New Grad Struggling in L.A.

U.S.A. California

Published

I graduated from nursing school in August, passed the NCLEX, and got my CA RN. I've applied to 30+ hospitals within a 50 mile radius of my apartment, and have had no luck. I'm new to the area, so I'm not really sure where else to look. How can I find jobs at doctor's offices or surgical centers?

Also, I miss my nursing school buddies. If anyone wants to hang out and share sob stories, I've got nothing but time. *Sigh*

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Specializes in NICU.

I feel your pain, plenty of apps out with nothing to show for it. As for surgical centers, etc. have you tried craigslist?

Where did you go to nursing school?

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Yes, I've been checking Craig's List. So far, nothing has panned out, but I keep looking. I went to school in Texas. I graduated from Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi. How long have you been looking?

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Hey Rachel,

Your post is scaring me. I am going to school in San Jose and will grad in November. I planned on moving to L.A. to work. So you still have not found a job?

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I graduated in June '09 and found a job though a friend but for y'all the frustration may be relieved soon. We have had many more registry nurses working in the last 4 months and i heard that UCLA is opening their new grad program again. Also, look into any small hospital in the area. Some of my classmates have had success at these hospital. Don't limit yourself to one area, such as NICU, ER, ICU... Apply to all positions, all shifts and be willing to do lots of bending over backwards. Wear a suit, this is SUPER important. And be willing to learn as much as you did the first day of nursing school, because we all have SO much more to learn.

GOOD LUCK!

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Ok, Thanks for the info. So with UCLA doing that, it is a big sign that the hiring freeze is about to be lifted?

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Specializes in NICU.

its really too soon to tell. although, from what I can tell, there are a lot more new grad opportunities in southern CA than northern. it's still not that many though and there are always hundreds of people applying for only a few openings

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I really have no clue what it's like in NorCal. I applied to the UCLA new grad program, and had a phone interview, but I don't think I made it to the next round. I've been following some other threads where people have been saying they've been called back for in-person interviews. Maybe I'm not being aggressive enough. Should I be applying online and then calling the hospital regularly to try to get an interview? Ugh... It's very frustrating.

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Specializes in Emergency, Trauma, Critical Care.

Northern California was worse than Southern California for jobs, now they both are equally horrible for new grads. The entire state is pretty much no longer hiring. I would try nursing homes, anywhere. Google them and call them all. It's just a bad time to be a new nurse.

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Ok, thanks. I'll try that.

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Specializes in Behavioral Health & Emergency Medicine.

Hey, Rrrachel83 and others. As a native California, I feel your pain. Your situation must truly suck.

Let me toss out a suggestion, however. If any of you are able to relocate, you may want to give that a lot of thought. There are plenty of large and medium-size cities away from the West Coast where it's not at all difficult to find a job as a new-grad nurse. I live in St. Louis, and I'm due to graduate from an accelerated BSN program at the U. of Missouri. All of our school's grads are able to land great jobs here within just several months of graduation. We have two top-ranked medical schools here, two huge teaching hospitals (one with 1,110 beds), another 1,000-bed hospital, two big children's hospitals, plus three or four 500-bed hospitals and a whole assortment of smaller ones. And St. Louis is far from unique. If you're willing to leave California for somewhere else, there are plenty of jobs to be had. If you're not willing to leave California (and trust me....I can understand the attachment to the state; it's a wonderful place), then you could end up being unemployed for quite a while.

Just food for thought. Good luck to you whatever you decide!

Donn

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Thanks for the tips. I appreciate it. I actually moved out here from Texas, and the job market wasn't so great out there either, although I know it's better than it is here in SoCal. I moved here because my boyfriend is working here, so as long as I'm in this relationship, and as long as he's working in L.A., I'll be looking for a job out here. It's definitely difficult, but hopefully we'll all find something soon.

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