Job Advice For (Mature) New Grad

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

At age 32, I decided to take a risk and enter nursing school. Nursing has always been an interest of mine, but when I finished high school in the 90's, the Canadian government (and everyone else) was laying off nurses. Recession. I got a Diploma in Travel and Tourism, and worked in hotel management for 6 years and travelled.

After SARS, I decided to switch careers, and nursing was a "sure thing". Right. Here we are again, ironically, and history repeats itself. I'm graduating with Honours, and I am willing to go anywhere (short of maybe Alaska or NWT) to learn to practice nursing. I am beginning to search now, because my Canadian Boards are in October, and the situation is not looking promising.

Given that I am willling to travel (Canada, US, small towns....don't care), does anyone have advice on where to apply? I'm 37, motivated, and in debt. I believe someone will hire me within a reasonable time frame (3-4 months, give or take). Not to mention, I worked hard to graduate in the top 15 percent of my class.

Thanks for your time!

Joanna

[nrsmela]

First off congrats on graduating. I am a new grad and just passed the CRNE's and have a job offer :)

Do not be discouraged by the job market, there are a lot of new grad positions (for the new grad initiative) on the HFO website. A lot of these positions are up north and you really have to be flexible. Many people in my class had to relocate to get jobs. But,,,they are out there. Employers will most likely be honest with you and tell you that they only have new grad initiative positions and once the initiative is over they cannot guarantee you anything (London actually told us this as they were present at a Job fair at my university).

My best advice would be to take advantage of the new grad initiative and also apply for jobs that state 1-2 years experience, several grads in my class have been able to get these positions. Also everyone I know who was hired applied before graduation (around March, April).

Good luck on the CRNE!!

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

Hi:

Congratulations! I heard the results came in today. I decided in third year to take my time with electives, because of the economic situation, so it was deliberate that I wait. And I have been recently checking HFO....small towns. It all just seems very discouraging....and scary, because my loan payments will be made regardless.

Good luck with your new job!