No New Grad Jobs in NYC

rubbertoe11 · Jul 15, 2013

You are in a good position for consideration. 10 years of work there is too good to simply overlook. You would beat me if I were interviewing against you!

lullaby · Jul 16, 2013

hello dear, i am sorry you are going through so much and it must be so hard to be a single mom on top of it. so with this hospital where you have been working for 10 years, are you a nursing assistant there? i think the first thing i would do would be to contact as many different people at this hospital as possible, not just this one person who has told you all these supposed rules they have. i would just apply my ass off there and use every network and connection possible, even if you don't know many people there. literally print your resume and cover letter out and spend a whole day going from unit to unit and trying to meet with the nurse managers of the unit, just tell them you have been working there for 10 years and get the ball rolling. you have to sell yourself, think of all the assets you could bring them and don't sell yourself short! being somewhere for 10 years is a huge benefit to them, you know A LOT more about how that hospital works than any other new grads they might have. i am also a newish grad and i am still learning so much on my unit and i constantly go to the pcnas etc on the floor who have been there a long time to answer a lot of my questions.

the next advice i would have would be to consider moving, even if just upstate or a bit further out. where are you currently living? i lived in nyc for over 10 years and i also made the decision to move back home to where i am from to work for the cleveland clinic to get my experience. it is one of the only hospitals i know of (and it's a top 5 hospital in the nation) that will actually hire new grads, i know how hard it is in nyc! i also have my ADN. honestly right now i would focus more on getting some more experience rather than rushing to get your BSN. i would also apply to nursing homes, home health care and all that too. don't listen to all the people who say that you HAVE to work in a hospital right away, times are changing and hospital jobs are harder and harder to get. any nursing experience is better than NO experience, i worked in a nursing home for 4 months before i got my hospital job and it definitely helped me get the interview and gave me a lot to talk about during my interview as well.

just stay strong and keep doing what you are doing, you will be moving forward soon enough. and use this 10 years of experience as much to your advantage as possible, that it a big deal and don't sell yourself short!

NurseDreamerNYC · Sep 19, 2013

Hello lullaby. I am sorry I didn't reply sooner. I just saw this now. Shortly after I posted this, I finally got the panel interview that I had been waiting for a year to get at the hospital I work for. Unfortunately, I was not selected. I am crushed. You would think that they would've taken into consideration all of the years that I have worked there, my good grades, that fact that I worked there full-time while attending nursing school, and my positive record into consideration, but I guess that didn't matter. Out of the people who were selected for an interview, only a few were chosen for positions. Interestingly enough, me and another girl from the hospital applied and neither one of us were chosen. They ended up going with the external candidates. I couldn't believe it. Usually hospitals will take their internal employees before even considering outside people. It is not possible to get into a nursing position through the hospital without first getting accepted into the new grad residency, so now that is out of the question for me. The residency program is generally only given once or twice a year, and since I was denied, I will have to move on and look elsewhere. Now I feel like I am starting from square one.

I am originally from the Bronx, but I am currently living in Manhattan. I really do not want to relocate too far unless it is absolutely necessary because my whole life is here. I drive so I am willing to work anywhere in the tri-state area, Westchester, etc., but no one even calls me for an interview! The market is absolutely horrible here. This process is so discouraging. I have great grades, I'm 6 months away from being done with my BSN, and I have been working for almost 10 years at one of the best hospitals in the world! I don't know what more I can do. I even went and got my ACLS certification, anything to boost my resume further. I'm beginning to think I will never find a job. Pretty soon I will not be considered a new grad any longer, and places will be even less interested in me.

I thank you for your kind words. I know that I am one of many who are going through this exact same thing.