New RN, can't find job/RN Residency, help please....

[purple nurple]

Okay, first: Apologies for the length of this post.

I'll start with some background and then get into the issues:

I'm a male RN. I received my BSN at an out-of-state university in May 2010. I then moved back home to Houston, TX and received my RN license in December of 2010. While in school, I was on the Dean's List twice, the President's Honor Roll once, and a received an additional award at graduation for clinical excellence. I graduated with a 3.67 nursing GPA. I'm also 35 with a 10+ year work history, including 4 years as a counselor at an inpatient psych hospital.

Now....Not only am I having a difficult time finding a job, I'm having a difficult time getting anyone to even look at my application / resume. I keep checking my application status at websites for the various RN Residencies to which I've applied, only to find my application closed or cancelled without so much as an email or a phone call. I have had exactly two interviews, one for ER (waiting to hear back for this one) and one for med/surg (I was turned down for this one, which I'll get to in a moment)....but there are a zillion hospitals here....I would think that I would warrant at least a little more interest from prospective employers based on my academic performance and my work history.

I understand that because I went out-of-state I lack the contact network that others might possess, but considering that the largest medical center in the world is here in Houston, and considering that, on paper, I look excellent....why in the WORLD can't I even get a phone call?? I'd understand a little more if I'd barely scraped by in nursing school, but that's not the case.

What I want is to be in ER or ICU, but I don't have an "all or nothing" attitude about this. But I do want my CCRN and/or ECN, and I'd eventually like to become a RN Practitioner. Those are my goals. Older RNs have told me to "start in med/surg," and I'd be fine with that, but I was turned down at the one interview I had for med/surg because I told the interviewer those exact goals, which means that she knew I didn't want to stay in med/surg forever....and this is AFTER I said I was more than willing to commit to a year or more on her floor. I mean, I guess I could have lied to her and said that I wanted to work med/surg for the rest of my life, but I'd hate to do something like that to her (or anyone else, for that matter). I guess I now know better for future interviews, but I still bristle at the potential of having to lie to someone. Maybe that's an old-school train of thought; I don't know.

It seems that these RN Residencies have changed the game plan as I can't just "start in med/surg" as older RNs have told me to do. So, while they're hiring (experienced) RNs left and right, I can't get hired because I don't have any experience, and in order to get experience, I have to be accepted into an RN Residency program, and these are so competitive that I can't seem to get anyone to even look at me. I've called HR time and time again. I've looked up and called RN Managers, only to be redirected back to HR or not have my calls/emails returned. I've talked to anyone and everyone I can think of, and still: nothing. Well, not besides the two interviews out of the many jobs for which I've applied.

So....what am I doing wrong? Where else should I be looking? Schools, community nursing, etc? I'm starting to get desperate....

ANY thoughts, perspective, words of wisdom, encouragement, etc. would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[CFitzRN, ADN]

I know this isn't going to help much, but I wanted to tell you that I am very impressed with your academic credentials. You really did a great job in school, and if someone like YOU is having trouble finding a job, I really worry about the majority of us. It sounds to me like you'd be a great ER nurse. I do believe this horrid job rut will get better before too long though... I would take any job you can find at this point until something you want opens up - maybe a part-time or PRN nursing job? It's easier to find those right now than full-time.

[Vanillanut, DNP, RN, APRN]

I'll give you my 2 cents, bc you asked for it. :) I don't mean to offend, but I think there are some things in your post that stand out:

1) You are a New Grad RN. So you made the dean's list. Thats not a huge influence when it comes to hiring. Actually, from what I have seen this can actually work against you, when you "flaunt"/promote your academic excellence. The truth is, a lot of people did very well in nursing school. At the end of the day, it's an undergraduate degree, and it no longer makes you unique as a nurse. Academic record holds less weight then your responses when you're questioned in an interview. You can memorize, but can you apply your knowledge- right there on the spot, under pressure?

2). Your years of counselling means relatively squat when it comes to getting an RN job. In my undergrad (I'm a BSN also) I worked with a coroner who worked as a coroner for 15 years. Yup. Did that help him? A tiny bit. But it's two totally different ball games. Counselling experience might help you get into psych nursing, but not so much other areas.

3). You don't need to LIE in an interview- just don't go on and on about your goals. You answer the questions you're asked, and thats it. You don't shoot yourself in the foot and say that you're taking the position to "springboard" into a better field. Of course you won't get hired. You take the position and say your goals are to consolidate your nursing skills, gain experience and get down the basics. That shouldn't even be a lie.

At the end of the day, you're a new grad RN. You need to up the ante a bit- instead of following up online, make phone calls or actually show up to the unit and speak with/follow up with the managers you want to work with in person. I bet half the resumes that are applied online are simply thrown out. Have confidence in your abilities, not your GPA, and you should have better luck. :-)

Good luck, hope you land something soon!

