New grad looking to relocate to Colorado and looking for advice

Argo · Aug 29, 2011

There's plenty of gloom and doom on here. That's for sure. I got hired up in vail and in denver without ever applying to the hospitals. I called for info and emailed my resume. Hired. 4 years RN experience in the OR. Of course I got slammed by other co nurses on this board for saying it was easy..... oh well, im happy and working in Vail.

SummitRN, BSN, RN · Aug 29, 2011

Argo loves to post in new grad threads about he got a specialty job as an experienced specialty nurse. The world continues to wonder how his situation is relevant to that of a new grad.

klone, MSN, RN · Aug 29, 2011

There's plenty of gloom and doom on here. That's for sure. I got hired up in vail and in denver without ever applying to the hospitals. I called for info and emailed my resume. Hired. 4 years RN experience in the OR. Of course I got slammed by other co nurses on this board for saying it was easy..... oh well, im happy and working in Vail.

No, I think the reason you got "slammed" (and I wouldn't even call it that, but merely disagreement) was because you were saying that the reason people are not finding jobs is because they're not putting enough effort into it. This, in a thread asking if a new grad should pack up and move out of state to CO without first having a job lined up. The disagreement came from both the assumption that the only reason one can't find a job in CO was because they aren't trying hard enough, and drawing a parallel between your situation (someone with 4 years of experience in your specialty) and that of a new grad.

As someone who just spent 4 months looking for a different job before getting a job offer, I have renewed respect for those new grads who are having a hard time finding work. I have been looking outside my specialty, so in a similar situation to new grads. However, I am bringing to the table 5+ years of nursing experience and 2+ years of charge nurse experience, so I certainly had a leg up on new grads. Yet, it still took me several months of actively searching, calling, submitting resumes, before that job offer came in. And my experience DID factor in greatly in their selecting me for the job I did get.

Argo · Aug 30, 2011

In usual g & d form. The relevance is hope....

klone, MSN, RN · Aug 30, 2011

IME, there's a difference between being hopeful and being foolish.

My husband was being hopeful when we relocated out here without a job lined up because I had one fulltime and one per diem job already lined up, and we knew we could live on my salary for however long it took him to find work (it took him a month - experienced RN). Being foolish would be moving out here with neither of us having a job lined up and no way to pay the rent other than waiting tables. Especially in this economy. For every job available in CO, there are probably 4-10 people vying for it. For every new grad job, you can probably multiply that by 10.

I'm all for being hopeful, but I would call any new grad considering moving out here without a job lined up to be foolish, unless they're being supported by parents or a spouse.

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · Aug 31, 2011

IME, there's a difference between being hopeful and being foolish.
My husband was being hopeful when we relocated out here without a job lined up because I had one fulltime and one per diem job already lined up, and we knew we could live on my salary for however long it took him to find work (it took him a month - experienced RN). Being foolish would be moving out here with neither of us having a job lined up and no way to pay the rent other than waiting tables. Especially in this economy. For every job available in CO, there are probably 4-10 people vying for it. For every new grad job, you can probably multiply that by 10.
I'm all for being hopeful, but I would call any new grad considering moving out here without a job lined up to be foolish, unless they're being supported by parents or a spouse.

I have to agree 100% with this post. The job I got 27 people interviewed for. No one else locally had their licenses yet that were a new grad. Had it been about 3-6 weeks later that number would have tripled easily because we have so many nursing schools in the area.

mjb0719 · Sep 2, 2011

I moved to Colorado in May 2010 after completing my ADN. My husband had a job but I looked for 9 months. Finally decided to look into TX and got a call the day after I applied. They paid for my interview trip as well as the entire move. Finally getting my experience in TX but we will definitely be back in Co in the next few years!

DamailaRN · Sep 2, 2011

I'd say SummitAP is giving very sound advice - competitive is an understatement. I am a Colorado native who moved to Kansas for my BSN then returned immediately following graduation in May 2010. My husband was able to transfer in his retail job but the wages were not nearly enough to support our family of three, so we found ourselves moving into the lower half of my mother's home to await my new employment. I was initially quite confident and thought it would be VERY temporary. I have always had excellent grades, graduated summa cum laude in my nursing program, have done well in other job interviews, and had experience in other capacities working in hospitals (nurse tech), home care (CNA), assisted living (resident staff), and customer-service type jobs (receptionist, retail). I'd heard things were tough but figured I'd be a shoe-in. Over 75 applications (+ many more resumes) and 5 unemployed months later I was feeling pretty humbled. :crying2:

Out of all of that, I only landed 3 interviews, and other new grads were telling me I was pretty lucky to have that many. The recruiter at one of my interviews informed me that they'd had over 200 applicants to their new-grad program, and I was one of 16 selected to actually interview (I think it was for 2-6 positions, don't remember). I had two hospitals I really wanted to work at, and that was one of them. I got a 2nd interview with the panel but didn't get the job. My other first-pick hospital never even called me for an interview. I really wanted to do this on my own, but the job I finally ended up with? The one where I knew someone. They started the ball rolling by taking my resume to the unit manager and talking me up. The "interview" ended up being a fairly informal chat with the unit manager. My third interview was for the University of Colorado Nurse Residency Program (I think they end up with around 500 applicants, don't know for sure), and I actually ended up withdrawing/never went because the other hospital offered me a job and I was too afraid to pass it up in case the Residency Program didn't take me. :sstrs:

Side-note: Once I had my job we went house-hunting and fell in love with a short-sale. By the time that whole process was done we had been living in my mom's basement for approx. 10 months and I was driving an hour one-way to work. I've now been on night-shift ("paying my dues," as I've been told) for 11 months (cannot wait to make the move to days!) and still commute more than 45 mins to work.

One thing you may find encouraging: it seems to me that many, maybe even most, of the newer nurses on my unit seem to have come from out-of-state nursing schools. Not sure why that is, but I don't think being out of state is necessarily a deterrent, but certainly can't speak for other places either. :up:

So it's not impossible, but be prepared for it to be very challenging, and try to think of creative ways to network and get your resume seen. Good luck to you! :nurse:

sdorsky1 · Sep 19, 2011

Parks71,

Hey, I had a few questions to ask you. Would if be possible for you to send me a private message or email me at [email protected]. I moved to Aurora, Colorado a week ago and just started looking for a nursing job. I look forward to hearing more about your experiences in Colorado and would appreciate any advice you can offer.

Stephanie

Christalina · Aug 28, 2014

Did you manage to find a job with no BSN? How long did it take you?

sourapril · Aug 28, 2014

I think most hospitals in the metro area all require BSN.