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

bethie26 · Jan 10, 2011

Hi, when i graduated, i also had a hard time finding work and started to feel very discouraged after being turned away by so many places. I was looking at hospitals only. I found something with an insurance agency. Try VNS, home care agencies, and psych, outpatient clinics. I hope you find something.

Megan.RN · Jan 17, 2011

I know exactly how you feel. I graduated 6 months ago, got my license in September and nada. Prisons, hospitals, long term care, SNFs, agencies, and no interviews. :vlin:

I'm going to grab myself a food handler's license and maybe get waiting job just so I can have a source of income, pay for books and tuition that my loans don't cover.

Good luck to you and I hope you find something.

ALORNurse · Jan 17, 2011

I graduated in May 2010. I just got my very first nursing job this month! I knew that I wanted to work in the OR so those are the only jobs I applied for. I just continued to send in my resume anytime I saw a posting for the position that I wanted at different hospitals. I also called HR and got the phone number and name of the nurse instructor and OR director then sent them emails every month or month and a half and expressed my continued interest in a position with their facility. It took 8 months but I finally got a job and in an area I wanted!! The funny thing is that I got three job offers in one week after going that long with NOTHING! The nurse instructor with the hospital I ended up accepting the job at said that she like the fact that I continued to keep in contact with her and that I showed I truly wanted to be there... Maybe those who are having trouble could try staying in contact with the NM in the area you would like to work?

Chicago, BSN, RN · Jan 17, 2011

I graduated in May 2010. I just got my very first nursing job this month! I knew that I wanted to work in the OR so those are the only jobs I applied for. I just continued to send in my resume anytime I saw a posting for the position that I wanted at different hospitals. I also called HR and got the phone number and name of the nurse instructor and OR director then sent them emails every month or month and a half and expressed my continued interest in a position with their facility. It took 8 months but I finally got a job and in an area I wanted!! The funny thing is that I got three job offers in one week after going that long with NOTHING! The nurse instructor with the hospital I ended up accepting the job at said that she like the fact that I continued to keep in contact with her and that I showed I truly wanted to be there... Maybe those who are having trouble could try staying in contact with the NM in the area you would like to work?

Now that was an excellent idea. Will definitely try that out. Double Congrats to you!

TheSquire, DNP, APRN, NP · Jan 17, 2011

I was a November grad and had my license within a month of graduating, so I was in a different boat than a lot of you (and I won't even say how long it took me to find my job, since it'd only upset a lot of you).

The only pieces of advise I have are to keep improving your resume and be willing to relocate for a job. Do you have your ACLS yet? If not, pay for it out of pocket and take the class. Can you take other classes or get other certifications? Do those as well. Continuing to work on your education and improving your resume shows managers and HR drones that you're driven and interested - plus, if those certs are required or "heavily recommended" for the position, you've just improved your chances of being hired.

Also, the job market varies depending on where you are. The current non-shortage isn't due to a "glut" of nurses, as many people up-thread have whined about, but due to the number of experienced older nurses either returning to the field or moving from part to full-time due to their spouses losing work combined with the reduced number of positions available at employers. However, this dynamic is different depending on where you go. If you can move, apply farther afield and be willing to relocate once you get a job offer. At least you'll be employed.

