So I graduated with BSN in June, licensed in August, and now on job hunt today. I don't want to wait too long between the time I graduated and getting a nursing job. I feel like my nursing knowledge will deteriorate and I will be less marketable as time passes. I've only sent one application. I've done a few searches but some require 3 letters of rec/references (I have one more that I have major trouble getting) and some require a previous employer.
The thing is, I've never worked in my entire life. Yes, I am a sheltered little baby I don't have any volunteer experiences in hospitals. I previously struggled with severe depression for a long time throughout my childhood and teenage years. This was why I never worked. The nursing school load would send me into moderate bouts of depression. I used to be majorly shy and anxious as well but I have gotten better. I am in my early 20's now. I have been having major anxiety about my whole situation because I am trying to apply to places but I can't due to the missing pieces. The online forms won't even let you go through if you don't put past employer or 3 references. Many RN positions have 1 year preferred acute experience, which I obviously don't have.
To top it all, I don't have that extroverted thing going on, which makes functioning in this society all the more challenging but I am willing to take it on. I believe I am a good person with good intentions but that is not enough. My anxiety is a barrier to communication; I know that, and I am working on it. With my anxious personality, I feel it would be best if I went into a new grad program but I think they take in limited numbers and pretty much the well-spoken, top-notch students/new grads; so I'm devoid of such hopes of getting into one but I am willing to try. I am also in the competitive state of California.
SO. It's time for more action. I need to act. What step should I take next? I was thinking of getting a part-time job in something service-related so that I would get used to dealing with customers, greeting, and making small talk. Along with that should I volunteer at a hospital? Please share your thoughts and recommendations.
I didn't do preceptorship in psych. It took them 2-3 months to call me after I filled out an application. I did put my professors down but I don't know if they called any of them. I didn't ask my professor, I just put them down. I knew they expected to be placed down as references to I didn't feel the need to. I had asked them for letter of references before graduating, so I thought it'd be implicit. However, it would be courteous to give your professor a warning if you think they're going to really question the professor about you. I remember a professor saying that someone had put him down as a reference but when he got called, he didn't know who he was vouching for. I think it was professional references so it could be a supervisor from a job or professors so either would be fine.
I have no idea if it was a bit more lenient a couple of years ago in psych for new grads without experience but every job postings I've seen in psych mandated minimum 1yr in mental health experience. Even for PRN work. This is the major reason I'm hesitating on applying the 2nd being quite unfamiliar with the psych environment. Did you find yourself expected to know many of the ways around the psych floor during the interviews or was it after? I thought about reviewing my mental health notes in school because I don't remember much of the diagnosis etc but still very unsure of applying because that one clinical experience in mental health was like a vague memory. I'd really like to try it out though.
Maybe it's your state or area? I had no experience at all when 2/3 psych hospitals I applied to called me. The one that I didn't get call back from was county hospital. If you do private hospital rather than county, the patients are less worse.
I did review a little bit before the interview, then it turned out my interview was a why are you interested and how did you find out about this. What days I could work, which shift I wanted, pay etc. So I basically got the job without a real interview so I can't give you much insight on that. If you do searches here on this site there are psych interview questions.
Before starting, I was only faintly familiar with psych meds. Inpatient psych places a lot of emphasis on meds, and then there are the involuntary holds, PCH/riese, conservatorship, but you'll learn that during orientation and also when you start working on your own. When people know you're new, they don't expect you to know that much.
For those in California who are having a hard time finding a job, Reno is definitely hiring! I moved here right after graduation due to my boyfriend's job, and got quite a few interviews and job offers in medical and psych hospitals. And Nevada can get you a temp license pretty quick! Just an option, especially for those in Northern California. I ended up taking a position with Renown, and there are a lot of other new grads in my orientation. Good luck!
You are quite right! New grads are a dime a dozen in my city. It's hard to get an interview anywhere. Unless you move up north or willing to relocate which I can't do because I don't have money yet, family, and the fact that cities farther away still only hire part time. No one is hiring full time anymore. This would have been fine cause I'm not greedy but if I'd have to rent a place, I might need that full time job to you know have money left over to actually eat after rent which is crazy high these days. Thanks again for your reply. I appreciate the tips you posted. When I get time, I will review more about mental health specifically so I can actually apply for the jobs even if it's just basic knowledge it's unfortunate that I completely erased most of what I learned in mental health except the communication/empathy part. I really hope that I do get to meet or join a hospital/clinic/place that is welcoming of new people. I mean I've had the worst luck with my teachers, or nurses that I've been partnered. Every time I mention that I am not familiar of this procedure/knowledge as a student, they always criticized me harshly. I hope I don't get that anymore because that is what's scaring me now as a new grad the finite space between having a license and graduated vs simply just being a student.
@hdobb, thanks for the advice! Does Renown have a formal new grad program or do you just apply to one of the open positions? I can't find much information about specifics.
@hilbub they have a few residency programs I think! I'm pretty sure the pediatric residency rotates between the NICU, L&D, peds ER, post partum, peds acute, and the PICU. I was told about it during my interview for a specific unit. I'm not sure where info would be online though! Maybe call HR and ask about it?
Best to call and ask, I did some searching and found posts from around 2011 saying that they want to hire those only with ties to the Reno area because of the failure to retain staff. One poster said that they called to ask her to stop applying. I don't know if it's still the case now.
Yes definitely call! I have no ties to Reno except for my boyfriend recently getting a job here. I'm from California and actually moved to Wisconsin and ended up going to nursing school there. So looks like it's not the case now!
Specializes in MedSurg, PACU, Maternal/Child Health.
Look on craigslist jobs in the healthcare section and also on idealist.org. There are jobs posted for clinics, LTC, allergy medical offices, non profits, rehab centers, homecare, etc. With these your resume goes straight to the manager without the electronic resume scanning that hospitals have. On craigslist and idealist , smaller companies post so more likely to get a call back than with large hospitals.
I don't have any volunteer experiences in hospitals. I previously struggled with severe depression for a long time throughout my childhood and teenage years. This was why I never worked. The nursing school load would send me into moderate bouts of depression. I used to be majorly shy and anxious as well but I have gotten better. I am in my early 20's now. I have been having major anxiety about my whole situation because I am trying to apply to places but I can't due to the missing pieces. The online forms won't even let you go through if you don't put past employer or 3 references. Many RN positions have 1 year preferred acute experience, which I obviously don't have. 
kiwi111
24 Posts
I have no idea if it was a bit more lenient a couple of years ago in psych for new grads without experience but every job postings I've seen in psych mandated minimum 1yr in mental health experience. Even for PRN work. This is the major reason I'm hesitating on applying the 2nd being quite unfamiliar with the psych environment. Did you find yourself expected to know many of the ways around the psych floor during the interviews or was it after? I thought about reviewing my mental health notes in school because I don't remember much of the diagnosis etc but still very unsure of applying because that one clinical experience in mental health was like a vague memory. I'd really like to try it out though.