newgrad503

Unfortunately at times, there will be someone who appears more qualified than you regardless of how well you do on an interview, but in that same manner you will appear more qualified than someone else too. It sounds like you did very well , I too called back to find out why I was passed over on a position. I had three interviews before I finally got an offer. I had no experience in healthcare. In each interview I thought I did well , so much I was sure I had gotten the position, but someone else either had more experience, higher GPA,, or already had the certifications needed for the unit. From my conversations with recruiters , it is the nurse managers decision. The good thing about reading posts on how hard it is to find a job as a new grad , is to realize you are not alone. But there are success stories too. I started applying after I passed the NCLEX. After three separate interviews, I finally got the interview for a new grad SIU position. I interviewed with the nurse manager , 2 staff members and 2 recruiters and within minutes after leaving I got the call for an offer. It took about 3 months to finally get the the position offer I really wanted. You will find the one hospital that finds you more qualified than someone else enough to hire you. I too have faith in a higher power and trust me I prayed like crazy, I was confident that God would bless me with the right job at the right hospital..at the right time. However it still hurt each time I wasn't chosen. My advice..keep praying and be persistent. After passing the NCLEX,.. work on your certifications..ACL, PALS, BLS so that you can apply to alot more units. Good luck.

It would help if you listed what you have learned from nursing school... look at the objectives you were to meet, clinical skills, focus on what you did while you were in college and clinical. List the your rotations and skills you performed, formulating diagnosis, care plans, using the nursing process are other examples. Then look at what you did with previous employers that could apply to the units needs outside of the nursing skills. What qualities do you possess as a result of working elsewhere even if it wasn't in healthcare. As far as why you have been out of work..were you working elsewhere , raising a family, volunteering any where? Try to be creative in formatting your resume other than a traditional way , look up graduate nursing resume templates for examples. And usually nurse residency programs may still count you as a new grad. Here in N Carolina you are considered new grad if you have less than 6 months of experience . I graduated in May 2012 with no previous experience and I just got an RN full time position through a hospital nurse residency program. You may have to be flexible or drive a little further out . Good luck .

Thanks ! I am in North Carolina , near what is called the Triangle. From what I have seen, there are alot of nursing jobs here. Almost every hospital I know of has a nurse residency program. They do recruiting twice a year, feb and june theres no limit on graduation time. New graduates are those who have 6 months to o previous experience. Some hospitals do consider new graduates and you can apply to any position that does not say previous experience required. I have noticed for most , you have to have ACLS, BLS, and PALs or have to get it within 6 months. Being flexible with the scheduling also helps. A good question to ask on your interview is how many positions are they hiring for and when do they expect to fill those positions. That way you have an idea of when to follow up. Here ever hospital is online , some will accept you mailing your resume. And you can find the status of your application as far as if you are no longer considered or the position has been filled, otherwise you will get an email. Well I hope you find what you are looking for. Good Luck and if by any chance you find something in N. Carolina keep me posted.

Thanks! Well for starters this position at this particular hospital was what I really wanted. So when I got the chance to interview, I wanted to know alot about what the staff was like, what the unit was like, what would the expectations be of me as a new grad, what the staff had to offer a new graduate such as myself, so I asked alot of questions. I did not have experience but I made sure to use what experience I did have from previous employment that could pertain to the units needs and patient scenarios. For example cultural competency, effective communication, accountability & responsibility, willingness to learn and apply what I have learned, and most important the ability to adapt to changing situations and environments. I shared alot of personal experiences at my other jobs that were not in healthcare. I was also very interested in the interviewers personal experiences in nursing and I showed that by verbally responding to what they were saying. I made sure thank each one sincerely , there were 5 , for their time and consideration . I assured them this was the position I wanted. Hope that helps you and good luck .

Well I finally got a New Grad position in a hospital intermediate surgical unit. After countless rejections I can finally experience the excitement in beginning my career in nursing!

