New Grad Job Market: A Game of Chance

[sourapril]

It's no longer about whether you qualify for the job or not, or if you have more education and experience than the next person. Nowadays everyone passes NCLEX, everyone graduates with a 4.0, everyone has CNA experience, and yet still many spent months and even years to land that first job out of nursing school.

I don't think nurse managers and hospital administrators actually know the severity of the unhealthy new grad job market because all of them have given me the same suggestions (I only personally know one and other managers are friends of a friend): Get some CNA experience, Apply to new grad programs and Move to a different state. I have already done the first two and I think I may have to do the last one sooner or later.

Just weeks ago, I thought passing the NCLEX was mission impossible because I could not get my Kaplan Q bank score to be over 57%, but in the end, NCLEX seemed to be a piece of cake. Yes, I spent three hours at the test center but I passed on my first try. The thing is I never had PTSD with standardized tests or writing papers no matter how many times I had to do them and how hard they seemed. SAT, piece of cake. GRE, piece of cake, NCLEX, not exactly a piece of cake but maybe a slice of a cake?

However, I was traumatized multiple times when I applied for jobs.

First time was when I graduated from college with a BS in biology. That was in 2006 and no place would hire me. Eventually after 4 months of hopeless searching and going through some really dark period, my dad made some connections and I moved hundreds of miles away to work as a research assistant in a very cold place where the winter was long and harsh.

Second time was when I graduated from grad school with a public health degree. Still, no places seemed to want me so I moved again miles away to take some low-paying job with a well known national nonprofit organization in a hot desert where 100F was accepted as a comfortable and normal temperature. You would think third times a charm, but I was again denied for an entry level position.

Friends, good friends nonetheless I made at school became competitors and strangers, and they didn't give a damn whether I found a job or not. They stopped talking to me or hanging out with me as soon as they found a job. The more sympathetic ones would say, "you will find it" or "it's not just you." Eventually everyone moved on and moved away.

Yesterday, one of the CNAs whom I used to work with connected me with the HR person of a good nursing home. Hopefully I will get an interview and maybe even a job next week. Sometimes I asked myself why I kept going back to school when obviously what employers wanted was experience. Does two college degrees and one master degree means nothing to employers anymore? Is an intelligent person who published 2 papers in well-known scientific journals, who have volunteered for years, who had CNA experience, clinical research experience, and teaching experience not hireable in this market? Then why on earth do schools charge students a fortune to get a piece of paper, and more students want to carry tens and thousands of student debts so that they can put a B.S.N. after their names?

I chose nursing because I genuinely care about people and interested in healing them and helping them resolve whatever issues they got in their lives. Maybe that's no longer a good reason for why you want to become a nurse. Maybe I should erase that from my cover letter (note to self: don't mention you care about people just list your experience and accomplishment). If I was rejected by as many guys as the number of potential employers who rejected me, I would not want to date anyone anymore. I probably would even quit asking guys out after 3 rejections. And yet, here I am, filling out yet another job application, writing another cover letter, to number X employer (I lost counts on how many jobs I applied)...expecting a different result (maybe I will get lucky and get hired this time). Someone smart once said: "insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Maybe I am insane.

P.S. the last quote is from my hero Albert Einstein, who also said, "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." I think I am that fish who tries to climb a tree or pollinate a flower and believe I am not good enough.

[trueblue2000]

I disagree the new grad market is a game chance. To say that you mean employers randomly pick a resume and hire that person, and nothing a candidate can do will improve their chances. I do not think that is the case. Cynical people say it is a game of connections. To a large extent, based on my experience, I agree. One of my classmates was a very charismatic tech at a local large hospital which had no posted openings for new grads, yet she and all her three BFFs (all mediocre students with zero health care experience) were hired there, while no one else in our 50+ class got jobs at that facility. Coincidence? But making connections is not that hard. The easiest way to do is work as a tech. I doubt (and have never seen) a competent, hard working and resourceful tech NOT get offered a job at the hospital they work. A nurse manager rolling the dice on an unknown candidate instead of hiring the tried and true? VERY RARE! Sure, if you have a tendency to disappear from the floor when nurses and patients need you, you are lazy and ***** about everything, do not expect them to keep you on board. But that is you sabotaging your career.

[adventure780, BSN, MSN, RN, APN]

it is important to volunteer and take up a job in the interim until you can land your dream job, show employers you didn't just sit home until you landed an interview in the area you actually wanted to work in

[Leonardo Del Toro, RN]

Another factor that comes into play is that many facilities know that new nurses will take whatever job comes along to give them the magic 1-2 years of experience that the jobs in more desirable areas require. So they are looking at spending thousands of dollars to train a new nurse, only to have them quit a year or two later. Training a new nurse is smart for facilities that fully expect to be able to retain a large number of their new grad hires, but if they are seeing a pattern of their new grads quitting within a couple of years, hiring travelers or holding out for experienced applications would make better financial sense.

