Officially giving up

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Is there anything I can do with this nursing degree besides nursing or teaching in nursing?

It's been 18 months and NO ONE will hire me. I've looked out of state, internationally, even tried to volunteer and I can't !&*^@*$ win. I had a position offered to me then retracted because the manager decided to change the "new grad" position to someone with experience. Every other interview I go on, I always get to the final interview and then told I didn't get it for some BS reason.

I spoke to a nursing recruiter and told me that I was basically screwed. Mostly because I've been out of school for so long and refresher courses are reserved for those who have had experience but have been out for other reasons. A second recruiter told me to find a new dream.

This is my second degree, the first is in biology, I have no clinical experience other than what I did in school but my resume is still impressive. I can't believe I wasted three years of of life getting my BSN all for nothing.

About the same time I ALMOST landed a job with a private hand surgeon. After 3 interviews he told me he, and the staff, really liked me.Then he said “I really want to hire you….but I can’t, you just do not have enough experience.” SNAP!!!!!!!

That's a shame. Very sad story.

Have you tried upstate Ny? Like Albany, Plattsburgh, Catskills? I heard its freezing up there but I heard they hirenew nurses. I had got recruited for a Plattsburgh hospital as a new R.N but I didn't make the move.

I have similar stories RN that never was......disqualified from Versant Program after 2nd interview, always everybody's second choice because they have experience, disqualified from VA after job offer, moved three times, and now in refresher program. Yep, becoming a little jaded. I knew finding a job would not be easy, but had I known nursing was so dysfunctional, I might have studied something else!! Just gotta get motivated and get back out there. Believe me, I know...I feel like hiding.

This officially has me scared. I have not even started yet. I have a BS in another field and am starting my 5 pre req's in the fall for a 16 month accelerated bsn program. I keep reading about new grads not being able to find jobs and it has me worried.

Specializes in LTC/SNF.

I just did my rotation at a state psychiatric facility that said they are hard up for nurses and will hire nurses with experience or no experience, any LPN or RN really, in a heartbeat. The techs and some of the nurses are unionized so the benefits are pretty good. Many of the workers have been there for 5-25 years. Look at state or government-run facilities.

Specializes in LTC/SNF.
People don't flock here which is why jobs here are plentiful.

This is the case as to why nursing jobs are plentiful in my area is well (rural New Mexico). To anyone struggling to find a job, look for jobs in rural or poor parts of the country. I guarantee you will find something. It may not be your "dream" something, but it is a paycheck and nursing experience.

Specializes in Pedi.
When I was a new LPN.. I put my clinical experience under work experience just as if I had worked there.. It worked.. I got a job at an Assisted Living and PRN on Medical Surgical Unit. Try that.. Sometimes they forget that you have experience which you gain in your clinical settings.

I would strongly suggest to NOT do that. Most employers view this as dishonest and deliberately misleading. If someone tells me that they worked as a nurse for 2 years (clinicals) but they just got their nursing license last month, their resume is going directly into the circular file. Actually, just saw a resume like this today... person (new grad LPN) claimed to be an "experienced charge nurse" which was an obvious lie. Resume got about 12 seconds of my attention and then got tossed.

ShouldI -network and volunteer during school as much as you can. Looking back, I wish I had prior medical experience. During school I was raising two kids on my own, separating from an abusive spouse in court as my own laywer (and won), and battling a chronic pain condition. So that left me little time for anything but studying. You can do it, just be mindful that it is all about who you know and getting your foot in ANY door. Always ask for recommendation letters during clinicals WHILE you are in school and at every job you have, before you give notice. Volunteer for anything you can and keep a running tab of all your experiences to refer to later. And get to know your professors. The market for nurses has to get better.

Have you tried applying in the Philly area? I've seen classmates have a lot more luck as new grads in Philly than NJ, especially northern NJ. The pay grade is lower than northern NJ/NYC areas, but there are some great hospitals that are open to new grads and you'll gain experience.

Also, I was planning on inquiring about this flu clinic if I had not landed my job. They advertise for new grads:

http://cnj.craigslist.org/hea/4079805789.html

This sucks!! The work is so hard and now nurses are fighting so hard to take so much crap? If I could only warn people not to spend the money on this field. If I had a dollar for every warning to every nursing student I'd be able to pay off my freaking student loan from a lying private BSN college that touted the nursing shortage and nursing positions at $55/hr. What they didn't tell students was that it was for 7 yr experience in ICU nightshift on the weekend. Phhhhhh... nice. again... bait and switch.

With that said... take a deep breath and apply to everything and all and contact your professors, friends and whatever connections you have to help out. Then apply for jobs to pay the bills at the same time with just as much tenacity. That way you can sleep. Trust me, you can make just as much as a waiter/bartender without the facetime germs. Man, I'm jaded. forgive me. LOL

Forgive me if it has already been suggested (I didn't read previous posts), but have you tried looking at state facilities? They tend to be a little more accepting of new grads. That's how I got my start. I graduated in May 2011. I applied everywhere. Nothing. Then I decided to give nursing homes a try. I got a list of all the nursing homes within an hour drive and called every single one of them to see if they hired new grads. All but one did as a PRN. Found out I suck at working with geriatric patients. I got terminated during orientation because of my hesitancy towards the elderly.

Then I looked at a state website. I saw an opening for a psych facility. I got the job immediately....and I learned that many new grads start there and then move on. Many other new grads were hired at state medical facilities...........granted they were nursing homes/chronically ill types....but even so, it gave them medical experience. I worked in psych or a year and a half. Great place to get psych experience btw.....I work for the VA now as a psych nurse..........I love psych nursing.

Anyway, the point is, visit your state website and see what they have.

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