Job offers while still in school

Nurses General Nursing

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Hi Everyone -

I'm about to start applying for nursing programs and I just wanted to ask what everyone thought on the subject of job offers. I think most people's goal while going through school is to have a solid base of job offers when they graduate, especially in today's job market. For individuals who were offered jobs straight out of school, why do you think your employers targeted you? Was it mainly experience? Were you given an offer because you currently worked at the facility? Are you more likely to get job offers if you're at the top of your class? Is your score on the NCLEX a factor (and do employers even have access to your score, for that matter)?

Thanks for any input!

Specializes in LTC.

I personally did not feel comfortable applying for jobs until I got my license.

I got a job 2 weeks post completing my LPN program. My manager at the time said he hired be based on my speech which went something like:" I understand I'm a new grad nurse however I truly have a compassion to help others. I am a quick learner and believe I would be a huge asset to this facility". I"m sure I said more than this but this was it in a nut shell.

He also appreciated the fact that I was a CNA prior to becoming a nurse.

Good luck and just sell yourself !

DarkBluePhoenix

1,867 Posts

Specializes in Med-Surg/DOU/Ortho/Onc/Rehab/ER/.

I think it happens depending on where your at.

I know they have access to see IF you passed the NCLEX but not the score, I think.

Working somewhere maybe as a CNA, LPN etc and graduating and applying to jobs where you work, you probably have a higher chance of getting one.

Getting a job offer during your last semester and/or after you graduate, is great but I am sure you tell the employer you are not yet licensed and you will notify them once you are.

Experience helps get a job, grades help when applying to new grad programs.

I heard getting to know people where you do your clinicals helps a lot. If they remember you and you remind them your graduating, and there is job openings could be a definite benefit. So definitely get to know the staff at where your clinicals are, impress them and show them what you can do!

Good luck

Specializes in LTC.
I think it happens depending on where your at.

I know they have access to see IF you passed the NCLEX but not the score, I think.

Working somewhere maybe as a CNA, LPN etc and graduating and applying to jobs where you work, you probably have a higher chance of getting one.

Getting a job offer during your last semester and/or after you graduate, is great but I am sure you tell the employer you are not yet licensed and you will notify them once you are.

Experience helps get a job, grades help when applying to new grad programs.

I heard getting to know people where you do your clinicals helps a lot. If they remember you and you remind them your graduating, and there is job openings could be a definite benefit. So definitely get to know the staff at where your clinicals are, impress them and show them what you can do!

Good luck

I agree. Because I'm a LPN I will have a job when I graduate. It may not be the specialty I want but atleast its a job until I get into a specialty. I hope sub-acute ( my new job ! ) will look good when I start applying to hospitals. If all else fails, I'm pretty good at not taking "no new grads" for answer.My current job wanted a LPN with 3 years experience, however I impressed the HR director so much I got the job with only a year experience at the time. ;)

reussir1

48 Posts

Specializes in LTC.
I think it happens depending on where your at.

I know they have access to see IF you passed the NCLEX but not the score, I think.

Good luck

Um, if you passed the NCLEX you would be in the BON registry. They don't go to the testing company. They don't see your score. You don't even get to see your score. It is pass or fail.

BabyLady, BSN, RN

2,300 Posts

Specializes in NICU, Post-partum.

Employers do not have access to your score on the NCLEX, all they know is if you passed or not.

Class rank, was not shared with any of us at my school. I put my GPA on my resume, but I have no idea of what the GPA was of other applicants...so I cannot tell you if that made a difference or not.

None of us were specifically recruited. They will usually send a nurse recruiter to speak to your class several times during the course of your coursework...the goal is to get as many people to apply for jobs and internships as possible, and they choose from that applicant pool.

However, I HIGHLY CAUTION students AGAINST signing up for internships the first semester. Nursing school is very different and very demanding...many of us found out that we could not handle an internship along with a full course load.

Several students that tried internships and were having trouble managing work and school, ended up calling in to cancel intern shifts, thinking it wasn't "real work"...well, guess who did not get job offers after graduation? Yup...you guessed right.

