RN still unemployed in Southern CA, I am really getting depressed

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I have been unemployed here since August of 2009. Since that month, either daily or every other day I pour out my resume to several hospitals, home health jobs, SNF, LTACS... I have been called for interviews but just to be informed a week later that somebody deserves the position better because of experience. Worse,there's a bunch of new grads out there where hospitals gladly embrace them for employment as Clinical Nurse I.

I am really getting so frustrated and depressed. I have two kids, house to pay, loans...

The nursing schools keep on advertising for promising jobs but seems that there are a lot of new grads having hard time to get jobs as well. That's another story...

I just feel like crying everyday especially when I see my kids but I just try to keep my composure...

Thanks for having time to read this...I hope I will get a call tomorrow for interview...I'm still hoping every minute, every hour though the competition in this profession is getting so wild...God, help me please...have mercy...allow me to work again...

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Is moving to another city or state possible?

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Specializes in Med.Surg/ Psychiatry.

My heart goes out to you. Hopefully you'll get something very soon. Have you tried going in person to all these facilities. It sure makes a difference. All the best tho!

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Specializes in Student VN | Critical Care.

Maybe there is something on your resume / work history that employers aren't responding to.

Have you tried taking your resume to a career services center or something?

When was the last time you updated your resume?

Is it 1 or more pages? how is your information distributed?

Do you appear at the job site professionally dressed?

Gaps in your work history? explained why?

Are you looking for work in your area only? or different cities?

Is your social network account open for all to see?

Everything is relevant when looking for a job..

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Every job that I have ever gotten (except for 1), I would fill out the application / turn in my resume. Then if they don't call back in a 2-3 weeks I will go and talk to them in person, once I even asked to tour the facility since I had never been in it before, they said yes and a week later I got the job! Try that, it might work. Have you considered applying for unit secratary or tech jobs? I know ..it's not what you went to school for but maybe you could work at one of those for a while and move up the latter and work as a nurse. Good luck!

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I feel for you! It is rough out there. You might want to start volunteering at community clinics. I understand nobody wants to work for free but you need to be able to show these employers that you have been nursing or doing something Nurse related.

The longer you are out, the harder its going to be for you. Many of the new jobs Ive seen say "12 of the past 36 months experience in ______Dept."

What about your certifications? Have you kept them current? I hate to say "refresher course" but 2009 isnt 2010.. They want to know what youve been doing lately, besides looking for work.

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Specializes in acute care then Home health.

just out of curiosity.. how many years of experience do you have? And what is your specialty? It wouldn't make any sense to apply to an area you dont have experience in, especially in this job market. I'm from so cal and I moved out of state to get experience in the specialty of my choice. I'm planning on moving back by the end of the year with that experience in hand and apply for jobs in that area of nursing.

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If you are able to relocate, there are hospital in the Pacific NW in Washington State and Idaho who are hiring new grads, and are offering new grad residencies.

Pullman Hospital in Pullman, Washington is hiring new grads in OB. There were ads in the Sunday paper. Harrison Medical Center on the coast, north of Seattle has a new grad residency, as does Kootenai Medical Center in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho (30 mles east of Spokane). They also offer speciatly residencies in Critical Care, OR and OB. Look them up on the Internet.

Harrison just had an open house recruiting for nurses last week. Hope that helps.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

Somewhere in the PACNW

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Specializes in Home health was tops, 2nd was L&D.
Maybe there is something on your resume / work history that employers aren't responding to.

Have you tried taking your resume to a career services center or something?

When was the last time you updated your resume?

Is it 1 or more pages? how is your information distributed?

Do you appear at the job site professionally dressed?

Gaps in your work history? explained why?

Are you looking for work in your area only? or different cities?

Is your social network account open for all to see?

Everything is relevant when looking for a job..

Exactly what I was going to say... change your resume.. try to get someone who hires nurses to look at it..if it is professionally done , maybe it is over the top.. if not professionally done,may need to be...

Other ideas are also excellent. Practice interviewing with a career center or another nursing.. The more comfortable you are the better chance you might have.. best of luck :nurse:

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Specializes in Emergency Medicine.

I don't know where you're looking. I don't know where you failed.

I just got another offer for Sharp Memorial in San Diego day-shift ER. Scripps, Rady Childrens. I'm on assignment or I would be all over it like a fat-kid on cake.

The story is the same: Santa Barbara, L.A., Pomona, San Bernadino, Riverside.

All over the Bay area. The jobs are there. More now than I have seen in the past 2 years.

You need to get with the local employment office and sharpen your resume, the way you present yourself, your interview skills... '09 you say? Take this with a grain of salt but you're not doing something right. Get some help. My suggestions are free...

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Specializes in Medical Surgical.
I don't know where you're looking. I don't know where you failed.

I just got another offer for Sharp Memorial in San Diego day-shift ER. Scripps, Rady Childrens. I'm on assignment or I would be all over it like a fat-kid on cake.

The story is the same: Santa Barbara, L.A., Pomona, San Bernadino, Riverside.

All over the Bay area. The jobs are there. More now than I have seen in the past 2 years.

You need to get with the local employment office and sharpen your resume, the way you present yourself, your interview skills... '09 you say? Take this with a grain of salt but you're not doing something right. Get some help. My suggestions are free...

And you also have 17 years experience, try putting in a resume without experience and see if you can get work, hospitals don't want to train new nurses and haven't been for several years now. My last year of clinical the nurses recruiters didn't even bother to meet with student nurses, and the year before that, they would meet with us to tell us that their hospital would only be hiring 1 or 2 new grads in the following year and things were looking very bad for new grad nurses. Now they don't bother to return our calls, or look at our applications when they get 600+ new grad applicants for each new grad job in southern California. Saying the OP is a failure just shows how out of touch with the reality of the situation for new grads you are. I think 50% of the graduating class from summer 2010 is still not employed in nursing jobs, and many from the year before them even. Many new grads are never even going to be nurses as we will have to move on to other areas of work to be able to support our families, pay back loans, ect. ect. blah blah, I'm so sick of this subject. If there are so many RN jobs out there, please fat kid, give me a slice of your cake, I'm starving. I'm working two CNA jobs just to make ends meet, even though I have a RN license, because I'm a new nurse in So Cal with "no experience".

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Hang in there. Set up appointments to meet the managers of the departments you are applying for. Having a face to go along with the resume will make it easier for you to be remembered once the hiring phase is at hand. Also, volunteering is another way to get your foot into the door. Once inside, you'll be able to make contact with those who make the hiring decisions. What part of So Cal are you in?

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