I am fairly new to nursing. I graduated in December of 2011. Currently I am interviewing for 2 Director of Nursing positions. I spent 3 months being an Interim Clinical Coordinator in the ICU and PCU. During the first 2 months I had no director so I did everything. Now I am interviewing in the same hospital for Director of Rehab and Bariatrics Surgery. I am also interviewing outside the hospital for Director of Nursing for a Nursing and Rehab facility. I did it by a lot of hard work. People notice when you work harder than others. People will also help people they know. Build up your network. Know where to look for what you want. My first job was in a nursing home. In 2 months I became an assistant director. I felt like I was missing the floor and hospital experience. I wanted to go into the ICU but that is hard to do without a year of experience in the hospital first. So, I went to a hospital on the "bad" side of town. They hired me right away. After 9 months on the floor a lot of people started leaving. I wanted another job too, poor management and working conditions were taking it's toll. So, I went to upper management because rumor had it that they did not understand why so many people were leaving. So I told them. I told them what the problems were and how they could help. They offered me a management position on the night before I was to start a supervisor position elsewhere. I have found that people will not bargain to keep you unless you literally have given your notice and are walking out. While experience is a big factor for major facilities, it is not a factor for companies that are not doing well. But be prepared to work, your job will be that much harder when you start. Also, as a manager I work 65-70 hours most weeks. Good luck to you! Let us know how your job hunting goes.
