new NP cant find a job

[SheRN1]

Hello all,

I graduated from NP school a year ago this month, passed boards and received my license in Oct 2012. Unfortunately, I have not found a job in my new chosen profession as of yet. I have been on several interviews but, in the end the job always goes to the NP who has the experience. And the jobs that are advertised on the career sites (career builder, indeed etc...) want NP's with 1 or 2 years of experience. At first I didn't worry too much but, now I'm down right frustrated and depressed that I am still working as a RN. It seems like no one wants to invest the time and patience to hire a new grad NP these days. Any advice, or suggestions please.

Thanks

[zanmilasante]

I know of a FNP that graduated 2 years ago, continued working as a staff RN until she found a position at a clinic just late last year. She told me that her friends who are NNPs are having an even harder time finding jobs. You're not alone, just keep applying, don't give up!

[wildcatarnp]

I graduated a year ago with my FNP, and having a hard time finding a position. I had one job offer, but it was for interventional radiology. I declined it because they wanted me to work from 7am to 5:30pm for 5 days a week. When I asked how long lunch was, I was told that "you take it when you can". The environment sounded horrendous. A former employer was willing to hire me, but I would be doing nursing duties and management. This is not why I went for my FNP. I did apply for a primary care position and interviewed, but was told that they hired someone with "experience". I truly think it depends on the market in your area, as I am a FNP with 10 years nursing experience and unable to find a position. It seems no one wants to hire the "new grad". I am truly considering getting a post-masters in PMHNP.

[Dnp2016]

where are you guys located???

We have tons of positions here.

[SoniaReb]

where are you guys located???

We have tons of positions here.

Here? Where is here?

[SoniaReb]

I'm curious to find out if there is any correlation between Graduates of certain For-Profit schools and their inability to find NP jobs. Could those graduates who are having problems fining NP jobs indicate which schools they attend (For-Profit vs. Nonprofit and the name of the school).

[Road2CNO]

And THIS is why I am currently searching for a position that will allow me to transition into my NP role upon graduation. I have applied for several RN jobs that once I graduate I can slide right into and NP role. So far I have not been awarded a position but I will keep trying.

[chillnurse, BSN, RN, NP]

I plan on writing a few articles on this on. I will try to help show you what I did to land my first new grad job. I had to move to get the job i wanted, since my area was flooded. The mobile practitioner wins every time. Be prepared to have to move.

[chillnurse, BSN, RN, NP]

Also,, did you graduate from an online only program? I have heard horror stories about people not finding jobs from those programs. Mine was fully in class at a regional university which also helped me out. There is a local online school (frontier school of nursing) who does not prepare their graduates well at all. 60% pass boards and they spend much of their time writing papers. I do not know why they let online schools such as these remain accredited. FNPs are not researchers, we are front line practitioners, and anybody who treats a program differently is completely foolish and unsafe for patients.

[chillnurse, BSN, RN, NP]

im in ky and i make over 2x as i did as a nurse where i am. easily

[chillnurse, BSN, RN, NP]

You started your NP program with the purpose of ultimately working as a nurse practitioner. Why is it then that so many nurse practitioner program graduates have difficulty finding jobs after graduation? This is a very good question, which seems to remain unanswered online. I will do my best to share my small amount of knowledge with the world… This will be part-1 of a multi-part series. Ejoy

You must to be willing to get creative and do think outside of the box. This does not entail renting a billboard and advertising yourself, but just being different from the group. Stick out like a sore thumb. Let me tell you my story.

Nurse practitioner programs do not prepare you to find a job in today’s tough market. One must stand out from the crowd and be prepared to do things other nurse practitioners do not want to do in order to land the position of their dreams. I spent many hours applying for jobs online, with a few callbacks, but no true luck. I will outline the rules to finding a great nurse practitioner job in this article; so follow along for the ride J

1. You must do what others do not. Anybody can sit online and copy/paste resumes onto websites. This takes no challenge and no skill at all. It is essentially a joke. What you are showing prospective employers is that you enjoy sitting home posting resumes online and are not willing to get up off your butt to make telephone calls or to visit clinics in person. Think of the easiest way to apply for jobs and STOP DOING JUST THAT. Think of the most difficult way to apply, one that you know most people will not do and START DOING THAT. It is that simple. Birds that flock together, fail forever.

2. Fix your resume. What do most people do when they make a resume, they fill it with blank words such as ‘creative,’ ‘hard working,’ good communicator,’ ‘task oriented,’ ‘people person,’ and other garbage like the such. These words mean nothing. Anybody can throw these phrases on a piece of electronic paper and hit the submit resume button on a website. Employers don’t want to know what you think you are, they want to know what you have done and can do. Every chump out on the market does not only use these terms, but they also fail to explain past results they have achieved!