[MicsterRN]

You must know someone who knows someone that is experienced in Human Resources. Have your resume and cover letter reviewed by a seasoned veteran. You have less than 20 seconds to grab attention - it's all about the cover letter. You have to say how awesome you are and why it would be a superb choice to hire you in two paragraphs or less!

Secondly, cold call human resources and request an appointment with the recruiter or nurse hiring manager. I did that six months ago. I spent about 45 minutes talking to the HR rep about her home remodeling, horses and non-nurse stuff. Then I applied for a job months later. I got an interview with the hiring manager, and when I name dropped that HR professional's name to the manager, he said, "She gave you a raving recommendation!" And THAT was from an informal non-interview 45-minute in-person conversation.

Best wishes to you!

[NewTexasRN]

Listen, I'm going to be straight with you. It doesn't matter if you had all A's or barley passed. You have to change location. Scott and White in Temple, TX is hiring. Also, San Antonio is hiring. Search the other posts. There is a lot on this site about your question. Good Luck.

Good Luck.

[L8RRN]

We see the same thing over and over again on the board. It isn't just you. There are a lot of other new grads that are unable to find employment anywhere...esp in a hospital setting. I am fortunate that I live in an area that has a shortage and they NEED new grads to fill the openings, so I was able to get my year plus experience in med/surg. I had a friend that relocated from this area to another and it took approximately 15 months for her to land a position (she was bilingual, which was the selling point for her according to the hiring manager). She was a bright student with LPN experience and it still took her that long to get ANY position (which ended up being med/surg). Several others I know that moved ended up doing LTC even though they wanted a hospital position because the market in the area they went to was tight.

My point is, do not take it personally. It is happening to a lot of new grads. I wish you the best and all I can recommend is keep applying! Hopefully something will come up soon and you can get some experience.

[glutton4punishment]

I'm in Houston, just graduated in May. I found my first job at a job fair. They have them quite frequently. Also, look in the Sunday paper for individual hospital fairs. I know they had one at Clear Lake last week. I think it's really hard to get noticed through a resume if you have no experience. If you can get face to face with a person, you stand a much better chance.

Also, try LTACs. There are a bunch of them here in town. HealthSouth, Triumph, Select, Cornerstone, Kindred.

I don't know which side of town you are on, but I think Conroe is hiring new grads. Also, there is a small hospital way out 59 south called Oakbend that you might want to try.

It's a rat race for us new grads right now. And the previous poster is correct, getting straight a's really means nothing, having your BSN DOES. Nursing is a whole new animal. Being able to ace a test on what you will do, is TOTALLY different than what it's really like doing it. I am not saying this to state the obvious, I just hope that you aren't coming off as conceited due to your awesome academics. While you definitely did a GREAT job in school, and should be proud, don't let it go to your head.

You will find something. Believe it. Good luck.

[R*Star*RN, BSN, RN]

I graduated with my RN in 2008. It took me about 8 months to find an RN Residency - which I had to move 2000 MILES AWAY FROM HOME for!

Many new grads have had the same issue over the past few years. It is extremely expensive to train a new nurse!

You do have a BSN, which is a big plus.

I'd talk to recruiters at the hospitals in your area if you havn't already. Ask them when the next residency program starts, and maybe you can get your foot in the door before they advertise for a residency. There is always the option to move.

If you are desperate for "any" job you could potentially get into LTC easily.

Good luck!

[rn4life2009]

I am in the Houston area too. I have my ADN and have worked as a LPN and CNA and have over 2 yrs experience as a nurse. I cant find a job either. I was layed off after 1.5 yrs as a rn in dec 09. I think the job market here is just overflooded. I think trying job fairs is a good idea. I know I was hired by hca as a new grad and alot of the other new grads I worked with got 1 yr of med surg under the belt then transferred to ER or ICU. ER wants you to have acls and pals and especially TNCC. ICU want acls and ekg recognition would help. these courses show that you are serious about being in ER or ICU. I wish you good luck!

[purple nurple]

Thanks to all for the replies. I'd like to respond individually, but I fear that would make this post longer than my first post, lol.

My main concern is that I can't seem to get noticed by anyone. I didn't mean to come across as conceited and/or touting my academics beyond the point that touting them via my resume would, I think, get me noticed, which is the whole point of a resume in the first place. Don't worry, y'all: I'm well aware that I'll have to bust my butt to be a good RN....I know that school vs. real nursing is an entirely different animal.