That is exactly one of the roots of the problem. "hospitals don't want to train nurses for 1-2 years because they might leave" it's like a parent saying "why should I spend money raising my kids if in the end they will end up leaving home any way?" Who do they think will train the nurses with experience they want to hire so much? The government? The schools? The end result will be the biggest nursing shortage ever seen in history. Then we'll all find out corporate management cannot run hospitals like they run potato chip factories.

[phillycpnp-pc, MSN, RN, NP]

Your are so right....i was a new grad back in 2006 and at that time I called the hospital NR and told them what units i wanted to apply for and they set up an interview for me and i ended up getting the unit i wanted. I only had to apply to two hospitals as a new grad and i was offered both positions. That was a great time to be a new grad....things are so different today.

The job market have certainly changed since I first got my LPN back in 2004. I am now an ADN, RN and I noticed it is more difficult to find a job these days. The economy was really good in 2004 and 2005 and back then I could walk into an establishment and be interviewed right on the spot! Sign on bonuses could be found occasionally. Those were the days!

[Birry]

That is exactly one of the roots of the problem. "hospitals don't want to train nurses for 1-2 years because they might leave" it's like a parent saying "why should I spend money raising my kids if in the end they will end up leaving home any way?" Who do they think will train the nurses with experience they want to hire so much? The government? The schools? The end result will be the biggest nursing shortage ever seen in history. Then we'll all find out corporate management cannot run hospitals like they run potato chip factories.

I absolutely agree with this. The top-down, corporate model is suffocating healthcare. Lean Six Sigma may work great for a Toyota assembly line, but it doesn't apply to the bedside.

Anyway, I thought I was doing everything right. I've worked as a clerk for 12 years in the area I want (ICU), and went to school for the last 5 while maintaining my full time job. I worked my butt off during my shifts, always trying to go above and beyond. When it came time to apply for my facility's new grad program, I was fairly confident. On July 3rd, I got my rejection letter. As an employee, I was at least granted the courtesy of having my manager arrange a phone call with one of the HR application evaluators, who told me that they are bound by policy to only consider that stupid Talent Plus personality test and then GPA, then whatever else.

My manager said she wanted me to work there. Other managers wanted me to work there. Almost every nurse I work with wants me to work there. And all that, 7 years worth of excellent employee evaluations, feedback and references, and all those don't matter because I didn't score as high as the highest scorers among the applicants. My manager used to be able to hand-pick her new grads and create positions for them with just a phone call to HR. Almost all of those people are still there, and they are incredible nurses now. Those days are gone. Her word doesn't mean anything now, until HR has selected whom to present to her for an interview.

Needless to say, this very real sense of betrayal is depressing. I worked hard to get a job where I wanted to go and thought I was doing everything right. And instead I was unceremoniously dumped via canned email the day before a 4-day weekend and that was that. And the HR lady had just the same old stuff to say, "just go anywhere and come back and we'll be able to be more flexible." They're perfectly fine with poaching other facilities' training, but they don't want to invest in an already proven employee? This stuff happens across the board. I have many friends who work at many hospitals, and they are bumping into the same problems. We are told by comically disconnected, out of touch people to just pack up, say goodbye to our lives and get some experience somewhere else until we're good enough to come back.

Also, my school of nursing still talks about the "nursing shortage" on their information page. They also talk about their NCLEX passing rate, but I'd like them to include the equally important third metric: the employment rate of graduates after x time. People get into nursing to have a career, and these schools are being disingenuous when they only talk about some nursing shortage while ignoring the glut of unemployed or non-nursing nurses they and other schools are pumping out every so many months.

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

Brainwashed, I agree. There are over 700,000 allnurses members. Just think what we could change if we ALL stood together.

Yep, still an optimist.

It's OK...so am I...

AN helped get the work out on CNN...we just have to spreading the word of enlightenment.

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

Guys u have to realize this is not unique to nursing. If u see my previous posts on this thread as well as from others you can see many other healthcare professions are also suffering like Pharmacy, Medical Assisting, and Phlebotomy. Tuition costs for med schools/PT are going up while salaries remain stagnant or are going down. Podiatry is facing a residency shortage. Realize healthcare isn't recession proof. When sum1 tells you nursing is hard to find a job now, well tell them so is everything else. Nothing is guaranteed in life. Tomorrow isn't. The question is are you willing to take the risk. I know I am, b/c if i don't then that means making fast food or retail as a career as I am not good at anything else besides the sciences.[/quote']

^THIS!!!

