How do I get a job? 'RN who lacks experience'

Nurses New Nurse

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I'm a new grad, got ACLS while I have applied to hundreds of RN positions at hospitals in northern CA. Almost all have come back saying 'you lack experience'. I'm not being picky where I'm applying either! I need some advice. I thought getting ACLS would help me get a job, but I guess I am wrong. No interviews and a lot of frustration - how can I get experience if you will not hire me!

Thanks for any advice!

Specializes in ED, ICU, MS/MT, PCU, CM, House Sup, Frontline mgr.
my guess is you dont care to be helpful anyway...that is what we should be rolling our eyes at :uhoh3:.

i was not rolling my eyes at you... i was rolling my eyes at the lawyers that take and pass the class just to sue health care providers. and yes, people off the street take the class. there are parents of kids who have poor medical conditions who take pals and pass. i know you wish it not to be true but it is....

do not listen to those bitter people out there who say "move" and roll thier eyes, that kind of ignorance will never be helpful to anyone. good luck out there. with all your efforts you will get a job eventually, i only hope you dont run into people rolling there eyes with empty suggestions.

btw, you must be the bitter one to think i was talking about you. there is nothing empty about my advice. however, if people choose not to move or commute or live away from home a few nights a week, that is on them. i lose nothing if people do not choose to take my advice. i have my 2 years of work experience and can live and work in ca.

Specializes in Medical Surgical.

I wouldn't mind picking up and moving. Only problem is, I am unemployed, and moving costs money right? I don't know of any places that would pay a new grad to move. I am not sure how I would start out. I guess I could always get a tent and sleep in a campground for a few weeks till I get my first check, but I am not sure how well that would work out. I hate the idea of sleeping in my car. And I can't afford to live in motels without being paid first. I don't know anyone out of state, so staying with friends is out of the question. If I had a job offer out of state, I would take it for sure though... and figure out all the little things, such as housing later I guess.

a teacher said to write down all the clinical sites you went to during your school period.

and under each clinical site, write down something you learned to specialize in.

Clinical sites are experience too.

It might help... :\

why would having acls help to get a job? it is a certificate that anyone can get. you do not have to be a nurse. besides, without work experience, your acls knowledge will be non-existent! the best thing to do to gain work experience is to move.

you need to move too.

jitterbug, isisc, and anyone else having the same trouble, move to texas. texas and very few other states will hire new grads in great numbers. in fact, texas will take new grads into specially areas inside and outside of the hospital setting and train them. of course, many times you will need to provide a 1-2 year commitment, but who cares? once you have it, you should be able to move back to ca or wherever with work experience. gl!

ok, see this is not that helpful either! i live in texas, houston, tx with the "supposed" largest texas medical center of the country. and as a new grad, let me tell you it's not different here than it is in other places! i graduated may 2010 and out of a class of 90 students, only 10 of us had jobs by the time we graduated and some still dont have jobs! you forget that as big as houston, let's say may be. it has 4 bsn nursing programs graduating a class of 50-90 students twice a year, 7-8 adn programs graduating 40-90 students twice a year as well. and hospitals don't hire you as a new grad unless it's with a internship program and most of them have hundreds of applicants but only end up hiring 20 new nurses! so if you do the math, it's alot of competition! and really hard to get a job here as well! i've had friends that graduated before me that have to go to nursing homes b/c they need some income coming in and don't really end up getting a hospital job until a year later! it's just really hard now to get a job as a new rn! plus, not anyone can up and move! we all went to nursing b/c "there's a storage!" yeah, there's a storage of experienced nurses! but for new grads, there really isn't!!

I recently graduated and had the same trouble at first. I found that smaller hospitals were more open to be as a new graduate with no experience. In fact, I was offered two jobs and both said personality meant more to them than experience, that they could train me if I had the right attitude. I did call HR at every place I applied (which was every hospital within 90 miles of my house)and asked them what areas at their hospital would consider a new graduate. I also made sure that I had a great resume and told them that I was a hard worker (which I am), willing to learn (for sure!), etc. It took about a month but I found three places willing to except me. Keep looking, it will come! I Hope this helps some!

