PinkPickle

And where do we get these clinical hours without jobs? haha

It's worse and keeps getting worse. I have 1 1/2 years of experience from another state and even that is not enough to land me a job. I moved to due to husband transfer! I apply to tons of positions and don't even get a nibble on my resume. And I have two Bachelor degrees, one being in Nursing. Here's my advice: 1. Be willing to work in any hospital unit (we all have our ideal unit, but right now you should take anything because I guarantee it's better than no job!) 2. Be willing to move to any state if that is a possibility for you. Lots of places that are not your ideal place to live actually are hiring. Example: Smaller towns in TX (not bigger ones) 3. Apply to everything, once you have passed NCLEX is better because then it's on your resume, but ya apply to every job that doesn't require experience. Even if you don't like the type of unit or shift... you need to take what you can get and stick it out for 2 years if possible, minimum 1 year. And don't give up your job until you have another one. 4. Prior to applying for jobs take: BLS and ACLS. And if you can afford it also take PALS and NRP... all CPR classes that will boost the resume. 5. If you can afford the time and money continue on for you BSN or even Masters. I wish you the best of luck! Hope this helps and isn't too discouraging. It's a sad reality that our nursing schools lied and the job market is just not recovering. I hear not until 2020 when the older nurses are finally forced to retire. UG!

I think if you keep paying the renewal fees and getting the required CEs then it stays active. At least that's what I'm hoping (jobless too!).

Very easy to transfer your license to WA. The directions online are easy to follow. Every state as something different that it requires and WA as an HIV 7hr class you have to take. You only need to have to in the chance that you get audited. So it's very easy to take online and just safe the completion certification. I took the class thru ClassesOnline4U and I think I used the WA BON website to find it. But it was recommended by the state so I knew it was good. It is a 7 hr class, but only took me like under 4hrs for the 7hrs of credit. :) BUT... the market here is bad. I only have 1 1/2 years of experience but I'm really struggling to get a job. So I would suggest applying and getting a job before actually moving. It's great you have 3 years, but not being in a hospital will be a disadvantage. If you are working and licensed in another state then you can wait to transfer you license until you have a job. You can just put "eligible" for WA license. You may have to apply to jobs you don't want just to get something. Unless you have experience don't apply to L&D and Peds... there's way too much competition and you are going to need to gain more experience in a hospital first. Hope this helps. Trying to be honest, but hopefully not too discouraging. Good luck!

My interview was more unusual. I lived in CA and interviewed on the phone. First with a recruiter. Then she forwarded my info to a few managers. Then I interviewed on the phone with 4 or 5 managers at the same time. I told them I was willing to move immediately and would be fine being hired over the phone if they were ok with it. So I didn't have a normal in person interview. It's hard for me to remember what they asked me. But I did alot of prep based off of interview questions from other forums on here. I say have good answers to: -why you want to do nursing -why you want to work in the type of unit you are applying to -your strengths (positive attitude, organized, etc.) -your weaknesses (not enough experience delegating, slow at charting)... something that is expected for your level of nursing and something that you can see easy to improve on -example of when you've dealt with conflict in nursing (make it positive outcome) -example of teamwork -example of critical thinking (in an assessment or problem with a patient) -example of a mistake you made and what you did about it Good luck to you!

Actually my employment at Hendrick did not work out. I had a pretty miserable experience working with the fellow employees on my unit. I don't think everyone's experience is like mine, so I wouldn't discourage you from applying. Unfortunately, this hospital wasn't a good fit for me. Sorry I can't give more details.

I looked for a year in San Diego, CA. I gave up, figured out a way for my husband and I to relocate and I got hired immediately in Texas. The nurse recruiter said Tx's economy is great and that's why they are hiring and the hospital is expanding. After such a hard search in CA, I was surprised at how easy and fast it was to get hired in TX. I did search alot in other states as well, but I'm telling you if are are just "done" searching then apply to smaller towns in TX. I heard the bigger towns are still kind of hard to get hired, but small towns are the way to go. I'm at Hendrick Medical Center in Abilene. 3 weeks into orientation and it's going great so far. I also heard the hospitals in Midland are in high demand right now. Please PM me if you have more questions. Good luck!

