trinnylax0484

Non-compete contracts do not hold up out of state either.

That non-compete contract really isn't that valid since it hinders your ability to work. It wouldn't hold it's weight at all in court. Either way you can work for a hospital instead (not a center) and it wouldn't even apply. What state do you currently work in?

Stick it out for a year and then apply somewhere else. Minimum exp req'd for most places (that require exp) is 1 year. Leaving after 4-5-6-7 months looks bad. One year is acceptable.

I know of a magnet hospital in the chicago area that is looking for dialysis RNs with experience and the pay is fair (market index) and benefits good.

No problem. Narrow your focus. Good luck.

You can quickly google what new grad nurses are making in most metropolitan areas. You should be happy you got asked in the first place, you look more desperate by applying to every job out there than by what you ask for. In mrchicago's neighborhood new grad nurses can make 50-60k a year depending on which shift they work.

You need to narrow your focus. I reject every single candidate that lists "open" or "any" as their preferred unit. Those candidates are not likely to stick with a position once they get it, and they'll transfer immediately to new openings in areas they really want. Volunteer experience doesn't count as RN experience, but it may help you get hired at THAT hospital where you volunteered. Say there is an opening in the MICU. Why would you be considered when you apply with "any" as your interest, when there is an equally qualified new grad with "MICU" as their preference. It makes you look desperate, and the other grad looks like they're driven to get on a MICU unit. Historically the other grad has a much higher chance of staying on the unit, and filling openings with grads who don't stay (for at least 2 years) is a complete waste of everyones time. Figure out what you want to do and list it on your resume/application process. I suggest it be your capstone, leadership, or transition clinical as well as you're more likely to get hired in that area (even if it's not what you REALLY want to do). Also, applying to everything under the sun looks REALLY BAD especially if you've applied to multiple different things at the SAME place. As a recruiter I can see everything you applied to, and it looks bad to have that "I just want a job" attitude.

Clinicals count as experience in the sense that they're the area you're most familiar with or have spent the most time in. They're just not RN experience. So when it says, what are you interested in : How many years of exp do you have in that area (as an RN)? You answer . You could add something like Phlebotomy work experience is fine to leave in, especially if you held the position for 2+ years because it'll show a more stable work history. It also shows that you had a job but wanted to further your education (which many teaching universities highly value). "Worked at McDonalds" "Worked as a bartender" or whatever should all be left off. Unless of course, they're the only work experience you have. Huge gaps in work experience should also be explained. Specific skills don't hurt to add but don't list everything (that isn't relavent to the position you're applying to) as it may clutter your resume. Your first goal is to get the recruiter to send your resume to the hiring manager. The hiring managers are more concerned with skills in their resume reviews and of course, their interviews. Recruiters only want to match you to the open position which means your interest, where most of your experience may be (for new grads this would be your leadership, capstone, etc.) and your qualifications (able to work nights, degree, license, etc.) You don't need to list general things like "medical terminology" because it is expected that if you didn't have that you wouldn't have passed your nursing exam or graduated. More specific skills or areas of experience stand out, like "bone marrow transplant" versus simply saying "transplant" or "hematology / oncology". On a side-note a lot of openings are in 3rd shift, (because internal candidates get preference when a 1st shift opens up) so if you want days / evenings only you may be rejected by the HRIS sytem itself for giving the wrong answer. "Any shift" if probably your best answer with the understanding you're probably going to work 3rd. As a bonus, 3rd shift generally gets paid 20% more than 1st. You need to research every single place you're applying to and know what units they have, what their specialties are and what the culture, mission, and vision statements are. You don't need to list them on your resume per say, but you should at least be able to explain that it was those things that made you want to work there. I see so many resumes where new grads want pediatrics and I simply reject them without reading the rest of their resume because our hospital doesn't even have a pediatric unit. They obviously didn't do their research and don't care that much if they're just applying to every single RN position they can find. I realize that some new grads just want a job, so theyre going to do that. But they must expect a high rejection rate from that tactic. Even really bad resumes may get a call from a recruiter if they list their experience in an area, apply to that area, and there is an opening in the area. Some nuances can be overlooked when a position needs to be filled (perfect candidate for a position but they also listed all their non-nursing jobs on their resume back to 1995). Hope that helps!

Page limit isnt as big of an issue seeing as most of the viewing is electronic these days. I have seen some people put their resume in size 8 font to fit it on one page, and I don't even read their resumes I just reject them. You don't need super long explanations of your past postions.

Diplomas and ASN/ADN are worthless because it's an EMPLOYERS MARKET right now. That means we don't have a shortage of people applying to positions so the standards have been raised greatly. Diploma and associates are not accepted because it would cause inequity in the compensation system (which is negotiable) between the incoming diploma / associates nurse and the current employees who are all BSN or higher. Basically if an incoming nurse who had a diploma or associates was hired, everyone else would demand a raise and it would cost hundreds of thousands to hire the new nurse. If you just want to work in a nursing home or small clinic I'm sure you can get by with an old diploma or nursing or associates. Though you are negating your real advantage over other nurses which is that you have multiple years of experience and they won't. Combine you years of exp with an advanced degree and you're the ideal candidate not some 30 year old with 5 years exp and their BSN. On the other hand if you're just looking for some low-level nursing gig and you're willing to relocate there are jobs all over the country regardless of your years of exp or education.

