No more RN jobs in Huntsville area?

[Jedi of Zen]

I graduated from school in May 2009, and have also passed NCLEX.

I guess new grads seem to be a dime a dozen right now, despite the "nursing shortage".

But I am wondering - shamelessly - if anyone knows of any employer who is hiring in the Huntsville area.

I have worked at Huntsville Hospital as an EKG tech and Cardiology transporter for over 4 years. I have applied to pretty much every available RN job opening within HH ever since I graduated. I've had 4 interviews so far, but no offers yet.

I've applied to many jobs at Crestwood and Decatur General as well, and so far have heard nothing back from them.

I've also sent my resume and/or applied to other facilities both in this area as well as Florence, Gadsden, Scottsboro, and Cullman. Ditto in Tennessee: Fayetteville, Columbia, Smyrna, Murfreesboro, Nashville, Chattanooga, Franklin...and still no responses.

I also contacted a nurse recruiting agency, and had a weird experience with that. About an hour after I emailed them my resume, they called me and gave me a cheerful description on the phone of how easy it would be to find me a job. I told them that I was a new grad, and they said that would be no problem. Then about 2 days later they sent me an email saying that they don't normally work with new grads, and that I should NOT seek the services of a nurse recruiter. Which, that's fine with me, but I didn't understand why they initially told me quite the opposite on the phone.

I guess it's frustrating because I know that some people in my class have already gotten jobs at Huntsville Hospital despite the fact that they didn't already work there, or they worked for a much shorter period of time than I have. I am not angry towards those people, because I know very well that each of them will make great nurses, and I'm glad to have them working there. However, I just wonder what it is I'm doing wrong. I also know of at least 2 other people from my class who have also been long time HH employees, and like me are still without a nursing job, despite applying frequently.

Maybe it just boils down to the luck of the draw. I am confident that I will find SOMETHING eventually, but in the meantime if anyone has any leads or tips they'd be willing to share, it would be most appreciated. You are welcome to respond here or PM me.

Thanks; sorry was this so long, and hope everyone is having a great day.

[ybarnett]

I have a good idea of how you feel. I have four years plus experience as an RN in ICU and Telemetry. I was laid off from the only hospital in Florence and having a very hard time finding employment. I've looked into travel, and nothing so far, because I haven't traveled before. I still have faith that something will come along, my only question is when. I'm open to any suggestions from anyone out there.