When I knew that nursing school was what I wanted to do, I started to take some classes. At the time I had a very good job making 31 dollars an hour but hated it every day. I took classes part time to just start again. I had been out of school for about 15 years. My job offered an educational buyout where for a period of 4 consecutive years, they would pay half my wages, 15k a year toward school as well as full insurance for my son, wife and I. It was an amazing thing.
When I quit my job I knew I needed to get a job in a hospital. I was working at a health food store at the time trying to make ends meet and I met a great lady. I told her I wanted to be a nurse and had some books out at the register to study with anytime business got slow. She told me her husband was a CRNA and I mentioned that I was ambitious and wanted to do that someday. He came in, I met him and he asked me if I wanted a job at the hospital he worked at. Of course I did. He got me in an entry level position as a transporter. I worked my behind off, met people in the hospital and was asked if I wanted to learn the PACU area. I did of course and made myself as valuable as I could. I worked there a while and knew I wanted to get some ICU experience at the start of nursing school. I went and talked to the director. He like the interest I showed and he hired me. I again worked as hard as I could.
There is a huge hospital in the inner city where I live that has a great reputation and is pretty rough. They had an opening in their ER and I put in for it my 3rd semester of nursing school. They decided to interview me because of my experience. I did well I feel and got the job as a nurse extern in a trauma one ER that usually has about 100 patients in it any one time. It's amazing experience. While doing this, I again tried to make myself valuable and learn as much as I could. The hospital staff is like no other. They are my family. Unfortunately for me at the time, they decided not to hire any new graduate nurses. I applied for some jobs in the system because I was to graduate in May. I got a call from a nurse recruiter to apply for a certain job. It just happened to be the MICU as a graduate nurse. I went in for an interview and they told me that they liked my past experience and my work ethic. They told me they heard I was a hard worker. I got the job. A couple days later, I was told I might have the chance to interview at the ER if I wished. I wanted the ER, but already gave a commitment to the MICU that I am not willing to break. It's nice to have two units that you love working for after you.
My point of all of this is during the whole way, I tried to make myself as valuable as I could and learn as much during the jobs and school. I networked my ass off and tried to meet people and not burn bridges. It's all about who you know and your work record is kind of like a running tabulation of you that is always running. If any bridges are burnt, it will red flag people. Talk to people. Make connections. Work hard. It can be done. I know that things just happened for me and I am very fortunate because so many people that are graduates are without work. It is a damn shame. I got lucky, but do feel as I helped to contribute to my luck by soaking up things. Like I said, it can be done.
I graduated in Dec, so I haven't been unemployed as long as some. Yes, I have applied for PCT, HUC, unit secratary, OR restocking, etc, etc. I did get a call on one of them, but it was because the recruiter thought I was a student. He asked when I was supposed to graduate, and I told him that I had graduated months ago. He told me that he couldn't interview me for a job at any other level than RN because the moment I got offered an RN position I would leave. I haven't heard from any of the other hospitals/health centers/LTC's/etc, so I'm assuming that their thoughts are the same on this.
I have called, emailed, and been ignored. I have walked into facilities and been turned away at the door or told that all I can do is apply online. I did have an interview scheduled for LTC, but it was cancelled because the position was filled.
I do have a network myself where I went to school, and right now I'm faced with the decision of leaving my husband and 2 year old and going back to MI where I have connections inside a number of hospitals and could get interviews, going to an area in the country that is more in need of nurses than the northeast, or staying here and remaining unemployed.
On the upside, my husband has a great job that covers all of our expenses, and has wonderful benefits, so I don't have to worry about where food is coming. On the downside, that means that I get to feel like a horrible person if I abandon my family for a year or two because I want to (but don't financially need to) work. We lived 800 miles apart for 18 months, and just got under the same roof a few months ago. Now my choice is pack up and leave again, or let the career that I so truly want to pursue pass me by.
Unfortuanatly, since I don't know a soul inside a hospital in the NE, I think it would be easier for me to become an insider in the mafia than to get an interview in the hospital right now.