I looked for a year in CA and finally decided to relocate to TX to get a job. I had 3 months RN working experience and about 10months volunteering RN work. I am still considered a new grad. I got a job immediately once I looked in TX and I'm now in week 3 of orientation. I am in Abilene and Hendrick Medical Center. I've heard that bigger, more well know cities are hard to get jobs, but not impossible. But smaller cities are in need. I've also heard that the hospitals in Midland are in great need. If you don't mind moving to a smaller town that is away from the bigger towns then I'd recommend it. It's actually nice being in a small town and doesn't feel too small. It's more strange that nothing big is around for hours. But I'm loving no traffic and side-streets to work. :) Please feel free to PM me with more questions.

Hello, I'm thinking of working at Hendrick Medical Center in Abilene, TX. I would be relocating from CA. I was hoping for any input about the hospital/location. Thanks!

Just curious, have any of you gotten jobs with using these recruiters? And if so where? Thanks for the list!

That is a very unusual job. :) hmmmm That's a tough one. I'd normally say don't turn anything down, but my worry is that it would make you not eligible for hospital new grad jobs. I guess go to the interview and see how it feels and what exactly you are offering. Also think about how many actual RN skills you'd be using. And would you enjoy it? Could you do it for a year or few years? Let me know what happens.

I'm so sorry! It's so difficult to get a job right now, believe me I went through it too. Just keep applying to everywhere! I thought I was never going to find anything, but finally got the job that was the best fit for me. Just treat the job hunt like a job. Do it all day every day. You will get better at "marketing" yourself in essays and do what you can to boost your resume even more. Take extra certifications (ACLS, PAL, EKG, etc.), keep volunteering at an RN. Keep rewriting your resume and essays. Just don't give up. And if you get offered anything, take it. You can work anywhere for a year and then move on to a better location or unit. One other thing I did was talked to alot of nurse recruiters from agencies. I really didn't want to move outside of San Diego, but began to look in other places/states because it was taking so long. I found alot of recruiter in Texas that had openings for new grads. Just a thought for you. There were lots of other states that do have jobs. So if that's at all an option for you then look up some agency companies and see what they have. The recruiters get a commission so they are better about helping get you interviews. Good luck!

Awesome!

HI! Thank you so much. I have been loving my new job, although it's very difficult. I know the job market is tough out there. It took me about 8months (4.5 after license). SICU only hired 2 new grads last round, and sadly are not hiring for Oct2010. But other units still are, although spots are very limited. I've heard CCU is another great unit, alot of cadiac patients, so brush up on those diagnoses, treatments/surgeries. As for when to expect an email about interviews.... so every department is different. They all have their own managers who do the interviewing (with about 2 others). My floor had the manager, nurse educator, nurse clinical specialist for example. There's really not a good way to know when that specific unit will interview or even hire. I would call the HR recruiters and tell them you are very interested and trying to stay up to date on the progress of your application. Bluntly ask if they know when they will be setting up interviews, how many are they expecting to hire? And anything you want to know. When you actually get to an interview, don't ask how many are they hiring. I'm not sure it it'd be helpful or not to introduce yourself to the CCU manager. I had heard in the past that that would be helpful, but I felt uncomfortable doing it myself. Another thing to ask HR, they will give you a better idea of it it'd help, hurt, or make no difference. Just remember, they forwarded you application already, which means you already impressed them and have qualities that they were looking for. So that's a really good start! My application/interview time/hiring was extremely unusually fast. And since it's a different unit it's just going to be dependent on that manger. It depends on so many things specific to the unit, how many they are interviewing, who knows what else. I would think they'd give you about 3-4 weeks notice before starting work to know you were hired. (So if you don't know ask HR, when in Oct). They it could maybe 2-4weeks before for interviews? So you may get called immediately for an interview, or it may take a few weeks. Most likely the manager will be the one calling you to set it up. I think your preceptorship experience is huge in getting you "forwarded." I think you are already an excellent candidate for that reason. And your VA experience is awesome. So you were a volunteer then for that year? I wish you the best of luck! I did alot of reading from this website about interview prep. And if you look up my profile, I have some posts I did about interview "help" just from my experience. Mostly to people asking me for advice on boosting resumes. But I think I also did some on actually interviewing. I heard that my interview was very different from interviews in other units. Some are more personality and critical thinking, others are more situational questions, it just depends. So be ready for anything. The biggest thing is, be confident that they already liked you and they should you have a great resume. Phrase things in the interview like "when I start..." not "if you hire me." Express: excitement to learn, willingness to to be taught, and the drive to work hard and not give up. And no matter your actually future plans, if asked say that you would love to make this unit your lifelong career and you have no intentions of leaving! Don't ever indicate that you really want to go off and leave for school and this is a stepping stone, or that you are just taking this and plan to transfer to a different unit. They want to invest time and money into you, so make them feel like you are a good investment. And it's ok to say you are open to more schooling (if you are), just don't imply that you're leaving them or using them. I hope this helps. Please write if you have any more questions. And I'll try to help. Also, let me know about interviews etc. :) Good luck!

