Jobless

I am so sorry that you don't have a job yet! I am in the same situation except I graduated less than a year ago. I imagine that you must be quite frustrated that you have been out of school for so long and aren't working as an RN yet. It really stinks that the unit you work on as a CNA won't hire you. I know a lot of places want some experience but you at least know the unit and how it works.

I have been working at a free clinic as a volunteer to get experience. A nurse practitioner runs it and knows my situation so she has been trying to teach me as much as possible. I also help train the undergrad students that are there for clinical which has helped me learn what I know well and what I need to brush up on. I have also been able to network a little as the 2 nurse practitioner students that are there for clinical are working nurses and have talked to their nurse managers for me (although unfortunately I am hoping to move out of the city).

Just keep applying your butt off and hopefully you'll get something soon!!

Honestly, I'm guessing managers assume your skills are VERY rusty, since you haven't used them in 6 years. With the job market like it is, you're in competition with new grads who just graduated and have more fresh skills, many of whom have also been CNAs for years.

Why did it take 6 years to pass the Nclex? Most employers are asking themselves this, and you have to address why in your cover letter.

Secondly, it will take at least 6-8 months to get a job, if not a year. You just have to wait and apply EVERYWHERE you are willing to work.

I believe once u have the license it doesn't matter how long u are out of school. Please help.

Actually it matters a great deal in an industry where a hospital job can have 200 candidates for each opening. Most of your classmates studied and worked extremely hard to pass the NCLEX in the first attempt because nursing skills are perishable if you don't practice them constantly and you must do your utmost to avoid being idle or unemployed for long periods of time. 90-98% (depends on the school) of our fellow classmates passed the NCLEX in the first year since graduation.

Recruiters are alarmed by the lapse in your bio and they are putting you in the high risk category.

Get back to your nursing program instructors and explain the situation. Inquire about the possibility of taking refreshers courses, whatever they recommend. There may be a solution, since bad things (illness, family problems, etc.) do happen to good people.

Also...you may need to hire a professional resume consultant and sit down together and figure out how to present your resume in a way that keeps that big gap in the background. There are several resume styles, the one you want to avoid is called chronological resume.

Recruiters love chronological resumes because they allow them to single out the long-term unemployed and delete them--sometimes in as little as to 10 seconds, according to confessions from recruiters.

Actually it matters a great deal in an industry where a hospital job can have 200 candidates for each opening. Most of your classmates studied and worked extremely hard to pass the NCLEX in the first attempt because nursing skills are perishable if you don't practice them constantly and you must do your utmost to avoid being idle or unemployed for long periods of time. 90-98% (depends on the school) of our fellow classmates passed the NCLEX in the first year since graduation.

Recruiters are alarmed by the lapse in your bio and they are putting you in the high risk category.

Get back to your nursing program instructors and explain the situation. Inquire about the possibility of taking refreshers courses, whatever they recommend. There may be a solution, since bad things (illness, family problems, etc.) do happen to good people.

Also...you may need to hire a professional resume consultant and sit down together and figure out how to present your resume in a way that keeps that big gap in the background. There are several resume styles, the one you want to avoid is called chronological resume.

Recruiters love chronological resumes because they allow them to single out the long-term unemployed and delete them--sometimes in as little as to 10 seconds, according to confessions from recruiters.

This is pretty spot on.

At this point, a nursing refresher course would give a HUGE boost on your résumé, and give you some form of honing your practice.

Keep working, and try out of the box positions, like vaccine clinics as well when they are available; teach CPR, etc, and as soon as possible, a nursing refresher course.

Best wishes.