Oh, thats really sad. Sorry, I didn't realize it was like that once you had graduated. It makes sense, but it still sucks. You worked hard for your nursing degree, why NOT stay where you have the connections and get a job? The hardest job to get is the first one, but once you have a year or so experience under your belt you should be fine wherever else you choose to go. I went to school 500 miles away from my parents and my boyfriend is in the military stationed 2000 miles away from me, lol. 4 job offers here, 0 where he is. Think that makes me happy? Nope, but we've come to terms with the fact that its a necessity for me to get my career off the ground and then we'll be able to be together and I can contribute financially to everything. Understandably having a husband and child makes things a lot harder, lol, but like I said. You sacrificed so much during nursing school. You graduated. This is kinda the last little step you have to do to make this happen for yourself!
I've already inquired, and am waiting for a patient care (as opposed to gift shop) spot to become available. In the meantime.......I am waiting. There's not much else to do. I'm looking into extra certifications while I'm waiting. ACLS and PALS are offered in August, so if I still have nothing by then I may get certified. Can't hurt, after all.
How is 'building your own network' different than 'knowing people' though?
The difference is "knowing people" implies luck - you just happen to come from a family of nurses. Building your own network is taking control of the situation yourself - *making* connections in the way several people have described here. I agree that you are in a real predicament if you haven't even started to do that until after graduation. These threads will benefit current and upcoming students.
As for people who have already graduated and can't find a job - I haven't graduated yet - but I second what someone else mentioned and suggest volunteering. Also look into all the skilled nursing/rehab centers where you may not be in a hospital but you will use your assessment skills. Get business cards with your name and a URL for a blog of your online nursing portoflio like the one I created (see previous post). Hand your cards out everywhere, i.e. healthcare job fairs. I'm just throwing out ideas. I'm willing to try about anything to make connections.
@zestfullyclean it is very encouraging to read your post and how your hard work paid off. We have to go the extra distance in this economy. Thanks for your post because I see I need to step up my game some when I'm in clinical. When you started looking for jobs in January were you actually filling out applications online? When did you start calling the recruiters?
As much as I would miss my husband, leaving him for a while doesn't bother me as much as leaving my daughter for a while. She's only 2, and it breaks my heart to think of only seeing her once a month or so. My husband only saw her once a month for pretty much the first year and a half of her life, and it was so sad to see how upset he got every time he had to leave. He had to though. His company closed their facilities in MI, and there were no other jobs in MI in his field at the time, so he had to move to the north east. Every time he would come home, he cried because she had changed so much while he was gone. He missed so much of her as a baby. I used to lie to him occasionally, and act like she was doing something for the first time in front of him. He to this day thinks that the first time she clapped her hands was in front of him....even though she had been doing it for a week already. Now I may have to take my turn in missing her growing up. I'm the only stable person she has had in her entire life....and now I may be leaving her. I cry just thinking about it.
What else can I do though? I have a degree in elementary education, prior teaching experience, a 3.5 gpa, a BSN, great letters of recommendation, leadership experience from extra positions that I volunteered for at school....but no one will even interview me. I would think that the el ed experience would count for something at a children's hospital or ped's floor (even though that' not ultimately where I want to work), but it hasn't gotten me anywhere. All I have is 2 degrees, a license, and people at home thinking that I'm some sort of idiot that doesn't know how to apply for a job, because every time they look at the local hospital website, they see 90 jobs posted. Sigh......yes, I'm a bit bitter now. But really, can you blame me?
As much as I would miss my husband, leaving him for a while doesn't bother me as much as leaving my daughter for a while. She's only 2, and it breaks my heart to think of only seeing her once a month or so. My husband only saw her once a month for pretty much the first year and a half of her life, and it was so sad to see how upset he got every time he had to leave. He had to though. His company closed their facilities in MI, and there were no other jobs in MI in his field at the time, so he had to move to the north east. Every time he would come home, he cried because she had changed so much while he was gone. He missed so much of her as a baby. I used to lie to him occasionally, and act like she was doing something for the first time in front of him. He to this day thinks that the first time she clapped her hands was in front of him....even though she had been doing it for a week already. Now I may have to take my turn in missing her growing up. I'm the only stable person she has had in her entire life....and now I may be leaving her. I cry just thinking about it.
