Job in Charlotte

wlb06 · Dec 24, 2009

anything?

Abishag · Dec 28, 2009

Right now there are about 400 applicants for new grad positions and about 20 new grad jobs that are currently being filled or have already been filled. I know because I'm currently looking for a job and just graduated a couple weeks ago and have run into dead end after dead end. :crying2: Charlotte is completely saturated with new grads. My advice is to graduate with as high of a GPA as you can and hopefully you have some healthcare experience (CNA on the floor you want to work is probably your best bet). You just may get through the first round of the application process. :up:

Your options will be Carolinas Healthcare Systems, Novant Healthcare, and Home Health. There are neighboring cities you can check into to see if they have new grad positions. But as of now Charlotte doesn't have many (if any) new grad jobs left. I'm sure they get a new flux of new grad jobs each quarter but you will fighting with about 300-500 other students for jobs come May. :bugeyes: Hopefully the economy will improve and there will be more FTE/salary approvals (and we can always pray a thousand nurses decide to retire or cut back to PRN!). :lol2:

Hope that helps.

wlb06 · Dec 29, 2009

Right now there are about 400 applicants for new grad positions and about 20 new grad jobs that are currently being filled or have already been filled. I know because I'm currently looking for a job and just graduated a couple weeks ago and have run into dead end after dead end. Charlotte is completely saturated with new grads. My advice is to graduate with as high of a GPA as you can and hopefully you have some healthcare experience (CNA on the floor you want to work is probably your best bet). You just may get through the first round of the application process.
Your options will be Carolinas Healthcare Systems, Novant Healthcare, and Home Health. There are neighboring cities you can check into to see if they have new grad positions. But as of now Charlotte doesn't have many (if any) new grad jobs left. I'm sure they get a new flux of new grad jobs each quarter but you will fighting with about 300-500 other students for jobs come May. Hopefully the economy will improve and there will be more FTE/salary approvals (and we can always pray a thousand nurses decide to retire or cut back to PRN!).
Hope that helps.

Im curious..you did not get a job then? What kind of experience, nursing degree, etc etc did you have? You can PM me if you want to keep it private.

Abishag · Dec 29, 2009

I did not get a job. :crying2: CHS only took a portion of all the classes that graduated in December from various schools. Maybe the top 15%? I'm not sure how they decided who moved to the next round or not but I suspect if you have healthcare experience or were already working for the hospital it helped. From those that did not get through to the next round some were able to get jobs through their preceptors. Of those that DID get through to the next round, their apps were submitted to hiring managers. They were given 2 interviews with two separate units. They were told they wouldn't be guaranteed a 3rd interview. So some of them that made it through still have no job prospects since they've been on 2 interviews already and this has been going on since early October when we did the initial interviews.

So since I didn't get through to the next round (I have no degree, no healthcare experience by the way) I applied at Novant. The recruiter called me and said they were not hiring outside of their affiliated school (Queens College). So since I didn't graduate from there that blocked me out of Novant/Presby. Between Novant/Presby and CHS that is about 98% of the healthcare jobs in Charlotte. GPA did not seem to be a factor. But I think they either wanted you to have a 3.0 or healthcare experince (both was even better). I had neither. I missed a B one semester by 4 questions on the final and it still chaps my hide. :icon_roll

I've been told that as more jobs open up they will keep my app on file. But there are still hundreds of new grads from previous semesters and this one that didn't get hired.

Abishag · Dec 29, 2009

P.S. I know a couple students that had masters degrees that didn't get through. Several that had Bachelors. I'm kind of at a loss of how they decided it all.

TheBear90 · Dec 29, 2009

Abishag- I'm in the same boat. I graduated a few weeks ago and relocated to Charlotte last week from another state. I have healthcare experience, but not from a NC healthcare system, which I fear puts me more at a disadvantage. I also received a call from presby stating that they were only hiring internally and would only consider interviewing external candidates if all the positions weren't filled. It's very discouraging and terrifying NOT knowing when or where I'm going to get a job!

elkpark · Dec 29, 2009

I know that lots of people want to relocate to NC, but I strongly encourage any nurses thinking of doing so to be sure you have a job before you move here. There is no nursing shortage in NC -- there wasn't a shortage even before the economy tanked, and we have had the same effects of that (healthcare employers cutting back, experienced RNs returning to the workforce, etc.) that everyone else has.

TheBear90 · Dec 29, 2009

Yes, I agree with you; however, my husband's job brought us back here (he lived here previously for the same job). Although I love the CLT area, it was not my first choice. Why would I willingly move to a state that starts nurses off at $10 less than my previous residence?! Especially with the amount of loans I've acquired over the years and no prospect of a job in the future...

AshleyA · Dec 29, 2009

You can try Gaston Memorial if you can't get a job at CMS or Presbyterian:

https://www.healthcaresource.com/gaston/index.cfm?fuseaction=search.categoryList&template=dsp_job_categories.cfm

My friend recently got hired at CMC and she said that everyone in orientation had years of experience in their respective fields. Also, over half of the nurses in orientation were from out of state & very experienced.

So you are competing with experienced nurses from all over the country not just with nurses in the Charlotte area.

Abishag · Dec 29, 2009

You may also want to look into Rock Hill or Fort Mill, SC. I believe one of the hospital systems is Piedmont Healthcare systems? The commute is not that bad. It is a compact state with NC so if you are using a compact license you would still be able to work in SC without moving your license. My guess is if you have to get an NC license by endorsement you should be able to use it for SC as well but you may want to double check with the BON for SC. Depending on where you live in Charlotte, the commute wouldn't be too bad. I believe those cities are about 10-20 mins south of the border (without looking at a map). I'm not sure which exits the hospitals are on though.

Also, its little known secret that CMC-Union and CMC-Lincolnton use a separate HR department. So when you get to the main website for CHS you have to click on those facilities and then apply through them. You'll see more jobs available from their direct websites (although in the last week I noticed CMC-Lincoln seems to have merged with CHS's career center system website??...not sure if that is permanent or a fluke with the website but Union definitely has more jobs on their separate website). You need to go to the main chs website and click on facilities, choose cmc-union and then click on careers...it'll take you to a separate site. So I hope that helps.

Anyhow, I'm starting to look out of state at this point. There are quite a few jobs for experienced nurses but like the previous poster said, you are competing with lots of experienced nurses from all over. I'm sorry you had to move here to find out that there are no jobs. But if you are willing to do PRN for more than one system (Presby and CMC) you will make the full time hours you need. I've been here 11 years and now I've been putting in apps out of state. :crying2: I have two small children so I'll be looking for areas with nice schools/low crime but its a tough economy to be choosy with location...good luck!