New Grad in Toronto Cannot find job

[Depressed_RN]

Hello All,

I am a new grad RN that cannot find a job. I graduated in April and passed the NCLEX shortly after. I applied to the Nursing guarantee initiative and unfortunately did not find a job, now I am stuck feeling so depressed. I have applied ALL OVER Ontario, also Nunavut, I have sent so far OVER 240 resumes with only one response. I went to the interview, stayed over night since it was 8 hours away from where I lived and bombed it because I was so nervous, not only that I was not prepared for medication type of questions (

I have had my resume looked over by TWO employment agency services. I change my cover letter for each job postings.

I have contacted the RNAO for help but they are useless, I have emailed the lady that reviews resumes 3 times and I doubt she even read my email since she has not even responded.

I have contacted health force ontario which claims to be committed to supporting nurses and they are also useless, I was told just to keep applying for jobs from the HFO and RNAO sites.

I have applied for a job in the U.S and they called me within a week. However, I was not aware of the LONG and EXPENSIVE process to become licensed in the U.S. So as of right now I want to focus on getting a job here in Ontario. Of course if I am still out of luck I will have no choice but to apply to the U.S.

I have become very depressed and I cry all the time, I am so frustrated that most jobs require at least 1 year experience, I am also frustrated when I see nurses complain about their shifts when theres nurses that cannot find work that would die for that chance.

As bad as it sounds I would work for less, I love nursing I would take a big pay cut just for the opportunity to work as a nurse, unfortunately with unions I know that is not possible but if it was I would do it.

I need help, places that would give a new grad a chance.

I'm a single mother, I'm so desperate right now.

[Depressed_RN]

Don't phone managers on Monday wait a couple of weeks, as they will just be returning from time off over Christmas/New Years and will be swamped.

Maybe your resume is ok but your cover letters are too basic. Do you write individualized cover letters with each application?

I always individualize my cover letters. I did phone 2 nurse managers for jobs I have applied to MANY times (that keeps getting posted!). There are no experience necessary posted on these postings so I called to introduce myself. Anyway talking to one, she claimed she was not responsible for hiring....the other one said HR screens 1st and she reviews after. She said I am not able to hand in my resume, told me my weakness is lack of experience but encouraged me to keep applying.

[Depressed_RN]

Hello,

I have been a member on this site since 2012. Graduated from the Philippines, and passed CRNE in 2012. When I was reviewing for the exam, lots of people are saying how bad the job market was. THERE ARE NO JOBS and so on. Soon after I got my license, I thought it was hard, but still limit myself around the GTA/Toronto because I don't want to move or relocate. I only waited for three months before getting a Full-time job. I applied to many casual, part time, and FT positions. Had two interviews but didn't get the first one because I sucked it, and it was my first ever interview in my whole nursing career. Now, my second interview the manager offered me a FT on the spot, which I initially applied PT.

Don't be depress. There's a lot of jobs out there. Now the best thing to do while waiting for the right one is to improve more your education for the higher job market. And this includes taking certification classes like Cardiology Nursing, Nephrology Nursing, Oncology Nursing, Operating Room and many more.

Within the period fro 2012 to now - I completed a Cardiology Nursing Certificate, Infection Prevention, and Control Certificate, attained the CNA certification in Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, and the Gerontological Nursing. Now, I'm four months way in completing my Master of Science in Nursing and routing forward to work as an Advanced Practice Nurse - Geriatric Emergency Management Nurse in one of the downtown hospitals.

BTW, I started working on a General Medicine/Telemetry floor, then moved as part of the resources nurses in my first hospital. Now, I'm currently a staff nurse in the Emergency Department in Downtown, Toronto.

All the best

How did you get the interviews??? Simply applying or you knew someone on the inside?

I have applied to over 300 jobs now and still not 1 interview.

