NYC New Grad Job advice please!

Undone · Feb 16, 2015

It looks like we have had the same experience, will you be done with your BSN soon?

honeydewnyc · Feb 18, 2015

Isn't it so discouraging? About one year. I want to get it done ASAP.

Andy_Pisk · Feb 19, 2015

On a lighter note, while waiting for a "real" hospital job, look at your daily stint as one of the ways of expanding your experiences. Do not get tired of applying online. Process of application may be slow, but there is certainly good news from one or two among the many online applications you did. Working in private institutions is not bad either.

allnurses Guide · Feb 20, 2015

NYC is the toughest market in the nation for new grads. Many hospitals have closed down and there is an abundance of experienced nurses looking for work. If you do not have a BSN, my understanding is that NYC hospitals will not even consider you. Even if you do have your BSN you will need to get a few years of experience elsewhere (I hear upstate New York is a bit more open?) before NYC hospitals will give you a cursory glance. I also have heard that the biggest chance you have is if you have someone already on the inside (working in a hospital) to network with and get your name in front of a manager.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

Goat_Boy · Feb 22, 2015

It's super hard to find work in NYC. I have my bachelors and it took me 5 months to find something.. In JERSEY!

I found a job at a good hospital there so I said I'll take it. The commute isn't bad. Just shy of an hour no traffic. Still I knew I wasn't going to get lucky in NYC. After so long of applying I was actually going to drive up to Albany for an interview. Good thing the place in jersey called me before I got there. But that's how desperate I was getting.

It does take a while though for your applications to even be considered. After I accepted the NJ position I ended up getting a cal from LIJ and kings county. I know ! That sucks. But I'm sticking with my jersey job.

My advice is to be patient but to also explore other options. Practice interviewing A LOT. Apply to all the hospitals and keep your eyes open for open houses and new grad positions. They do exist.

Good luck. I hope you find something.

estrellaCR, BSN, RN · Feb 24, 2015

Takes a while to get a job in NYC. I was working outpatient for 7 months before a hospital called me for interview and eventually a job. Even changing to another specialty with higher acuity two years later took a few months but Its do able...just takes a lot of patience.

Also fyi for better response post on the New York forum...this is the national forum so response may not be as high as many posters on national forum are job seekers in their own state/region. The NEw YOrk forum is found at New York Nursing .

Fl0werRN · Mar 23, 2015

Hi! I am a new grad in NYC and I'm the process of starting a job at an ambulatory care clinic. Can you tell me how that is? It's my first job and I don't know what to expect? Is it challenging?

smiley28 · Mar 27, 2015

it takes a while to find jobs in today's job market. Keep your hopes up, keep applying! Even I just graduated with my BSN degree in January and still have not heard back from any hospital at all, not even an interview call. Just got lucky two hospitals in Long Island have called me in for an interview so far, the commute is not really appealing to me, a little over 2 hrs commute for me x.x but well if that's my only way of getting my nursing experience to start my career, i'm willing to consider it. So maybe you can try applying to Long Island hospitals as well.

However, I do not have any nursing experience at all. So you are at an advantage with your ambulatory clinic experience, just make sure you sell that on your resume and during your interview. Any experience is better than nothing. and keep applying! Maybe once you get your BSN, it will be better with your experience. Right now many hospitals are really strict about hiring nurses with ASN (it's possible) but still very difficult considering the fact that there's so many people graduating with BSN now.

Good luck!