What else can I do though? I have a degree in elementary education, prior teaching experience, a 3.5 gpa, a BSN, great letters of recommendation, leadership experience from extra positions that I volunteered for at school....but no one will even interview me. I would think that the el ed experience would count for something at a children's hospital or ped's floor (even though that' not ultimately where I want to work), but it hasn't gotten me anywhere. All I have is 2 degrees, a license, and people at home thinking that I'm some sort of idiot that doesn't know how to apply for a job, because every time they look at the local hospital website, they see 90 jobs posted. Sigh......yes, I'm a bit bitter now. But really, can you blame me?
Understandable, however, think of how much mommy can provide to her daughter if she were to get that first job and work a year. Not to mention, advances in technology such as a webcamera. If you chose to move, and utilize the connections you made in nursing school for a job, you could say schedule a webcam date with your daughter via skype every night to read her a bedtime story or something. Get creative. That way you get your job, your experience, and you can still see your daughter grow up. Yes, its a sacrifice. But it doesn't look like you have many other alternative options other than unemployment and bitterness. Example: instead of moving to be near bf, get engaged and be unemployed I'm staying here where I have job options. He's volunteering to go to korea. Eventually we'll be together again. SACRIFICE. I'm postponing getting my life started a few years here! lol
Bobbkat - I would feel the same way if I were in your boat. After all that hard work... What state are you in? Honestly, I could never leave my 2 yo to work out of state. No way. Especially if your husband can support the family. Keep trying. Don't get discouraged. Have you tried nursing homes? Prisons? Read through these threads and take people's ideas. Don't give up!!
@zestfullyclean it is very encouraging to read your post and how your hard work paid off. We have to go the extra distance in this economy. Thanks for your post because I see I need to step up my game some when I'm in clinical. When you started looking for jobs in January were you actually filling out applications online? When did you start calling the recruiters?
No, most applications weren't available until at least March. So I'd put that in my little excel spreadsheet:
xxx hospital| Application opens March| Joe Recruiter (123) 456 - 7890 | Spoke to recruiter Jan 16th | Application deadline April 1st | Notes: 2 year program, first year has 3 rotations in different units, recruiter advised that ACLS would make me more competitive. Hires 16 GN's a year. NEEDS 3 LETTERS OF REC and official transcripts mailed in by deadline as part of application process.
Or whatever information... lol, I made all that up. But then I'd check back in my spreadsheet every few days, adding, updating, going back to the website to see, etc. I called the recruiters right away, when I found the hospital, read about it, looked at open positions and added it to my list.
The difference is "knowing people" implies luck - you just happen to come from a family of nurses. Building your own network is taking control of the situation yourself - *making* connections in the way several people have described here. I agree that you are in a real predicament if you haven't even started to do that until after graduation. These threads will benefit current and upcoming students.
As for people who have already graduated and can't find a job - I haven't graduated yet - but I second what someone else mentioned and suggest volunteering. Also look into all the skilled nursing/rehab centers where you may not be in a hospital but you will use your assessment skills. Get business cards with your name and a URL for a blog of your online nursing portoflio like the one I created (see previous post). Hand your cards out everywhere, i.e. healthcare job fairs. I'm just throwing out ideas. I'm willing to try about anything to make connections.
Let me preface, before going on, that I know (or at least am assuming from the tone that I am inferring from your post) that you are truly trying to be helpful. I hope that you are not reading my tone as snide or demeaning, because that is not my intention. I am just sharing where I am at right now. It is a rotten place to be, and I truly do appreciate any help at this point. I responded because a previous poster asked what happens to people that do not have connections. I am an example of this. I only include this little prologue because I know that on a message board it's difficult to infer one's tone from post to post.
Most of the people in my family are teachers or work in the auto industry (or what's left of it). My Mother is nurse, but she hasn't been very helpful with connections. I have one Aunt that is a nurse also, but only speak to her about once every five years. Most of mine are from school and clinicals, as well as a few friends that work in various hospitals. I am in a real predicament, but it has to do with living 800 miles away from my connections, not from neglecting to network while in school. If I had known that we would have to move prior to beginning nursing school, I would have applied for nursing school where I live now, rather than dual stating it for a year and a half only to move out here and not be able to find a job. The situation was different out here then too. When my husbands work flew us out here to see the area, they set up a reception with representative of community organizations for all of the employees that were considering the relocation. At the time, the hospitals were so short staffed that once the hospital recruiters found out I was in nursing school, they literally followed me around the room talking to me about why I should apply to their hospitals once I graduated. Now the same recruiters won't give me the time of day. Had I known this would be the situation when I got out here, I would have made different decisions, most likely resulting in me trying to transfer nursing programs. But, hindsight is 20/20, and there is nothing I can do about it now.
