Nursing Grad still looking for a job

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Hey everybody,

I'm graduated nursing school in May 08 in NY and have been licensed since September. I had to have some minor surgery on my foot so I wasn't able to work during this past fall. I quit the job I was working at while going to school in October so that I could focus on recovering at home and not feel rushed to have to get back to the office. While I was home I sent out resumes and cover letters, but didnt' get any call backs. I finally got a call from a hospital in my neighborhood in December and had an interview with the unit nurse manager. It went really well and she kept saying that she liked me a lot. She had me come in for a 2nd mini interview with the night shift nurses because she likes to make them feel part of the process. That went well too. The manager told me the nurses said they liked me too. Once the holidays passed, the nurse recruiter (who decides on hiring) called me for an interview with her. I went and I thought it went well. She said she would contact the manager and ask her if she'd like me to be hired. The recruiter was being replaced at the end of the week. She would still be a recruiter but just not for nurses, so she said someone else would take over the following week. No one called me for almost 2 weeks. I called the new nurse recruiter and she looked up my file and told me I wasn't going to be offered the job. I was so sad, but I was glad that I had an answer. The wait was torture. So now I'm back into job hunting again. I've been sending my resume and cover letters everywhere. No one has really reached out. Almost all of the job postings I see want experienced nurses. But how am I supposed to be experienced if I'm not hired? I also feel like my transcript may be a problem. It's not the most impressive, but I'm proud of my degree! I worked hard. I had a full-time job and sometimes even worked overtime, and I went to school. I know a lot of people do this and I don't want to use this as an excuse, but instead use it to say that Hey I am a hard worker and I give my all to get the job done. I didn't fail any of my nursing classes and did well in clinicals. Exams were just really hard for me and unfortunately that's what grades are based on. I did well on the NCLEX. I only took it once and it shut off at 78 questions. I know it doesn't make me a genius, but I was pretty proud of that.

I've been feeling down since I received the rejection from that hospital. I started feeling a lot better today. I'm trying to stay positive and keep thinking that the job for me will come.

Anyway, I just felt like venting a little.

I am attending a home care agency open house in a couple of weeks. Home care has never really been my calling, but it's the only thing out there right now and I have to give it a try. I'm tired of not working and want to start my career already.

Does anyone have any tips for job searching as a new grad? some positive vibes my way are welcome as well! :)

Thanks for reading!

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Hi Machita,

Just a quick note. I too am a new grad but graduated in 12/08. I had a long break last year and searched for a job for 4 months! I got so frustrated too. I tried to apply online so many times, sent out my resumes, went to job fairs and had some interviews too. Managers were vocal that they liked me but they still did not hire me. I think it is also because of the bad economy and limited budgets for new grads. Sometimes internal candidates are hired first than external candidates...

Don't lose hope. Stay positive. I got an offer last December to work in a hospital. What I did was I called the operator of the hospital and asked for the manager's name...made a cover letter that same day and went straight to talk to her. She must have liked me since she asked me to come back twice also to meet her night staff nurses. It took me a month to wait until she called and offer me a job! I'm not working yet until Feb. So great things can happen! You just have to believe in yourself and take charge of your job search. There is a lot of competition out here (I live in SF bay area). THere is a huge glut of new grads and the only way to compete with them is by presenting yourself professionally, showing your great talents and interest and meeting the managers. They have the hiring powers so go for it!

Also, it helped me fix my resume when I talked to a manager one time. She asked me questions that she couldn't find from my resume -such as what was my clinical preceptorship, how many hours I had...I forgot to write med/surg in my preceptorship..I only wrote the hospital name..so check your resume and make it clear and brief..Try to meet the managers in the units to give you more confidence in presenting yourself.

I hope this helps! Best of luck with your job search! :)

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Call up the hospitals you've applied to and BE AGGRESSIVE. Ask to speak to the nursing recruiter directly. Let him/her know who you are and why you're calling. After your done with that, call the unit managers of the areas you're wanting to work in. Let them know who you are. Build a relationship as much as possible. Do lots of follow up. CALL CALL CALL. Did i mention, be aggressive? Don't ever send in your application and then assume they aren't interested just because they don't call you back. They are busy and if you call them to follow up, you're much more likely to get the job.

All you have to say is "Hello (person's name), this is (your name). I submitted my application about 2 weeks ago, and I haven't heard anything back. I was calling to find out what the status of my application is, and hopefully I can come in for an interview. Thank you. Please call be back at (your number)."

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Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.

Have you considered working in a skilled facility? Many subacute units are as busy as med-surg floors these days. It can be a great place to learn many skills...especially assessment skills and time management skills. I wouldn't suggest trying to start in home care. You REALLY need to know what you're doing and have experience to go out on your own. Good luck.

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But I have to say and I know it sounds really corny I'm glad there are forums such as these for support and advice!

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Wow I never thought it was this hard to find a nursing job there. Usually, when my countrymen nurses apply there, there is positive feedback. Employers immediately if not as soon as possible call these applicants as in the case of my cousin who graduated last 2006. Yeah, there still experience requirement but then they give them time allowance to complete that experience requirement in due time. Maybe it has changed now. Wow, really, Did'nt expect.

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Luckyfortune,

Thanks for writing!

Actually, I was thinking of moving to SF after I graduated. Because I had some minor surgery I decided to delay my move. I was hoping to move some time later this year. I really love SF and have been there a lot in the past couple of years. I have some cousins who live there. I met someone from UCSF at a conference last summer and he told me about some training programs there. I'm really interested, as I'm sure thousands of others are as well. I thought it would be better if I went out there once I had some experience.

Thanks for the advice about the resume. It's funny because I had just done exactly what you suggested the day before my post. A friend of mine who is a recruiter (but for corporate jobs) suggested that I write more about my clinical experience on my resume. I had listed each semester with the class and the hospital in which I did my clinical but that was all. That's how they showed us how to do it in nursing school. I decided not to write what i did specifically in each clinical because everyone's experience was different. So what I did was list about 6 bullets on what we were always responsible for during clinical. Like take report, vitals, meds, treatments, care plans, etc. I hope it helps. Hopefully I'll have better luck with my new resume. I'm keeping my head up! :nuke:

Thanks again for your words!

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Thanks for the advice, inland18mempire!

I have been able to call some recruiters, and I've left messages. Sometimes I think they have a number for external calls and they just let it go to voicemail. They never pick up. It's hard to get the hospital to give you a unit's manager contact info. I've called places sometimes and I just mention the recruiter or that I'm looking for work and they just forward me straight to them when I was calling for their title or their email address. And then I get the voicemail. It's like a vicious circle. But I'm going to keep at it! Thanks again!

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Hi Machita,

You can call the operator and asked to be transferred to the unit. Once you talk to unit clerk, introduce yourself and let her/him know that you are a new grad..Then ask for their manager's name. Then write a cover letter addressed to the manager and try to meet her personally. I think that should work. Don't ask for the other contact info. They don't usually give that over the phone. Maybe start with the name of the manager first.

Good luck!

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