I'm one of those who is having a tough time finding a job in this economy. I have a BSN, I live in CA, no prior medical experience but I'm coming from the tech field. I did my preceptorship at Stanford Hospital, have looked for jobs ALL over CA, Nevada, and Arizona. Almost 2 years after graduation, NO job.
I'd like to hear from those who have actually gotten RN jobs in Hospitals. Did you have BSN? previous medical experience? as a CNA, respiratory therapist? Did you have a good contact at the hospital that hired you? any unique tactics you used to find your job? how long did it take? Any pearls of wisdom are greatly appreciated by all on this board who are struggling to find that first RN job...
I graduated May 2010. I had interviews in So Cal and Central Cal. I had a job offer for a position at a hospital in the desert. This contract was rescended a week before I was to start work. Very discouraging, this was July. I am currently in a RN-BSN program and one of my classes is on Public/Community Health Nursing. This got me thinking about my county where I live. I applied for a job with Health and Human Services of my county. A week later I had an interview and today I received the official job offer. I thought I would always be a hospital nurse or something to do with children. This is just different and I am looking forward to the interesting journey.
I live in Southern California and graduated from an ADN program in December 2010. I studied for my boards while going through more schooling to complete my prerequisites to apply to an RN-BSN program at a Cal State university. While I was doing that, I passed my boards in March 2011. When I finished the 3 classes I needed to transfer into a BSN program I then started seriously looking for a job.
I had been applying throughout the months to different hospitals, SNF's and anything health-related that I could get my hands on. Of course, I would apply on line and not follow up and would always get that dreaded email stating that I wasn't chosen for the position. I would go to Indeed.com on a daily basis and also put the hospitals I was interested on my Favorites and check their websites every day.
Finally, when I finished my classes in June, I got really serious about finding a job. A fellow classmate and I put on our business suits, armed ourselves with copies of our resumes and our letters of recommendation. We went to the hospitals where we had done our student clinicals. We were directed to go to Human Resources and fill out an application. Of course, I had done countless applications with them already. Regardless, we went anyway, introduced ourselves to the Assistant Nurse Recruiter and told her how interested we were in working for their company. We were courteous, polite and humble. We showed our enthusiasm and let them know that we agreed with their mission statement and that we were hard-working, and committed to becoming the best nurse possible. We thanked them for their time and said we would follow up in a week.
It didn't take that long. My friend got called for an interview 5 minutes later. She had worked there as a CNA previously. I got a call the next day. We both had panel interviews and we both got hired a few weeks later. We couldn't believe it.
So my advice: GET OUT THERE!! Go to the hospital. Introduce yourself to the recruiters and nurse managers if you can go up to the floors. Be professional. Look professional. Be prepared to be interviewed. Have your resume and letter of recommendation on hand. Be persistent without being pushy and most of all BE HUMBLE. Don't complain that you haven't been able to find a job. Show that you are grateful that they are giving you their time. A positive attitude, showing that you are energetic and willing to put yourself out there will impress them. It's better than continuously filling out applications on line and hoping they call you back. If you go this route, don't forget to call them, or even better, show up at their Human Resources and find out the status of your application. Introduce yourself to them. Once they know you, it gets more personal.
Granted, my friend and I had done clinicals there, but so had so many of our fellow classmates and they didn't get hired there after applying countless times. My friend was a CNA there and I have to admit that I had 3 letters of recommendation, that not only were my clinical instructors, but 2 were from actual employees that worked for this company. One of them even walked in at the end of my interview (I had called her to say I had an interview that day) and stayed talking with my now nurse manager and put in a very good word for me.
I don't know. Maybe we got jobs there because we were there as students. Maybe because my friend was a CNA there for a few months. Maybe I got the job because of who I knew. But you know what? It's up to you to get out there and sell yourself until you get someone to listen to you and give you a chance.
