Is It Too Early To Attend Job Fair?

[land64shark]

I'll be graduating in December. One of the local hospitals advertised an RN Career Fair in mid August. Do you think it appropriate for me to go or would I be jumping the gun?

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

Jumping the gun. You can't do anything for them until you at least graduate, let alone pass the boards.

[RN BSN 2009]

Researching your options is a good thing to do at this time, but applying... probably not..

[ukstudent]

I highly recommend going. Most of my class had jobs months prior to graduation. Even if you can't apply for a job right then, you have an opportunity to talk to different nurse managers and the HR department and get your face and name known. This can only help when they do open up jobs for new grads. When you go, make sure you ask when you should apply as you will be graduating in December. Showing initative and enthusiasm are looked on as a plus. When you do apply you can reference this career fair meeting and what was said. So when you go take a small notebook and take notes on who you meet and what they say. The more you can stand out from all your classmates the easier it will be for you to get that special job that you want.

[Kristin_collegemom]

If I were you, I'd go. I graduated in May, and 95% of my class had jobs by March. In fact one place I put in an application the first week of March and they had already closed the internship positions for that department.

[dlaura22]

Heck no! I am also graduating in December and have already started contacting recruiters. Granted, I am planning to move out of state, but many of the recruiters have been very responsive and willing to offer information. Better early than late, once new grad programs have filled. Never hurts to get good contact info either. Good luck! Yay Dec grads!

[hlfpnt, BSN, RN]

I think going would be a good idea. I did & learned alot by just listening to what people said. It gave me an idea of some of the things I'd be hearing in interviews. Asking questions also gave some perspectives on job descriptions. It never hurts to investigate your prospects!

[llg, PhD, RN]

Definitely go to the job fair. Many new grads line up their jobs before graduation. In fact, many of the best positions get filled a few months ahead of time. In some communities, anyone who waits until they are ready to start working to apply for jobs gets the "left-overs," -- the jobs nobody else wanted.

It does vary from community to community. In some communities, it is more common for people to line up their jobs ahead of time than others. But it never hurts to talk with the folks and find out what THEIR timetable is for hiring the December grads. Do they have a special new grad orientation planned for January? If they do, you better not wait until January or February to apply. Are your preferred units only going to hire a few new grads in the beginning of the year? If so, you'll want to apply early and let them know of your keen interest before they give the positions to someone else. etc. etc. etc.

Go ... meet the people ... express an interest ... ask them about their plans for hiring December graduates and their expected timetable for making the hiring decisions ... find out about their orientations for new grads ... etc. In short, go to learn about the job market in your area. That information will be invaluable as you begin actually applying for specific open positions.

[land64shark]

Jumping the gun. You can't do anything for them until you at least graduate, let alone pass the boards.

Well, I do know that one local hospital's new grad Versant cohort that is to start in Feb, 2008 began taking apps at the beginning of August.