Seeking new job; Less than 6 months experience

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Hi all,

I am a new nurse with less than 6 months working experience on a cardiac unit. I love my job, the patient acuity, my coworkers, and the fact that I am learning everyday. This job is a few hours away from my hometown. I'm sure you've heard this before: New grad, desperately seeking work, aces first interview and takes the first job offered although it is 3 hours away. Drawback, I am living with family that is not making the transition easy, with a baby, and I am truly unhappy. I recently got off of orientation and the amount of stress that I am experiencing where I am living is ridiculous! No one understands! My work schedule comes last and it has taken as toll on my attendance. I've had to miss work a few times! Needless to say, I am looking for a job back in my hometown. Regarding my resume, should I list all of my previous non nursing jobs, and should I list my clinical rotations from nursing school even if I graduated less than a year ago?

ETA: I also have a family. My spouse still lives in our hometown. We have a house we did not want to let go.

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Specializes in ED.

List all jobs unless they say only nursing type positions. Don't list your clinical rotations.

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Try your best to land a new job first... I left my 1st hospital job after 6 months due to location being so far from home... Went to a dr office, took me 3 years and a zillion applications to get back into a hospital

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Specializes in Psychiatry, Oncology.

If you live the job and can see yourself making a career at this hospital, maybe you guys can consider moving.

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Is there any way you could stick it out to the 6 month mark? This is the minimum amount of experience required for a lot of hospitals to even consider you for a non new-grad position.

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Hi nursy1, what helped you get back into the hospital? I left anf have been outpatient as an RN for about 8 months now. Trying to get back!

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.... Don't list your clinical rotations.

I disagree. List each and every clinical rotation! Clinicals are experience.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

No - clinical rotations are education. "Experience" means paid work. It is very gauche to list clinical rotations on your resume - you could be perceived as a doofus.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
I disagree. List each and every clinical rotation! Clinicals are experience.

HR and Nursing DO NOT count as clinical experience; there is an expectation that all candidates have received the same experience-if you do so, I guarantee that it will either be placed in the circular file, or you will be schooled by HR and Nursing that it is not experience, and they will move on to the next candidate that understands that nursing clinicals are not experience.

In short: NOT experience, and do not list it.

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List your rotations as education not work experience.

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Specializes in ICU.

The fact that you say attendance comes last and you have missed work a few times is scary. I would check your P&P immediately to see where you are in your attendance policy just so you know if you are close to the termination point, because that point is pretty low at some hospitals. It is really not going to do you any favors when it comes to finding a new job if you get fired now with such little work experience under your belt. You have got to make getting to work your priority no matter what problems your family members have with it until you can find something else, even if it makes life even more difficult at home. I am sorry you're going through this.

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