as you said, knowing how to utilize effective communication strategies. When you work in busy hotels, you must learn various communication strategies. The objective is to be an ambasador for the city, and exceed expectations. Which, in many respects, is similar to the role of a nurse :)
So should us who are preparing to get into nursing school even try to get in put the time, effort and money just to get through it all and not be able to get a job?
I have 2 more prereq classes to finish before I can apply for nursing school and after reading all this I am wondering if it will just be foolish for me to even try.
I volunteer for a hospital and work close to nurses and patients and believe I would enjoy the fields and the nurses I know believe I would go well in the field. But I do not want to be nieive either. I am in my 30's and do not have time to waste to go for something that will be for nothing.
Are there any alternative in the medical field that I would have a better chance of actually getting a job in?
Yes you should put in the time and effort, if nursing is truly what you want and care about. While the economy is dismal, people are still obtaining work. You just need to try and make yourself stand out from the herd. If all you want is an easy degree (which it certainly isn't), then you may find it a lot harder to get noticed. For example, people I knew that just scraped by with no references from their instructors are mostly still unemployed 6 months later. Who needs them?
On the other hand, those of us who made a point to help others (I served as a mentor and worked on various nursing committees at school), combined with good clinical skills, and a high GPA had job offers first. The way I see it, these are people's lives, and your future, which you should take very seriously. We can still manage to laugh (also important :)) but the objective is to learn and make a positive impression.
Guys to be honest reading all the replies on this thread made me a little depressed apart from a few strategies like standing apart and making connections while in school, a lot of negativity came out.
Anyway better to know how things really are rather than having illusions...
llg, PhD, RN
13,469 Posts
Are you a new grad with zero experience? If so, why did your employer hire you over local people? What did you have to offer that made you more attractive than a local resident who was/is more likely to stay in that area long term? Can you share that "something special" with the readers so that they can learn how to be the one chosen for the job even though they have no relevant experience and no ties to the local community?