How long did it take to get a job?

Rachel2004RN · Sep 4, 2004

After reading threads that the nursing shortage is made up ,etc,etc...I am totally freaked. I would never change my mind about my career choice but am a little worried now.
How long did it take you guys as new grads to get a decent job offer??? Anyone looking and looking with no luck? I think I just need to calm down. :uhoh21:

Hi--

Don't let the threads scare you, let them motivate you. Like I said in one of my previous posts...the jobs are there but the timing is important for new grads who are applying. There WERE jobs out there, before the massive rush of new grads hit the hospitals at the beginning of the summer. A classmate of mine said that most of the people we graduated with, who are working now, secured their jobs before graduation, some of them as early as January. If I had it to over again, I would have done the same. I just had an attitude that I wanted to wait until after the NCLEX to find a job, and I (mistakingly) assumed finding a job would be really easy (after all, we'd been hearing about this 'critical nursing shortage' all through school). My classmates who waited to find a job are having problems now, as well.

I started my job search about 2 1/2 weeks ago---still looking, but hopeful.

As for the nursing shortage....I'm convinced the shortage is for experienced nurses........since the jobs that new grads are being considered for are so few and far between. But, on the bright side, we will be experienced nurses someday! Like my husband said, finding this first job is going to be the hardest part. I'm inexperienced and will need to go through new-grad orientation wherever I am hired. But only this once! The experience and learning that I'll get through my first job will (hopefully) be a foundation and open other doors in the future that aren't options to me now.

And here's food for thought, a conversation I had with a nurse at clinical one day left me wondering. She had suggested that I apply for a job at that hospital and I replied "I heard it's really hard to get in here, a lot of my friends have applied recently and had no luck"....this nurse was shocked and angry to hear this and wondered out loud what they were thinking in human resources....I guess they were running consistently short staffed and from the nurse's perspective, the hospital should have been hiring. :uhoh3: It's hard to predict how, when and why hospitals decide to do a hiring spree...but when it happens in your area, go for it if you know that's where you want to work after graduation.

Please don't let this talk about the nursing shortage or lack thereof 'freak you out' or worry you. I'm positive that you will find a job when you graduate...we all will, it just might not be as easy as expected. I imagine it also depends on where you live and where you apply, as well.

Focus on school right now, one step at a time! At this point in the game, just concentrate on school. Later, closer to graduation if the time you'll want to start thinking about the other stuff, like NCLEX and a job. Good luck to you & please don't get discouraged!!

Altra, BSN, RN · Sep 4, 2004

Hi--
A classmate of mine said that most of the people we graduated with, who are working now, secured their jobs before graduation, some of them as early as January.

Agree. All of the grads from my school in the last two years have had jobs lined up before graduation, except for one who chose to take the summer off before looking for a job. You have to take into consideration the cyclical nature of this - when are there new grads from the schools in your area, or the area where you wish to work? Twice a year, like clockwork - May/June and December. That's when most of the action will occur.

Granted, they couldn't start working as GNs until they'd received their temp practice permits from the state, but they had been hired, with tentative start dates based on the earliest date they could reasonably expect to have their permits.

Rachel2004RN · Sep 4, 2004

Granted, they couldn't start working as GNs until they'd received their temp practice permits from the state, but they had been hired, with tentative start dates based on the earliest date they could reasonably expect to have their permits.

Hi-

As far as I know, Massachusetts no longer issues temp practice permits for nurses. I remember they did years ago, because as a CNA I worked with GN's who were pretty much functioning as nurses while they waited to take the NCLEX.

MA stopped this practice. I know in some hospitals, they will recruit nursing students in the last semester and if they want to start working before being licensed, they can work as a CNA-IV....basically functioning in a CNA role with the ability to do other nursing skills, just not pass meds. I thought working as a CNA-IV was my only option if I wanted to get into a hospital before getting my RN license---(which I didn't) I didn't realize that some places will hire you with tentative start dates, contingent on you passing the boards (I learned this from a nurse recruiter at one place recently!! I almost fell out of my chair when she told me this! I should have done a little more investigating. :crying2: ).

hllybenn · Sep 4, 2004

I interviewed between 3rd and 4th quarter of school and got the offer I wanted about 2 weeks into the last quarter- JUne to be exact and I started end of October. Hope that helps.

chris_at_lucas_RN, RN · Sep 4, 2004

How long did it take you guys as new grads to get a decent job offer??? Anyone looking and looking with no luck? I think I just need to calm down. :uhoh21:

Or, we might need to accept an "indecent" job offer, grit our teeth for a year or two, and thus become "experienced."

I'm looking too........

babynursewannab · Sep 5, 2004

I agree with the above posters. It is more likely you will find something if you look prior to graduation. Right now I have two positions I need to decide between...L&D or CVICU...and I graduate in December. I know that I would have missed my point of entry for these positions if I had waited until then to look. Both of these positions will have already hired for all their GN positions by then! One fills the GN internship classes by November and the other by the middle of December...at the latest. Applications are due in October/November, and these are for Internships/Orientations starting in February and March.

I just wanted to give you an example of how the hiring process works in some places...a "heads up" if you will.

Good luck!

Gorngi · Sep 5, 2004

After reading threads that the nursing shortage is made up ,etc,etc...I am totally freaked. I would never change my mind about my career choice but am a little worried now.
How long did it take you guys as new grads to get a decent job offer??? Anyone looking and looking with no luck? I think I just need to calm down. :uhoh21:

I started looking before graduation and had interviews and then secured the job I wanted before graduation. I don't know about other states, but in WV you get a temporary permit to work before you take the nclex. I live in an area where there are several nursing schools close by and I still had a lot of positions to choose from. I understand your worry.... being a new grad is very scary...........you'll get over it!:)

RN50, ASN, BSN · Sep 5, 2004

I started sending out resumes on May 11, graduated on May 13th, got called May 14 for an interview for May 17 and began my job on May 24th! I started as a Nurse Intern, which basically is that of a CNA. In my state (Ohio) we don't have GN's either. I took boards on June 28th, liscensed was issued on June 30th, and began my nursing orientation on July 5. So, basically, I got a job right out of college, no problem for me. I wish you the best! Good luck!

youknowho · Sep 5, 2004

Thanks everyone. Sometimes I get a little ahead of myself and anxious to boot.:imbar I better calm down and just concentrate on school

SandraCVRN · Sep 11, 2004

I agree with the posters that said start looking before graduation.

nyforlove · Sep 29, 2004

Thanks everyone for the great tips! Rachel, perhaps you should be a social worker/therapist/clergy-member??--you are so calming :)

I agree with the posters that said start looking before graduation.