The VA in San Diego does hire new grads, but right now they are in a hiring freeze. They haven't hired in awhile, and don't have any plans to in the near future. Sorry! You can still apply and they'll hold your application for I think 6months. You can also ask the recruiter if they've changed their mind and know when they may hire again. Good luck!

I am in week 3 of the new grad program in the SICU/trauma unit. All I can say is that it's been amazing! I would suggest putting the type of unit you preceptored in. I did mine in a MICU, so I said I wanted ICU... they told me I was then being considered for SICU. They don't hire very many. My round had 1100 applicants immediately and I heard ended with 22 hires... about 2 new grads per unit. So, apply 1st day possible. Return the questionnaire immediately. And as tempting as it is to say "I'd love to work any unit"... you need to commit and "be passionate" for one specialty/unit. Also, if you have time before applying: volunteer as an RN, take extra certifications, and practice interview questions (alot of help on allnurses). You can message me personally if you have more questions. What did you preceptor in? What would you ideally want to do? Good luck to you!

Gem & Jyaa, I'm so sorry you two! You will find something else so don't lose hope! You'll get something that you wanted even more, and it'll be worth the long wait! One of you mentioned that you were worried about the time since graduation. I looked into that alot since I was worried about it too, but only a few schools made it a criteria. They know that there are a ton of new grads that are trying to get hired but it's taking longer than expected. Chemincal, Nope, I didn't get a call from Southwest yet, which I'm honestly shocked about. I really thought I would be offered the job. But now that it's been awhile I'm starting to think they maybe wont offer it to me. Regardless, I would still turn it down, so in the long run I guess it doesn't really matter. I am thrilled that I'm starting in the SICU/Trauma unit at UCSD. It's an excellent hospital and I'm sure it'll be a very challenging floor!

Did you not get hired? I'm sorry if that's the case!

Did you do clinicals there? I'm curious if they are taking their own students first?

Congrats!!!

The biggest difficulty is the location that you are looking in. Some locations (like southern CA) it doesn't matter if you say anytime, it is still hard to find a job. Of course I didn't try quite as hard for per diem jobs because they can't guarantee hours. And all new grad jobs were full-time with on call. I didn't see many part time jobs open to new grads. If you are not a new grad, then I'd imagine that the search would be a little easier, but once again it just depends on location. If you can be more flexible and look "everywhere" you will find a job faster. Where are you looking and when?

Nope, it's kind of weird... don't loose hope! Are you in the running for any other hospital?

You can take the certifications any time, but they have a 2 year expiration, then you have to take a renewal class. BLS is basic CPR, you will have to take this before you start school. Then I'd wait to take the others until you are at least half-way into school because they are much harder classes. ACLS is an advanced CPR that deals with irregular heart rhythms, medications, and what you do during a code situation. So, it'll make more sense further along in your schooling. PALS is like Pediatric CPR, so take it if you are interested in applying to peds positions. NRP is baby CPR, so take it if you are interested in NICU or L&D. If you only have time for one extra, I'd take ACLS. This is will look good for any position you apply to. It shows them, that you are going above and beyond to make yourself marketable and prepared. I'd wait until pretty late in your program to take it, just have it on your resume by the time you start applying for jobs. The class is around $200 for a one day class, but it may be cheaper if you are still a student. By the end of the day, you pass a written test, and pass a demonstration, and then you have the certification. I've never seen anyone fail, so they will work with you if you are confused on some areas.

RN Volunteer work; extra certifications (ACLS, PALS, NRP, etc.); great letters of recommendation. And every clinical is a great chance to make connections with managers that do the hiring. Also, if you have a few years before you graduate, things may be better for getting a job. If they aren't: apply to every unit open, and every location you can. You can work in a unit for a year or two to get experience, and then finally get into your desired area of nursing. Best of luck to you! I start my first job in 2 weeks!!!

I start June 15th! In the interview, I asked what I should do to prepare before orientation, and they told me to rest! haha So.... I'm trying to rest and not think about everything I don't remember and don't know...