How do you get your first nursing job?

cec227 · Jul 28, 2016

I started my career at a large teaching hospital, with a year long new grad program. This was SO helpful and I felt like I really got good training and learned how to do things the right way on the floor. i had three months of on the floor training with a preceptor. A lot of the cnas I worked with were in nursing school. The hospital hired CNAs but let them do additional things if they were in nursing school, like start IVs and blood draws once signed off by an RN. They seemed to get hired faster than the other BSN students.

Your GPA is huge. It will get you in the door for an interview. I would start to acquire sample interview questions that you go over before your interviews. If they are good samples, you can use your prepared responses for a lot of questions.

Good luck!

ottersloveoysters · Jul 28, 2016

To answer your initial question, I got my first job through a connection I made with a classmate in nursing school. She passed my resume on to her manager, I got an interview and was hired. All interviews I had when I came out of nursing school came from someone I knew giving my resume to the manager. In other words: networking.

Form relationships with your clinical instructors! They can be wonderful connections and can also give you recommendations or pass your resume on to hiring managers.

Lastly, you can get a job working as a PCA on a floor that is appealing to you. Sometimes this can lead to being hired as a RN when you finish school but this is not a sure thing.

NurseGirl525, ASN, RN · Jul 28, 2016

I disagree that your GPA is huge. Where are earth does that count. As we were told in nursing school, C=Nurse. I always strived to do my best, but did end up with a C as the grading structure is so different. So that affected my GPA. And we were told not to put your GPA on our resumes in our leadership class. I was not asked in my interview, nor did HR request it.

I got a tech job about 6 months before graduation. It takes doing some legwork on your part. I then ended up in a residency program and am now on the unit I was a tech on. I worked hard and proved myself. I am now working on a unit I love which is a specialty unit.

People think it's impossible to get into a specialty unit because the job just doesn't fall in their laps. It takes some legwork and then hard work if you want to get into the more critical areas. It seems that all the units you want are super competitive because everyone wants in them.

I also suggest keeping your mind open while doing clinicals. Narrowing your focus now doesn't keep you open to a great job that may be out there.

Sour Lemon · Jul 28, 2016

I disagree that your GPA is huge. Where are earth does that count.

It is huge in some areas. Some new graduate programs won't consider you unless you're above a 3.0 ...or even a 3.5. And I've actually been asked my GPA on applications even though I am not a new graduate.

kmarie724 · Jul 28, 2016

My first nursing job was at the LTC facility I worke at as a CNA while in nursing school. Ten years later I am still there, now as a nurse manager.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jul 28, 2016

Additionally, my dream is to be an L&D nurse, or NICU, or peds nurse, are all of these considered "specialties" or are they areas you can work in as a new nurse?

L&D, NICU, and pediatrics are specialties that new grads can be hired into. However, these are highly coveted areas because many people apply for a few limited job openings in these specialties. Therefore, you will probably encounter competition for new grad jobs in these specialized areas.

quazar · Jul 29, 2016

I got a job in NICU as a new grad because I did my senior year practicum there.

stnurse2016 · Jul 29, 2016

Thanks everyone, so the only problem with the advice of being a CNA or PCA (which I am currently but working mostly home health) in a hospital you want to work at is that I do not think I will be able to work while in school. I will be in an accelerated BSN program which I think is very intense and leaves no time for anything besides school.

My other dilemma is that I will be applying for jobs in the San Francisco bay area after school because my husband will still be in grad school so we'll still live in Berkeley, but I may go to school in Irvine, CA. Typically I think hospitals hire new grads from the schools in their area, and it would definitely be easier to get a job at a hospital where you've done clinicals. I got into Concordia University Irvine, which I was leaning towards because it is cheaper than the other school, Samuel Merritt University in the bay area. But if I want a job in the bay area, I don't know if it is smarter to go with the school in this area?

And since it is an accelerated program, I don't believe there is any sort of "senior preceptorship" which I have heard is a good way to stand out among new grads.

So, I am feeling a little stuck, and not sure what to do about the school decision now. I could save about $20k by going to Concordia, but with Samuel Merritt I wouldn't have to live away from my husband (not like I'll be spending time with him but it would still be sad to be away) and I'll graduate a month earlier than at Concordia, and maybe by going to a local school I would have a better chance at getting a job in this area. I don't know though. Hard decisions! I really liked Concordia when I visited, and the commute in the bay area will probably be hellish versus my setup down in Irvine. I just don't know.

**NICU Guy, BSN, RN** · Jul 29, 2016

I went through a ABSN program (in Indiana) and had a Senior Capstone (Externship/Preceptorship) in a Level IV NICU and was able to get a job at a different Level IV NICU at a children's hospital. Majority of our new grad hires either worked as PCAs in the hospital or had Externships in the unit.

Missie Hannie · Jul 29, 2016

I got a NICU residency after graduation. Oftentimes a residency is a good option if you are looking into a specialty, since they offer classes and 1:1 preceptorship on the floor.

Every employer/nurse/manager I've talked to looks for a nurse who is constantly willing to learn. They look for ambition and initiative, along with every other good quality that you've heard attributed to nurses - the list is quite extensive!

I've had a few nurses suggest different certifications as a resume enhancement; in nursing school I was only required to have my BLS certification, but after graduation I got my ACLS card, too, which helped a bit with getting interviews and eventually getting hired.

All of the specialties you listed are amazing, but highly coveted by many nurses, therefore they can be difficult to get. Not impossible, and if you believe that one of these areas is your calling, then go for it with everything you've got :)

BonnieSc · Jul 29, 2016

The Bay Area is one of the most difficult places to get a job in the US. Take whatever advantage you can. And consider that you would be earning, say, $6000 a month; if you can start working sooner than you would by going to the school in Irvine, it won't take you long to make up the difference.

I think you will still have a senior preceptorship; I believe the number of clinical hours is the same as a non-accelerated program.

You'll still see your husband, don't worry! My husband and I have to be apart right now, and I wouldn't recommend that for anyone who has a choice.

I didn't go through an accelerated program, but my school officially discouraged working during the program--other than as a nurse tech. It was the same when they started an ABSN at my school. Plenty of those students still worked as techs, and we have techs in accelerated programs at my hospital. You may only have to do four shifts a month as a nurse tech. Totally worth it. I didn't bother with it when I was in school because I didn't need the money and no one was worried about getting a job; the new grad jobs crisis hit during my last semester, with a bang and a shock. If I had worked as a tech I'm sure I would have been able to find a job in my area. I didn't, and I wasn't.