When I lived in NorCal and couldn't find a job, I moved south. I didn't have much money for the move, but I had to do something. You can only go so long before it is necessary to live in your car or the street. No, moving away isn't for everyone, but for some it is what they have to do.

I'm a new grad, got ACLS while I have applied to hundreds of RN positions at hospitals in northern CA. Almost all have come back saying 'you lack experience'. I'm not being picky where I'm applying either! I need some advice. I thought getting ACLS would help me get a job, but I guess I am wrong. No interviews and a lot of frustration - how can I get experience if you will not hire me!

Thanks for any advice!

Have you called any of the places that you applied to tell them what position you applied for and to ask them when they will be scheduling interviews? This lets them know how interested you are and makes you stand out. This is how I got my first interview last week. I called and asked to talk to HR or who ever does the hiring. The lady I spoke with said that the position I applied for had already been filled but she had some PRN positions that would be opening up soon and that if I was interested then I could come in for an interview. I went in for the interview and it went great :-)

Oh and I also posted on my facebook asking if anyone knew of any open positions. If you have a facebook it is worth a try. Knowing someone with a connection might help you get a job :-)

Specializes in Pediatrics, Home health.

Telling people to move is the least helpful advise anyone can give. Do people really think that the unemployed haven't already considered this option, and probably applied to a ton of places out of state. It's the ENTIRE country that's having the same problem, so moving won't help! and for those very few that do a get job somewhere else, congrats! but it's very few, and they're just taking away that new grad position for the hundreds of other new grads that live in that city, which sucks.

And to say that anyone can get ACLS and that lawyers get it so they can sue RN's is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. That's what they have expert witnesses for. Plus, unless you're getting it to enhance your knowledge and resume because you're hoping to work in a hospital someday, why would anyone (not RN) get it if you don't work in a facility or have medical knowledge, where the medications and equipment is readily available? :rolleyes:

Good luck on your job hunt, all us new grads need it!

Specializes in ED, ICU, MS/MT, PCU, CM, House Sup, Frontline mgr.
ok, see this is not that helpful either! i live in texas, houston, tx with the "supposed" largest texas medical center of the country. and as a new grad, let me tell you it's not different here than it is in other places!

ok, so houston is not a good place. thanks for posting. i have friends who landed jobs in san antonio without problems. others i know have landed jobs in the rural areas of texas in specialty areas such as icu, nicu, or, and er. again, if people choose not to move to another state (it does not have to be texas) or commute a short distance or live away from home a few nights a week (a long distance commute) this is not a problem to me. stay where you are and hopefully someday soon you will all get jobs in nursing. :up:

in the meantime, maybe find a job doing what you did prior to nursing? i know of nurses who returned to waitressing and other occupations while he/she continued to apply in a poor job market because they could not leave the area. sadly, two years later there are a few still unemployed or working outside of nursing. gl!

Specializes in LTC.

move to ohio and apply at a LTCF. They hire RN's with no experience and even give them supervisor positions.

Where in Texas... I don't graduate until May, but some buddies have been looking for work for months.

I graduated in April in Michigan, took my boards in July and got a job at the end of August. My advice is to go in person to the hospitals you want to work and give your application directly to the nurse in charge or nurse administrator.

Prior to graduation I started doing the on-line applications for graduate nurse positions and submitted hundreds with no response. It got frustrating and scary to me that I could have spent all that time in school w/ no job. It wasn't until I got smart and started going in person to the area hospitals that I got my job at the third one I went to. By going in person you are side stepping personnel employees who have to go through hundreds of on line applications for each job opening. Also, network like crazy. I was talking to everyone I came in contact with about possible job openings. You never know who might know someone who knows someone else that can get you into a position.

Good Luck and hang in there- you will get a job, it just takes persistence!!! :)

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