new rns with no job

SeychelleRN · Oct 16, 2008

i just wanted to know why a lot of new rns cant find a hospital job? i got my livense in march but then agian,i have been actively looking for a hospital job{ i definitly need the experience, even with 4 years of lpn exp[ mostly private duty peds} they wont hire me.

I think you have already answered your own question. Wake up! In case you have not noticed seven NJ hospitals have closed since January 2008. Times have changed. Despite what you were told in nursing school, New Jersey is not starving for new graduate nurses when they are now flooded with experienced nurses.

but i want to ask new grads do u guys thing starting off in private duty peds or ltc will hurt your chances of being hired by a hospital later or help in that u are getting lots of experience?

In the economic situation we are in, I feel you should start wherever you can get extensive training and feel comfortable enough to safely care for your patients and protect your nursing license.

and # why dont u guys start thinking outside the box and try ltc or hh?

New grads are looking to those areas. However, just like hospitals most LTC now require new grads to have experience. Most Home Health requires new grads to have a least one year hospital experience. Some companies are aware of the desperation that new grads are in and are taking advantage by throwing them to the sharks after only two weeks of training.

i didnt want to be unemployed but i could not keep waiting for a hospital job{ since march i continued to do pdn and ltc-same thing that i was doing before i got my rn

You are blessed to have options and not remain unemployed. I applaud your efforts.

I hope my response was not harsh, just wanted to point out the reality. With all the wonderful talks of how in demand nurses are, it's hard for some to believe that new grads are having a hard time or that they are not job searching hard enough. There is a huge fallacy that there is a nursing shortage of graduate nurses in New Jersey. As smartnurse1982 mentioned, new graduate nurses should start thinking outside the box. Until you can find a hospital position, you might consider areas in flu clinics, dialysis clinics, and doctor's office, etc.

mina123 · Oct 21, 2008

The above nurses are right i have been told by several nurse recruiters and nurse manager that it costs a hospital enormous amount of money to orient a new grad and when they come out fresh from school even with a BSN degree they don't unfortunately know anything and they really don't want to spend enough time and energy to orient new grads in this rough economy. So the best advice is get in whatever field of nursing you can get some experiece under your belt and then look for a hospital job. That;s a good part of being a nurse you can get alot of other jobs out there hospital being not the one at this point.

mercermom_rn · Oct 21, 2008

I have applied to every hospital within a 65 mile radius (including PA). I have turned my sights to rehab, LTCs and home health agencies but even those are getting picky. I just interviewed with a Care One facility (long term care and skilled nursing), and the nursing director told me bluntly that I need at least 6 months of med surg experience. Went to a job fair, and though most home health agencies stated they will take in new grads and took in my resume, I still have to get a return call (yes, I tried to call to follow up). You are lucky you have a job in healthcare. I have been wageless for months. I have no problem working in a non-hospital setting, but which agencies definitely hire new grads w/o healthcare experience outside of student clinical rotations?

luv2yoga · Oct 21, 2008

I am surprised you weren't able to get anything in PA. I interviewed there a year ago and they were SUPER anxious to hire me. I went to Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton. Is that where you looked? Maybe things have changed that much. I ended up taking an NJ job at a small community hospital, just to avoid the commute and it turned out to be a wonderful place to work.

mina123 · Oct 22, 2008

I have applied to every hospital within a 65 mile radius (including PA). I have turned my sights to rehab, LTCs and home health agencies but even those are getting picky. I just interviewed with a Care One facility (long term care and skilled nursing), and the nursing director told me bluntly that I need at least 6 months of med surg experience. Went to a job fair, and though most home health agencies stated they will take in new grads and took in my resume, I still have to get a return call (yes, I tried to call to follow up). You are lucky you have a job in healthcare. I have been wageless for months. I have no problem working in a non-hospital setting, but which agencies definitely hire new grads w/o healthcare experience outside of student clinical rotations?

