Hi all! I've been on this site for a while now, but haven't posted much. however, i feel like it'll just make me (and hopefully a few others) feel a bit better about this whole job situation if we vent it out together. i just need to complain, and i need people who understand how frustrated and hopeless i'm feeling.
i graduated from a somewhat prestigious university over a year ago, and passed my nclex without a bead of sweat. great grades, great clinical experience, killer references and resume....still can't get a job. i live in the northeast, where things are tight...but still. i work at the grocery store...THE GROCERY STORE! i paid $100,000 to get a degree so that people can supervise how i bag their eggs and talk to me like i'm stupid. i have nothing against my current job - they're great to me and it pays my bills kinda sorta for now - but it's so damn frustrating!
on top of all of this, i'm getting so sick of people constantly saying to me "but i thought we needed nurses!"...when is oprah gonna do a show about all of us who are graduating and finding a completely closed off job market? and now that a second year of nurses are finishing up, us 2008 grads are getting more and more lost.
it's not like i'm not trying - i apply to jobs nearly non stop. i call and ask for nurse managers and recruiters personally, who never answer their phones or my voicemails. i feel like a complete and total failure pretty much all of the time, and don't know what to do. i have at least 15 friends in the same boat, but none of them currently live nearby and i don't have anyone to talk to about these feelings. i cry a lot when i'm alone, but put on a big smile and just tell people i'm staying optimistic and i'm still looking etc. etc.
anyway - if you wanna chime in, please do. i know our families and friends are probably getting sick of listening to us talk about this stuff, so it feels better to talk to strangers who understand. :)
much love and keep the faith, my friends. we're gonna rise above this someday.
You know I read this thread from time to time and I feel just awful for you guys. I am in my first semester of NS and hope things will have improved some when I finish but who knows.
Just know that even the current batch of students are pulling for you. Good luck!
Hi all! I've been on this site for a while now, but haven't posted much. however, i feel like it'll just make me (and hopefully a few others) feel a bit better about this whole job situation if we vent it out together. i just need to complain, and i need people who understand how frustrated and hopeless i'm feeling.
i graduated from a somewhat prestigious university over a year ago, and passed my nclex without a bead of sweat. great grades, great clinical experience, killer references and resume....still can't get a job. i live in the northeast, where things are tight...but still. i work at the grocery store...THE GROCERY STORE! i paid $100,000 to get a degree so that people can supervise how i bag their eggs and talk to me like i'm stupid. i have nothing against my current job - they're great to me and it pays my bills kinda sorta for now - but it's so damn frustrating!
on top of all of this, i'm getting so sick of people constantly saying to me "but i thought we needed nurses!"...when is oprah gonna do a show about all of us who are graduating and finding a completely closed off job market? and now that a second year of nurses are finishing up, us 2008 grads are getting more and more lost.
it's not like i'm not trying - i apply to jobs nearly non stop. i call and ask for nurse managers and recruiters personally, who never answer their phones or my voicemails. i feel like a complete and total failure pretty much all of the time, and don't know what to do. i have at least 15 friends in the same boat, but none of them currently live nearby and i don't have anyone to talk to about these feelings. i cry a lot when i'm alone, but put on a big smile and just tell people i'm staying optimistic and i'm still looking etc. etc.
anyway - if you wanna chime in, please do. i know our families and friends are probably getting sick of listening to us talk about this stuff, so it feels better to talk to strangers who understand. :)
much love and keep the faith, my friends. we're gonna rise above this someday.
I feel everyone's pain. Recently, I got my ACLS cert and a Certificate of Completion for Short IV Insertion Skills and maintain an EMT license. Got 2 jobs and needed one day to follow-up with another company(didn't tell them that) and the employer gave the job away after agreeing to said time. Even if you know people in hospitals, SNF, med offices, it doesn't help - they simply aren't hiring -- keeps costs down and they make their current workers do the work of 3 people.
Fortunately, I am working for a company running flu clinics and administering flu vaccines for the season and have a GREAT Boss!
Listening to the news....they are predicting the economy to be much the same next year into 2010 so, it's a scary thought for those graduating in the next couple years simply because of the volume of New Grad's, Recent Grad's and newbee RN's in the job market.
The Newbee-RN's that got jobs from my RN class worked as CNA/PCT's or in administrative/clerical positions for the hospitals as they went through RN school.
Try the federal Jobs. Web site is USAJobs.GOV. We are hiring about 6 new nurses where I work. Used to be needed lots of experience. We work short by one nurse all the time as no one wants to work for a prison. I have really gained a lot of assessment skills. When I was at the medical center, I really had good skills at IV's, etc, due to all sorts of sick patients. Had a 2 bed ICU of sorts.
Feel your pain guys... I recently got a hospital job at an excellent hospital and am very thankful for this opportunity. Let me tell you what I did. I graduated in August with BSN and there were no internships starting until Jan. in my area. So.... I took a LTC pediatric position. OMG.... what a nursing trip!!!! Thought I would loose my license on a daily basis!!! Realized very quickly I had to get out of there. Anyway, I then went to www.jobster.com and put in gn. I left the state open because I was willing to relocate to ANYWHERE. I applied to every gn position posted. If the position had been posted many days ago (some were 30 +), I went to the hospital website to see if they still had the position posted there. If so, I applied. I did this every day. Most of the positions were in Texas and I live in Texas, so this was fine with me. But.... I filled out apps in every state that had a position. So far, I have had a phone interview, an in-person interview and was scheduled for an interview next week. I was offered a position from the phone interview and with the in-person interview and accepted the in-person one.
