Need Advise on Job hunting

[JBell16, BSN]

Hello All. I have been a nurse in Arizona for two years now. I started out at my hospital in another position which I held for two years before I became an RN. I worked for a year in med/surg because that's what everyone told us to do in nursing school. I transferred to postpartum after a year because there was an opening-- even tho my goal was labor and delivery. I had to go to night shift to take the position which has been really hard on my family. There have been a lot of changes at my hospital that made me uncomfortable so I applied for another position- which I got. It was days, better pay, better benefits but when I went to put in my notice they seemed like they really cared about me staying and offered to cross train me to nursery. While this wasn't my end goal I thought it be a great chance to learn and improve my knowledge base. I turned down the job offer and then my employer acted like the cross training was never really on the table and said its not going to be possible for a long time. I feel like they lied to keep me. I feel like I can't trust them and I'm upset every time I go to work. I gave up a great opportunity- even though it wasn't exactly the department I wanted to be in, it was a great job. Now im applying everywhere because I want out of my current company and am pretty much willing to take anything and learn anything but my applications never make it to interview phase. its always reviewed and immediately rejected. I feel so down and out. Im not sure where to go or how to get noticed with these online applications. I am a great nurse. My med sure position was very high acuity in a level one facility. what do I do

[yournurse]

Hello, I am so sorry to hear that. It looks like you’ve talked to your manager about the promised cross training. What I recommend is: if you’re unhappy and your gut is telling you to leave, keep applying to other jobs where you’ll be happy. I know it hasn’t been successful but if you want a position, you’ll find a way! For example, when I was a new grad, online apps didn’t exist, I had mailed (not email, post office mail) resume to all the hospitals around my area and I got interviewed and offered a position in each hospital. When I moved, I looked up the managers for the positions I wanted, I attached my resume and a cover letter and showed/wrote to them that I really wanted to work for them in addition to applying online. Another advice I want to tell you is this: if your facility offers a nice retirement plan and if you’ll be vested after 3yrs or 5yrs, you may want to stay for 3 yrs within the hospital but go to another unit Bc it looks like you’ve been a nurse for over a year, It’s worth looking into and can benefit your retirement later on. Good luck!

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

I am never a fan of offers that come after a resignation has been tendered. If the original employer thought I was worth more money or more training or more opportunities then why would that not have been given while I was already there? Too little too late. I am sorry they are doing this to you. Of course you are going to leave now. Your manager is being pretty dense.

Just keep applying. Tailor your resume to each job specifically as well as your cover letter.

Some say the general rule of thumb is to expect a job hunt to take one month for every 10K of salary.

Good luck!