New RN and NO job!!!

Nurses General Nursing

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I have been licensed as an RN in MI for almost 4 months now and have been looking for RN positions for nearly 6 months and I cannot find anything. I am starting to lose hope, after over 300 applications I'm disheartened. I have started looking to Chicago (love big cities) and Toledo (willing to commute). I'm thinking about starting to apply to New York now...I only have student nurse associate experience. Anyone have any advice??? :cry:

Thanks everyone.

I have been in contact with an old manager since the beginning of the year, she tried hard to save a spot for me...ended up hiring too many people to begin with and now there's no openings. I interviewed for a position in the same hospital, similar floor, but I unfortunately didn't get the spot. Now I have to wait as my manager along with the other unit managers are "re-avaluating" and looking for any other openings in the ICU where they could potentially hire me, and they'd just use my previous interview to hire. I got my hopes up with the last interview so I'm definitely not too sure about this new idea my manager has sprung on me.

At this point, I am definitely willing to travel somewhere, whether it's in state or out of state. I'm young and eager. I will look at Barnes too, I just need someone to give me a chance!

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There are jobs all over the country, you just have to be willing to relocate and really search. There is a website I use to look up positions at multiple hospitals in different states. It will list all hospitals in that state and then you can search if they have positions you are looking for. The website is: http://www.theagapecenter.com/Hospitals/[state name].htm. Just put in the name of the state you want to search (without the brackets!). It will list all hospitals within that state in alphabetical order and also tell you what city and county it is in. If you click on a hospital you want to look at, it redirects you to that hospitals page. It is really a great way to look for jobs. I check the hospitals I am interested in at least once a week. Now am trying to broaden my search because there is nothing here in IL and not a whole hell of a lot in WI either (for the past 9 mos!!!). Neither of these states have new grad programs right now and haven't had any for probably over a year now.

I am not a new grad nurse, but have not gotten enough experience in the area I am interested in to get a job in that area. However, I have come to realize that I am not going to settle for just any job! Really take time and decide what you want to do. Most new grad nurses have some idea of the area they want to specialize in after going through clinicals. Go for that job! I tried to go for my dream job and still did not have one by the time I graduated (May 2007). So at the time, I settled for a job at the hospital I already worked at. Then I got what was supposed to be my DREAM job, only to be let go at the end of the orientation period. I have had to jump around to many different jobs just to support my family (I was a non-traditional student). I am still having a hard time getting a job where I WANT to work, and I have been applying to these positions since Jan. 2008!!

Just don't settle for something if you know that it is not what you want to be doing!

Awesome website! Thank you very much for that one. I too am in the same situation as many of you guys. I graduate next month and see that the job prospect is very grim here in Florida. I live in the Orlando area and the problem is, there are only two hospital systems in the "city". I'd love to move back home which is north, but the job situation there is bad too. I feel like I picked the wrong career...

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I agree, good website. I actually stumbled across it when looking in Michigan but didn't know you could type in the different states. Looks like I'll start with Indiana and make my way down through the states...I'd love to stay in the Midwest but beggers can't be choosers...especially at this point!

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

I happen to be a nurse in NYC and can tell you it is very difficult for new grads here in the city to find jobs, even those with experience as an aide or PCT. I have spoken to many PCT's at my hospital who can't even get hired as an RN at the same hospital!! My director told me a while ago that the difficulty with hiring new grads is the cost, it costs the hospital nearly a years salary just to orient a new nurse. On the other hand, it's much less expensive for the hospital to hire someone with experience. I have many friends who have mentioned in the past few months that they have thought about going into nursing because they hear that "they will always need nurses" and feel they will get hired very soon after graduating. While the country will always need nurses, they can't always afford them, hence the difficulty in finding jobs. A good friend of mine is in nursing school now, the same one where I went, and I have told her several times that she will probably have difficulty finding a job. I think another problem is that there is a "nursing boom" (like baby boom) right now where in the past few years, many more accelerated programs have popped up to churn out new nurses quickly, but the hospitals aren't as prepared for the huge influx of applicants. Best of luck to all the new grads, its tough out there but don't give up, you will find a job. Remember, you have no chance of getting the job if you don't submit an application, so apply everywhere!!

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There are jobs in central and southern IL.

I am one of many who relocated to a different state to find a job; I count myself lucky that I had the freedom to do so. For the first two years after I graduated I didn't. I know how hard (or impossible) it can be to relocate, and that many people would not have gone to nursing school if they knew it would mean moving to another state just to find an entry-level job.

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plenty of jobs in texas

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, Pediatrics.

"There are jobs in central and southern IL."

I started out in Central IL, but didn't get paid enough to stay living there. The cost of living is too expensive! Plus, the area of nursing I am most interested in, there are only 2-3 hospitals in Southern IL that even have that area of nursing in their hospitals (St. Francis in Peoria-which I can not work at, Carle Hospital in Champaign/Urbana, St Johns in Springfield, and maybe Memorial in Springfield.). Most of these units are in the Chicago area, and none of them are hiring in their NICU's unless you have 2-5 years experience in NICU!

There really aren't that many positions available in IL. A lot of hospitals have positions posted, but they aren't really hiring (I've called them all after not getting any responses back from my applications).

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, Pediatrics.

Question about TX??? I know there are a lot of NICU positions posted there, my problem is that I can't afford the TX license and can't afford to travel there for an interview. Relocation is very expensive also. (Yes I am that strapped!) Do any of them offer to help with relocation and obtaining a TX license? I've looked at positions posted at Baptist in San Antonio and Children's Memorial Hermann in Houston.

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Personally, I am willing to move anywhere, but like someone already posted; it's not that easy. I'm married with children and can't just up and re-root my family, especially with no finances.

I too have heard that there are jobs in Texas and would love to work there, but again, it's not so easy to do. What a sad day when you can't even get a job in a field that really needs you...

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"There are jobs in central and southern IL."

I started out in Central IL, but didn't get paid enough to stay living there. The cost of living is too expensive! Plus, the area of nursing I am most interested in, there are only 2-3 hospitals in Southern IL that even have that area of nursing in their hospitals (St. Francis in Peoria-which I can not work at, Carle Hospital in Champaign/Urbana, St Johns in Springfield, and maybe Memorial in Springfield.). Most of these units are in the Chicago area, and none of them are hiring in their NICU's unless you have 2-5 years experience in NICU!

There really aren't that many positions available in IL. A lot of hospitals have positions posted, but they aren't really hiring (I've called them all after not getting any responses back from my applications).

Well, "no jobs that I want" is a very different thing from "no jobs"--you've responded to a general jobs thread, so it will help others more if you're specific. But they've definitely been hiring for new grad programs in this area over the past year, for lots of positions--it's not "no new grad programs" at all. Good luck in your search--I had to give up the idea of working on a particular unit and just take what I could get.

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