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

That is exactly one of the roots of the problem. "hospitals don't want to train nurses for 1-2 years because they might leave" it's like a parent saying "why should I spend money raising my kids if in the end they will end up leaving home any way?" Who do they think will train the nurses with experience they want to hire so much? The government? The schools? The end result will be the biggest nursing shortage ever seen in history. Then we'll all find out corporate management cannot run hospitals like they run potato chip factories.

^ the corporation handling of healthcare WILL come to an end...it's been almost 20 years, but this economic crisis has been a blessing in disguise...we just don't see it yet....

For those still looking for jobs: look into clinics, facilities, etc...flu season is coming up, do immunizations, network, and look into OTHER ways to get experience; for those looking into changing specialities...you MAY have to study for a certification-it grants a term of expertise in your clinical practice-whether it be long term care, MS OB, etc. it also is the best way to show that you have an interest in whatever path you choose. Network with facilities if possible.

I keep in contact with several recruiters following my progress on LinkedIn....once I get my feet planted firmly with my experience, and want to get a per diem job, or make another chance in acute care, they will know and/or refer...it truly is about connections...the nursing community is a "small world". I have been hired twice based on the fact that my nurse manger was the President of the local chapter of the nurses association when I was a tech. I am involved with one of my local nursing chapters and plan to be involved with more. I didn't have the funds to join, but being involved as a "visitor" has helped me connect with many nurses that want to ensure our viability; as well as a wealth of knowledge.

[boogalina, ADN, ASN, BSN, MSN, LPN]

Making friends is good advice. Being in the top of the class, not so much. I feel I invested way too much effort in school on getting top grades and not nearly enough on cultivating relationships and starring in my clinical rotations.

Yes! It's really important to forge relationships with others (because you never know when a connection will help you obtain a position), and make the most of clinical experiences. I agree with this based on personal experience.

[icu12]

I believe it is a game of chance and persistence. I recommend talking to some of your nursing friends who have established themselves in positions to put in a good word for you to their managers. My nursing friends have also said that they asked to job shadow in areas and hospitals where they wanted a position. In addition, follow up an application with a phone call or a visit to the area where you applied or a direct phone call to the manager. Not all hospitals have HR gatekeepers and managers have more influence on hiring their own staff.

I honestly think that it is a numbers game... just keep trying.. don't give up. It only takes the right person to look at your resume and find value in your education and work experience...hang in there.

Another tidbit of advice is to keep your mouth shut and not get involved in politics or offer ways to improve the facility where you work or show any sign that you have trouble with your duties because this can bite you in the butt. Do whatever it takes to get through your first two years in your first nursing job and then move on if you choose. I thought that one year and 10 months was enough experience and it turns out that that is not enough! I have been looking for a job since April 2013 and am still jobless. Part of the reason is because I don't want to work in ICU, which is my current specialty, and would rather work in a less stressful unit like PCU or an office. The market is tough. I wish you lots of luck.

If you or anyone ever wants some advice or an understanding person to vent to, email me at: [email protected]

[sourapril]

That's very good advice. Thank you. I have one phone interview tomorrow. Feeling hopeful

I believe it is a game of chance and persistence. I recommend talking to some of your nursing friends who have established themselves in positions to put in a good word for you to their managers. My nursing friends have also said that they asked to job shadow in areas and hospitals where they wanted a position. In addition, follow up an application with a phone call or a visit to the area where you applied or a direct phone call to the manager. Not all hospitals have HR gatekeepers and managers have more influence on hiring their own staff.

I honestly think that it is a numbers game... just keep trying.. don't give up. It only takes the right person to look at your resume and find value in your education and work experience...hang in there.

Another tidbit of advice is to keep your mouth shut and not get involved in politics or offer ways to improve the facility where you work or show any sign that you have trouble with your duties because this can bite you in the butt. Do whatever it takes to get through your first two years in your first nursing job and then move on if you choose. I thought that one year and 10 months was enough experience and it turns out that that is not enough! I have been looking for a job since April 2013 and am still jobless. Part of the reason is because I don't want to work in ICU, which is my current specialty, and would rather work in a less stressful unit like PCU or an office. The market is tough. I wish you lots of luck.

If you or anyone ever wants some advice or an understanding person to vent to, email me at: [email protected]

[Bel84]

I've been volunteering since in nursing school. Trying to network, and majority ask for the same thing, experience. The volunteer work that I do does not let me near bedside care. I was not aware though that I could apply for CNA jobs with a RN license. I have a BSN, and have looked into almost every hospital in Florida. My minimum experience has come from home health, but still hospitals do not consider this experience, well at least in Florida they don't.