I would be thrilled to work in a LTC, unfortuanatly I can't get an interview in any of them. The one interview that I did have scheduled was for a subacute/rehab/hospice facility, but it was cancelled. That does give me hope, however that should another position become available, perhaps they would consider interviewing me agian. I tried to go to a job fair, but was turned away at the door because it was for nurses with one year of experience only. No other ones have been scheduled in the area. I check daily. As of right now, I treat job hunting as my job. Daily I check all of the websites/career sites/wanted ads, submit my applications, look for other opportunities to enhance my resume, etc. I've just started putting in applications in different areas of the country, so I'm hoping that will pan out for me. Prior to this week I was only applying to facilities within a 1.5 hour drive. From now on I will be branching out further than that, because I've pretty much exhausted my options within an hour and a half drive.
I am glad that as a student you are reading 'how I got a job' posts in this forum, because I really and truly do NOT want other people to be in the situation that I am in, but once you have graduated, it is much more difficult because most people don't want to hire you as anything but an RN. When you are still in school you have a few more options to find connections, such as through extern positions. If people can get these positions, they should definately TAKE THEM. At the same time....I'm getting a little sick of people assuming that the reason that I don't have a job is because I'm picky and don't want to apply to anything but hospitals, or don't know about job fairs. This isn't true for me, as it isn't true for many grads. It's just an awful, awful job market right now, in some areas moreso than others. I thought it was cut throat when I was looking for teaching jobs, but it was NOTHING like this. There seems to be a need to blame it on the new graduates when we can't get a job (we are being too picky, we haven't reviewed our resume, we aren't including cover letters, we don't know how to interview or dress properly, etc, etc.), and while that may be true for a certain percentage, I think the large majority of us are doing all that we can, and aren't getting anywhere. If 'luck' is what I will need to get an interview at this point, than I'll take it.
Believe me, I understand the current economy and am not blaming you or anyone else who can't find a job. My husband is a highly skilled general contractor and for the past 2 years he can barely find enough work for us to scrape by. Blaming the victims of this economy is the LAST thing I would do. I was only making suggestions, thinking out loud I guess, all the things I plan on trying. I saw somewhere on this board that when it came to LTC facilities they took their resume in person and had better luck. Another guy said he and his wife got a list of all the LTC facilities that medicare reimburses in their area and they went and applied at all of them. He said there were places they would have never known about and they don't necessarily advertise, but he got a position as a new grad paying $80K/year. I can't verify that that is true but a posting I read on this board.
I wish you all the luck in finding a job and I believe you will!
Thanks for the encouragment Shannahan. I'm in Connecticut. I really, really don't mean to rain on the parades of those who get jobs. It's awesome, and students need to pay attention so they can get hired too.
I really wish at this point that I had a crystal ball. I'm so afraid that by the time it opens up a bit around here, my degree will be so old that I won't be able to get hired anywhere. But if I knew that I would be able to get hired eventually (without having to move away for experience), I would stay here and bide my time.
. My list of contacts is cut and pasted in all different fonts in a Word document!
caramello
25 Posts
Oh, thats really sad. Sorry, I didn't realize it was like that once you had graduated. It makes sense, but it still sucks. You worked hard for your nursing degree, why NOT stay where you have the connections and get a job? The hardest job to get is the first one, but once you have a year or so experience under your belt you should be fine wherever else you choose to go. I went to school 500 miles away from my parents and my boyfriend is in the military stationed 2000 miles away from me, lol. 4 job offers here, 0 where he is. Think that makes me happy? Nope, but we've come to terms with the fact that its a necessity for me to get my career off the ground and then we'll be able to be together and I can contribute financially to everything. Understandably having a husband and child makes things a lot harder, lol, but like I said. You sacrificed so much during nursing school. You graduated. This is kinda the last little step you have to do to make this happen for yourself!