It's been almost a year! Ugh.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · May 12, 2012

You need to accept the fact that you may have to start your nursing career outside of the hospital. The longer you go unemployed as a new grad, the harder it is to come back from that. Pretty soon you will have been out of school too long to qualify for new grad programs period, since a lot of them require you to have graduated within the last 12-18 months.

Still keep applying to all the new grad programs that you are still eligible for, but at the same time, start looking outside of the hospital box for jobs. LTC, SNF, corrections, psych, rehab, community, school, whatever...ANY nursing experience you get will be valuable towards starting your nursing career.

Best of luck.

Patti_RN · May 12, 2012

While reading your post, I was composing my response... then I read Meriwhen's comments. No need to repeat; that's excellent advice!

froggy0381 · May 12, 2012

I graduated in Dec. 2011 and am still looking for work too. I feel ya. It's incredibly discouraging to apply for EVERYTHING and get nothing for a response. I have applied for upwards of 200 jobs and have gotten nothing. The only thing I have is a "group" interview (step 1 in a multi step interview process) for one of 3 positions. There are 100 applicants... not holding my breath but gonna give it my best. I'm going crazy with stress and boredom. It's very competitive here...many great schools with nursing programs graduating this month...which makes my chances of finding anything even slimmer. I am even willing to relocate at this point. Not sure what to do. Hang in there I guess...??? :) Misery loves company. Hope it works out for you!

Patti_RN · May 12, 2012

It is tough out there! Contrary to what seems logical, sending out hundreds of resumes didn't help--narrow your focus. Think about what you want, what you're good at, what experiences you have, then hone in on specific jobs. Tailor your resume to that area, write a specific cover letter for the job you're applying for, and research the hospital or organization so you know about them. When you apply, it should seem that you and the job are a perfect fit. I wrote a lengthy post and if you follow the advice you'll improve your chances of finding a job. https://allnurses.com/nursing-first-job/advice-someone-who-696962.html

tashacorinne · May 12, 2012

I am in the same exact boat. I graduated May 2011 in California and still haven't been able to find a job. I've been actively searching for a year now, but while I've been searching I've been volunteering at a free clinic and the American Red Cross to keep up my skills. This definitely has made a difference! I am so close to getting a job now, I feel it. I've applied to probably hundreds of jobs with 2 interviews and 1 interview coming up.

I recommend that you pick a couple hospitals and just focus on those. This is what I'm doing and it is so far working for me. I had 3 hospitals and realized that 1 totally wasn't going to work, so then I changed to a different one. I finally made a relationship with a nurse recruiter at one and he is trying to help me out. I did that AND I went in and saw managers face-to-face, it honestly makes the biggest difference. I used to be scared to snoop into hospitals and track down managers, but it really isn't as bad as you think it is (the nurses on the floor are nice and will help you). Also, network, network, network! Get the word out, have your family get the word out, talk to people! Even though networking is really hard to find a connection through, you can get one. I have been networking for maybe 6 months (with a lot of connections falling through) and my mom finally found a great connection for me last month!

In my personal opinion, cover letters haven't done anything for me except for waste my precious time. The only time I focus on a cover letter is when I get an interview. These nurse recruiters and managers are so busy that they barely have time to read that stuff when picking you out initially. Seeing someone face-to-face is the better way to do it, THEN work on the cover letter to bring to an interview. This has just been my experience though...

Maybe you should go find a volunteer RN position or look at working at a SNF to keep your skills up and to beef up your resume. I hesitated volunteering at first because I kept thinking, "what if I get hired...what if I have to leave them?" You can't think that way.

Anyways, I hope I gave you some helpful tips from a fellow new-grad :) Good luck to you!

panpan · May 13, 2012

@ Patt_RN - I've been narrowing my focus and writing cover letters for every specific organization I applied for. I know my resume and cover letters are good. Or at least I think they are? Anyways, I saw that advice thread a long time ago and everything made a lot of sense. That's actually when I started writing specific cover letters too. I am very thankful for your contribution to that thread. =) It has helped a lot of new grads.

panpan · May 13, 2012

[can someone delete this duplicated post]

panpan · May 13, 2012

@tashacorinne - Yeah I've been contemplating on volunteering as well! I need to start finding available volunteering positions though. And oh my goosh I also agree with you about the cover letters... I wrote so many of them, and had them professionally looked at. However, I feel that it still doesn't improve my chances. I just think the recruiters don't really look at them until the interview. And thank you so much fellow new grad. I wish you the best luck on getting the position that you wanted. Let me know! Keep me updated so I can congratulate you!

Patti_RN · May 14, 2012

Cover letters need to be dense and specific. It doesn't help to write, "I graduated from.... I'm looking for..." Rather it should be, "Dear Dr. Martin, Telemetry is my passion and focus. My career goal is to be part of a world class health care team devoted to cardiac care. Capital Hospital has one of the best cardiac care facilities in the region. I share your mission to provide excellent health care..."

Generic cover letters and generic resumes all sound the same after you've read a few hundred of them that morning. Finding a job is like going fishing. You can put 50 lines in the water, but if you use the wrong bait, if there are no hungry fish, if your timing isn't right, if you're trying to catch 'anything' rather than catch the kind of fish you want, you'll probably be waiting a long, long time. In this economy, most nursing grads are waiting a long time, anyway. Some get lucky and land a job for little other reason than luck, some have connections, and some are good at networking. The best way to get someone's attention is to convince them that YOU are the perfect candidate for the job they are trying to fill.

People like others who are enthusiastic, interested and engaged. If your cover letter reads like you're excited about the job you're applying for, you'll get someone's attention. If it reads like "I just spent 4 years and $80,000 on a nursing degree and I really need a job..." they probably won't pick you.

panpan · May 14, 2012

Oh my god, a miracle just happened. I just got called for an interview at a hospital I really wanted to work at!!! I never thought this was going to happen! I feel so blessed! I know that this is just a initial process and the job isn't guaranteed but still!! This gives me hope and I want to do my best on this interview. I need to do research on this hospital and make sure I know it's mission/values/visions inside out.

Are there any other good interview tips/advice threads that is a MUST read?

Thanks all !