Struggling to even get an interview

[am121212]

Hi all - I'm very distraught and need some career advice. 

I graduated with my BSN in Dec 2022. I immediately got a job as a new grad in acute care. After a year I decided I wanted to move back to my home state so I quit my job in NYC. I left on really good terms with my coworkers and managers who agreed to write recommendation letters for me. I also decided that I would like to pivot towards critical care. 

Long story short, I decided to take off a few months in between jobs. I just wanted to take advantage of this opportunity while I'm young to enjoy my Summer and visit family (my first baby niece) on the other side of the country. I ended up taking about four months off before resuming my job search... and I have NOT been successful! I have applied to maybe 15 jobs in the past month and was invited to ONE interview for an ED position (I declined the interview because I really don't think the ED is for me). I've been rejected from 3 other positions without even so much as an interview. All of the other positions just say "Submission Received." It's super disheartening because I've always been told that hospitals will basically hire any nurse as long as they have a pulse, and I know I have a lot more to offer than just that. Is it because I took off a few months so early in my career? Or is it because I dipped from my first job after only 1 year? Why isn't anyone at least interested in talking to me? I wrote a cover letter which includes an explanation for why I took those 4 months off. But soon enough, those 4 months will turn into 6 months which makes me look worse all because I can't get a measly interview!

I will add that I have applied to all 15 jobs at the same hospital. I also originally only applied to ICU positions but have recently been applying to stepdowns as well, considering the fact that I'll be transitioning from acute care med/surg. I know that narrows my options quite a bit, but I really want to make this next job be long term so I want to be a little picky about where I'll be working. None of these positions list ICU experience as a requirement or even a preferred qualification. Any and all advice would be appreciated.

[kbrn2002, ADN, RN]

First suggestion if you remain unsuccessful is expand your application pool to more than one employer.  Unless you are located in a very rural area there's likely more than one hospital within a reasonable commute. Don't discount looking outside of the hospital setting. Even if you are set on finding a hospital-based position getting a foot in the door at a clinic affiliated with a medical center can get you jumped up on the list of open positions as an internal transfer instead of a new employee hire. Many hospital systems, especially union facilities, give open position priority to internal hires before the position is posted to the general public.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

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It's super disheartening because I've always been told that hospitals will basically hire any nurse as long as they have a pulse, and I know I have a lot more to offer than just that.

What nurses are finding is that this is no longer true in many areas. Nurses who left to travel are coming home as the travel market is drying up/paying much less. During the height of staff shortages, many facilities contracted foreign nurses - and they are now starting to come over. In fact, some are now finding they don't even need what they contracted for, but because there's a contract, they're stuck. My department hired 18 international nurses. We don't even have 18 openings for all of them, so we will be forced into an over-hire situation and will get dinged by the bean counters for our labor costs.

You may have a desire to work critical care in a hospital, but it's time to expand your horizons. Like mentioned above, getting into anything related to an organization even if it's not acute care can help get your foot in the door as an internal applicant in the future. And if you've only been applying to one hospital, definitely expand further. Be ready to explain the four month gap in employment and how you plan to get back into the swing of things if hired.

[toomuchbaloney]

This is the phenomenon where hospitals need nurses but don't really want to hire nurses because they can squeeze enough out of their current staff to make a profit.  Their job openings are for show.  

[Barriss Offee]

You declined an interview offer from the same employer you are seeking other interviews from. That might not look super great to them. Your reasoning for the gap in employment is also suboptimal. Most people say things like health/injury related recovery, family member passed away, or something to that affect. If you told me you decided to not work so you could "enjoy your Summer" as you say, my concern would be if you would stick around long enough to rationalize hiring you or would you bail to go enjoy another Summer. You did a full year at your previous hospital which sounds okay in today's world. It's the other stuff that comes off as very dismissive and carefree that might be the issue.