New Grad

try applying to nursing homes if that would interest you. Hospital employers usually requires at least some experience as a nurse and that is why it is hard to seek a job if you like to be in a hospital.

Hi There, I am a new graduate as well and I have applied to over 200 jobs and have gotten 1 call back. My advice to you is to find a position that interests you and hand in your resume in person not to HR but to the nursing manager or if you feel uncomfortable doing so, call HR to find out the name and email of the manager, and personally email the manager. This will show that your willing to take that extra step and that you really want the job. In the mean time I would also consider volunteering in a health related position (ex. distress line) That is the only reason why i finally got a call back. I can definitely relate and it is really discouraging when you are not receiving any responses, also maybe try to apply to places further away from your immediate area :) Best of luck!!!

Starlane is right about taking your resume in person. Go even further though. use your connections! Go speak to any precetors from clinicals who might put in a word for you (I took cookies!). They already saw your awesomeness during clinical so they would be good references if a job is open on their floor. Contact any of your classmates who have jobs and ask if they can help you get to the NM on the floor they work on. Some of your instructors from school may work in hospitals, if so they may be able to help you get hired.

The online application process in a lot of places weed out new grads and the computer gets rid of the applications without a human ever seeing them. I am new as well and going in person worked for me. I got my dream job because an old preceptor pushed for me to get an interview.

I live in a big city and i got replies by emailing the recruiter (did some googling and found the emails/figured it out myself based on the general format). As a new grad i actually got three interviews this way. As an experienced RN, i got two interviews and when i didnt get interviews the recruiters let me know why: "no experience in that unit". Right now im looking to change specialties from postpartum/antepartum to L and D , NICU, or ICU. The two L and D interviews I had went well however the nurse managers said i do not have the exact experience (while we float to L and D triage and PACU, we are not trained to work in the OR or labor rooms). I dress professional and I try to sell transferrable nursing skills and that i learn quickly.

It is strange that units that hire new grads occasionally and take RNs transferring in from Psych and Medsurg, have an issue with training an RN that works in a department most closely related to L and D. As for ICU, I do not have medsurg experience so I am told that by recruiter or the online app system tells me so. ICUs also hire new grads on occasion so again i do not know why having experience in another department is an issue. New grads are not the only having trouble. I like postpartum but i want more intensive nursing work (which we do have with certain patients with complications and that we do medsurg type work for, but only 15% of our patients and I always request the manager to assign me to the patients with most care needed).

Sorry i went off topic a little, but def try emailing. It actually gets read as opposed to only online apps. However, some hospitals do call new grads from online apps...it all depends how their HR works. Depending on where you live, do not walk in uninvited to a unit (try to make appt with manager via email). Big city HR and nurse managers do not like having uninvited people bother them for jobs. However, if you are interested in SubAcute, Skilled Nursing facility, clinics, etc...these type of settings welcome walk ins. Smaller hospitals in rural areas, small towns, smaller cities may be ok with walk-ins but tread with care.

MissJessRN, how did you find emails of HR or nurse managers. Im using google but have no luck finding this info