How many job interviews before you get your first nursing job?

empatheticRN · Mar 16, 2015

For all nurses who have already gotten their first position after passing NCLEX. How many interviews did you get before landing the job?
Did you send out more than 50 resumes before getting an interview?
Any real life stories would help.

I did a total of two interviews. Interviewed first in April then august 26 that's when I got my first job

akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P · Mar 16, 2015

Over 300 applications went out, 2 resulted in interviews, one of which I was a top 3 candidate for the position. The other interview resulted in an offer and I've been there about a month so far. There are very few jobs available for new grads, so I definitely got very lucky in landing a job in the ED.

npham82, BSN, RN · Mar 21, 2015

To update,

I sent 50+ applications

I had 2 phone interviews

I also had 4 physical interviews (this week that is passing).

I received 3 offers.

AFwifeRN, BSN, RN · May 8, 2015

I have an ADN- Job searched for 5 weeks, applied to about 30-40 openings (pretty much ICU jobs only), got an interview for one of those ICU positions, got offered the job at the end of the interview, and took the job.

RunBabyRN · May 9, 2015

Over 2000 resumes. Had 3 PRN jobs doing random stuff, but nothing steady. Probably 10+ interviews, but I finally figured out what was holding me back in interviews, and then got 2 offers. I'm now working FT in outpatient.

AxOxCrazy · May 10, 2015

I applied to around 50 jobs for a month, was offered my first interview! Graduate in 3 days ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ BEST OF LUCK

Everline · May 10, 2015

I passed NCLEX at the beginning of February and was offered a job three weeks later at the end of February. I was not able to start that job due to a personal circumstance. However, I interviewed and was offered a job at another hospital, which I accepted. All told, I probably completed about 10-15 applications, had two interviews and was offered two jobs.

Scarlettz, BSN, RN · May 13, 2015

I don't even know how many jobs I've applied to- a hundred or so. I only got one interview in my home state of PA (for an LTC RN job.) Another LTC called me back but then never answered me when I went to call them back.

I was also applying to jobs in NM - I got calls from 3 different hospitals and 1 psychiatric facility. I had one phone interview but did not get the job. Then, I had another phone interview and got the job!

turtlesRcool · May 14, 2015

I applied to a total of 6 postings at 3 hospitals, none of which I was really qualified for as a new grad. But given some of my other personal factors (children, mortgage, pregnancy), I didn't really have that much flexibility in terms of location or shifts, so I put in my equivalent of a "Hail Mary pass" and hoped for the best. Silence from two hospitals, and generic "we're considering internal applicant" emails from the third.

Yet apparently someone at one of the hospitals liked my application enough to save it and move it into the grad candidate pool (which was not open back when I applied), so I was shocked to get a call out of the blue a few months later to interview for a position I didn't apply for. But the interviews went well (first with HR then I was walked directly to interview with the nursing director), and I got the job. Not only was I interviewing in my 3rd trimester of pregnancy, but they set my start for 12 weeks after my due date, so it was like being given a maternity leave up front. I'm in a competitive market, too, so I was definitely not expecting that outcome.

~Shrek~ · May 20, 2015

One. In a very poorly managed "undesirable" setting. There are a ton of random non-acute care places even in urban areas that will take nurses.

ShaeMarie · May 20, 2015

Things lined up well for me. I was offered and accepted an ER position before graduation without an interview. I did precept on the unit during my last semester though.

LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN · May 20, 2015

I wasn't looking for a job immediately after NCLEX, because I though I missed the cutoff date for new grad residencies and I was working as a LPN. I put out at least 200 resumes, got two interviews, one was an out patient job, the other was Critical Care; I did not get the outpatient job, but I did get the Critical Care job. It took about 6 months, and I am in a nurse-saturated area.