StillSeeking

I am still in disbelief that after 10 months, 3 preceptorship, some serious hustling and networking, nearly 250 applications and a HORRIBLE 2 month stint working in a SNF, I finally got a job in an actual HOSPITAL!!!! I was able to get an interview...

Wait, did you receive the letter from the manager or from HR??

It does sound like your interview went well, but it's true you won't really know until you get the offer! Don't forget to send those thank-yous to the interviewers!

Ok, I know the rules for sending out thank you cards (right away, to each interviewer, etc..), but this situation is a little awkward, and I'm wondering if I could bend the rules a bit. Yesterday I had a interview in a VERY small acute rehab unit. It...

A state university in my area that offers a BSN program also has a Rural Nursing Preceptorship Program. It's basically a course you sign up and pay for. I have done two of those in addition to my nursing school senior preceptorship.

Hi! I have had a few 'behavioral' type interviews and have a pretty good idea of how to survive those now. Send me your email and I'll send you some tips and a list of questions I've compiled from my own actual interviews.

I got the job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so freakin' happy right now my head is about to explode! It's been 10 months, 3 preceptorships and nearly 250 job apps. I am so happy right now :-)

Oh, and I will say in defense of foreign nurses (I am not foreign) that I am not seeing foreign nurses being hired over locals. I am hardly seeing *anyone* being hired. Most (all??) of the hospitals around here are unionized, so they can't exactly ...

To answer the "what city do you live in" question, it's the Bay Area, CA for me. Knowing how few jobs and how many layoffs we've had I've focused my search well out of the area (all of CA in fact!), despite the fact my husband can't just pick up and...

ADN, 3.9gpa, 3 hospital preceptorships completed, about to start a 4th, a long list of amazing references and letters of rec, looking for 10 months, over 200 applications (in-person, online, you name it), 3 interviews (none near home), 1 brief HORRIB...

Thanks everyone for the advice and kudos! Well, I ended up doing the awkward/embarrassing thing and calling the unit to ask for the spelling of their last names. The woman who answered the phone actually had to go to one of the RNs to ask her for th...

I like that idea, and it will save on postage too :-) Thank you! I should send you a card ;-)

I completely agree with the above post, and for those reasons I would politely decline her request to exchange personal info.

Exactly, but if for some reason you need to get your aide certification in CA (although I'm an RN one SNF would only hire me as an aide with my cert!), here's how to do it. I got my paperwork back from the Health Dept. in about a week. https://alln...

Congrats to the OP! That is a great story! I'm an RN, and recently applied for a CNA position at a hospital I like and just finished a med-surg preceptorship at. I have an interview on Tuesday (first one in 10 months!) for an RN position (there were...

Surprised to hear the LA BON hasn't returned your call, but keep trying. I got through to them relatively easy. They will send you the application packet (the online application/forms are incomplete) and mine came pretty quickly. You'll need to hav...

Haha! Being in the stressed-out jobless for 9 months phase, I wish someone had scared ME away!

Oops, that last paragraph somehow got chopped and pasted below (I was wondering where that went, LOL!), sorry for the redundancy!

Wow, that's crazy! Here in the CA bay area it's nearly impossible to get a job as something other than an RN (aide, med. asst, LVN) for a different reason; because employers are concerned you will leave as soon as you get an RN position. They say, "y...

Just wanted to say thanks to the OP! I'm already an RN, applied for an aide job today and was told I had to have my aide cert! I am both under and over-qualified for the same job!!!

Gosh, I got my rejection email just a couple of days after the deadline. Guess they *really* didn't like my application.

Caliotter, if I may ask, where did you end up going?

Hi there, I hate to bring you down with what you're already going through, but the Bay Area has to be one of the toughest places in CA to get a job, even for experienced nurses right now, and especially for one who's been out for a while. I would ad...

Sad to say, I do now. I quit a good job with benefits to pursue the dream of becoming a nurse, and here I am 2.5 years later trying to find a decent job, with huge student loans to pay off. My brief employment at a SNF was the worst job I can imagi...

I've been riding for years (sport, dirt and dual-sport), and even raced and taught track-riding for a few years. Nursing defines my professional life (if I could ever find a decent job, that is), and being a motorcyclist defines my personal one. I...