NewHampshireRN · Jan 31, 2011

I graduated with an Associate's in 2009 and then a BSN in 2010 and passed my boards in June. I was also Sigma Theta Tau and graduated Magna Cum Laude. I have been working retail part time for $9/hour with 4 other new grad nurses. I too have student loans to pay. I got into nursing because of the flexibility of working 12 hour shifts and now I'm finding it a joke. I've been on 2 interviews with no offers. Nursing homes can get people with experience and they aren't interested in taking the time to train. It's very frustrating because my Employment Counselor keeps asking me why I can't find a job as a nurse. I can't move to another area in addition to which all the areas where there are supposedly a lot of Nursing Jobs have many other people like yourselves complaining about the lack of jobs! Furthermore, I am getting harrassed by Sallie Mae on a daily basis. I don't see how you could go into education without experience. How could you be a clinical instructor without the benefit of experience. I did work for a flu shot company for two whole days. That was the only availability because there were so many people who applied and most of them were new grads. Volunteering also gets you nothing. You may be in the right place, but there are about 50 other people with more experience. No place will let you work in a nursing capacity and volunteers don't really do much but wheel patients from one place to another. Nurses don't even notice you're there. Forget about the career office at the school. All they told me was that things were tough. They recommended I go to graduate school to try and buy some more time, but that will only get me into more debt. I've tried to find a job in another area with no success. I'm really disappointed and frustrated. I even applied for a LNA position and was interviewed but not given an offer. There are more internal candidates at facilities (people who are CNAs and become RNs) than there are positions within the facility. In addition, there are a ton of people going to nursing school because it is a safe, stabile career choice. I have been telling them that if they don't love it, they should get out because there aren't any jobs. Not one of them believes me. I don't think I am going to renew my license in two years. I've been looking for work since Jan of 2009 and have filled out thousands of applications (literally thousands, I kept a spreadsheet). I feel like a total failure and my teachers were disgusted with me because I'm so frustrated about the lack of work. Furthermore, the three people who I know did find jobs have moved on to supervisor positions which makes me feel left behind and terrible. Of the three, one took a part time position working all weekend every weekend which I couldn't do, the other is working in a facility with her mom, and the last was an internal candidate). Furthermore, the government wants to bring in foreign nurses, which takes away the incentive to train new grad RNs, which is even MORE frustrating. I don't begrude them work, but when there are so many new grads who live here now, I think should have the opportunity to work. I also don't think the ANA has the ability to do anything about it. I do wish you all luck. I just want to get a job and get going.

NewHampshireRN · Jan 31, 2011

Oh and I wanted to add, I did get ACLS and IV certified. I tried to network while doing those classes but no job and I was just out the $$ and it wasn't cheap!

mee9mee9 · Feb 4, 2011

I was a November grad and had my license within a month of graduating, so I was in a different boat than a lot of you (and I won't even say how long it took me to find my job, since it'd only upset a lot of you).
The only pieces of advise I have are to keep improving your resume and be willing to relocate for a job. Do you have your ACLS yet? If not, pay for it out of pocket and take the class. Can you take other classes or get other certifications? Do those as well. Continuing to work on your education and improving your resume shows managers and HR drones that you're driven and interested - plus, if those certs are required or "heavily recommended" for the position, you've just improved your chances of being hired.
Also, the job market varies depending on where you are. The current non-shortage isn't due to a "glut" of nurses, as many people up-thread have whined about, but due to the number of experienced older nurses either returning to the field or moving from part to full-time due to their spouses losing work combined with the reduced number of positions available at employers. However, this dynamic is different depending on where you go. If you can move, apply farther afield and be willing to relocate once you get a job offer. At least you'll be employed.

what advice would you give someone with a previous bachelor's degree

thatguyindenver · May 2, 2011

Yeah it is very frustrating. There are no jobs. 200+ apps and nothing DON"T GO TO NURSING SCHOOL!!!!

lindarn · May 2, 2011

I believe that the Franciscan System in Tacoma, and some hospitals in Seattle, and the surrounding areas, are hiring new grads, and I think that some are offering New Grad Internships.

Look up the Franciscan system and Seatle hospital. Check their websites, and see what they say.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

Somewhere in the PACNW

redhead_NURSE98!, ADN, BSN · May 3, 2011

Are you people who are filling out 100 and 200 applications a) filling them out completely and accurately; b) updating them as you get your degree, etc.; c) actually getting or even applying for licenses in the states in which you are applying? I didn't get one call outside my state until I updated my applications with my degree and RN license and applied in the state I was targeting.

thatguyindenver · May 3, 2011

Redhead - I can't speak for everyone else but.... Yes of course I have a license in the state I am applying. The other states I have applied to are compact states. I have a compact license. I have completely filled out all of my applications. The problem is that most hospitals will not hire new grads. One ER director in Texas told a friend she might hire me. I applied. She has been waiting on my application. I found out yesterday that it never got to her because of the nurse recruiter. The nurse recruiter decided that they didn't need another new grad even though the ER director was interested. I am sure this happens routinely. Many new grads apps never even get to someone that will hire them.