New Grad Can't Find Work

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I recently graduated from OHSU and am struggling to find any kind of position in Portland. Previous cohorts left me with the impression that most students would have job offers before graduation. So far I have had one on-demand (recorded) interview and one live interview online with Providence that I thought went very well and they gave every indication that they would be making an offer by the end of the week, only to send an email a couple hours later saying they wouldn't be moving forward.

The COVID hiring freezes have been somewhat lifted in Portland but I think the hospitals may not have a high need for nurses right now? I have applied to DaVita, private clinics, etc. but I have not gotten interviews yet. My life is in Portland and I do not want to have to move but I didn't think getting work as a nurse here would be so challenging. I have started applying to hospitals elsewhere in the state and have even applied for a Washington license. If anyone has advice on how to find a job in the Portland area I would really appreciate hearing about it.

Specializes in Surgical/Periop.

Yo,

From my connects working in PDX, it's very hard/near impossible to find a new grad position in Portland right now. I actually had the same problem back in...2018 when I graduated from a BSN program in LA. Came back home to portland where my parents are and near impossible for me to find anything within providence/legacy. you should consider moving up to WA state. thats what I did. got on with providence in Olympia, WA. St. Peter's hospital. We have not had any hiring freezes at all. And even though Olympia is not my favorite area to be in (will eventually move back to PDX or maybe LA), it does have a strong new grad program. It's about a 2 hour drive from Portland so not too far not too close. I think everyone should live away from home at least once in their life. Hope this helps. Literally made my account just to comment and hopefully help ya out! Good luck.

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Specializes in Surgical/Periop.

Oh plus we don't have a state income tax (8-9%????). to give you a little comparison, I have a friend currently working at my hospital who graduated from linfield or UP and worked at St. vincent's for a few years. she said she makes about the same take home being here in WA as she did in PDX because of cost of living, additional state income tax. Im between year 2-3 in my nursing career and im on track to make 6-figures this year (albeit I do pick up a good amount of overtime). something to consider!!

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9 hours ago, Firstman989RN said:

Yo,

From my connects working in PDX, it's very hard/near impossible to find a new grad position in Portland right now. I actually had the same problem back in...2018 when I graduated from a BSN program in LA. Came back home to portland where my parents are and near impossible for me to find anything within providence/legacy. you should consider moving up to WA state. thats what I did. got on with providence in Olympia, WA. St. Peter's hospital. We have not had any hiring freezes at all. And even though Olympia is not my favorite area to be in (will eventually move back to PDX or maybe LA), it does have a strong new grad program. It's about a 2 hour drive from Portland so not too far not too close. I think everyone should live away from home at least once in their life. Hope this helps. Literally made my account just to comment and hopefully help ya out! Good luck.

Hey thanks for this info! I moved out of state for nursing school and came back to California where my family is at, but I have considered applying to out of state facilities. I am starting to apply to Oregon and Washington because it is near impossible to land something here. I have my California license already so I am just worried that when the hiring managers see that they won't consider me further.

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Thanks for the response Firstman989RN and welcome. I believe I've missed the deadline for the Olympia residency unfortunately but I still see some Prov positions in Spokane. Spokane is a bit far east for me, I would rather be in the Olympia area myself but I'll still apply. Do you happen to know anyone who has worked for Willamette Valley Medical Center in McMinville recently? 

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On 10/13/2020 at 7:24 PM, JT83 said:

Hi. Are you still looking for employment? I'm not sure if you're interested in Community-Based Care in an Assisted Living Facility but there is an immediate need for one in the Old Town Portland area. I'm sorry I couldn't send you a private message about this because I don't use this account often, but if you're able to reach out to me, I can get you connected ASAP.

I cannot seem to private message you either and am hesitant to post my contact information online. Do you have a link to the job posting or to the company's website? Thanks for reaching out!

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Hi everyone, I was wondering if anyone had heard back from SWMC in Vancouver and St. Peters in Olympia about the residency positions? I have had a phone interview with the residency program recruiter for St. Peters and have scheduled a second Zoom interview with a manager (I think) for the first week of Dec. I've applied to both programs above and several of the locations for CHI. I am starting to get offers from the smaller locations in CHI but SWMC and St. Peters are my first choices. Just trying to gage if I should take these offers or hold out for Vancouver/Olympia? 

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@PortlandRN2020

have you found a job yet?

 

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Hi, yes I got a spot in a small ICU on nightshift. The commute and switching to a night schedule is kicking my behind right now but I really like the unit and people so far. I was hoping to get something in a bigger hospital (I struck out with OHSU, Providence, PeaceHealth, Legacy, and Adventist) but I'm happy to have a job.

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Yay! Congratulations! ? I was wondering if you had any advice? I recently passed my NCLEX and didn’t realize how hard it was to find a job RN.

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Thanks, where are you located?

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Pdx! By chance are you working at tuality?

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