True, but the patient interaction you're going to see as a phlebotomist will help you explain your patient focus and client care should you be asked about it in an interview. At least more so than a person who sat unemployed, worked at applebees, a bar, etc.

Or try applying outside of the L.A. area, there are plenty of hospitals out there that will hire "recent" graduates regardless of experience. You need to narrow down what you're looking for. The "I just want any job" is a huge turn-off to every single employer.

Go back and get your MBA and start applying to supervisory positions.

Skip the associates as they're becoming more and more worthless. You can either enroll in a BSN or MSN program (non-accellerated) keep your current job and work your way through clinicals and school. Or take a quick CNA course (while applying to BSN or MSN) and try to find a hospital job after you complete the CNA. If you work as a patient care tech, medical assistant, etc., while you're in nursing school it's going to help you find a job in the future as those with hospital experience are heavily favored over those without.

Any hospital experience is beneficial. Phlebotomy experience isn't going to help you get your foot in the door anywhere but it may help you greatly in the hiring manager interviews should you advance that far.

I would avoid the "woe is me, my last job was awful" attitude. You're not going to make it past the HR phone interview if you act like that. ADNs are also less desireable than BSN or MSN grads, and sometimes not desired at all.

The accelerrated programs are really only a good idea for people with hospital work experience (medical assistants, patient care techs, phlebotomists, etc.). The lack of clinical experience will hurt your chances of getting into MOST areas of a hospital as a grad with no exp. MSN and BSN are paid the same amount. MSN may help years down the road if you want to get into director / management level positions but you may want to get an MBA then as well.

The ONLY problem with someone over 50 is that they might not have the proper degree. I've seen a lot of diplomas of nursing lately (worthlses) and ASN (worthless). I've seen Advanced Practice Nurses get hired that are over 50 (and have the qualifications) and they're starting at 75-90K.

I work at a hospital in recruiting and we hire PLENTY of new grads. I do see a lot of bad ones though. Ones that absolutely cannot interview, have very poor answers, are all over the board on what they want to do or where they want to end up. The problem I see with most new grads is they want to get into units where experience is a must, such as L&D, ED, etc. You're better off picking an ICU that you perhaps had a leadership or capstone in. Or another unit that sees a lot of turnover / transfers like med-surg. Poor resumes, interviewing skills, and drive aren't going to get you a job. Know what you want to do, explain why you're qualified to do it, and stick to it. And don't bother applying to positions that aren't what you're after. No one is going to hire the person that "just wants a job," there's thousands of those out there already. If you're a ASN that can't find a job I highly recommend going back and getting your bachelors, more and more hospitals are not accepting ASNs for RN positions, and will reject ASNs for most other positions because it just looks like theyre trying to get their foot in the door and transfer.

At the hospital I work for (and a lot of others) there are fields asking what you're interested in during the online application process. Make sure you fill those out correctly. However, it would probably take me 10 seconds to look at your resume and reject you at the moment. You have not listed ANY of your clinicals, hours completed, or any information that makes you stand out from the 200 other resumes I look at a day. Your nursing options are limited with a ASN as my and many other hospitals will take BSN or MSN prepared nurses only. If you want acute care there better be something highlighting your clinical experiences in acute care and what you did. It's not uncommon for new grads to be hired directly out of nursing school but they tend to have had a leadership, capstone, etc. in the area they're applying to. Other recruiters here may also reject you immediately because you have zero work history. You've either never worked in healthcare, never held a job, or don't want the hospital to know where you worked last. Who are your references going to be if that is the case? Professors and family friends aren't going to work, and clinical supervisors aren't the best either except maybe your capstone supervisor. Nonetheless you're going to need more than one.

I review hundreds of nursing resumes a day for a prestigious midwestern hospital and I am going to tell you this from my experience. My assumption is that your resume is not as good as you think it is or that your work preferences do not match the openings you're applying to. Stalking a hiring manager or recruiter is a VERY BAD IDEA and will almost guarantee you do not get interviewed, furthermore they'll probably make notes in whatever HRIS system they use that you have stalked them in the past and to avoid you in the future. Your best chance of getting hired somewhere is to apply to openings in the area of your expertise (9years in the NICU isn't going to land you a career change to the ED). If the jobs you're applying to are just "general staff nurse" you need to specifiy what youre interested in and how many years experience you have in that area. You'd better research the hospitals youre applyign to as well, if you don't know what specialties a hospital has and you apply anyways theres a good chance you're going to be rejected immediately. If your work history is very sketchy you may want to clean that up a bit as well or explain it better in your resume. I can't tell you how many travelig nurses I see that fail to mention they were a traveling nurse, it simply looks like they quit their job every year or two years to find something better. No thanks to that.