6+ months since graduating, no job offers

[viboki]

Hello everyone!

I graduated with my BSN in May 2017, and received my RN license in July 2017. I currently live near NYC and have applied for jobs in NYC, Long Island, Westchester County and Rockland County. I have been searching/applying for hospitals jobs nearly every day and I have only had one interview, which I did not receive a job offer.

I am also currently working in a private practice office temporarily (I know the doctor who owns the practice and agreed to employ me to gain some experience while I still search for hospital jobs).

I understand that NYC and surrounding areas are very saturated with nurses and I've heard from several people that it is normal for it to take a few months before getting a new graduate job, however, I feel that too much time has passed.

I am getting to the point where I don't know what to do. Should I keep trying to obtain a job in the NYC & immediate outside areas even though I've had little luck getting an interview? Should I pay to get a New Jersey RN license and expand my search? Should I move back to upstate NY (where I attended nursing school) and attempt to find a job there?

My dream is to stay in NYC and work there but I am worried I'll never get another interview, let alone a job. I only vaguely know some nurses in some of these hospitals and they've passed my resume around to nurse managers but there was no luck there. My GPA at school was average. I have no previous NA or extern work experience. I am afraid I am just falsely hoping that I will get that one lucky break, when in reality no hospital will consider me due to my lack of experience.

* I would also like to add that I don't believe that my resume is an issue, I've had it looked at by several professionals and nurses and they have never stated to me that there was something wrong with my resume.

Thank in advance for your advice!

[angeloublue22, BSN, RN]

Are you only applying to hospitals? You may want to expand your field to other facilities like LTCs, corrections, etc. Hospitals are extremely competitive and a manger would most likely hire a person with experience than a new grad, and they can be that picky because of the saturation. You may need to bite the bullet and work for a year or two in a place you may not want to in order to gain the experience you need. It took me just as long where I live. The only interview I got was with a psych facility, which was a field I absolutely did not want to work in, but they offered me a job and I knew I had to take it. I ended up loving psych and addictions. Almost 8 years later I'm still working in mental health even though I have had multiple opportunities to work in hospitals and passed them up. You just need to get that experience and then you can be marketable.

[shibaowner, MSN, RN, NP]

You need to broaden your search and look outside of NYC. This is your first job, don't be too picky. Get some experience, then you can move back to NYC and get a job more easily. There are many parts of the US that are desperate for nurses.

[Vee D, ADN]

Go outside of ny