And just in case you thought it was just chance that I got hired. I don't know what else I did right, but I got offered a job at another hospital that had over 450 applicants, 30 were interviewed (10-person panel interview) and only 10 got offered employment. This was in a Versant program. I believe my essay made me attractive to them and then when I went to interview, I was confident, answered truthfully and showed lots of enthusiasm and told them I loved challenges. Unfortunately, I couldn't accept the job because I had accepted at the hospital I'm at now (which by the way I love and is 5 minutes away) and had already signed the contract. And, in the same week I got called in to interview at another hospital where I did clinicals at and had to turn it down as well. Maybe because I was there as a student? I don't know why they called me but I have a feeling it's because of my references and the good word from my preceptor that I had there my last semester of nursing school.
So sorry if this post is long, but I wanted to give you my experience on how I landed, not 1 but 2 jobs in a hospital in SoCal and possibly even a 3rd job offer if I would have interviewed with the 3rd hospital as well.
Look, I was an okay student. GPA maybe a 3.2. I'm an ADN graduate and never worked in a healthcare facility in my life apart from nursing clinicals. Well, I did do the LVN program right before RN school but never practiced as one because I went straight into RN school. I don't know what happened to get lucky. I'm just telling you what I did to try to land a job. And I did and them some.
So my advice: GET YOUR BUTT OUT THERE AND SELL YOURSELF! SELL YOURSELF!! SELL YOURSELF!!!!!
Good luck and NEVER, EVER GIVE UP!!! :redbeathe
OH YEAH: I prayed A LOT to GOD to give me courage, strength, enthusiasm, and the ability to impress whomever I came across. I thank HIM for my success. Thank you, God! For never forgetting about me, ever!
I hear a lot of people recommending working during your program, but what about doing an ABSN program where it is pretty much impossible to work. If you do work, you may be compromising your grades. I do plan to volunteer at the hospital that is attached to my school (UNC hospital) to get some type of experience. The only thing that I have right now is my bilingual skills and planning to take bilingual medical terminology courses and possibly a translation certificate course. I start school in January and reading posts where it is highly encouraged to work in health field scares me because I do not work in the health field and I will probably not be able to work during school. Any advice for an ABSN student?
Amisidai - try looking into health internships at hospitals in your area. These internships are very flexible yet still provide experience you can put on your resume. I'm in an ABSN program myself but I just started my program recently so it hasn't gotten rough yet. I am thinking the internship is a good compromise between trying to hold a job yet will still allow me to remain committed to my ABSN program.
I agree with Bella39841. Selling yourself is very important. I graduated May 2011 from ADN program in Las Vegas, NV where unemployment is HIGH. I sat for the NCLEX in July and began applying for jobs once I knew I passed. I applied online to the hospitals with no success. I then began to meet with Nurse Managers and HR for about two months with no success (only with a resume in hand). I was becoming depressed. I looked introspectively to see what I was missing. I realized I had a license to practice nursing. I was a business all on my own so why not present myself as that. I went to the Office Max and bought some professional folders and some do-it-yourself business cards and brochure paper. I made some business cards promoting ME. ------- ------- R.N. Patient Advocate providing holistic care, Interdisciplinary Team player and added an area with address and phone number. On the back of the card I put my certifications (BLS, ACLS and memberships). I made a color brochure about ME; where I went to school, areas of clinical experience and a brief background (which contained no healthcare experience but I was a small business owner for 17 years) Threw in a few clipart pictures for flare. In this folder I put my resume, letters of recommendation, clinical skills checklist (from school), a copy of my last semester clinical evaluations the brochure on me and placed the business card in the cut out for it. I picked out the hospital I really wanted to work at. I dressed up in professional attire and went BACK to see the hospital's HR department. Initially, it was just like all the other times I went there. I told the secretary I was looking for an RN position and that I was a new grad. She then told the nurse recruiter and she came out to see me AGAIN. She then told me there were no new grad positions available and AGAIN I thanked her for her time. I then presented my folder and asked her to please keep my information and consider me for any future positions. She brought me into her office to look over my folder. She smiled and said she had not seen anything like this before. She looked at all of my paperwork, brochure, and even plucked out my business card to look at it closer. She noticed the back where I put my certifications. Her eyebrows went up and I could tell by the look on her face (hum, impressive). She then told me again she didn't have any new grad positions but that she would keep me in mind. I wasn't able to go to another hospital (to do the same thing there) for a few days but when I did I was driving to the second hospital and I received a call from the first HR lady. She asked me to come in for an interview for a Med/Surg position. Whoo hoo!! I went in and took the NCB test and she told me I did very well on it and then asked me if I would consider a position in IMC (a step-down unit from ICU) instead of Med/Surg. Well, heck yeah I would!! And that's how I did it. I am now in an IMC course for 6 weeks, which by the way is kicking my A$$ but loving every minute of it and then I will have 6 weeks of orientation.
