StuffedBear

Trying to figure out which one is good? -great history, won't be bankrupt in 50 or so yrs -will provide help for events that occurred while under coverage -can allow own selection of lawyers what else makes a good insurance? Thanks in advance

Sorry for late update. I had only 3 interviews. One on the spot, 1 by recorded webcam, and 1 live for open house. 2 of them was due to connections i believed, it helped put me in front of an audience. Yes, I received an offer and I took it. I didn't use mrdearmas awesome strategy tho but it sounds awesome and it landed him alot of opportunities as he mentioned and revealed in the next post. So try to gather connections, no matter small or big....get in foot in door and get an audience for your well reheorificed performance LOL aka interview. good luck!!

Thanks for all the input guys.

Thank you for the warning. I rather play it safe than to attempt a bump. I do not want to be black listed since I do live in a big city. Thinking back on clinicals, there were plenty of security checks so you will be right about me not getting anywhere near a HR or recruiter ...Scary, I wonder if anyone ever experienced that first-hand?

My nursing resource advisor shared the contacts with me. I can give the bump into hiring manager a try. What do you suggest I should say to start a conversation and when to hand over my resume. Thank you for sharing tip

Thank you for sharing. What if one can't put "negotiable" in the application...like the system won't accept it, what should you recommend I put down? Average of the range you provided?

Thank you so much @JustBeachyNurse. That will be a good start for me.

WOW. sounds super serious. Let me give me details so maybe ppl can tell me if I am dealing with actual nursing recruiters. I do not want to ruin my chances before I even apply online to those hospitals. I have a list of contacts from my Nursing Student Resource Advisor and those contacts deals with externships for hospitals. She said they may also work with new grad recruitment. I just want to reach out to those contacts to see if they can help me or direct me to ppl that can help me. I want to increase my chance of my resume getting seen by actual ppl that does the hiring except getting trashed in the computer system.... :/ what to do?

So I am curious because I can't find anything on google. Sometimes on application, they will asked what amount in term of compensation one is looking for. I just want to know what number so I can stay competitive and not be discarded for being expensive and crazy to ask for that amount with no experience LOL. Anyone newly hired or starting working within the past 2 yrs? If comfortable, please share compensation, area of practice/unit, city please? If not, can you PM. Thank you so much for the help

Totally understand. I was like that in school. Nursing isn't cheap...surprisingly, noone informs you of hidden fees like that while as a nursing student. This is what I did: I became an Resident Assistant for my college. My services to the school gave me free housing and food expense. However, it is a real job with responsibilities. You will need to juggle that with nursing studies on top of clinical. While living on campus, I do no own a car so I carpool with students near me to clinical sites. Pay a small fee with them...but isnt cheap...gas + parking kills you. Better off taking public transportation to some the sites. So this is where talking to faculty will help. Inform them of your living situation so they may be able to put you at a clinical location easily accessed by you via public transportation. Also, some clinicals location was near enough that I biked there...about 4 miles I believe but had to endure the rain and dark sometimes. Just make sure go early and you bring a change of clothes and change into your uniform in the bathroom before checking in with your clinical instructor. Other recommendations: Live off-campus with some friends or students to cut cost. its so much cheaper than living in dorms. Again, carpool with fellow students to sites. Bike to campus from offcampus to save more money! In conclusion, There are ways around the living on campus method. But you must plan and speak up and take action. Good luck

Hello AN folks, I am a new nurse having a hard time getting that first job. So I am trying a different way to apply for jobs. Kinda tired of going through the computer system so I figure I will send my resume and stuff directly to a human person increasing my chance of get seen. Now, I have no idea where to begin with the email? This will be a cold contact, I had never interacted with the recruiters before. Should I also list what job I am interested in...but I do not want to limit my chances of other opportunities if I mention a certain position. Do make it like a cover letter? Any tips/advice would be great. It would definitely help to have an example to work with if you feel comfortable in sharing/posting here...if not please PM me. Truly appreciate the help and guidance. Thank you AN folks

Congratulations. you deserved it! You worked super hard and prepared so well. Thank you for the tips. I am looking forward to trying out your methods. So you did research and memorized it for each Hospital table you visit? or is it just one specific hospital? I am impressed, didnt know you can get jobs at career fair...leads but not an actual job. Thank you for the inspiration

Amazing. Things like miracles do exist in my opinion. I had something similar like your situation that happened to me and it worked out fine in the end too. Congrats!

