No one wants to hire me

[Nurse Beth, MSN]

Dear Nurse Beth,

I really want to be a Postpartum nurse. I graduated in Dec of 2015 and I started working in October of 2016. I worked in Med/Surg for 3 months and I wasn't happy. Then I transferred to behavioral health and because of the schedule and hostile work environment, I put in my 2 weeks and QUIT.

I haven't found work since and unless I work pedi home health or nursing home, no one wants to hire me.

Please help me... I feel like I should have chosen a different career path.

Dear QUIT, now what?

Just to recap your work history- you graduated over two years ago and have worked only a few months at two different jobs. When a potential employer sees short tenure and long employment gaps, they conclude that you may be a risky hire. The problem is not your career path, but your choices.

It's not advisable to quit a job until you have secured another job. Candidates who are employed are considered more employable than candidates who are unemployed.

To get your career back on track, you should probably work sub-acute for at least a year. Pick the most reputable facility you can find, with the least amount of turnover. Home health is not recommended until you have more experience.

It won't be easy, but once you land a job, stay put and keep your end goal in mind. The end goal being to establish a work history, and apply to acute care down the road. You may feel like quitting at times, but avoid repeating the pattern of quitting because you are unhappy.

Right now, it's more important for you to get a job than to get the job of your dreams. Kind of like building up your credit.

You do need all the help you can get job searching, resume-writing, and interviewing, and I recommend you read my book Your Last Nursing Class: How to Land Your First Nursing Job for all the tips you need for success.

Best wishes,

Nurse Beth

Author, "Your Last Nursing Class: How to Land Your First Nursing Job"...and your next!

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[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

Excellent advice- and I like the analogy to building up your credit!

[Wisco50]

I would be interested to know why the poster believes she would be happy/"happier" with postpartum nursing? Does she see it as an easier job? Does she love babies? Crying babies that will not nurse even though you are trying every trick you know? What about moms who are tired, hurting, frightened, suddenly bleeding heavily, etc.? Drug addict moms? Moms who just had a stillborn or whose baby is teetering n the edge of life in NICU? It also can involve a LOT of teaching. Likely far more intensely than years before - moms take those babies home so fast now! I'm someone who worked PP my first year out of school (long ago). You can run into all those things. I do think the poster needs to figure out just what is going on in her life that leads her to make certain decisions and actions. Best of luck!