Jobless in California

Oranges3420 · Apr 17, 2009

i sincerely feel your pain. i also graduated in may '08 and after several months of not working, i broke down and went to a snf in my area. it's far from ideal but it's paying the bills. also, i'm getting exposure to admitting/discharging, talking with doctors and passing meds for 25-30 people. my mom (she's got a saying for everything) says "when at work, think met: money, experience, temporary." these three things keep me going back to snf. i also enrolled for the rn to bsn program at my local cal state university for the fall.

i know these times are tough and it's hard to stay positive. but, the economy will eventually turn around. it's going to definitely take some time, though. get yourself a snf job, do volunteer work at a hospital, go back to school, get your acls, pals or whatever. take a cardiac monitoring class. there are things to do so you feel like your not just wasting time away.

good luck everyone - we all most certainly need it!!!!!! :bugeyes:

TuTonka · Apr 18, 2009

Hey guys keep your head up as I stated before the economy here is really bad. I have been here almost 3 years and I still work for a registery. I keep putting out resumes though and Keep applying. So should you. The idea of going elsewhere is not a bad one if you are able, then you can transfer yourself back after you get some experience under your belt. Finding your niche is not as easy as it used to be but do not give up.....YOU WILL get there.

TuTonka

Manang Biday · Apr 21, 2009

It's the economy... that's what I tell myself every time I get frustrated. :crying2:

I am from the Bay Area, graduated Dec 2008, passed the boards, applied to SO MANY hospitals in Northern California, and haven't landed a job yet.

Now, I'm applying to Southern CA hospitals because people say there are more opportunities there, even if the pay is lower.

When I call the hospitals (even in the Central Valley which is only a few hours away from where I live), they say they prioritize local applicants first and then move on to others if they don't find the applicant they're looking for. Even if I want to relocate, that becomes another factor why I haven't received a single phone call in over 2 months.

muffin7 · Apr 21, 2009

funnypharm I love your recipe, I could make the same one up for RNs. What I don't understand is, why all of the foreign nurses. At my old hospital there was a huge amount of RNs from somewhere in Africa. I could barely understand most of them. When the patients would have one of them they would request an English speaking RN/LVN.

1cup of 10% unemployment

1cup of many private LVN schools pumping out many LVNs lately

1cup of thousands of foreign LVN nurses competing for jobs

TuTonka · Apr 21, 2009

I am sorry you are having a hard time but Southern Cal is just as bad as Northern Cal. Have you thought about finding a Hospital that has Hospitals elsewhere? Then once you have become established you could transfer back to the bay area within the same facility network.

TuTonka

rockenmomRN · Apr 21, 2009

I dont know what you guys are looking for but scripps in san diego has 105 posting for rns http://www.scripps.org/about-us__careers__search-jobs now some of them are management positions which clearly as new grad we are not qualified for. but there are many staff RN jobs. you would be suprised what happens if you're 'pushy,' you have to sell yourself as being dependable and trainable. Kaiser has just as many, when i got my job at kaiser i went straight to HR, there were no 'new grad' postings. i sold myself. willing to work the 'undesirable' shifts and whatever floor was available. this is part of the 'investment' just like school was.

I just met two new grads in my area and they said the market was so saturated they couldn't find a job. then they finally confessed that they don't want to work a med/surg job. trust me med/surg is not like it was in college. its a whole new ball game when you're the 'responsible' one. i remember telling my cardio/pulmonary instructor that i never wanted to work on a tele floor and now i love my job...on a tele floor.

Try smaller hospitals as well, san diego has several obscure hospitals that i've never heard of before but they pay really well b/c (imo) noone wants to work there. but its a start.

TuTonka · Apr 21, 2009

It has been said that if you do not know someone at Scripps you do not stand a chance in getting hired. I do not know how true that is but I have talked to some that say the same thing. Also although they have jobs posted they also have hiring freezes in effect at many of the hospitals in San Diego.

TuTonka

rockenmomRN · Apr 21, 2009

Tutonka, i don't think thats true. several of my counterparts got jobs at scripps and they never even had healthcare experience. Dont believe what others say, call the HR departments directly ask to speak to the nurse recruiters themselves.

Go to the units around 9am after shift change with resume in hand. That goes for any hospital. One of my friends got a new grad spot in a hospital that wasn't going to hire new grads b/c she took a professional binder with her resume, transcripts, cerificates, etc. directly to the unit manager and put it in her hand. the manager was so impressed that she took the time to do it that she offered her a job before she even graduated. We were shocked b/c of all of us we were sure she would have a hard time findng a job.

goes to show what a little extra effort will get you. biggest thing, don't give up.

BABO · Apr 22, 2009

Tutonka, i don't think thats true. several of my counterparts got jobs at scripps and they never even had healthcare experience. Dont believe what others say, call the HR departments directly ask to speak to the nurse recruiters themselves.
Go to the units around 9am after shift change with resume in hand. That goes for any hospital. One of my friends got a new grad spot in a hospital that wasn't going to hire new grads b/c she took a professional binder with her resume, transcripts, cerificates, etc. directly to the unit manager and put it in her hand. the manager was so impressed that she took the time to do it that she offered her a job before she even graduated. We were shocked b/c of all of us we were sure she would have a hard time findng a job.
goes to show what a little extra effort will get you. biggest thing, don't give up.

I've been doing that, and nothing I still don't have a job. Arugghgh just feeling a little hopeless.

Manang Biday · Apr 22, 2009

I have been applying for work for 4 months now and so far, no calls yet. In desperation, I am applying to nursing care homes and skilled nursing centers to get experience and to earn money to pay bills and student loans. Once I get the experience from this places, do you guys think it counts if in the future I apply in acute care?

TuTonka · Apr 22, 2009

The skilled units yes. The nursing homes i do not know one way or the other. sorry

funnypharm · Apr 23, 2009

Oh yeah, jwf00 one more thing to add to the recipe:

1cup of 10% unemployment

1cup of many private LVN schools pumping out many LVNs lately

1cup of thousands of foreign LVN nurses competing for jobs

add

1cup of Baby boomers that got a HUGE haircut on their retirement when the stocks dropped. Those nurses have either not retired hoping to wait out the recession or went back to work.

and like someone else said... it's not so much that nurses can't get jobs as much as they are being forced to take the less desirable jobs. * :smilecoffeeIlovecof Can you say graveyard shift... bleh