Thank you everyone for their input. I definitely appreciate the guidance. From the info obtained, I will wait to get my ACLS since it doesnt really increase my likelihood of employment and I do not have the money or patience now to do it. Just have to hope that future hospital I will hire me will pay for it. I will keep on searching

I totally agree with the OP here. Personally I took Kaplan Review...throughout all those sessions I felt like I can do this on my own. They aren't really teaching you anything new except for the decision tree which they cover briefly I felt. Also, they give you a ton of work....work you can easily get for much cheaper from books or free from library. To tell you the truth, readers....I never finished Kaplan Review's modules or completed their couple thousands of questions. I dropped it because I was lazy...that was my own fault, wasted resources and ppl's money. Dumb of me. However, I can tell you I also passed my NCLEX the first try, and I never really quite went back to Kaplan's methods. To add, I waited 1 yr after graduation to take it too and did Kaplan in early post-grad. Check out a post that I made in the forum for details on how I pass and my story...should encourage those who are still struggling. So to conclude, believe in yourself, give yourself more credit!! You do not need Review Preps that cost $500. All you need is confidence, diligence to study, and most a free review book from the library with a CD. If not available, buy one used for less than $50. Good luck folks.

Thank you for the kind words

Thank you for the tip. That sounds like a plan

Hey Fellow AllNurses..... Just want to give ppl some courage because there are not many stories like mine on AllNurses. Im going to be real with you guys. NO fluff. Real Life experience of a Joe in Nursing. It will be long...be warned. First, I wanted to share with you my journey with my early post-grad and the terrible NCLEX. It all started a yr ago...I graduated May 2014 from a BSN program, I did ok in my opinion. I was an average student, didnt get all As like I wanted and then eventually settle for the passing Cs to get through nursing school. Overall, grades were up and down depending on the classes, I did really well on non-nursing classes cause it was easier to remember, study, and easier to test. I lost the drive to become an academic achiever like I was back in High School. Continuing right after graduation, took the ATI review classes. I figured I could get some help with NCLEX prep. I didnt use it appropriately, basically wasted my time there....siting there passively listening and occasionally taking some notes. I felt like I didnt really learn alot of important stuff concerning NCLEX, but a review of class material...I was like "l could review on my own time." Never happened.....might tried but nothing significant. Fall of 2014, another opportunity to study came up. I signed up for Kaplan Review and attended the reviews and such. I felt the same as ATI review...alot of thing I could do alone. They barely go over much of their test taking techniques, it was brief. However, I do like their technique tho, I felt it gave me a ouch of confidence on the test. Because I was overwhelm with the amount of information...I cant possibly remember review book, even tho it is already compressed compared to a nursing textbook. I didnt manage to complete what was asked of them to become successful at NCLEX. Barely scratch the surface of their couple thousands of NCLEX review questions at the end. As of this moment, I definitely wasted it and would like to kick my pass self to continue to work hard on it. To continue, again....not much studying....I didnt really do much nursing things. Laziness and fear took over.....and waited almost a yr to take it. YES, almost a yr. I was scared, afraid to disappoint ppl, and felt unprepared for it. There was alot of pressure from myself and others. I was basically running away from NCLEX. I tried studying but it never took root many times and I kept pushing this errand off. ppl got tired of me saying I will study and take it soon. blah blah blah....I kept lying to them and myself. I felt bad, depressed, guilty, and stupid. I see on social media all my classmates are working already...just adding oil to the fire right... SO I tell myself, this is where it has to start. Begin slowly, start small and end big. I signed and paid for the test date.....i am now committed...couple hundreds are at stake. It is do or die. Pass or fail but at least ima try to do something and take action. A big gamble for me because its been almost a yr since I studied nursing for