I agree there's definitely a lot of info you don't want them to lose interest halfway through after all they have little time and lots of apps. I agree to take off any jobs that don't pertain to health care . Then go back over your job descriptions and list the descriptions that would apply to the job your applying to like skills performed, communication, collaborating with team members. Also include the state where you have your nursing license and consider putting the license number. Don't forget to spell check and review your format for errors. Good luck

Have you tried indeed.com or payscale.com salary comparison . DC salaries are more but depending on where you live , the cost of living is very high 1200 a month for two bd apartment ! .I just moved from maryland after graduation , 20 min from DC Traffic is a pain in DC you definately want to take the metro. My advice start looking into the cost of living in the surrounding areas then figure what is the minimum you would accept .

I used the NCSBN review website http://learningext.com/pages/home the cheapest review time was for 3 weeks it's about $65 . It had tons of NCLEX question exams . I also used their RX drug card app. I did NCLEX questions everyday. At first I would get only about half right . I had to work on actually reading and literally dissecting the question before choosing an answer.. critical thinking . I knew the material well so I couldn't understand why my answers were wrong on the practice tests but once I took my time pointing out relevant info in the question I started picking the right answers and my scores improved. I passed the first time . Good luck

Rule of thumb is to follow up in a week or send a thank you much sooner like within 24hrs. I don't think you will sound eager you are just showing your interest in the position which is a good thing . I did contact the interviewer after finding out I didn't get the position and she told me she thought I had positive interview which made me feel better; however the nurse manager makes the decision and some factors are experience, whether they can orient you to the unit, presentation style , whatever that means? And availability. Theres nothing wrong with calling back and expressing your interest in the position and inquiring whether a decision has been made. One question I always ask is how many positions are they looking to fill and how soon are they looking to fill them, one hospital did tell me they were interviewing all week then they would make a decision so there's still hope . Good luck !

Just want to say thank you for sharing that! I got my license in nov 2012 and have with no prior experience, and no connections. I ' ve had a handful of interviews and dozens of rejection emails. Yesterday was my limit at rejection . I finally burst into tears when I didnt get the job I was certain I would get. I was there for 2 hours , with the human resource, then nurse manager and tour of the unit. I'm even wondering if interviews are just that good at making everyone feel as if they got the job .Finding that one RN position is beginning to be like finding a needle in the haystack. It is soo discouraging but I still keep applying. What I've considered is applying everywhere even for positions that say prior experience preferred, sending a thank you note within 24 hours, and a follow-up call after a week after interviews. Also ask what they are looking for in a candidate. Someone also has told me to volunteer at hospital and start building a social network. I 've only had three interviews and each time I try to think is there anything I could do differently for the next time. I even change the format of my resumes and cover letters too. I started monitor the nearest hospital websites for positions and have set up career alerts. And then I pray. Good luck to you.

I think it depends . I just started applying in Nov. right after I got my license and what I'm noticing is most are accepting application months before the program starts . Usually in the program description it will tell you when you must have your license. When applying they will also ask for your graduation date. It maybe a good idea to look at programs a the hospital that you did a clinical rotation at too.Also you will start getting exposed to what a nursing interview is like . I ' d say if your considering new grad positions and residency programs start applying now because there are only a handful out there you might want to grab one now especially if you have been doing academically well so far. There's nothing wrong with applying with the confidence that you' ll pass the NCLEX the first time.

I graduated from an ADN program in Maryland and have been looking for employment in N.Carolina for about three months. I've had three interviews that all went really good but no offers . What I'm seeing is graduates who had some kind of work in healthcare are finding jobs quicker than those with no healthcare experience such as myself. I've seen openings in just about every field of nursing but only a handful of new graduates positions. The majority of nursing positions I've seen have been listed for months but prefer at least 1 year experience.

I am a new RN grad with no prior nursing experience , I've been on three interviews so far and I'm beginning to feel like the only graduate who hasn't found employment yet! The interviews seem to go great , I meet with HR , nurse manager, even get a tour of the unit . I feel positive about getting the job when I leave but then I get that "sorry we can't offer you the position at this time " I'm begining to wonder if I am reading too much from the interviewers or do they make everyone feel like they got the position? Anyone have any advice or going through the same situation? I appreciate any words you have to share . thanks :)