I'm not really a nurse until I sign "RN" after my name

cjcsoon2bnp, MSN, RN, NP · Aug 19, 2009

Thank you I am not trying to bash networking. I am frustrated.

I apologize, when I first read your post I got the impression that you were bashing networking but when I reread the post I could see that it was you venting your frustration and I can agree to disagree. In an ideal world we would only be hired on our merits and our experience and not on the connections we have established but unfortunately that is not the case. Keep your head up and just keep trying, it will get better.

!Chris :specs:

EricJRN, MSN, RN · Aug 19, 2009

It really stinks to have worked so hard and not have landed solid leads for a job. I'm sorry for what you're going through. I do think that there's a little bit of a connection between networking and bedside nursing.

In my work at the bedside, building and maintaining relationships is really crucial. Every day, I'm receiving orders that may dramatically impact a patient for better or worse. I'm a little shy by nature, but I can't let that stop me from questioning a potentially unsafe order. And I have to do that in a way that makes my point clear but that doesn't make the docs hate me to death.

If applicants have networked successfully, they're proving that they have the interpersonal skills, which are sometimes the toughest parts of nursing.

NewNurseAlert · Aug 19, 2009

I believe gone are the days (at least for now) when employers were courting new nurses to work for them and these nurses had the luxury of going with the highest bidder, so to speak.

I know and it's so mean!! That must be a huge part of it. I can't tell you how many people have said "Wow, you're going to be a nurse, people will be begging you to work for them". Haha, maybe later, when I have a couple years down

beachbutterfly · Aug 19, 2009

yeah I'm ****** off too and I think it is BS,I hate the fact that people cant have afair shots,regardless what other may think in my opinion everyone should be provided with an equal shot regardless of who they know...you know like they feed us at the end of the job application with the equal opportunity act...I'm a new grad and just passed the board recently but I started to apply for jobs back in June and guess what I cant land any interview cause I dont know anybody who works in hospital except my boyfriend who is NOW trying to put in a good word for me so I can be hired as trasporter at his facility but his boss is not super excited to hire me cause I acknowledged to him that I'm a new nurse so now he thinks if he hires me I will soon quit...so I guess I learned a lesson to LIE in the times of economic turmoil...I will go to a LTC job fair that is coming up soon...anyway I'm also looking at the intership programs at a different hospitals but they accept new nurses starting february so it is like 6 months ahead so I'm hoping to find something sooner.Trust me I hate using connections...I always have been independent and trying to do it the right way but it seems like right now it is not working.

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · Aug 19, 2009

Those of us who are shy by nature have the hardest times networking, I'm the first to admit my shyness but I make a daily effort to combat that. I think I have made some strides in that arena because lots of people have said they would not have ever pegged me as shy (which I think is odd). I have also learned over the years (most definitely in my pre-nursing career) that if your heart is not into working in a particular industry in the first place, networking is worse than root canal and just comes down to being fake, trying to work your way into a job where you're bound to be miserable. A career takes up too many hours out of your week to make it an onerous task, it should be just as fulfilling as one's free time with family and friends. That's what makes life worthwhile and whole while we are still on this earth.