real. So test is in May....i gave myself 2 months to prep. It actually became a month cause it was hard to transition into study mode. But I tell u what, that one month of semi-hard work....paid OFF tremendously. I PASSED NCLEX first try. I used my money efficiently. I was so happy and proud, I was so scared I failed due to my poor preparation and my mistake at reading the directions. So I thought the max questions were 256, so I rushed around 250s to end the exam....my time ran out at 257. I was so confused at it at first. So my test was interpreted with the hardest pass method, the last 60 questions have to be above the passing standard. and I PASSed! just FYI, max questions are 265!!! i flipped it around the whole time while i was studying....facepalm! SO What I DId that Month to Prepare: 1. Review and Practice using Kaplan Application Question Technique (I personally didnt master it, it was still hard getting used to it) 2. Review Content I was bad at, specifically dieases. (Kind of a waste of time, didnt remember anything) 3. Memorize lab values, common meds (it was tough, I figure it should help...) 4. Review online study guides I found through google, and AllNurses (great info, didnt help me much because too much info, couldnt remember it) 5. Do questions, alot of questions (I personally feel this is why I pass) The review material I used mostly that help my success (personally feel I owe my license to them). Saunders Comprehensive Review: NCLEX-RN EXAMINATION EXAM CRAM: NCLEX-RN So what I did mostly is use their CDs and do questions. 8/10 of my studying for the month was just doing questions. 2 hrs per session, max of 3 sessions per day everyday...of course I wasnt consistent...I hate studying. I had to build up that habit of studying slowly. Once in a while if I want a change of pace, review content I missed in the books. So this is why I curse myself for not completing Kaplan questions and study earlier. My 1st NCLEX Experience so you guys would have a feel of it 1. alot of unfamilar meds without common suffix (so i wasted alot of time memorizing wat i did) 2. alot of prioritization ( I am glad I did alot of questions for it, definitely helped) 3. alot of delegation (same with the questions, thank god) 4. alot of EKG reading (wished I reviewed it more) 5. alot of infection control 6. alot of SATA questions NCLEX PREP TIPS: 1. Study early by doing questions, never hurt! Also, I discovered it defiinitely help with nursing school exams...(why didnt i used it while I was in school, I had the book already and it could had improved my grades) 2.Dont wait too long to take NCLEX, you get lazy and start thinking negative thoughts...also knowledge is still fresh, or more fresh presently than later 3. Do over do it! Start slow and build it up. Take breaks. Try different methods and techniques to change things up. never give up! NCLEX Taking Advice: 1.Pace yourself, dont aim to finished it fast, aim to finish every question you can correctly...you may pass with the last 60 questions. never give up! 2.You can start writing down notes on the white out board in the beginning, as long as you don't enter the tutorial. Save time. 3. Take Breaks but take them fast! It killed my time and on top of my bad pacing. 4. READ carefully. (dont be like with the questions...omg) TL;DR So to conclude, dont be too hard onyourself and dont go crazy over studying..especially if it is inefficient. Cs get degrees and license!!! An average lazy student who missused his resources, half-heartedly studied for a month passed with the worse evaluating method and messed up the amount of questions. I am positve you readers are more dedicated and careful than I am and definitely are more deserving...your time will come. i laid out everything, i hoped success follows u whereever you go. GOOD LUCK!! If you have questions or concerns, comment below. I will do my best to guide you. TOLD YOU IT WAS LONG, but defiinitely worth the read!

Thank you so much. I worried that I need it to be considered...now I have more options to apply for.

Hello fellow Nurses, So I just recently started my nursing job hunt....been coming across a lot of job that says "required ACLS." I do not have that certification...if I apply to job posting that requires it, would the hiring team even give my application a chance? What are the chances of them hiring me and just tell me to get it within a month of starting? Also, sorry for my ignorance, where can I get this certification? I tried looking at American Heart Association...was overwhelmed a bit. Also, how long will it take to complete? Cost? Thank you so much for your guidance.