New Grad RN Northern California, unemployed

Nurses New Nurse

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Wanted to start a post about New Grads in California. I’m from Northern California, Sacramento specifically. I graduated in May 2021, passed my NCLEX on Aug 2021. It’s October currently & still haven’t landed a job yet. I had an interview for a hospital 45-50 min away but no luck since they required a 2 year contract. As of now, currently applying anywhere with a new grad opening hoping I can get more interviews! I also applied to UCD
 

I’m wondering how many people are in the same position as me since California is competitive. How long did it take for you or others to finally land their first nursing job at a hospital? 

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There's quite a few NorCal New Grads who experience the same situation, I also did too. It took me more than a year to find my first acute-care position. My advice is look into moving to the Central Valley, they hire a ton of NorCal new grads. 

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Specializes in Emergency.

Hi!

You are not alone. Everyone is talking about there being a "nursing shortage", but then you become a new RN, and there are limited opportunities for us until we get experience. I currently live in the Bay Area too. I also agree with the previous reply that you could have more luck looking outside of the Bay Area, since it is such a popular place to live. I just received an offer after months of searching for nursing positions in a town near San Luis Obispo. I know also that some people are able to get their foot in the door by working in vaccine clinics, or even as a nursing tech and then working their way up. Best of luck!

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Hello!

Like the other posts say, you are not alone! Northern California is extremely saturated and very hard to get in as a new grad. I got my license back in July and got some offers in the Central Valley (although they were on the lower pay end) and I declined. I started working as a RN Immunizer (administering vaccines) and after almost 6 months I finally got a job offer about 30-40 mins north of Sac. It was actually only after I vamped up my cover letter and resume that I feel like I got job offers both in NorCal and SoCal My suggestion is to try out smaller hospitals outside of dignity, Kaiser, and sutter because those places usually want experience. We can always talk more about it!

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Hi! 

I passed my NCLEX at end of Sept. this year. I haven't been able to find any jobs either. I missed a lot of the deadlines for the residency programs since many of those deadlines end in August/Sept. I only have my ADN, and a lot of hospitals want you to either have a BSN or be in a BSN program. I don't want to go the nursing home route, because it is easy to get stuck there and it is hard to transfer to a hospital from there.  I was able to talk to someone from El Camino Hospital (Mt. View), she said to look at surgical centers or acute care centers. I haven't had any luck there either though. I am still looking but definitely feeling very disheartened. 

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Don’t feel discouraged or disheartened! Where have you applied? Are you looking only at NorCal hospitals or anywhere in California? Do you have any healthcare experience?

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I've applied at Sutter, Washington, Regional, and multiple county hospitals, etc. Yeah, I would like to stay within the Bay Area. I worked as an LPN for about three to four years at nursing homes. I am still looking and applying wherever I can. 

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Update: 

Hi all! I just wanted to say thank you for reading and taking the time to reply back to my post. It's good to see that we're all not alone and that it wasn't only me. For those who are new graduates and still looking for a job, there is definitely hope! I graduated back in May. Took my NCLEX in August. I have applied to several big and smaller hospitals. Finally, over 100+ applications later, I landed somewhere in one of my dream units. It is around 50 minutes away from my house in Sacramento, I believe it is worth it though. I have applied all over California, & was willing to move as far as SoCal or even another state as my last resort. 

For those that are wondering, I had my ADN, many hospitals hire just ADNs. I'm currently in an RN-BSN online school. I had prior experience as a vaccinator, and some hospital volunteer experience. 

Good luck everyone!!

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18 hours ago, april1785 said:

Update: 

Hi all! I just wanted to say thank you for reading and taking the time to reply back to my post. It's good to see that we're all not alone and that it wasn't only me. For those who are new graduates and still looking for a job, there is definitely hope! I graduated back in May. Took my NCLEX in August. I have applied to several big and smaller hospitals. Finally, over 100+ applications later, I landed somewhere in one of my dream units. It is around 50 minutes away from my house in Sacramento, I believe it is worth it though. I have applied all over California, & was willing to move as far as SoCal or even another state as my last resort. 

For those that are wondering, I had my ADN, many hospitals hire just ADNs. I'm currently in an RN-BSN online school. I had prior experience as a vaccinator, and some hospital volunteer experience. 

Good luck everyone!!

Do you mind me asking which hospital it is? And congratulations! ?

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