New Grad with no experience feels like being discriminated

[strawberrypie]

i went to a job fair today and i was so enthusiastic to meet with the recruiters. upon my arrival, i noticed some applicants were waiting and some were called into another room as i continually filled up my application form. i excitedly handed in my resume and the recruiter immediately asked me if i have experience with the job that i'm applying for? i replied that i'm a new grad and just got my rn license and hope to get a job in their hospital. she stapled the paper and without even looking at my resume, she said "i'll just put your resume on file". most applicants who were turned down in the past knew that what she meant to say was a big "no, you are not qualified!". i felt so bad 'coz it looks like a form of discrimination!!! how come those applicants with experiences were called for an interview in another room, and we, new graduates with no experiences, were not even given a chance to be interviewed at all. the least they can do is glance at our resumes, but they didn't even bother to do that either. hospitals, nursing homes or any establishments that provides healthcare and employs nurses should stop this kind of discrimination that they are doing to new graduate nurses right now! we worked as hard as these other nurses who was ahead of us and already had experiences. but definitely, one time in their lives, they too were in the same shoes as we are right now...new grads and without experience! the recruiters or human resources people should give new grads a chance to prove themselves. i'm sure, if we'd be given the right training or orientation, we can be as good as the old timers. i am just too tired seeing and hearing that only nurses with experiences can apply. and i strongly believe that we are being discriminated and we don't deserve that!

[PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN]

So sorry OP, like the other new grads here--you're caught up in the Economic Disaster of this century. You'll have to wait it out. I hear and see your frustration.

Hang in there.

[MsSocalRN]

Wow, people she is just venting, cut her some slack its hard out there for new grads, I completely understand where she is coming from. I hope OP finds a job soon, just keeping going to the hospitals where you want to work. I live in California but couldn't find a job here so now we are moving to Tennessee. So if that is an option for you try that.

[MrazFan]

Geez- some of you people are pretty harsh. Note that the OP said it FEELS like they are being discriminated against. To those of you who have jobs, that is great, good for you. But for those of us who do not, who are either new grads or about to be new grads (like myself), the current hiring climate really does FEEL like discrimination. When you speak to an employer and are told "no we are not even considering new graduates for hire at this time" (and yes, that is a direct quote) it makes you wonder why the heck you put in all the hard work to get through nursing school and graduate and become licensed, because all that hard work isn't worth anything in the real world right now. We have bills to pay and families to support too, just like nurses with years of experience. We just happened to have the bad luck to graduate at an unfortunate time. And the argument of 'if you really want a job, just move to another area to get a job' is ridiculous, many people are not able to move for many reasons. It is frustrating-try to put yourselves in our shoes- how do you think you'd feel?

[SydneyJo1]

Exactly, she is frustrated and I'm sure the post is fueled by lots of emotion at this point. I'm not done with school yet, and I'm dreading throwing my hat into the ring next summer. I know it's not really discrimination and I know that it is cost effective for hospitals to only hire experienced nurses. But I hope those with experience can try to at least empathize with those of us who have just worked our butts off in nursing school only to find that we can't even get an interview. For anything. As a seasoned nurse, you are more valuable to an employer, and I get that. But please at least show a little support and compassion to those of us just coming up in the ranks and hoping to make a living at the job we just spent years preparing for. It's not an easy position to be in.

[hiddencatRN, BSN, RN]

Geez- some of you people are pretty harsh. Note that the OP said it FEELS like they are being discriminated against. To those of you who have jobs, that is great, good for you. But for those of us who do not, who are either new grads or about to be new grads (like myself), the current hiring climate really does FEEL like discrimination. When you speak to an employer and are told "no we are not even considering new graduates for hire at this time" (and yes, that is a direct quote) it makes you wonder why the heck you put in all the hard work to get through nursing school and graduate and become licensed, because all that hard work isn't worth anything in the real world right now. We have bills to pay and families to support too, just like nurses with years of experience. We just happened to have the bad luck to graduate at an unfortunate time. And the argument of 'if you really want a job, just move to another area to get a job' is ridiculous, many people are not able to move for many reasons. It is frustrating-try to put yourselves in our shoes- how do you think you'd feel?

Some of us who replied are in her shoes, and many of us who have jobs now WERE in the OP's position. So while we understand the frustration (and have stated that we do), we can still take exception to calling a very standard hiring practice discrimination.

Also, if you read the OP closely, it says "feels like" discrimination AND that is is discrimination.

The argument to move to find work isn't ridiculous. While not everyone can move due to family restrictions, for those who can, it is highly recommended. The folks from my class who are looking outside the state are the ones finding jobs fastest.

[LA♥Nurse]

My advice is don't try to go to work with the attitude that "I know it better since I just graduated" - because you will def be brought down a few notches. Those "old" nurses will be your best resource when your facing something you've never even heard of, cause real life is nothing like textbooks and nursing school is only a small percentage of the learning process.

That said, I understand how disheartning(sp?) it is to see only jobs for experienced nurses...but it is not discrimination, just a fact of life, esp in this economy. I'm job hunting right now too, and even though I have LPN experience, almost everything in my area wants 2-5 years experience as RN, so its basically like I have *no* experience. But I'll keep looking and praying for God to open doors to the right job!

