new grad

rnlola035:

i have friends that are new grads (december 2008). some have found jobs now. some do not. i have been receiving both positive and negative comments when it comes to hiring prospects in the cities of norfolk/virginia beach/chesapeake area. also, the cities of hampton/newport news/williamsburg don't seem to be any more different. i will say that those who have not received job offers do not seem to have good interviewing skills; nor do they have a decent resume/cover letter (not trying to be mean to my friends or "friends of friends"...but, they just did not prepare for the interview process...). so, don't base anything on what you hear from applicants--unless you really know them; because a bad resume/cover letter and poor interview skills can "make" or "break" you when it comes to getting a job.

additionally, unless a nurse recruiter or hospital hr/personnel staff (...and i would highly suggest you call and talk to the nurse recruite directly...) openly states that the hospital/facility has a hiring freeze--don't listen to anyone else...

keep in mind, the majority of the hospitals have jobs posted on their internet websites. even if there is a job "freeze" the positions will remain posted; however, you may not be contacted by a nurse recruiter/unit manager until they are completely sure that their (facility/unit) budget will handle the training of new grads or the hiring of nurses, in general.

for a listing of hospitals in all states, i would suggest you review this website: http://theagapecenter.com/hospitals/index.htm click on the state of "virginia" (or any state for that matter!!!) each hospital name is listed in alphabetical order so you will be able to determine which are located in norfolk. if you plan to relocate to norfolk, the hospitals in virginia beach, chesapeake are not that far away when it comes to travel. depending about "where" you in norfolk, the hospital in hampton (sentara careplex hampton) is not that far either. so don't limit yourself to norfolk employers if you plan to relocate here.

since you are in california. have you tried yuma, arizona. this small city has a beautiful/updated/new facility (yuma regional medical center) and they have very good starting salaries for new grads. you have to sign a 1 or 2-year contract but you will get great experience. they will fly you to their city, pay for your hotel stay and auto rental, set you up with a realtor (who may take you around to look at homes/property/neighborhoods--at least mine did!!!) while you are there for your unit interview/hospital tour. yuma is a "not much to do" kind of town (which is why the salary is great and the incentives (relocation, tuition repayment assistance, etc.) are also - ...$26+ hour for day shift while night shift is even more with shift differential...) but, there are a couple of casinos on the indian reservations along with the local restaurants that most cities have, etc.; 3 hours from san diego; 3 hours from phoenix if you want to take a 3-day weekend to get different activities in. it is hot in yuma; 112 degrees when i was there last may 2008 -- but no/low humidity (!!no perspiring!! ) so it was no where near as bad as norfolk/virginia beach, virginia in the summer!!) but you will get the experience a new grad needs. after 1 or 2 years working there (yuma), you will be able to go any where to work!!! i interviewed there for their trauma/icu unit and truly regret not accepting the 2-year contract/position that was offered to me.

good luck!

Thanks for all that info!! Wow Norfolk gets that hot!! My son will hate that! He's only 1 year old...Yeah I was thinking of Arizona, since I do have a couple friends there but they live elsewhere. I got a call from a hospital in Los Angeles, so hopefully the interview goes well and I could just move there! So pray for me!! Oh and I have a telephone interview with Sentara in Norfolk! Anyone done a telephone interview there! Never done one of those before! I hate talking on the phone! ahhhh! id rather be there in person.

rnlola035:

maybe i wrote my text incorrectly so let me rephrase below:

...yuma, arizona gets to 112+ degrees with low humidity (i was there, visiting yuma in may 2008)....

...norfolk/virginia beach/chesapeake, virginia, etc. never gets to 100 degrees (unless a record high temp);however, because of the high humidity it feels hotter (high heat index) than yuma....

i hope that cleared things up :wink2:

as for telephone interviews, i've done them before; but not with sentara. they were very, very long!!! most nurse recruiters/hr staff ask you to set aside 1-2 hours. at least that is what i needed for georgia, new mexico and arizona. not sure if you are doing your first interview (with a nurse recruiter) or if you are interviewing directly with the unit manager. if it's with the unit manager (and/or with unit members [2-3 team leaders]), it should not be that long because the nurse recruiter has already asked the pertinent questions ahead of time. i was asked lots of scenario-type and "what if" questions. just take your time and "think" before answering any of the questions put before you.

good luck with the interview. i am sure you will do well!!!

hello, can u give me some tips on how they interviewed at sentara?