New Grads, It is Possible!

Nurses Job Hunt

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New Grads... it is possible!

I know that I for one feel lied to, especially by my nursing instructors. Not once did they make it seem like any of us would have a hard time landing an RN position. They even made it sound like we would have our pick of specialties. Unfortunately not long after graduation I found that this was not the case.

I graduated in May of this year with a BSN and the hopes of landing a hospital job. Not my dream job, but a hospital job. Ideally I would work in OB or PEDS but I knew I had to be willing to do whatever it took to get in somewhere.

I moved 1000 miles away from my home, and a huge new hospital that had just opened and was accepting new grads for Med- Surg left and right. Many of my friends even got Oncology, ED and ICU positions. I applied to EVERYTHING I could find and did not receive my first call back until 5 months after graduation. It was for a pediatric home health position which actually scared the crap out of me but I figured I would give it a try. I started that and on the side did flu shot clinics.

I was starting to feel like nothing was going to happen for me, that I would be staying in home health for at least a year to gain some skills. FINALLY, 6 months after graduation I received a call back from a major children's hospital for an interview. I was so excited that I could hardly stand it!!! I interviewed and accepted the position less than 24 hours later!!!

It is possible for a new grad with little experience to get into the hospital. I knew NO ONE in this hospital and still landed an interview. I applied online as well. I was starting to wonder what universe all of those online applications where ending up in!? Apparently my application landed in the hands of the right person. I pray that yours all end up in the right hands as well. I know how devastating this job market is for new grads and have read countless posts from new nurses a year out from graduation with not a single job lead. I hope you all find something soon! I truly feel so blessed that words cannot describe. Thanks for listening.

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Congrats!! Nice to hear about this!:)

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Congratulations!! It was a great news for current situation. May I ask which state you are? I am in CA, and it seems even harder than anywhere else for a new grads find a job, but a lot of my classmates did find a job in the medical center I studied for. It was just like either you got a job very soon or you couldn't at all. I am currently working as a home aid instead of a RN, how sad.

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I am located in Florida. I have a friend in California and it seems that the job market there is pretty bad as well :( Good luck! Try and use your skills in any way you can!

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Specializes in Medical-Oncology.

Congratulations!

I like hearing stories like this. It helps me to keep the faith that I too will find a job soon. I graduated in March, got my license in May, and have been applying all over the U.S. I'm willing to take ANYTHING, ANYWHERE, HOLIDAYS, WEEKENDS, NIGHTS, you name it!

Out of curiosity, did you have ACLS & PALS before you interviewed? I'm thinking about getting my ACLS certification. Obviously, without a job I'd rather not spend $240, but I will if it'll give me an advantage.

Again...big congrats to you! You must be so relieved. :up:

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I actually did consider getting ACLS or PALS certifications but never did have the money to spend. I asked the hiring manager at the hospital when I interviewed if I would need PALS and she said that I would be taking PEARS instead...which I did not know much about but I guess it leans more towards focused assessment skills. And I actually interviewed for a day time position but they saw me as a better fit for nights (new grad, little experience) i figure it will be a good place to start and learn. I agree though... I was willing to take WHATEVER shift they gave me...and any holiday :) Plus nights offers more money and weekends offers even more! Can't complain there!

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Specializes in Medical-Oncology.

I guess it's a good thing you didn't spend the money for PALS then. I have a friend (new grad) who was recently hired as a pediatric OR nurse. They are also teaching their own version of PALS.

I also think nights would be a great place to start...I would think it would be a little less crazy...but then again I could be wrong.

Good luck with everything! :cat:

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Congratulations on your job. Thank you for sharing this encouragement for those who may not have yet the job that they want. Yes, I agree with you that it is possible to find a nursing job. Sometimes it may take a while but it is out there.

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The jobs are out there. Luck has a lot to do with it. When the energy blends well you will get that offer. I graduated in May with ADN and it took me till now to land a job. Granted, I didn't start looking hard till July after passing boards but I put in countless of applications with no response. I redid my resume many times, redid my cover letters for each application, got ACLS, started volunteering at a clinic. Calling HR yielded the "you just don't have experience" explanation. I interviewed several times and didn't get those positions. One of them didn't even call or email back ever again, as if I had interviewed with a ghost! In retrospect I am glad I didn't get those other positions, as the one that felt totally right and was exactly what I needed fell into my lap. The interviewer practically offered me the position before the interview was over and they still had another person to interview! I had practically given up, was the last in my graduating class that didn't have a job, and then boom, there it was. What they look for in an RN that they are considering is for a solid low-flight risk investment in their time and energy. My hiring manager said that this was a make or break question for her:" What type of nursing are you most interested in?" Don't tell them your dream is OB or peds nursing if you are interviewing for a med surg position. Don't give up, have faith, and stay busy with the health profession, volunteer, show the hiring people that you are unstoppable in your quest to continue learning despite not having a job. Good luck, dont give up!!

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I don't feel like I was lied to by my instructors, but boy, do I feel like I was lied to (by omission) by the Director of the school during my admission interview. It's no biggie at this point. I love nursing. But she led me to believe that there were ample opportunties which no longer exist. My journey has been harder than I thought it would be, but definitely worth it.

OP - congratulations on your happy beginning.

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I am from Ontario and nursing is my second career. I do feel as if I was misled by my instructors and all those job forecast which claimed that there is a high demand for nurses and lots of Nursing Jobs waiting! I graduated in June and have sent out numerous job applications since then, yet no calls. I counted the number of job applications I sent from September 14 to today's date for a total of 107! My resume was redone a number of times, but no luck. I tried visiting the units at the hospital to give my resume to the nurse managers, but they tell me to send it through their HR department. I am not sure if the prescreening tool used by the hospital is preventing my resume from reaching further as the questions asked applies to experienced nurses. I cannot seek opportunities which require me to move a long distance away from where I am living. It is also expensive for me to return to school for any random nursing course to show continuing education.

The Ontario government do have the new graduate guarantee, but that is only good for six months from the course completion date. This it is no good, as it is taking a longer time to find a job. In addition, the job openings posted on HFO website are mostly for positions which were posted earlier in the year (the deadline for applications are dated for March, June etc) so it is just a repeat of the same thing. So basically a few new positions are posted monthly.

So for me, I have no choice but to be positive and hope that some one will pick-up my resume and I will get that call. This wait is certainly demoralizing!

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I know its hard out there for many new graduates, and I sympathize with each and every one of you pounding the pavement, the keyboard, or your head on your desk. The important thing is not to give up, you never know when your perfect job is about to be handed over, and keeping a smile on your face goes a long way in allowing that job to find you.

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