[Depressed_RN]

I am enrolled in an ER program, I am also now in the process of applying to North Dakota. As I understand, if I am out of Ontario for 3 years I will no longer be able to return? I spoke to one of the recruiters I will be good to go with a job once my paperwork goes through. Also with an ER certificate I will have no problems finding work in U.S if Canada doesn't want me back. Yes we laughed but I really don't know if this is true.

I will still apply to areas here in Ontario but I feel I have no hope here.

[dishes, BSN, RN]

Re going to the US and Ontario license, according to CNO's website if you have not practised nursing in Ontario within the previous three years you can renew as a non-practising class member. I think this means if you return to Ontario you can reinstate as an active member, but you would have to verify with CNO.

[NurseMidwife1524]

Hello

I just applied online, and waited for calls to set an interview. Make sure to prepare your interview, relax and be yourself. I think that's your employer wanted to see.

[Depressed_RN]

Thanks for the plug haha.

[Technicalglitch]

Hi, Depressed_RN.

I read your thread and felt compelled to post a reply, I think it might be my first time posting on the forums here.

First off, a lot of the early responders were way too hard on you about you leaving nursing off your resume when applying for non-nursing jobs. I have to disagree with them, I think it's fine to do this. When you're not applying for a nursing job, it's no huge sin of omission to leave off degrees and training that don't matter, or jobs that don't matter, either. It's not up to you to give potential employers reasons to not hire you. If it's more strategic to leave off your more advanced education, go ahead and do it. You sound totally motivated to do whatever work you can or must do, so you tailor your resume to what will work to get you hired. Also, do whatever volunteer work you want to! I've done volunteer coordination and it's totally expected for volunteers to move on if life circumstances change. I don't think volunteer work will help much in getting a nursing job though.

That said, hospitals tend to be difficult places to get hired into for the support positions if you don't know someone. Even if you do know someone, you usually have to know the right people, so it might be a waste of time for you to go after those jobs anyway.

I'd also hesitate to spend much time trying to get hired in the States, unless you are responding to an ad or job fair or other initiative that the employer down there has initiated. Many Canadians who get hired down there go through an agency who does all the visa etc. paperwork for the employer and helps the nurse with her side. If you are applying on your own, in my experience (as someone who tried to get hired in the States on her own, with lots of experience) the employers will be very leery of having to write letters for visas etc. Although USA jobs are supposed to be open to Canadian RNs (and vice versa) due to NAFTA, in practice, employers did not get the memo and do not tend to hire Canadians unless they have gone looking for them themselves through an agency. I'm not saying it's impossible, just that it might not be the best use of your time. If you do go ahead with it, be aware that not only do you have to apply for State licensure, but you also need to do the annoying Visascreen process which is essentially a bureaucratic money-making duplication of the background and education checks that the State will be doing on you anyway. It also costs over $1000.

OK, so on to getting a job. If you are willing to work up north, then you likely could get a job there. Here's the deal with Nunavut (where I worked until very recently), and also the NWT last time I worked there, their HR are incompetent. As in, they need nurses, they fill their positions with very short-term agency nurses, but they are too incapable to go looking for nurses and hire them.

If you are willing to work up north, you will have to be much more pro-active in getting hired. You need to call them, not just write, and be persistent. For me, because I am experienced, I try to get past HR, but as a new grad this might not work for you, but you can try. The managers often know they desperately need nurses and don't realize (although they should!) that HR is useless, or sometimes they do but are so swamped with other crises that they can't do anything about it, especially since HR is run very separately from nursing now, it is it's own isolated and incompetent department now.

Some of the places that might hire you are: James Bay General Hospital in Northern Ontario (small hospitals in fly-in communities), Churchill hospital (don't know the current official name) in Churchill, Manitoba, and many of the small hospitals, there are several, in northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Hearst, Ontario might be an option, Sioux Lookout or Red Lake or Moose Factory in Ontario. Nunavut has small hospitals in Cambridge Bay (Kitikmeot region) and Rankin Inlet (Kivalliq region), and those are usually looking for nurses, and often have agency nurses in them. Turnover is high as well. Iqaluit has Qikiqtani General Hospital, I don't know if they are usually as short, but worth a try. You'd want to apply to HR in all three of those regions separately. The NWT has several small hospitals which would be good to try. Inuvik, Hay River, and Fort Smith would be the ones to look at. Yellowknife has Stanton but it might be harder to get on there as a new grad.

