Job Market in TN (Nashville-Cookeville)

[southernliving]

Hi all,

What is the job market like in TN in the areas of Nashville - Cookeville for a recent college grad - BSN and/or MS-CNL? Are hospitals hiring at entry levels? I see that Vanderbilt has a Nurse Residency program - are you finding this is the only route to "get experience" in order to "get experience"??

[ashk9]

I will be a new grad in December, so I have been doing a lot of research as well! It's pretty hard to find a job in the Nashville area since there are many nursing schools around the area (at least from what I've experienced!). Plus a lot of hospitals are probably cutting back on hiring new grads because we are more expensive to orient, etc.

The hospital in Cookeville is open to hiring new grads, but they give first priority to the TTU grads since they do clinicals there and most of them already hold jobs there as well. Hope this helps!

[southernliving]

Thanks for the info. And unfortunately, there isn't a huge selection once you get outside of Cookeville. Hopefully, by the time I graduate the market will have improved.

[southernliving]

One more question for anyone working or have knowledge about the hospital in Cookesville. I understand that they give preference to TTU grads. What is their hiring practice regarding out of state new grads who graduate from a nationally ranked SON?

[rwright15]

Want me to tell you what worked for me? Worry the pants off the nurse recruiter. Show up in her office on a day you're "in the neighborhood" just to see if anything had been posted since the last time you were there. Tell her how bad you want to work for that institution. I promise you, they will find you a job if they think you will be an asset to them. They are going to sink a lot of money into you during your first year with all the training, classes and certifications you will need. They need to have confidence that it will pay off for them.