Middle Aged New Grad ADN Not Getting Hired

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Dear Nurse Beth,

New Grad here. I am a new nurse applying for residential nursing programs. I have an ADN and I am Middle aged, nursing is my second career. I need some advice. My state is a compact state, the smallest in the union. The surrounding states have very little nursing residence programs and most require you to have a bachelors and over a 3.2 GPA.

Southern states seem to have more opportunity and will accept associate degrees. I want to eventually be a psychiatric nurse, but I want the med surg experience and I want to have experience on a cardiac floor. I refuse to be one dimensional and know that I can always come back to psych. PA hospitals (Philly) are prestigious and most are magnet hospitals that require a bachelors. NJ is similar but is a compact state. Residency program's are once a season and are once in a lifetime for most. They don't even want Nurses who have already been exposed to work. What advice do you have for me? Thanks

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4 Answers

Specializes in Tele, ICU, Staff Development.

Dear Need Advice,

Congratulations on your accomplishment! 

Make sure your resume is in top shape (related article How to Get Past ATS Software in a Resume and Resume Help). If the job posting says BSN required, don't apply. If it says BSN preferred, apply. Customize your resume to each organization using keywords from the job posting.

Typically you are eligible for a residency if you are one year or less out from graduation or licensure and haven't worked as an RN in acute care. Every hospital determines its own eligibility criteria.  Some hospitals have new grad residencies once a year, some twice a year, and some even more often. It depends on the number of openings they have at the time, so it's fluid. I worked in a hospital once that had four residencies in one year. Check the hospital job boards regularly.

It would be great if you landed a spot in a residency, but the most important thing is to land a job, period. The more time that passes, the harder it can be to land your first job. Broaden your search-consider sub-acute settings. From there you can get some experience and apply to acute care facilities.

It's not necessarily true that employers don't want nurses with prior work experience-maturity and life experience are positives. Having a work history shows a work ethic and reliability. But it's also a fact in our society that age discrimination is real. Read the age discrimination article to mitigate some of that discrimination.

Find out where your classmates got hired, keep in touch with them, and activate your network. Do you have one or two letters of recommendation from your clinical instructors? It's not too late to ask, and ask them for job leads as well.

Once you get a job, consider going back for your BSN in a year or two. It will open many doors for you in the future.

Best wishes to you; hang in there! You are not alone, many new grads submit multiple applications before landing a job.

Nurse Beth

Specializes in oncology.
Nurse Beth said:

Do you have one or two letters of recommendation from your clinical instructors?

I was always happy to write "To whom it may concern letters" for students. I sent several copies on the college letterhead to the graduating student. I touched on points such as the graduate understanding the nursing process with an emphasis on teaching, communication, team comradery; , also the all importance attendance record. We kept attendance records on students' attendance for class, clinical and lab. Class did not figure in the 10% absence policy but, it was very important to hiring managers and unit managers and I noted it. 

Thank you both for your responses. I do have recommendations from 3 or more of my former clinical instructors. Last week, I guess I jumped the gun. I have only been a nurse officially for two weeks being that I passed the NCLEX that many weeks ago. All this week I have had phone interviews and continue to get calls and emails daily. 

Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

Beebe  Healthcare has many positions with RN degree/diploma listed in job description. 

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