New Grad RN CAN'T FIND WORK!! What should I do?

Nurses New Nurse

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Hello,

I graduated with my BSN in May of 2010 and passed my boards in September. I have applied to OVER 30 positions without being picky at all. I've applied to hospitals up to an hour away from where I live, all departments, all shifts, part-time etc... I looked into nursing homes and prison positions as well and there just aren't any opportunities out there. Anything I apply for requires experience as you all know, what an awful catch-22!!

While I wait patiently and keep on applying do you have any recommendations as to what I should be occupying myself with? I need some sort of income because my loans are going to start billing me. What should I do? I'm contemplating applying for holiday temp retail work because i just CANNOT find anything health related... but is this something I should do? Will it effect how future hospitals reviewing my apps will view me?

HELP! I need something to do while I wait for an RN job to hopefully turn up. Thoughts? Ideas? Opinions? HELP!

Specializes in Pediatric Pulmonology and Allergy.
Not to sound condescending but (to all of you who are having trouble finding work) what kind of a GPA do you have?
GPA of 3.85, top in the class, graduated August 2010, no work yet. People who have GPA's far below mine have found work. GPA has no relation to how quickly you find work.
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Specializes in ICU/CCU, Med Surg.
Not to sound condescending but (to all of you who are having trouble finding work) what kind of a GPA do you have?

GPA 3.93, graduated June 2010, BSN from a reputable teaching hospital. Previous career and varied work experience, articulate, etc...

Maybe I'm not pretty enough... :vlin:

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Specializes in ED.

Like everyone said its who you know. Credentials alone wont help, so you have to really go out there personally and sell yourself. Networking is a great way.

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Specializes in Emergency Room.
Not to sound condescending but (to all of you who are having trouble finding work) what kind of a GPA do you have?

I have applied to over 200 nursing position no one asked what my GPA was, Obviously you must have had a high GPA to post such a comment... GPA had nothing with me landing a position...

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Specializes in Pediatric Pulmonology and Allergy.

I don't understand why I'm getting repeated rejections even from new grad programs. Yes, I understand if I'm up against experienced nurses, but what am I missing as a new grad? I had a great GPA, a solid work history, volunteer hospital experience... What's the profile for people who got into new grad residencies?

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Specializes in ICU/CCU, Med Surg.
I don't understand why I'm getting repeated rejections even from new grad programs. Yes, I understand if I'm up against experienced nurses, but what am I missing as a new grad? I had a great GPA, a solid work history, volunteer hospital experience... What's the profile for people who got into new grad residencies?

The only explanation I can think of is that there are so many applicants for so few spots, that they have to reject a huge chunk of us qualified folks. It sucks and I'm hoping we can change that - maybe by getting the word out and lobbying for more $$ to go into new grad residency programs.

But yeah, it's so frustrating to have these 2-second cattle call interviews and wonder what it's going to take to get a second interview, much less into the program itself. I realized something - I've got to be a salesman in these interviews and sell myself: tell them why they should admit me to the program over someone else. The tough part is figuring out what they're looking for so that I can take my strengths (and lack of patient care experience) and present it in a package that they'll buy.

I don't really see the point in opening the call for applications to these programs unless they can accommodate more than 20 people. Seems like they already have their picks in mind from the get-go sometimes, doesn't it?

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I was in the same boat. Graduated Dec 09 and was stuck looking for work. What worked for me was 3 things: 1)I started using family/friends connections. Suck up your pride that you want to find a job on your own. It really is who you know. My family got me a foot in the door with a nurse manager so I got an interview. 2) Start to look for open, non nursing positions at the place you want to work that are still health care related. Do this as soon as possible, heck even while you are in school. That could reduce the time you are sitting looking for a job once you pass your boards. Think nursing assistant/ front desk/ transport, etc. That way when there is an opening, they already know you. I started working as a nursing assistant at the hospital I wanted. I had applied to countless new grad programs but honestly it is ridiculous the sheer number of applicants versus spots. In 4 months, I went from nursing assistant to getting trained as an RN. You want to be on their radar and in the system. They should pull from internal applicants before they look elsewhere. I didn't have an official new grad program but I got 8 weeks of orienting and lots of TLC from the staff. 3) This is too late for people already graduated but in case some people still in school read this: USE YOUR PRECEPTORSHIP. Pick a specialty/hospital you want to work at. Think of it as a potential job interview everyday and try to shine. Who knows, you might get hired. And if not, you want your preceptorship to be a key part of your resume- think about how you can make yourself stand out. I precepted in the ED, thinking some critical care experience might give me a leg up. And in the interview with my nurse manager they asked a lot of questions about it. I now work in med/surg and I like to think my preceptor made a difference in how qualified and competent I appeared.

