How did you get your job?

Nurses New Nurse

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I am having a hard time finding a job...I got my license in October. I was just wondering for the nurses that got hired within 3 months of getting their license, how did u get your job? Did you fill out an application online, did you go in and ask to speak with the DON, did a nursing recruiter contact you? I've tried those tactics and others. I keep wondering what am I doing wrong?

Specializes in Professional Development Specialist.
I talked my head off to everyone who would listen about finding a job. The wife of my husband's coworker was kind enough to take my resume to her boss, and every other person she knew. I got a job, although not as a nurse. Since most of my classmates are still looking I'm trying to be positive.

I thought I'd update since I found an RN job. I had put on my best suit and walked in to a bunch of nursing homes near my house. About a month later 2 of them called within days of each other and I got a job. If you walk in to nursing homes be prepared to sell yourself right away to the DON or someone. They often don't list jobs but will call you from a resume. Good luck!

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Specializes in LTC.

Craigslist and God (I am not super religious but my job is at a LTC run by nuns) I start Wednesday!

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I graduate with my BSN in May, and applied at the end of February at the hospital in which my nursing school is through. I did my management clinicals with a nurse manager from the ER, and after I sent my app into HR, I emailed her and asked if her department was taking any new graduates. She told me no at the time, citing budget issues.

Two weeks later she emailed me and said that things had changed, and she was in fact taking several grads. Three days after that email I interviewed, and a week later had a job offer :yeah:

I start June 1st!

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Specializes in Cardiac.

Moral of the story, its all about who you know!

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Specializes in Gerontology & Med/Surge.

hey if you get a chance, read my post " my story ........... for those who think will they ever get thier first job" . it was hard, but i did it. good luck to you too.

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Specializes in Emergency Dept..

started applying online to a bunch of hospitals a month before graduation. even if it didn't say "NEW GRAD/GRADUATE NURSE, ETC." in the job title, i still applied. i prayed...A LOT! finally heard back from ONE hospital a month after graduation and that is where i am. new grad in the ED.

only one hospital called me back. i had several interviews with recruiters, nurse educators, nurse managers, etc. at this hospital..and each time i reminded myself, this could be my only chance.

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Specializes in Med/Surg Nurse.

I graduated Dec. 2009 and after a phone interview and a in-person interview was hired for a new grad RN position on a Surgical Unit in mid-January. Both interviews were SO nervewracking for me, very stressful. The waiting after the interview was very hard - the not knowing if I got the job. My advice is to be ready to sell yourself - show them that you are confident in who you are and who you want to be. I think what sealed the deal for my interview was I asked the nurse managers interviewing me how they got to be in the nursing role they were in now. Know your lab values and what you'd do in a given clinical example. I did have to move 14 hours away but I was up for anything when it came to landing a new grad RN position.

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I got my license at the beginning of March (graduated in December) and was applying for RN jobs since last October. I only applied online, and I applied EVERYWHERE for any and all jobs. I applied for many I wasn't qualified for just to get my name out there. That didn't work, of course. I finally got a call for an interview last week and a job offer. It's not my dream hospital, it's not one close to my home and it's not a unit I would have ever thought I'd be interested in. I am terrified to take this job, but also scared to turn it down because I don't know when another manager will call me!

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Specializes in Oncology, Med-Surg, Nursery.

I graduated in 2008. That was right before places started to make cuts, etc. So I know this probably won't be the most helpful information.

The first interview I had was from an application I submitted myself. I did go for that interview, but no job came of it. The second interview offered to me was because the first department didn't hire me but sent my application to another department incase they might want to hire me. I didn't go to that interview, because I didn't want to work in that area. I then applied to another hospital, and also spoke to a recruiter at a job fair hosted @ my college. I ended up turning down one interview, and interviewing at the hospital I spoke to the recruiter at. That hospital gave me my first job.

So you can see how much it surprised me to hear 2009 grads tell me their job hunting experience wasn't NEAR what mine was just a year earlier. Where the majority of our class had jobs by Spring Break of our last semester, most of them would tell me only a handful had jobs by that point their last semester.

I really do wish everyone luck!!

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Specializes in Cardiac Care.

I passed my LPN boards on 3/24/10- I started sending out resumes to everything I saw online. Then I printed a list of every Nursing home in the state. Searched for their websites, submitted letters of interest if they had a link. And for those that didn't I just walked in and filled out an application.

I received a lot of interest based on my cover letter, and was told by one hiring manager that she wanted to hire me based on my cover letter and almost had, except that I needed at least 1 year of experience.

So yes I have received my share of, " You need to have at least 1 year of experience" , " and we are going another way."

But less than two weeks later I had two in person interviews, 1 phone interview and 1 job offer.

Of course I am taking it, because well... it is alot more money than I had expected (Some RNs in this state aren't even getting this rate) & its the shifts and area I wanted.

So wish me luck and good luck to all you out there. If I can get something... so can you!

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I graduated in May of '09. Knowing from this site that New Grad jobs were minimal all over the country, I started looking in January of '09. To do that, I decided where I wanted to live since word was out, there were no jobs in our area.

Literally, I got out a map of the Southeastern United States. Personally, I wanted the coast. So, for every city on the coast, I searched on the internet to see if they had hospitals. If they did, I found their jobs/career pages to see if they offered a new grad program. If they offered a new grad program, I applied. When I applied, I made sure I had all the proper ppwk, had all my reference letters, had a decent cover letter. If there was a deadline, I made sure I beat it.

I created a spreadsheet to track where I had applied, what the city had to offer, if I had heard back in any way, what the specialty of the hospital was in case I actually got a call back I had a quick reference if they wanted to interview me then and there. I kept copies of all my letters so I'd know what I said to who since I was applying everywhere I could. I completely blew one phone interview since I didn't have all this at the ready and I wasn't going to let it happen again.

In my head, I had a couple of true life nursing events to tell the HR folks to fit any question they might throw at me if they happened to call to show off my nursing mind/abilities/thinking process. To let them know that eventho I was a student, I would make a great nurse if they'd give me the chance. Some of them would call very early since I lived on the West Coast at the time. I needed these stories in my back pocket so I could answer them properly with or without a cup of coffee in me.

I worked at this every weekend until school ended. My goal was to get a job before I graduated. And I did. I moved all the way across the country. I love my new place, my new life. It's my dream job. It's hard work, long hours and you feel like you can always do more. But, it never could have happened if I wouldn't have put all the work into it that I did. It is a hard job finding your first nursing job.

These days, if you don't know anyone, you gotta get out there and make your own "luck." It does happen. It's an active, searching process. Because, yes, you can do anything for one year. You can live anywhere for one year. Personally, I'm very happy where I am and want to stay right here.

Good luck out there, everyone. Keep trying. You'll rock it.

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Specializes in Cardiac Care.

cagumbo where did you move from and to? I think we should start a thread of how far did you travel for a job. It might be fun to see.

So many people are relocating. I actually am driving 59 miles 1 way for my job.

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