Contact the Federal First Nations and Inuit Health Branch for Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Ontario (three different places). They would be the provinces most likely to hire a new grad into one of their hospitals. There are areas in rural BC that might also be a possibility, again for small hospitals.

Good luck to you! I've spent a lot of time working in the north, although not mostly in the hospitals, but since you have a child it would be hard for you to work in the smaller communities where you would be on call after hours a lot, and the schools would not be very good.

[dishes, BSN, RN]

@depressedrn, are you taking the ER course through one of the GTA community colleges and will you be doing a clinical placement with the course? If so, the course should help your resume stand out from other grads. Are you watching the Ontario emergency nurses association and national emergency nurses association websites for job postings?

[Depressed_RN]

Hi, Depressed_RN.

I read your thread and felt compelled to post a reply, I think it might be my first time posting on the forums here.

First off, a lot of the early responders were way too hard on you about you leaving nursing off your resume when applying for non-nursing jobs. I have to disagree with them, I think it's fine to do this. When you're not applying for a nursing job, it's no huge sin of omission to leave off degrees and training that don't matter, or jobs that don't matter, either. It's not up to you to give potential employers reasons to not hire you. If it's more strategic to leave off your more advanced education, go ahead and do it. You sound totally motivated to do whatever work you can or must do, so you tailor your resume to what will work to get you hired. Also, do whatever volunteer work you want to! I've done volunteer coordination and it's totally expected for volunteers to move on if life circumstances change. I don't think volunteer work will help much in getting a nursing job though.

That said, hospitals tend to be difficult places to get hired into for the support positions if you don't know someone. Even if you do know someone, you usually have to know the right people, so it might be a waste of time for you to go after those jobs anyway.

I'd also hesitate to spend much time trying to get hired in the States, unless you are responding to an ad or job fair or other initiative that the employer down there has initiated. Many Canadians who get hired down there go through an agency who does all the visa etc. paperwork for the employer and helps the nurse with her side. If you are applying on your own, in my experience (as someone who tried to get hired in the States on her own, with lots of experience) the employers will be very leery of having to write letters for visas etc. Although USA jobs are supposed to be open to Canadian RNs (and vice versa) due to NAFTA, in practice, employers did not get the memo and do not tend to hire Canadians unless they have gone looking for them themselves through an agency. I'm not saying it's impossible, just that it might not be the best use of your time. If you do go ahead with it, be aware that not only do you have to apply for State licensure, but you also need to do the annoying Visascreen process which is essentially a bureaucratic money-making duplication of the background and education checks that the State will be doing on you anyway. It also costs over $1000.

OK, so on to getting a job. If you are willing to work up north, then you likely could get a job there. Here's the deal with Nunavut (where I worked until very recently), and also the NWT last time I worked there, their HR are incompetent. As in, they need nurses, they fill their positions with very short-term agency nurses, but they are too incapable to go looking for nurses and hire them.

If you are willing to work up north, you will have to be much more pro-active in getting hired. You need to call them, not just write, and be persistent. For me, because I am experienced, I try to get past HR, but as a new grad this might not work for you, but you can try. The managers often know they desperately need nurses and don't realize (although they should!) that HR is useless, or sometimes they do but are so swamped with other crises that they can't do anything about it, especially since HR is run very separately from nursing now, it is it's own isolated and incompetent department now.

