New Grad RN: Struggling With Finding a Job

[nurse_bri]

Hi Everyone,

First I want to say thank you for taking the time to read this. I graduated in May and passed my NCLEX mid-July and now I am hardcore struggling with finding a job. Is it really that difficult to find a job as a new RN? I am becoming hopeless but I am not giving up. I am sure you all understand how frustrating this is! I have easily applied for more than 20 jobs and even redid my resume and cover letter from scratch and had several people look over it. I have not been called for a single interview and whenever I check the job portals it says "not selected at this time." I have my RN license for NY (went to college in manhattan so I am looking to stay in the new york city area), BLS certification for the next two years, and I was involved in leadership positions along with volunteering which includes the medical team at the NYC marathon, student nursing for the Red Cross, and a pediatric unit and ER at a hospital and other experience as well. I also made a LinkedIn and plan on reaching out to nurse recruiters and talent specialists/HR for hospitals (has this worked for anyone???) Nursing is my passion and I am eager to start my career, it just seems like I am super stuck at the moment and don't know what to do.

[bgxyrnf, MSN, RN]

Indianapolis is open to new grads and has half a dozen direct flights to NYC daily. Reasonable cost of living. Plenty of cultural stuff, sports teams, night life. You could do a lot worse.

But no more Peyton Manning :>(

[macrina]

Hi there, I too struggled for about 3 months post NCLEX in a rural area in WA state. I had a great set of recommendations and a BSN from a very good college. For me, and for several of my colleagues from nursing school trying to secure jobs in Seattle, which is closer to your situation, the trick ended up being to get ANY nursing experience at all. For me, it was working with a former professor with critical in-home peds. After only a couple months of this the local hospital finally gave me an interview and a job. For my friends in Seattle, one took a private pay duty nurse for a former MD, and a couple other took home health or group home positions. I think we all pretty much felt that although they were not ideal positions, they were certainly stepping stones to the acute or critical care settings. Good luck!

[AutumnApple]

I've heard on here that NYC is a very hard market. Have you ever considered moving elsewhere for a year or two? I did a travel contract in Scranton, PA and they were starving for nurses. There's always non-hospital jobs.

I'd have to second the motion to move elsewhere if the market where you are at is that bad.

Where I am at, it's a different ballgame. Hospitals are competing for nurses, and to be frank.......they love new nurses who come to them with no "habits" from other facilities. Sign on bonuses, job fairs and all sorts of perks that are hard to find (weekend program, free parking) abound.

It must be geographical because I see a lot of posts on here that, with regards to the job market, are complete polar opposites. Seems there is no middle ground..........the market is either totally in your favor or not.

I will admit though, just as you'd probably expect......since there is a shortage of nurses here.........once you're "in there"........it's not always pretty. I could work seven days a week if I wanted, doubles.

[Chrispy11, ASN, RN]

I also graduated in May. NCLEX end of June. I knew I had the disadvantage of only having an ADN but will start the BSN in a few months.

Basically what I did, was went on Indeed, filtered for new graduate RN jobs and applied to anything that specifically did not ask for experience. Some even said new grads welcome. I applied to over a dozen places the first week in July. Had interviews over the next two weeks, then multiple offers. No hospitals but I was told if you can get a year in a nursing home under your belt, you can transfer to med/surg in a year. Heard this directly from the place I interviewed. Didn't take that job but have been working just about 3 months.

I understand a hospital system in my area is opening residency programs again soon, so you may want to see who has those in your area.

Best of luck to you from the stranger across the river. :)

[K9lover, ASN, RN]

You mentioned BLS but not ACLS, if you do not have both I would highly recommend getting your ACLS. You may not need it if hired onto a M/S unit but at some point they'll want to float you to

[pedi_nurse]

I basically stalked an HR rep to get my first hospital job as a tech while I was in nursing school. And then I still had to apply for several jobs and interview unsuccessfully within the hospital system before another HR rep took pity on me and recommended me for a job on a floor that hadn't posted its job openings yet.

Applying online just doesn't cut it in a tight job market. You have to network with people. Look up email addresses of HR people or unit managers and email your resume/spiel directly. Go to job fairs. Start using LinkedIn. Find friends who know people in the medical industry that you can meet with for coffee and network with. I'm in a major city in the south, so the market was still competitive when I graduated, though I'm sure not as bad as NYC. Many of my classmates were apparently still looking for jobs 6 months post graduation. However, many others found jobs within 6 weeks.

I also agree with the recommendations from other to look for volunteer or temporary positions in the meantime. Then you have more to add to your resume and you can show potential employers you weren't just "sitting around" while looking for a job.

[LPN1118]

You're not too far away from CT - is it possible you can apply for your RN license here? I don't believe you have to retake the NCLEX. There are a few hospitals near the border like Greenwich, Stamford and Danbury.

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

But no more Peyton Manning :>(

But we still have a children's hospital with his name on in - and he is a regular visitor.