I graduated in May 2009 and have not been able to secure a job yet. I have an ADN degree with a Bachelor's of Science in Marketing and a Master's in Traditional Oriental Medicine. I have ten years of experience diagnosing and treating patients as a licensed acupuncturist and have worked in several clinical environments with doctors and therapists in addition to alternative medicine practitioners. I am in my late thirties and have seen all of my colleagues from nursing school who are under 25 being hired without any patient care or life experience.
Is anyone else noticing this trend? I thought my diverse experience and age would be an asset. In school, we are always taught that nurses should be assertive, culturally competent and be able to apply critical thinking. These are skills that improve with age and practice. I believed spending 20+ years in customer service and medicine would give me an edge, but it seems to be a liability.
The other older graduates from my program were equally surprised to find that the local hospital where we attended clinicals seemed to prefer younger graduates.
Does it really make that much of a difference when applying for jobs if u apply over the internet vs. walking in person and dropping of ur resumes. I really would just like to know b/c i am internet kind of gal! and would really prefer applying over the internet b/c when i call and speak to someone( sometimes the nurse recruiter they tell me that they are not hiring right now) so i feel as though if i email them my resume at least then i may stand a chance of them taking a look, what do u think. Please give me ur feedback!!!!!!!
I did walk in to about 4 maybe 5 places and got to fill 3 apps and 1 interview and 1 job offer.
It is the fact that your long answer trying to explain your viewpoint that you just gave is the type of thing a manager does not want from a new grad and seeing your unmodified resume will clue them in that that is typical of your likely response.
They want someone who will say "yes ma'am" when told how it is done. They do not want to have to explain why, debate, get into a long discussion........ this is why they like new grads.
I am not debating whether you are right or not. Just trying to get you to see the reality of why all that stuff on your resume may well shut you out of many opportunities.
If a facility has openings posted online and the capabililty of accepting online applications, it has been my experience that they prefer online applications, and some won't accept them any other way. I actually walked into one hospital HR deptartment once where they had me sit at a computer in the waiting area and fill out an application online that I could have done at home.
Ok, thanks, i am going to give it a shot that way and see what happens.
I did walk in to about 4 maybe 5 places and got to fill 3 apps and 1 interview and 1 job offer.
oh, ok i am gonna give it a shot both ways actually, i feel as though some places may prefer u to apply via the net and then some may prefer u to walk in. I'll see what happens.
Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.
But this is a forum, not an interview
Correct, but all that stuff on your resume will probably preclude you ever getting an interview.........
I was the nursing coordinator for a big multi-site Ob/Gyn group for 5 years. I learned the hard way not to even bother with over qualified appearing people. Not that i didn't think they were great, and admire their accomplishments, but they did not seem able to adjust to the fast pace needed because they wanted to utilize those skills. Also, they wanted to debate everything, and there wasn't the time for that either. I just needed good nurses that would do their job in a quick and efficient manner to the best of their ability with my support and help as needed.
I am really not trying to be hurtful or minimize your accomplishments at all. I am just trying to show you why those things may be big barriers to an entry level nursing job............
Having went through these woes over the summer here is my 2cents worth.
1. Hospitals with there own SoN hire their students first.
2. With the economic down turn PRN-PT-FLEX RNs are returning to full time and they are cheaper and normally in the system already.
3. As a career changer you must look at your resume, does it show a history of teamwork or individual accomplishments? Does it exhibit that you are loyal? ... show that you are a self starter while still following direction?
4. Beggars can't be choosers. It may be your life's desire to work in _____, but the reality is that the sooner you start working in ANY clinical area the sooner you start developing skills that you will carry for the rest of your career.
5. Use your instructors, contacts made during clinicals, and friends for job leads, resume assistance. For that matter ask for assistance from the HR person, you may have a glaring deficiency (or typo:smackingf) that disqualifies you right off the bat. People generally want to help, don't be too proud not to ask for help.
I think the previous poster gave some excellent advice. I am 35, graduated last thursday, and had 2 new grad positions offered to me. One of the reasons why is that I started very early making connections while in nursing school. I worked as a student nurse in L&D and I did a summer internship in another area. In this economy, networking is everything and you have to have a way to stick out from the crowd. Personally, I would contact the nurse managers on the unit(s) that you want to work to make personal connections.
The other thing about this economy is that it allows hospitals to be more picky when choosing candidates. A couple of the hospitals in my area have either stopped hiring ADNs altogether or their only allowed to apply for certain units. For all current nursing students reading this, it is so important to get CNA/student nurse positions while in school. It can make the difference between having a job and not having a job when you graduate.
It is also very frustrating that people do not seem to understand how translatable my skills as an acupuncturist are. We have to examine, diagnose, develop and implement a treatment plan and provide follow up care (sound like the nursing process?). Most of our hours of a 4-year program are in western medicine - clinical medicine, pathology, pharmacology, anatomy etc. We are allowed to send patients for lab tests and need to understand western medical conditions in order to know when to refer and to discuss how any potential eastern modalities may interact with medications or affect their condition.
I can say the same thing as a paramedic -- we assess, diagnose, plan, implement, and evaluate; hello, ADPIE. Heck, I can deliver a baby, reinflate a lung, or put a breathing tube down someone's throat in the back of a box on wheels while rolling down the road. But it wasn't nursing ... therefore, it doesn't count. I know my skills translate, you know your skills translate, but in the minds of whoever it is that makes these decisions, if we didn't do it as a nurse, it doesn't really count. That's not to say ALL hospitals think like that, but from what I've seen, it's a dominant attitude.
Correct, but all that stuff on your resume will probably preclude you ever getting an interview.........
I was the nursing coordinator for a big multi-site Ob/Gyn group for 5 years. I learned the hard way not to even bother with over qualified appearing people. Not that i didn't think they were great, and admire their accomplishments, but they did not seem able to adjust to the fast pace needed because they wanted to utilize those skills. Also, they wanted to debate everything, and there wasn't the time for that either. I just needed good nurses that would do their job in a quick and efficient manner to the best of their ability with my support and help as needed.
I am really not trying to be hurtful or minimize your accomplishments at all. I am just trying to show you why those things may be big barriers to an entry level nursing job............
While I have come to understand what you are saying is likely true, what is my solution? Besides stripping my resume of all education and experience (which is what I have already done), what can I DO about it? I appreciate your words, but what I need is a solution to the obstacle.
This is why I say I may have to give up on nursing. If what you say is true, there is no way for me to get around this problem. Sad for the profession, because I have some very high recommendations from nurses and instructors alike, and would love to be a nurse.
While I have come to understand what you are saying is likely true, what is my solution? Besides stripping my resume of all education and experience (which is what I have already done), what can I DO about it? I appreciate your words, but what I need is a solution to the obstacle.
This is why I say I may have to give up on nursing. If what you say is true, there is no way for me to get around this problem. Sad for the profession, because I have some very high recommendations from nurses and instructors alike, and would love to be a nurse.
Consider getting professional help with your resume. I think someone else may have already pointed out that the goal of the resume is to get the interview, not the job, and it is my belief that many of those on this forum who have stated that they have filled out "hundreds" of applications with no interviews are saying something in those applications or on their resumes that is causing recruiters to reject those apps. I just don't believe it's possible not to get some interviews out of hundreds of applications unless that is the case. There ARE jobs out there, despite some contentions on this forum, but it is more competitive than it used to be. That's why what you say and how you say it are much more important than it use to be.
erwigg
54 Posts
I did walk in to about 4 maybe 5 places and got to fill 3 apps and 1 interview and 1 job offer.