New RN grad moving to Los Angeles, CA, what/how should I go about applying for jobs?

**NickiLaughs, ADN, BSN, RN** · May 24, 2010

Don't know where your from, new grad economy is pretty rough here..... I would start applying but they may require you to have license in hand prior to actually considering you. You would have to call the individual hospitals and find out really. I would also recommend having a job lined up prior to moving out here, there are new grads who have been job hunting a year.

caliotter3 · May 27, 2010

Good luck finding a job in LA.

NorthBay · May 27, 2010

Do you have an emergent need to move to LA immediately? Is there any possible way you can stay put for a year or so? I would highly, highly recommend staying wherever you are to get acute care experience before moving to LA. To give you an idea of how few positions there are in SoCal, both Cedars-Sinai and UCLA, two of the biggest hospitals, had THOUSANDS of new grad applicants this year for fewer than 50 spots. You will be competing against new grads that graduated a year or more ago who have every certification and volunteer experience under the sun (yet still aren't getting hired!). All of the smaller and community hospitals have a need for nurses, but specifically list, "NO NEW GRADS AT THIS TIME,"

The job market here still really, really bites for us new grads :crying2:

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · May 27, 2010

Should I wait until I pass my boards, then get them endorsed and start applying for jobs?

If I were you, I would try to accrue 1 year of acute care hospital experience before moving to California. Moving here as a newly graduated RN with no nursing work experience and no job lined up before you arrive is the equivalent of career suicide. I wouldn't do it. Please save yourself. The jobs are not abundant here. Out-of-state graduates are flooding an already flooded job market that is saturated with too many new grads and not enough jobs to go around for everyone who wishes to work.

Get your golden year of experience in another state before coming here.

hillarypeace2006 · May 28, 2010

If I were you, I would try to accrue 1 year of acute care hospital experience before moving to California. Moving here as a newly graduated RN with no nursing work experience and no job lined up before you arrive is the equivalent of career suicide. I wouldn't do it. Please save yourself. The jobs are not abundant here. Out-of-state graduates are flooding an already flooded job market that is saturated with too many new grads and not enough jobs to go around for everyone who wishes to work.
Get your golden year of experience in another state before coming here.

Commuter couldn't have said it better. I've had the door slammed in face way to many times to count. And I am a local. In the local LA area, "saturation" of new grad nurses is an understatement. Most new grad positions I'm applying for, am applying with competition of nearly 1400 applicants... Unless you feel like being unemployed for awhile... cali is not the place to come!

nmh586 · Jun 2, 2010

Not to be rude but...how about people stop moving to LA and let the people who actually live here and can't move have a chance at a job!

50caliber · Jun 3, 2010

Hate to be a downer but everyone is correct about the job market for new grads. Don't let us discourage you but you need to be realistic about this. Not sure where you are coming from but I guarantee that you will definitely have better odds of finding a job where you are currently at.

NorthBay · Jun 3, 2010

Not sure where you are coming from but I guarantee that you will definitely have better odds of finding a job where you are currently at.

That is, unless you're from the Bay Area or Manhattan. They're equally if not more out of luck than the Los Angeles new grads.