anonymous 456

Bakersfield.

As a native San Diegan I also have to disagree with the statements about the rest of California vs. LA. I have been all over California recently looking for work; there is only one place I crossed off my list: L.A. The traffic, the cost of living, and congestion is a deal breaker for me. I love San Diego (great food, good night life, lots of places to find adventure, beautiful beaches) and places like Sacramento (which I personally love, and found many things to do), the Bay area, up the coast past LA, and even in the Central Valley which is very agricultural and beautiful in my opinion (yes it does get hot, but nothing a little AC cannot cure.) Central California and anything that is not a major metropolitan area is very affordable. I eventually took a job in the central valley which is paying me only a few dollars less then I would be making in San Diego. And WOW, I cannot even begin to tell you what my dollar is affording me in terms of quality of living.

I took my pre-reqs at a local community college, then applied SDSU, Grossmont, San Marcos, and National. National will wave the 60 dollar fee if you are from a local community college. In the long run National accepted me first, so that is the door I walked through. I graduated last January with my BSN. While I got a good education, I do not favor the accelerate format, and would recommend a traditional school. Take your time and get the highers degree at the best school you can, even if you have to repeat a few pre-reqs. best wishes.

This is what I placed in my cover letter: 1. A statement about who I am, why I am pursuing a nursing career, and why I am applying to that hospital. 2. My 2 year and 5 year plan. 3. Why I am a qualified candidate for the hospital I am applying for. 4. An invitation to answer further questions, along with a thank you for their time. Your cover letter should be tailored to the hospital and position you are applying for. If possible, address it to the specific named recruiter or manager. Many hospitals will mention what they would like in a cover statement on the application page. You can Google examples of cover letters to use as a guideline, and then finesse them to be suitable for the position you are applying for. Read and re-read. Lastly, if possible, have a clinical mentor or someone look it over for you. I suggest that along with your resume as well. Everyone makes mistakes, don't beat yourself up over past ones. I Have made some doozies during my search for a job. My favorite one was making it through a few rounds of a well known Los Angeles hospital, and misspelling the hospital's name on one of my correspondence. I knew it as soon as I did it, and knew I just knocked myself out of the running. Sure enough, I did. I was extremely upset with myself for such a dumb mistake; however, lesson learned, and I moved on and moved forward. If a manager or recruiter did not call you back, call again. Explain kindly that you left a message earlier in the week, but have not heard back yet. Managers and recruiters are extremely busy, so it is usually nothing personal. .........And when you meet personally with anyone always bring a portfolio containing your cover letter, your resume, your transcripts, copies of your license and certifications, letters of reference from clinical instructors(at least two), a list of professional references with titles and phone numbers, and a thank you note. Use nice linen resume paper. Do not include a picture of yourself. On that note, carry a few resumes with you in a folder, should you happen to network with someone, who may pass your resume along. I have a few friends who had an accidental meeting with someone who ended up being instrumental to getting their resume into the right hands for guidance which led to a job.

Agreed, two months is not a long time to be looking for a job. However, it is absolutely sufficient time to get a sack-load of discouragement. I have been looking for over 6 months before I received my offer, but hearing that there are more who have looked 2 or 3 times as long as I have seems UN-imaginable. I know people that I graduated with who are talented, smart, all the qualifications as every other new grad, and have excellent work history, who have not even gotten a call-back. Find a way to remain positive and focused. Please know that it is not necessarily a statement about you when you recieve a rejection, or have not received a call back. I have personally been told by recruiters that I did really well in an interview, I was really well liked. They thought I was a great candidate, but they only had one slot available, if there was another position it would be mine, etc. etc... I recommend that you take any workshops, or extra certifications while you are in the waiting process. There is an excellent little 3 hour workshop by NSNA, called, "Your Hired!" While I don't agree with everything the speaker said (particularly about having a personal statement/objective opening your resume; she says it isn't needed, recruiters I spoke with have said, your better to have one,) the seminar was extremely helpful, and helped me refocus when I felt discouragement. It is important that you focus on all your positives and building yourself into the best candidate for the job right now, which is not necessarily something that is taught in nursing school. Good luck and look up, keep your arms open and keep moving forward.

Of course:)

Be persistent. Many are in the same boat you are. It took me several months to land a job. There are several really good threads on here about all the proactive things you can do to assist in your job search. I recommend that you do them, especially the volunteer work. A few of the places I interviewed with really perked up when I spoke about my volunteer work and how it impacted me both personally and professionally. I am convnced that my experience was key to the position I eventually landed. Good faith and good luck.

To my understanding, from the interviews that I did at TVH, the shifts will all be 8 hours.

Your welcome. Good luck and the best success in your journey.

Congratulations to all of the new cohort. I graduated with cohort 25 in January of this year, and wish you all the best success and experience in your journey through nursing school.

Wonderful advice for us new grads entering the Peds arena. Thank you very much :)

There is really no better or worse here in the game. Although it does cost more for private on the one hand, you will recoup that in making a wage while you could be waiting. Or you could take the gamble that you will get in and it will cost you less. You also need to consider your long term goals as well. Are you happy with the LVN license, or are you wanting to advance and get an ADN or BSN? I had a similar situation. I was enrolled in CC and on a waiting list for the ADN program. While waiting for my number to come up, I took additional classes because I knew eventually I would like to earn a BSN. The waiting list at the CC was scrapped and the waiting list method was changed to a points system. SO while I waited for the next enrollment period to apply for the ADN, I also applied at a few local private programs. As it turned out the private collage accepted me into their program first, and I recently graduated with my BSN, and as a result have recently accepted an offer in a Versant program on the PEDS unit, which is my dream. It would not have happened if I didn't formulate more than one game plan. So again, there is no right answer here, either way will either path will take you to your destination. One side note, Yes, private cost me way more, however, I got my BSN sooner, and I am able to start my career out in a field of my choice. Most hospitals do not accept anything less than a BSN for PEDS. SO in the long run, I have to consider the lost wages that I could have been earning if I had waited and earned an ADN, and then gone through additional schooling for a BSN. Good luck to you in your endeavors. :)

I have yet to receive any word from Temecula Valley, even though I interviewed back in April, and was told I would know in a week. I have called HR a few times, and each time I am told that no decisions have been made yet.