Include direct, measurable terms. Think QUANTITATIVE, not qualitative. Think OBJECTIVELY, not subjectively.

GOOD PHRASES

- Managed a team of 8 on the CCU/ICU unit

- House supervisor for a 200 bed medical center

- Assisted in implementing computer charting in 2009

- Head of code team and rapid response team for 2 years

- 3 years of computer charting experience in both ICU, ER, AND SURGICAL FLOOR

BAD PHRASES

- Expert at computer charting

- Good leader

- Code experience

- People person

- Computer savvy

3. Follow up with resumes. Give it a week or two and make some calls. Some say this is annoying, but guess what, they don’t get results. Show you really want to job, and make it difficult for them to say no. Anybody can ignore an e-mail or a resume posted on monster.com. But when you directly call somebody, it makes him or her think twice about instantly rejecting you. Plus, they get to hear your voice, which makes you more personable. While the Internet may be a great tool for gathering information, it is far from the best way to connect with somebody. Human nature is to want relationships, and electronic documents will not suffice for this. Even if they reject you over the phone, you open doors for future placement.

4. Good reference letters. While the phrase “it’s not what you know, but who you know” is not as important as some make it out to be, it still counts. If you had good relationships with your preceptors during clinics, then good. If not, then you may need to reach out to your professors. If neither… then you may need to work on your people skills and read “How to win friends and influence people.” Ha, just kidding, but it was a good book and you will have a harder time. Three to five reference letters will do the trick, especially from preceptors. Have these early, I mean, get them during EACH rotation, don’t wait till 3 days before graduation.

5. Take those duck-faced selfies off of Facebook. I swear there was a direct relationship between job placement time and the amount of selfies one would have on Facebook regarding my graduating class. Actually, some are still unemployed, and yes, they are the ones with the mirror selfies, car-shots, duck-faced whatever pictures all over their profile. I don’t care if you made a 4.0 since the second grade and have 5/5 clinical ratings. If you post garbage like that on Facebook, nobody is going to take you serious. These flashy pictures point towards drama, drama, and more workplace drama. If you are a drama queen, at least don’t show it until you get hired and take your inch-thick makeup selfies off of Facebook. Oh, and this goes for ridiculous party pictures also. At least try to look professional. And if you doubt me, don’t listen and you will be staring at your telephone wondering if the ringtone is broken.

6. Don’t think your RN experience will count for much. This is a totally different career. Oftentimes it will be physicians who are hiring you, and they won’t be impressed with your nursing background. This is especially important in the interview. Don’t wag your ego tail to an interviewing physician, it will get you’re a rejection faster than anything you’ve ever seen. Let them know that you know your knowledge is limited (I don’t care if you worked in a level one trauma center for 15 years and won ‘Bedside nurse of the year award’ for 10 years running). Because…. They. Don’t. Give. A. Crap. Be humble and act interested to learn a new career path. You are a novice in this field, and your CCRN does not speak differently.

7. Don’t be too picky. Don’t expect to land the ER job of your dreams making 125k right out of school. It isn’t going to happen. And if it does, you are lucky. Get a job that will get your experience. “I made more as a travel RN blah blah blah blah.” Good, nobody cares. Take a job that will open doors to your dream job, no matter how crappy it may seem, its just for a year or two. So stick it out, gain the experience you need, and LEARN. You have to LEARN before you EARN.

8. Show them you are human. People skills go a long way. According to many successful people of the past, people skills count for around 85% of ones success in a field, and the other 15% from technical knowledge. So that one girl with the4.0 GPA that can’t hold a conversation for 5 seconds is going to do very well in an interview. Not. Get accustomed to communicating. It is more important than you can believe.

[BlackBettyRN,OCN]