When you get hired as a new grad, experience counts for very little unless you have worked as a PCP or a CNA at the hospital, and that may give you a leg up because you are already in their system...however, you had better have an excellent work record.

Very, very few new grads, in this economy, are getting multiple job offers in the area of their first choice...you will be lucky to get one. That is just how things are right now.

It is very, very important to start looking in February or even earlier...be sure to ask the nurse recruiter when jobs are posted. Also, be sure to take along your nursing portfolio (most nursing schools have you complete one)...I know that was a huge difference when I applied for my job.

Good luck!

Seas

519 Posts

Specializes in Telemetry, OB, NICU.

I had interview like 10 days before my graduation and offered the position on my pinning day.

I applied only 1 position at 1 hospital and got hired. The factors that affected my quick hire:

1. this hospital is where I (and most of my school) had all my clinicals and preceptorship.

2.I talked to the manager of the floor I had my preceptorship , on my precepting days, that I would love to work there after school. In fact, that was really my favorite floor at the hospital!

3. this particular floor is where I spent most of my clinicals(even though I had rotations all over this hospital), so I had a lot of chance to meet the nurses, nurse aides, and everybody of both day and night shift (I precepted at nights). so we were really familiar to each other. the nurses liked working with me; I was a good student nurse.

4. I have a special instructor who was really satisfied with my performance at clinicals, so she even went to talk to this nurse manager about me to get hired. No, I didn't request her to do this. She wanted to do it herself. so, I was blessed. :)

5. this hospital knows my nursing program really well and sees how we are prepared, so they put my school's graduates first when evaluating applicants.

I didn't work there previously, or I wasn't the top student in my class. But one good thing about me was I was well prepared for my clinicals. I tried to look/and looked at the "big" picture and not only the tasks. That's what my CI liked about my performance.

I always give this advice to nursing students that when you are precepting, talk to the manager, let them know you are willing to work there, and let them see your performance. Always be well-prepared for clinicals, and leave good impression to the floor nurses, These are I think big factors.

dudette10, MSN, RN

3,530 Posts

Specializes in Med/Surg, Academics.

In my state, a new grad will not even be looked at for non-residency jobs until you have your license in hand. Oh, sure...nurse recruiters and nurse managers from the units you did your final clinicals in can highly encourage you to apply--as a hint toward the fact that they like you and would be willing to interview you--but you will NOT get an offer until you are licensed. Classmates who have externships aren't even being offered jobs until they get a license, although they are clearly preferred by what is being said to them on an individual basis.

umcRN, BSN, RN

867 Posts

Depends on where you are and where you apply. As a May '09 grad I started searching and applying for jobs in December '08, some places were hiring then (for starting the following summer) others weren't and asked me to apply again later. I interviewed and accepted a job during my winter break that year (January) and started in August '09, I was able to take the NCLEX in June and have a few weeks of relaxation and actual summer time before relocating and starting my job. I wouldn't change anything about what I did or the job I took and I feel very blessed to have had that opportunity.

Jules A, MSN

8,864 Posts

Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

Like Umcrn most in my class interviewed during our winter break before our final semester and had job offers secured before graduating. Keep in mind that it was a different market then and now considering being a tech or CNA isn't a bad idea to get your foot in the door. My advice is always to act as if each clinical experience is a job interview. There have been a few arrogant students both when I was in school and now as a nurse that have the attitude of "it is my clinical experience" but really you are a guest on the unit should act as such. Basically I made contacts as a student, offered to help or learn how to do anything needed, expressed an interest in working one one of the units where I did clinicals and got my first choice of a job. Good thinking to plan ahead and fwiw I don't think anyone knows their NCLEX score it is just pass or fail.

akita_mommy

37 Posts

Just finished LPN school last week. I got a job offer about a week before the finish of school and it was based solely on the recommendation of my instructor.

I was pretty much hired before I even had an interview! We were told throughout school that our instructors have a very strong pull in the local hospitals, nursing homes, etc.

jam752

9 Posts

Sorry if I was unclear - I of course meant job offers while in school on the contingency that you receive your license, like umcRN experienced. Thanks so much, this is all very helpful.

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