MsRNny

Thank you. I'm currently a nurse working in NY and thinking about moving to California and your advice was helpful.

Hang in there. When I first got my license I only had an associates degree. Literally no hospital hires with an associates except for 1 that I know of on Long Island. Until then gain experience at the nursing home and then apply at hospitals.

You are going to have to change directions and apply in non acute areas. When I graduated it took me almost a year to find something. I started working in a nursing home (sub-acute rehab) not my dream but at least I was working. Try to do sub-acute rather than long term in the nursing home. You learn a little more. A little over a year and I finally landed a position in acute care. You have to be a beast with the applying though, have faith and don't give up. You will get there it just takes some extreme patience.

Hey Maacanto, The job fair is on April 23. It's at the Melville Marriott. You can find more details on nurse.com they are holding the job fair. It starts at 10 am for experienced nurses. New grads are allowed in at either 11 or 12 please check their site for additional info.

I remember in nursing school my class all had a background check when we applied for state licensure. It is VERY possible the DUI will hinder your chance. But it's tricky because this DUI happened in a different state so I'm not completely sure.

I hear that once you have a year or experience there is no need to list clinical experiences anymore. But I agree with the above poster I think you should take out your job at Hooters. The recruiter might see it as a negative.

Hey there, Firstly congrats and good luck on your search. To be honest you may have a tough road ahead at finding your first job. When I passed my boards it took me almost a year to get a job. I finally found a job in a nursing home & a few months after found per diem doing home care. I also have a ADN but I am currently enrolled to get my BSN. I graduate next year. Even with my nursing experience hospitals don't even want to consider me. Many if not all do NOT hire ADN nurses unless they already worked there. I can tell you all the nurses in my BSN program who work in a hospital got that job because they previously worked there. A tip on open houses.... I went to three recently. I went to Lennox hill in January and I was turned away immediately because I was told the hiring manager only wants a BSN. I went to Winthrop hospital and they spoke to me but said it's highly unlikely the nurse manager will hire a nurse who doesn't have their BSN. I also went to Good Samaritan open house and it seemed promising (only because they liked that I was in school) but I never received a call back. The process has been frustrating but my tip to you is not to give up hope. As a new grad I say check out some home care agencies and apply. MJHS may not consider you. Go for the smaller homecare agencies because they will hire and train you. Then enroll in a BSN program but choose wisely. Several recruiters have looked at my school choice and praise it. Think of it this way they would choose the candidate who went to a we'll know BSN program in NY (Stony Brook, Molloy, Pace, St Joseph's, etc) over someone who did Chamberlain or University of Phoenix. There is also a nursing job fair in April at the Marriott. Go for it and put yourself out there. Good luck :-)

If you are willing to drive to Long Island: our lady of consolation

TrissRN do you have an associates or a BSN? I feel like north shore is Fort Knox to get in. Lol. I have an associates going back to school in the fall. I met a recruiter there at a job fair this past may and she was snobby and told me don't bother apply if I'm not close to graduating with a bsn.