[heron, ASN, RN]

geez- some of you people are pretty harsh. note that the op said it feels like they are being discriminated against. to those of you who have jobs, that is great, good for you. but for those of us who do not, who are either new grads or about to be new grads (like myself), the current hiring climate really does feel like discrimination. when you speak to an employer and are told "no we are not even considering new graduates for hire at this time" (and yes, that is a direct quote) it makes you wonder why the heck you put in all the hard work to get through nursing school and graduate and become licensed, because all that hard work isn't worth anything in the real world right now. we have bills to pay and families to support too, just like nurses with years of experience. we just happened to have the bad luck to graduate at an unfortunate time. and the argument of 'if you really want a job, just move to another area to get a job' is ridiculous, many people are not able to move for many reasons. it is frustrating-try to put yourselves in our shoes- how do you think you'd feel?

what the op said ... "hospitals, nursing homes or any establishments that provides healthcare and employs nurses should stop this kind of discrimination that they are doing to new graduate nurses right now!"

what subsequent posters have been trying to convey is that:

a) there is no legal prohibition against a business hiring experienced over inexperienced workers.

b) the implication that the industry "owes" new grads a job as well as the additional training and orientation needed to make them cost-effective, just because they worked hard to get their licenses comes across as a little entitled. the op may or may not actually feel that way ... but that's how it came across.

c) any health care facility is, in fact, a business and will make decisions in its own perceived self-interest. people applying to work for that business have to show that hiring them makes good business sense. because it's a buyer's market right now, businesses have a great many applicants from which to choose and a new grad seldom has a competitive resume.

i read plenty of sympathy and commiseration in the posts on this thread ... it's the realities being described that are harsh.

sometimes a reality check is the most compassionate response of all ... it allows for expectations to be redefined in a way that lets us take it a little less personally.

[AprilRNurse]

I feel your frustration as I too am a new grad struggling to get my foot in the door. However, an employer has every right to hire candidates who present the best evidence that they're the ones most likely to succeed in a given position. Prior work experience in the same field is considered a valid indicator. I'm afraid you're off the mark to frame this widespread happenstance as 'discrimination'.

On top of what has already been said... training in a new grad is extremely expensive. They have to pay not only for an additional RN for the duration of the clinicals, but possibly even another one to cover the lighter assignment a new grad and her orienter may take.

Hospitals ultimately have 2 goals- to provide the best care possible for their patients, and to make a profit. Hiring experienced staff when available helps achieve both of those goals.

[AprilRNurse]

I think everybody can easily understand the OP's frustration. No need to accuse falsely (which has me PO'd, actually).

I find it humorous that some posters who are still listed as students cop an attitude to the OP, when it is obvious they speak out of pure ignorance. Too funny.

And for those that are gainfully employed as nurses, good for ya. You should thank God for every paycheck, and that you are able to put food on the table and pay off your loans if you have them.

Karma is a big you know what, people. I love to see karma take people down. I'm not usually there to pick those type people up once they fall.

Who has falsely accused the OP of anything? I can completely sympathize with the difficulty of finding a job as a new grad....however- the OP is the one falsely acusing potential employers of an illegal action. Feeling upset and worried and being discriminated against are NOT the same thing.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

while i certainly sympathize with the op and her job hunting trevails, as others have said and said it better, a hiring preference for experienced nurses (minimal training required) vs. new grads (much training required) is not discrimination. ageism, however is. i sincerely hope that when the op does land a job she's much more respectful of her experienced colleagues than what comes across in her post.

[chulada77, ADN, BSN, MSN, APRN]

ummm, I'm sorry you are having a difficult time finding a job and all, but discrimination? Please! Hospitals have every right to "discriminate" when there is more supply than demand. As you noted the experienced nurse provides a cost benefit to the hospital that you do not. When given a choice they will most likely hire someone with experience over an unproven, experienceless new grad. I'm sorr that the nursing fantasy world of limitless job opportunities has dissolved into a world where you have to work to get a job (God forbide!), but that is what has happened. Grads in most every other discipline (especially those with only undergraduate or associates) have to beg borrow and steal to get a job theses days. Nurses are faced with the options of working a little harder than in the past or having to move to get a job and all they do is complain.

If they looked at you and decided you were too old, the wrong color or maybe even the wrong sexual orientation to do the jobe then you could claim some kind of discrimination. Looking at you and thinking you don't have enough experience? That's just good business sense.

They do NOT have the right to discriminate about experience if the add that they posted for the position does not specify "experience" as a pre-requisite. That is against the law to add your own pre-req without them being official job requirements. The hospital can be civilly sued for this practice. If they want experienced nurses then it must be stated in their job posting.

[withaD]

So according to dictionary.com, discrimination is defined as "treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit".

I feel like that's a perfect word to describe this situation: new grads are grouped as unqualified, when experienced nurses hired may be incompetent experienced nurses. New grads may have had wonderful clinical experiences that set them apart from other applicants, but are not given the chance to shine. So, all individuals should be given consideration to show their potential, experiences, and work ethic.

I believe that many new grad nurses are assets to facilities. As a new grad myself, I am willing to learn, I am flexible and openminded. And because a good number of new grads enter the workforce with this open-mindedness and eagerness to grow, these hospitals/ facilities will not be disappointed...they'll be making good investments.

I admire all those nurse managers who are willing to see an individual's potential to determine whether to hire or not hire.