You started your NP program with the purpose of ultimately working as a nurse practitioner. Why is it then that so many nurse practitioner program graduates have difficulty finding jobs after graduation? This is a very good question which seems to remain unanswered online. I will do my best to share my small amount of knowledge with the world… This will be part-1 of a multi-part series. Ejoy You must to be willing to get creative and do think outside of the box. This does not entail renting a billboard and advertising yourself, but just being different from the group. Stick out like a sore thumb. Let me tell you my story. Nurse practitioner programs do not prepare you to find a job in today’s tough market. One must stand out from the crowd and be prepared to do things other nurse practitioners do not want to do in order to land the position of their dreams. I spent many hours applying for jobs online, with a few callbacks, but no true luck. I will outline the rules to finding a great nurse practitioner job in this article; so follow along for the ride J 1. You must do what others do not. Anybody can sit online and copy/paste resumes onto websites. This takes no challenge and no skill at all. It is essentially a joke. What you are showing prospective employers is that you enjoy sitting home posting resumes online and are not willing to get up off your butt to make telephone calls or to visit clinics in person. Think of the easiest way to apply for jobs and STOP DOING JUST THAT. Think of the most difficult way to apply, one that you know most people will not do and START DOING THAT. It is that simple. Birds that flock together, fail forever. 2. Fix your resume. What do most people do when they make a resume, they fill it with blank words such as ‘creative,’ ‘hard working,’ good communicator,’ ‘task oriented,’ ‘people person,’ and other garbage like the such. These words mean nothing. Anybody can throw these phrases on a piece of electronic paper and hit the submit resume button on a website. Employers don’t want to know what you think you are, they want to know what you have done and can do. Every chump out on the market does not only use these terms, but they also fail to explain past results they have achieved! Include direct, measurable terms. Think QUANTITATIVE, not qualitative. Think OBJECTIVELY, not subjectively. GOOD PHRASES - Managed a team of 8 on the CCU/ICU unit - House supervisor for a 200 bed medical center - Assisted in implementing computer charting in 2009 - Head of code team and rapid response team for 2 years - 3 years of computer charting experience in both ICU, ER, AND SURGICAL FLOOR BAD PHRASES - Expert at computer charting - Good leader - Code experience - People person - Computer savvy 3. Follow up with resumes. Give it a week or two and make some calls. Some say this is annoying, but guess what, they don’t get results. Show you really want to job, and make it difficult for them to say no. Anybody can ignore an e-mail or a resume posted on monster.com. But when you directly call somebody, it makes him or her think twice about instantly rejecting you. Plus, they get to hear your voice, which makes you more personable. While the Internet may be a great tool for gathering information, it is far from the best way to connect with somebody. Human nature is to want relationships, and electronic documents will not suffice for this. Even if they reject you over the phone, you open doors for future placement. 4. Good reference letters. While the phrase “it’s not what you know, but who you know” is not as important as some make it out to be, it still counts. If you had good relationships with your preceptors during clinics, then good. If not, then you may need to reach out to your professors. If neither… then you may need to work on your people skills and read “How to win friends and influence people.” Ha, just kidding, but it was a good book and you will have a harder time. Three to five reference letters will do the trick, especially from preceptors. Have these early, I mean, get them during EACH rotation, don’t wait till 3 days before graduation. 5. Take those duck-faced selfies off of Facebook. I swear there was a direct relationship between job placement time and the amount of selfies one would have on Facebook regarding my graduating class. Actually, some are still unemployed, and yes, they are the ones with the mirror selfies, car-shots, duck-faced whatever pictures all over their profile. I don’t care if you made a 4.0 since the second grade and have 5/5 clinical ratings. If you post garbage like that on Facebook, nobody is going to take you serious. These flashy pictures point towards drama, drama, and more workplace drama. If you are a drama queen, at least don’t show it until you get hired and take your inch-thick makeup selfies off of Facebook. Oh, and this goes for ridiculous party pictures also. At least try to look professional. And if you doubt me, don’t listen and you will be staring at your telephone wondering if the ringtone is broken. 6. Don’t think your RN experience will count for much. This is a totally different career. Oftentimes it will be physicians who are hiring you, and they won’t be impressed with your nursing background. This is especially important in the interview. Don’t wag your ego tail to an interviewing physician, it will get you’re a rejection faster than anything you’ve ever seen. Let them know that you know your knowledge is limited (I don’t care if you worked in a level one trauma center for 15 years and won ‘Bedside nurse of the year award’ for 10 years running). Because…. They. Don’t. Give. A. Crap. Be humble and act interested to learn a new career path. You are a novice in this field, and your CCRN does not speak differently. 7. Don’t be too picky. Don’t expect to land the ER job of your dreams making 125k right out of school. It isn’t going to happen. And if it does, you are lucky. Get a job that will get your experience. “I made more as a travel RN blah blah blah blah.” Good, nobody cares. Take a job that will open doors to your dream job, no matter how crappy it may seem, its just for a year or two. So stick it out, gain the experience you need, and LEARN. You have to LEARN before you EARN. 8. Show them you are human. People skills go a long way. According to many successful people of the past, people skills count for around 85% of ones success in a field, and the other 15% from technical knowledge. So that one girl with the4.0 GPA that can’t hold a conversation for 5 seconds is going to do very well in an interview. Not. Get accustomed to communicating. It is more important than you can believe.[/quote']

Great post! I especially agree with what you said about Facebook. I'm always surprised at the garbage people are willing to post online for everyone to see.

[chillnurse, BSN, RN, NP]

i notice some of my post got spliced. sorry lol