NYC NURSING JOBS need help ?

thekidisback · Feb 20, 2016

I have five years experience (Med/Surg, Telemetry) and I'm having difficulty as well finding work in NYC. I really want something in the NYP system (Weill Cornell or Columbia)

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Feb 20, 2016

Do you have a BSN? There are hundreds of applicants competing for a single posting. Would you like to know what they call a nurse working in LTC while searching for a hospital job? Employed & getting experience. And as an employed nurse they have a better chance of their application looked at moving forward. Hold out too long and you will be an unemployed old grad.

Don't rule out LTC the skills needed are more acute now and help transition to a hospital

RN_Man · Feb 21, 2016

First, as others have stated NYC is a very competitive market for RN's looking for work, with experience or having none. Not only do the major hospitals - NYP Columbia, NYP Cornell, Mt Sinai, Hospital for Special Surgery, NYU, and MK Sloan draw a large number of applicants from the tri-state area nursing program grad pools every few months but get applications from all over the US.

So the question becomes how does one stand out? The best way to get a job in the NYC market is to work the relationships you formed during clinical and/or externship. Most people that have jobs lined up before they even take the NCLEX is due to these relationships. I had multiple job offers at NYP Columbia and NYP Cornell due to this fact before I was licensed, as did all the people in my specialized clinical program "GAP".

If for whatever reason you didn't make those relationships or they didn't see your full potential during clinical then you have to see as many people face to face as possible. Unfortunately NYP system wide made a major change in the hiring process several years ago. It used to be that PCD's - nursing managers - were able to green light an applicant and it would be pushed through HR almost automatically. This is no longer the case. HR must process you first.

So the 2 stages of getting a job would be getting through HR and getting hired by the nursing manager - via the interview. Make your resume as relevant as possible for HR. Have multiple people in the industry look over your resume. Stay as involved in health care as possible. Work as a volunteer if you can. Work in LTC, per diem nursing home if you can. Anything helps more than nothing. Second, brush up on your interview skills. It's not practicing unless you are having a mock interview with another person (best who is also a nurse). Don't ask ANY questions about salary at all, benefits or the shifts you want. If asked about a preferred shift, say you are open to all shifts and that you know each has its positives and negatives for a new nurse. Show as much honest passion for the field as possible. Nursing managers can usually sniff out BS pretty quick in interviews. Be completely honest and use real life clinical experience you have.

And lastly, keep applying. A good friend of mine graduated in the top of her class at NYU with a second degree accelerated BSN. It took her a year of looking and applying every day to land a job - she now works at NYU.

CeceStar5, ADN, BSN, LPN, RN · Mar 8, 2016

I agree with the first post. It is very difficult finding a job in NYC. I have experience as a LPN and RN(I have associates degree and bachelors degree) and still it is difficult for me to land a job in a hospital. My advice for someone fresh out of school, try LTC. You will learn many skills, clinically and management wise (charge nurse) and it will prepare you for the hospitals. I know many new grads who start in the hospital and they were not mentally and clinically ready.