How to prepare for/what to expect at a hospital career fair

[ForeverDreaming]

Hi guys!

I'm looking for some advice. I moved to Florida from Hawaii five days after my graduation ceremony. It's been two months since I passed the NCLEX and I've gotten nowhere with my job hunt. As cliche as it sounds, I hope to be in L&D or the NICU, but at this point I've realized that the most important thing to do is attain experience in any type of nursing and transition to a different unit after sufficient time and experience has been earned. While in Hawaii, I did research on hospitals near where I currently live, and the hospital that I learned is the most prestigious with the best customer and employee satisfaction is holding a career fair next week. They advertise that they're looking for experienced RN's for L&D, emergency services, and ICU as well as LPN's, patient care tech's, etc and there will be interview teams on site!

I'd love some advice on how to prepare for this career fair. I know this is an amazing opportunity to network and introduce myself to hiring managers. As a new grad who will be interviewing alongside experienced nurses, I don't know how to make myself stand out. Suggestions? To anyone who has been to a hospital career fair, what was your experience like? What should I expect to happen? Do you typically interview with multiple nurse managers at a time, or do you interview with one manager who labels you as a great potential candidate and forwards you to other managers for second interviews? Any feedback or insight would be so helpful! I'm so hopeful and excited for this opportunity as I'm a single mother and my funds are quickly dwindling without income!

[~Shrek~]

I'm going to be honest. I went to a new grad career fair and it was completely useless for me. I brought a stack of resumes, practiced interview questions, and put on a business suit and came super early. The career fair was FLOODED with desperate and anxious new grads. At every table a recruiter was there and would basically recite to us how to apply online. I offered my resume several times to different people and was generally met with "I'm sorry we aren't taking resumes right now, please apply online" or they would take it and put it in a huge stack of resumes. I would ask questions like "what do you look for in your new grad programs" and was met with vague answers like "passion". Every recruiter at every table was quick to remind us how competitive getting a job is. It made me extremely pessimistic and I ended up thinking I would never get a nursing job, even though in the real world I have had no problems, and I learned that some places are truly desperate for nurses.

DISCLAIMER: I am from a "competitive" area. I don't know how it would be in a less competitive area.

[~Shrek~]

^^^ Also this was a well-advertised career fair designed for new grad nurses. I don't know if you would have more success at a specific hospital's career fair or a smaller career fair that is less well-advertised

[ForeverDreaming]

Thanks for sharing your experience! As perfect of a picture I have in my head of how this fair is going to turn out, it's humbling to realize that it might not be what I expect. Have you found work since attending the fair, and how has your experience been so far?

[~Shrek~]

I applied EVERYWHERE I could, got a job right away which I took because I was so worried no one would hire me, realized my mistake when 5 good-quality facilities called me for an interview after I started working. Left that job for various reasons. Applied EVERYWHERE again including rural areas. Got another job very quickly. That job ended up being dangerous and my family *made* me quit. Took a breather, realized my strategy of being worried and desperate for a job all the time was damaging. Became patient, got several interviews, but don't have a job yet. I also am preparing for graduate education and am learning how to be patient instead of panicky.

[ForeverDreaming]

I can definitely relate to the panicky feeling and being constantly worried that you'll never get a job. I'm going through that right now. Best of luck to you!