It took me about 2.5 months to get a job but in that time only a few days once I presented myself correctly. Keep in mind you have a license to practice nursing. You have a scope of practice to practice within and you are, in a since, a business all on your own. The way I look at it is you are a business working for another business. Your business is nursing. Their business is being a hospital.
So many great stories! jessRN6896 you must have had an amazing interview to beat those numbers. It's hard for me to maintain a high degree of enthusiasm when I am so nervous during these interviews...i'm just praying i can make it through and not screw up on med questions. the longer you are out of school the more you forget...
ADN, no experience other than volunteer, no contacts other than a friend who was working in the facility that ultimately hired me...and IMO that probably helped land me the interview but in no way got me the job--that I earned myself. I did have interviews at other facilities. Time from graduation to job: about 3 months.
Pearls of wisdom: you need to treat the job search like a 9-5 job. Well, maybe not spend 8 hours a day on it, but take it seriously and put serious time and effort into each and every day. Treat any interactions with recruiters as though they were business interactions and present yourself professionally no matter what the medium (email, interview, phone).
Start searching for work and making contacts before you graduate, but don't expect a lot of employers to want to talk to you until you pass your NCLEX. Also, you also need to be patient: it's a saturated market and you may not hear back right away. It may take days, weeks, months...yes, even taking a year is possible, AEB the SNF that called me more than a year after I dropped off the application.
Volunteer if you can. I did, and more than one interviewer told me they were impressed that I was actually doing something instead of sitting around waiting for interviews and job offers.
If you can, try to get certifications such as ACLS, PALS, etc. Yes, I know a lot of places will spring for them for their employees, but as a new grad it does help you stand out from the competition and shows initiative.
If you do land an interview, still keep up the job search; don't be tempted to just drop it and pin your hopes that you'll nail the interview and land the job. First, you may not get the job. Second, it may be ages between the interview and when you hear anything, so don't waste any time. Don't call the job hunt over until you get an official job offer that you want to accept.
Last, keep reminding yourself that you can do every single thing right by the new grad job hunt book--you can be flexible, willing to work anywhere, any specialty or any shift, have certs up the wazoo, trick the resume out to the max, have a 4.0, network like crazy--and still not land anything right away. Between the surplus of nurses and a decreasing number of positions available, it's a very tight market. I had to tell myself of that when the going got really rough.
I live in CA bay area -friend of the family worked as manager on the maternal/child floor. I worked for x 2 years part time as nursing assistance in postpartum. Did my externship in L&D and was hired before I even graduated with my BSN (used my temp permit). I do believe it is about who you know. Thsi was back in 1994 when it was also unheard of for new grads to get hospital jobs. Only about 3 of us had jobs lined up at graduation.
princess pickles
38 Posts
I graduated May 2010. I had interviews in So Cal and Central Cal. I had a job offer for a position at a hospital in the desert. This contract was rescended a week before I was to start work. Very discouraging, this was July. I am currently in a RN-BSN program and one of my classes is on Public/Community Health Nursing. This got me thinking about my county where I live. I applied for a job with Health and Human Services of my county. A week later I had an interview and today I received the official job offer. I thought I would always be a hospital nurse or something to do with children. This is just different and I am looking forward to the interesting journey.