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Discussion

How competitive am I?

Hey california nurses, I know its rough out there but after I graduate from my midwestern school, I'm moving to california. I'd like to know how competitive I am for residencies/new grad positions. I graduate in April.

My specs: BSN, 3.7 cum gpa (~3.5 nursing), externship at top 10 ten hospital in ICU, male, no other health care experience, background in IT/programming, but spotty work history with a lot of gaps (28 years old).

I wanted to add - I will live anywhere in California, from north to south to the central valley or even up in the sierras. I would also be willing to live in a more rural area if necessary.

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    • Featured Replies

    CA is very, very tough for new grads right now. You will be competing with hundreds, if not thousands of applicants for new grad programs/positions. The no health care experience could be problematic. Any volunteer experience?

    Right now, many of us feel like it is who you know to get your foot in the door.

    Good luck!

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    • Author

    I do have some experience, I had a 10 wk paid externship over the summer. Just no CNA experience.

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    You might have better luck if you stay there and get a year experience before coming out to cali. That would give you a leg up. Don't know if that if feasible for you or not. good luck

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    First off, GPA doesn't matter here. In my experience the ones that get the jobs faster are those of us that have "life experience" right now. Families, military, prior long work history. But that's my opinion.

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    Not particularly. If you have a good friend or relative who can hook you up, you can get a job. If not, you will struggle like everyone else. No one inquired about my gpa when I was job searching.

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    Honestly, not even connections can hook you up. Unless you personally know a nursing recruiter, it'll be tough to even get an interview

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    • Experts

    IMO, get your nursing experience before you come out to California. While your specs are good, you'll be competing with tons of other students who have specs just as good--and far better--than yours. Competition is way too tight for the new grad spots. BSNs have the edge but they're not guaranteed to get hired over ADNs/diplomas. Not even 4.0s result in interviews, let alone job offers. Connections aren't as effective as you think because too many applicants have them and are trying to work them.

    Even the once-guaranteed "in" for getting a new grad RN position--being an internal employee--isn't cutting it anymore: several internal employee/new grads in my hospital found themselves being told "sorry, but no" while external candidates were hired instead.

    You can and definitely should apply to any CA residency that you see...however, I would not even think of moving out here unless you are officially accepted into one, unless you have money to burn on funding a CA lifestyle while you look for work.

    Good luck.

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    Thousands of applicants for a few spots. It's pretty irritating here.

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    Meriwhen is 100% correct.

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    I agree with the others if you can get a year experience under your belt before coming to california and any other experience or volunteer work you can tack on to your resume too before you come out to california would be best but that still may not be enough. When you do come to California, you should have savings to live off of for several months (and a back up plan for $$$ to live off of), just in case you don't land something for a long period of time. California has a really tough nursing job market right now...one of the worst in the US.

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    I have found that GPA has no bearing. No one even asks for your transcript. Externships have had no effect on my getting hired. I have 2 degrees, an externship, "life experience" (I'm in my 30s), and I've only had 3 interviews in 7 months. I have applied to well over 100 job postings. One of those turned into an 8 week temporary position. I'm in the Central Valley and it is awful here to. Do not move to Cali until you have 1+ year experience. You will not find work. It is sad but true. There are PLENTY of jobs for experienced nurses.

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