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Not to sound condescending but (to all of you who are having trouble finding work) what kind of a GPA do you have?

I graduated with a 3.8, STTI, great references, community service, and it still took me over 3 months (from licensure, not from when I started looking prior to graduation) and well over 150 applications (that's the number I stopped counting at because keeping a log started to be depressing) and since I'd estimate no more than a half of my class is employed, I'm grateful that it ONLY took me that long.

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Specializes in Pediatric Pulmonology and Allergy.
I graduated with a 3.8, STTI, great references, community service, and it still took me over 3 months (from licensure, not from when I started looking prior to graduation) and well over 150 applications (that's the number I stopped counting at because keeping a log started to be depressing) and since I'd estimate no more than a half of my class is employed, I'm grateful that it ONLY took me that long.
Three months isn't long at all. Congrats on the new job. And 50% of your class employed at the 3 month mark is pretty impressive as well. I don't think we've even reached 30% of the class that has a nursing job.
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Three months isn't long at all. Congrats on the new job. And 50% of your class employed at the 3 month mark is pretty impressive as well. I don't think we've even reached 30% of the class that has a nursing job.

It definitely felt like a long time while I was still looking, but yeah, not that long in this economy. A lot of my classmates relocated after graduation, and the ones who left town are among those with jobs.

I only had one interviewer comment about my GPA- no one else seemed to care and the job I ended up getting was one of the ones who didn't mention my GPA at all. Which was frustrating, because with my first degree I had a bad GPA and that's ALL anyone wanted to know when I was applying :-\

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Specializes in Med/surg, Quality & Risk.
You want to be on their radar and in the system. They should pull from internal applicants before they look elsewhere.

They should, but that doesn't seem to be the case. My school is a hospital ASN program, and our nurse recruiter came over to school and said "If you haven't externed here it's going to be hard for you to get a job here, to be honest." I have externed since the first day they let us extern, and so have several others. We have been overlooked in favor of people who a) externed for 3 months and quit, b) never externed ANYWHERE, c) failed a semester of nursing school, d) etc. Before anyone asks, I am in the top 10 of gpa's in my class, have other degrees, was nominated for awards by faculty and other students, etc.

If they're going to advertise a "new grad" position then all new grads who apply should be thrown in there and considered as a group.

Sorry, just venting.

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I was in the same boat. Graduated Dec 09 and was stuck looking for work. What worked for me was 3 things: 1)I started using family/friends connections. Suck up your pride that you want to find a job on your own. It really is who you know. My family got me a foot in the door with a nurse manager so I got an interview. 2) Start to look for open, non nursing positions at the place you want to work that are still health care related. Do this as soon as possible, heck even while you are in school. That could reduce the time you are sitting looking for a job once you pass your boards. Think nursing assistant/ front desk/ transport, etc. That way when there is an opening, they already know you. I started working as a nursing assistant at the hospital I wanted. I had applied to countless new grad programs but honestly it is ridiculous the sheer number of applicants versus spots. In 4 months, I went from nursing assistant to getting trained as an RN. You want to be on their radar and in the system. They should pull from internal applicants before they look elsewhere. I didn't have an official new grad program but I got 8 weeks of orienting and lots of TLC from the staff. 3) This is too late for people already graduated but in case some people still in school read this: USE YOUR PRECEPTORSHIP. Pick a specialty/hospital you want to work at. Think of it as a potential job interview everyday and try to shine. Who knows, you might get hired. And if not, you want your preceptorship to be a key part of your resume- think about how you can make yourself stand out. I precepted in the ED, thinking some critical care experience might give me a leg up. And in the interview with my nurse manager they asked a lot of questions about it. I now work in med/surg and I like to think my preceptor made a difference in how qualified and competent I appeared.

Lots of good advice there. But many hospitals will not even consider hiring someone who is an RN as a nursing assistant.

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