Some of the places that might hire you are: James Bay General Hospital in Northern Ontario (small hospitals in fly-in communities), Churchill hospital (don't know the current official name) in Churchill, Manitoba, and many of the small hospitals, there are several, in northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Hearst, Ontario might be an option, Sioux Lookout or Red Lake or Moose Factory in Ontario. Nunavut has small hospitals in Cambridge Bay (Kitikmeot region) and Rankin Inlet (Kivalliq region), and those are usually looking for nurses, and often have agency nurses in them. Turnover is high as well. Iqaluit has Qikiqtani General Hospital, I don't know if they are usually as short, but worth a try. You'd want to apply to HR in all three of those regions separately. The NWT has several small hospitals which would be good to try. Inuvik, Hay River, and Fort Smith would be the ones to look at. Yellowknife has Stanton but it might be harder to get on there as a new grad.

Contact the Federal First Nations and Inuit Health Branch for Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Ontario (three different places). They would be the provinces most likely to hire a new grad into one of their hospitals. There are areas in rural BC that might also be a possibility, again for small hospitals.

Good luck to you! I've spent a lot of time working in the north, although not mostly in the hospitals, but since you have a child it would be hard for you to work in the smaller communities where you would be on call after hours a lot, and the schools would not be very good.

Thank you! I really appreciate the time you took to give me this information.

I believe you may be correct about the incompetence of HR, I have emailed HR in Nunavut and Moose Factory twice and they have never responded. I have phoned them today and left messages that so far has not been returned.

I will have to really go hard in calling these hospitals up North. At least they have actual HR names and contact information posted.

I just can't believe how tough they are up North for a new grad to get work, they are asking for atleast 2 years experience in some of these far North rural areas...I understand that there is not as much support but if they claim to struggle to keep nurses, a new grad would be better then no nurse. I would even sign a contract for a few years to work there.

I will see what they have to say next week when I start to call more hospitals. I hope at least 1 will be happy to give this new grad a chance.

[Depressed_RN]

@depressedrn, are you taking the ER course through one of the GTA community colleges and will you be doing a clinical placement with the course? If so, the course should help your resume stand out from other grads. Are you watching the Ontario emergency nurses association and national emergency nurses association websites for job postings?

I am taking it at Humber College. I really wanted to take the emergency/critical care certificate at BCIT but I have to be working in a hospital....I really hope it helps me stand out.

[dishes, BSN, RN]

I am taking it at Humber College. I really wanted to take the emergency/critical care certificate at BCIT but I have to be working in a hospital....I really hope it helps me stand out.

I hope so too! If you are taking the Humber course and you plan to stay in the GTA until the course is completed, consider volunteering with St Johns Ambulance, it's one of the few volunteer experiences that allows you to use your assessment skills. Also, it would be possible to honour the volunteer committment while working as a nurse.

[Technicalglitch]

I just can't believe how tough they are up North for a new grad to get work, they are asking for atleast 2 years experience in some of these far North rural areas...I understand that there is not as much support but if they claim to struggle to keep nurses, a new grad would be better then no nurse. I would even sign a contract for a few years to work there.

Yeah, it's especially weird when so many of these places are short of nurses, and hire agency nurses to fill the gaps. Northern hospitals are actually a great place to get some experience, they're a good mix of routine, predictable work, and totally unexpected challenging stuff (but not usually more than you can deal with). I worked at James Bay General (25 years ago now) and they hired new grads, you might try them as well, they're in the communities north of Moosonee. They're not the sort of place that would be attractive to most experienced nurses, most nurses with experience would be looking to make the bigger bucks if working up north, which means working in health centres / nursing stations, so I don't see how they could avoid hiring new grads even if they wanted to.

The isolated and semi-isolated northern hospitals used to all hire new grads, and if they don't any more, then they're nuts, as they need them. It's better to have a new grad who will stay a while than have a constant revolving door of agency nurses.

I'm curious, I wonder if there is something in your cover letter or resume that is making employers reject you, because you sounds very eager to work, and you're very articulate, which also helps in getting jobs. Are you mentioning being a single mother anywhere in what you are sending them? Is there anything else in your letter or resume that might be giving them info that might not be working in your favour?