I got a late start applying because my dad became very ill and died in September. I didn't send in any applications until early October and still managed to get a job. The moral of my story.... just don't give up. Apply, apply, apply..... if your willing to relocate look into Texas.... El Paso, Dallas, McKinney, Denton, Houston, Longview, Tyler. AND..... look at jobster daily.
Feel your pain guys... I recently got a hospital job at an excellent hospital and am very thankful for this opportunity. Let me tell you what I did. I graduated in August with BSN and there were no internships starting until Jan. in my area. So.... I took a LTC pediatric position. OMG.... what a nursing trip!!!! Thought I would loose my license on a daily basis!!! Realized very quickly I had to get out of there. Anyway, I then went to www.jobster.com and put in gn. I left the state open because I was willing to relocate to ANYWHERE. I applied to every gn position posted. If the position had been posted many days ago (some were 30 +), I went to the hospital website to see if they still had the position posted there. If so, I applied. I did this every day. Most of the positions were in Texas and I live in Texas, so this was fine with me. But.... I filled out apps in every state that had a position. So far, I have had a phone interview, an in-person interview and was scheduled for an interview next week. I was offered a position from the phone interview and with the in-person interview and accepted the in-person one.
I got a late start applying because my dad became very ill and died in September. I didn't send in any applications until early October and still managed to get a job. The moral of my story.... just don't give up. Apply, apply, apply..... if your willing to relocate look into Texas.... El Paso, Dallas, McKinney, Denton, Houston, Longview, Tyler. AND..... look at jobster daily.
Awsome,I applied out of state and I have an interview this wensday,wish me luck!!
KEEP PUSHING EVERYONE! I have two phone interviews tomorrow, wish me luck! Also, I found some good advice in the nursing career advice thread on here. And I found that I kept following up with one of the jobs I have an interview for and it moved the process right along....Please pray for me, Im soooo ready for this to be over!
You may want to consider the military. Wait before you say I'm crazy, let me give you the facts. I graduate in December and I have a job waiting for me. A few months ago I started putting feelers out to see how the market was going. It's horrible! So, I started researching the army. As a civilian new grad you will start at the bottom of the pay scale with the worst shifts, worse departments, and a mountain of student loans. As a commissioned army officer you will opportuinites that you never thought possible.
I am not a recruiter. I do not have anything to gain by recommending the army to anyone. I just want to put it out there as an option. Everyone told me I was crazy, and they would send me to Iraq. That's possible, but not likely. It's a 3yr commitment but the trade off is soooo worth it. I choose Germany, Hawaii, and Japan as my choices for duty stations. By the way, "officers" don't do basic training they go to officer's training (i.e. no crawling in the mud while someone screams at you).
I just want to put it out there as an option. Everyone told me I was crazy, and they would send me to Iraq. That's possible, but not likely. It's a 3yr commitment but the trade off is soooo worth it. I choose Germany, Hawaii, and Japan as my choices for duty stations.
But you do need a BSN, right? I think the military is an excellent suggestion, and you are very wise to pursue it. I'm a military brat -- grew up in Germany. There are hospitals in many, many places around the world, not just Iraq. I would encourage everyone eligible to consider this route -- and check the Navy and Air Force as well. If I were younger, I would consider it when I finished my BSN! But my husband is former Army (infantry, AKA a "gravity tester for the 82nd Airborne"), and would probably NOT be happy if I joined up. LOL.
You need a BSN for AD. You can have an ADN/ASN for Reserves or Nat'l Guard.
The beauty of the reserves or Nat'l Guard is that you will be gaining experience and keeping your skills up while you wait for that civilian opening. Don't forget Fed Civilian Service at your nearest military base!
I just want to say, new grads, keep trying and DO NOT give up. I graduated in May with my BSN, I had about 7 interviews total after applying to like 400 jobs all over the country...had two interviews a few weeks ago each a week apart, and got two job offers. Look EVERYWHERE! I was very lucky to get a job offer in my hometown area and do not have to relocate, I am very thankful. The week before I had a hospital job offer, I had an offer for a nursing home... you just have to be willing to take anything. Once I accepted the nursing home job, it seemed doors started opening for me. I was very happy to turn down the nursing home job (18.50/hr for the ONLY RN, 30 patients, with a bunch of CNAs during a night shift) for a PCU night position with MUCH BETTER pay.
well since we are all venting here! well i passed my boards in may 09 and i having been looking since and nothing! i am a single mom on unemployment but that does not last forever. I must have sent out about 50 applications everywhere and not even a single call back. It has gotten so bad for me that i resorted to food stamps for help. can you believe it. now that so much time has passed from graduating school my student loans have kicked in. well needless to say i was sucked into going to an expensive school thinking "Oh yeah there's a nursing shortage and ill get a job easily andi can pay these loans off fast. well thats what the schools tell you to hand over the money." honestly there have been days where i just cry because i am at that point where i feel like ill never get a job. i have had so many people say that they can help me get a job because they know someone who can help. i appreciate any help i can get but that just gets my hopes up and then its shot down AGAIN. well thats my story . anyone out there like me?
DolceVita, ADN, BSN, RN
1,565 Posts
You know I read this thread from time to time and I feel just awful for you guys. I am in my first semester of NS and hope things will have improved some when I finish but who knows.
Just know that even the current batch of students are pulling for you. Good luck!