I don't know which part of nj u live in but here's some of home health agency which might hire u as a new grad Bayada nurses, loving care, prefered healthmate these three are big one out there try them, to know the office location nearest to your house just google these agencies and find the office nearest to u. I am sure you will find some work with these agencies. You might have to do peds cases a lot but don't be scared get a good orientation on the case and you will be fine as days go by. Adult home care cases are hard nowadays because insurance company does not want to reimburse for the case. hope this helps let me know how it went. !

miraalexmom · Oct 22, 2008

I am getting ready to enter the Monmouth County LPN program. Are you all saying that its not a good idea to pursue nursing in NJ? I have my heart set on it, but Can't go payless for long after graduation... Do you all think there's more of a demand for medical assistants, or even ultrasound techs??

mercermom_rn · Oct 22, 2008

Thanks mina123. I live in central NJ. Just came from another job fair, Bayada regional recruiter definitely wants at least 1 year acute care experience, or at least 6 months pediatric acute care if I wanted to do home care for children. Preferred Healthmates has not called back.

miraalexmom, there will always be nursing jobs, but timing is everything. I do not know the situation for LPNs is, but for RNs, this is what I've learned from talking to recruiters:

new grads should allow plenty of time for job hunting, New grad training always runs on a cycle for hospitals (only twice or thrice a year). So if you want to work soon after a May graduation (June - July) , start applying before February. Next orientation period is in the fall (around Sept-Oct), and the next one won't be till January-February of the following year. My biggest mistake was only starting to look for a job after I received my license (boards in mid July, received license end of aug).

Med surg positions are always more available for new grads, and may not be subject to the hiring cycles of specialized units (ER, ICU, OR). I have given up on my first-job-in-OR dream, since all my callbacks are for med/surg.

New grad positions are usually not posted on hospital career websites. Recruiters may forward resumes to unit managers who are hiring new grads. Now, I apply to every position that I think I may have a shot at and that allows me to proceed with the application. Some websites may have a filtering screen for qualifications and may terminate the process if you do not satisfy the minimum requirements.

Good news! I am booked for 5 interviews (4 hospitals and one post-acute skilled nursing facility) next week:yeah:. I guess NOW is the right time of year for interviewing for Jan 2009 employment. I would have had 7 inteviews after next week. Of these 7 interviews, only one was from an internet application and only two were not med/surg (LTC,psych). The rest, are from job fair resume submissions and from networking. That says a lot about where the vacancies are and what the best mode of applying is.

Anybody have any idea on the questions they'll ask for a new grad med/surg position:confused:?

secondcareergal · Oct 23, 2008

MercerMom - I am also a NJ grad with license and I have submitted hundreds of resumes, applied for jobs online and attended career fairs to no avail. I have not had one interview offer. Do you have any suggestions for me? What career fairs did you attend that you received offers from? I have my BSN and my grade point average is 3.45 and I am a member of Sigma Theta Tau Honor Society. I don't know what else to do in order to get someone to even talk to me about a position - any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you.:typing

mercermom_rn · Oct 23, 2008

secondcareergal,

Congratulations on a stellar GPA! I do not have impressive credentials as yours (I assume nursing is your second career like me). Are you applying in Northern NJ? My interviews are all for central and south jersey. Are you applying for med/surg which seems nobody wants?

Try reapplying to positions that interest you online. Since the recruiters have now been given the go signal to set interviews for new grads. Kimball Medical center in Lakewood, Kennedy Memorial Hospitals in Camden County both responded a day after I re-applied online. Kennedy recruiter told me personally at a job fair yesterday that there are openings for telemetry and took my resume again. The job fairs I go to are small, advertised on Careerbuilder. I did not get a single response from apps from Sept 1 - October 15. I asked my nursing instructors if they knew anybody in the local hospitals who could provide me a lead to a new grad opening. I got an invitation to interview with that request. Timing is everything, resubmit all online applications! Its interview season for Jan-Feb orientation!

SeychelleRN · Oct 24, 2008

Good news! I am booked for 5 interviews (4 hospitals and one post-acute skilled nursing facility) next week:yeah:. ......
Anybody have any idea on the questions they'll ask for a new grad med/surg position:confused:?

Whoa! :ancong!:

Check out the allnurses Interview Thread.