I also know that my psych background doesn't mean much of anything outside of the psych world....I was just emphasizing (via my resume and again here to give some background about myself) that I'm an adult with real-world work experience: prior career, prior BS degree, etc., as well as hospital experience. Even if that experience was psych vs. medical, I still had to deal with patients and charting and team meetings and all that stuff. I would think that this would make me more attractive to a recruiter/HR/nurse manager. As to my resume itself, I had all of my professors and even my Kaplan instructor review my resume and cover letter, and they all thought highly of both.

I suppose I'll look into LTCs in my area. Psych as well. I'm really anxious to start working and I'm now planning on looking elsewhere, as well.

Speaking of 'elsewhere': For those of you who moved away, how do you do that? Phone interview? Do you fly out? How do you do that when you're like me: not working, no income, and with the student loan company breathing down your neck?

3). You don't need to LIE in an interview- just don't go on and on about your goals. You answer the questions you're asked, and thats it. You don't shoot yourself in the foot and say that you're taking the position to "springboard" into a better field. Of course you won't get hired. You take the position and say your goals are to consolidate your nursing skills, gain experience and get down the basics. That shouldn't even be a lie.

But that's what I did: she asked me my "five year plan," which is so standard of a question that it's a cliche, and I answered honestly. I didn't drone on about it. I mean, you're right, of course, because ultimately I did shoot myself in the foot. What's funny is that previous to that, she asked what "integrity" meant to me. Lol....evidently, I took it a little too far.

Thanks to all of you for the responses and well wishes. I really can't wait to 'officially' join your ranks.

[April, RN, BSN, RN]

I mean, I guess I could have lied to her and said that I wanted to work med/surg for the rest of my life, but I'd hate to do something like that to her (or anyone else, for that matter). I guess I now know better for future interviews, but I still bristle at the potential of having to lie to someone. Maybe that's an old-school train of thought; I don't know.

You sound like you will make an excellent nurse when someone will actually given you a chance! Realize that no employer will be looking out for your best interests so you need to put yourself and your needs first right now. I'm not saying to lie outright, but if it means leading a nurse manager to think you will be a med/surg nurse forever in order to give you a chance, then let them think that! My suggestion is to be very vague when asked about your goals. For example, if asked, mention that at some point down the line you'd like to further your education, but don't mention that you want to be an ER NP.

[SkyGoddess]

You need to get out of Houston ASAP. I graduated from school there in 2009 and just got my first job in San Antonio last week working in the ER. The pay is less but who cares. Do not move to Dallas or Austin either. I moved to Dallas and sent out over 20 applications, had two interviews and nothing transpired. I got fed up and looked up hosptials in San Antonio and only applied at ONE of them. I applied on a Wednesday, the next day I got an email to do a personality test and within two hours the nurse recruiter called me. I went in for an interview the next Thursday she made another interview for me in the ER for the following Wednesday and the ER manager hired me on the spot. So it took me two weeks to get the job. These two interviewers hardly asked me any questions at all. Not all that complex crap all those other interviewers ask. Didnt ask about clinical situations or anything.

Location is the key. Nurses need to start moving to cities that have large military presence if they want to work not large medical centers. The wars are keeping this cities thriving. Try San Antonio, Killeen, El Paso. San Antonio is 2.5 hours away from Houston so you can drive to your interviews. Try craigslist. You can guage how the jobs are just from that....do a search for jobs in Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio and you will see there are way more advertisements for jobs in San Antonio. I did get a parttime temp (two month) nursing job from Craigslist after graduation.

One of my friends got fired from her job in San Antonio in banking and she found another equal job within 1.5 months. I have friends in Dallas and Houston who have been out of work for over a year.

All of us have impressive resumes. I have four college degrees and if I told you what I did before you would be shocked. Still no one called me or hired me. There is a lot of educated, well traveled, people/nurses out there.

I stressed that I had a stable work history, never had any on the job injuries, and that I was not interested in jumping from hospital to hospital. I told them I had been one minute late to work one time in the past five years and it was only one minute and I could show her proof of it because I have to sign in on the computer and it is recorded. I told the recruiter my interest was to become a nurse practioner and that I wanted to still be on the frontlines helping patients and that I had no interest in management. I also volunteerd a lot and put it on my resume. Go look up free clinics online in Houston and go volunteer once a week. So if anyone asks what did you do with your time while not nursing tell them you volunteered because your goal is to help people as a nurse and it didnt matter if you got paid or not.

And another thing I did was bring two copies of my resume with me. That stuff on the compputer is so jumbled up it is hard for them to read it. I gave both of the interviewers my resume so they could read from it and write notes on it. The Er manager was having a hard time pulling my resume because her computer was acting crazy and I gave her one from my purse and she seemed delighted that I did that.

Good luck