when to take my first job as a nurse

miss arron · Jun 26, 2007

why are you waiting a year to start working? could you pick up a part time or prn job in the mean time?

abundantjoy07, RN · Jun 26, 2007

That's a really long time to wait after graduating. Have you taken your boards yet? If not I'd advise you to do that ASAP. The longer you wait to take the NCLEX the harder it may be for you to test successfully.

I would start working soon, unless you have a very good reason not to. But be prepared to answer questions when they ask why you have waited so long to start your career. That can make or break a job interview. Poor reasons may keep you out of the running as it does not look professional or appear that you are very excited about the prospect of being a nurse.

azor · Jun 26, 2007

Without any issues,why will you wait for that long before you start working?

newlvngrad · Jun 26, 2007

why are you waiting a year to start working? could you pick up a part time or prn job in the mean time?

I want to go visitmy parents that live out of the country for the holidays because that will be the last time I will be able to that its going to be impossible to get time of once I star working, right?

newlvngrad · Jun 26, 2007

That's a really long time to wait after graduating. Have you taken your boards yet? If not I'd advise you to do that ASAP. The longer you wait to take the NCLEX the harder it may be for you to test successfully.
I would start working soon, unless you have a very good reason not to. But be prepared to answer questions when they ask why you have waited so long to start your career. That can make or break a job interview. Poor reasons may keep you out of the running as it does not look professional or appear that you are very excited about the prospect of being a nurse.

Ive taken the nclex already and am xpecting the results this week, so I did get that out of the way

Chaoticdreams33, MSN, RN · Jun 26, 2007

Obviously we are very different people- since I already had a job in Jan 07 and I didn't even graduate until May! But if it were me, I don't think I could possibly wait that long and still do as well as I could have right out of school. But you are right, if you started in July, then you'd be only 6 months in by the holidays and may not be able to get the time off. Maybe you could apply and get some interviews and tell them your plans. They'd either tell you no it wouldn't be possible, or yes it would, so you could go from there. How long are you planning on being out of the country? Also, the fact that you don't have a job yet after 6 months of graduating makes me think that it isn't that important that you start right away- correct me if I'm wrong. So maybe another 6 months wouldn't matter to you?

Anyway, I think that this is something you will have to figure out on your own. Weigh the pros- seeing your family etc vs the cons- may lose skills, may be more difficult to start after so long, may look bad on your resume, etc.

Good luck;)

newlvngrad · Jun 26, 2007

Obviously we are very different people- since I already had a job in Jan 07 and I didn't even graduate until May! But if it were me, I don't think I could possibly wait that long and still do as well as I could have right out of school. But you are right, if you started in July, then you'd be only 6 months in by the holidays and may not be able to get the time off. Maybe you could apply and get some interviews and tell them your plans. They'd either tell you no it wouldn't be possible, or yes it would, so you could go from there. How long are you planning on being out of the country? Also, the fact that you don't have a job yet after 6 months of graduating makes me think that it isn't that important that you start right away- correct me if I'm wrong. So maybe another 6 months wouldn't matter to you?
Anyway, I think that this is something you will have to figure out on your own. Weigh the pros- seeing your family etc vs the cons- may lose skills, may be more difficult to start after so long, may look bad on your resume, etc.
Good luck;)

I plan on being out of the country for about twon months. The only thing I ma worried about is how it will look and if it will cause me to not be able to get work, everything else is not important.I wil make sure I dont loose my skills I wil read or do whatever I have to not forget. I have been getting jobs here and there so I am not desperate for work right now.Thats is a good idea though to inerview and tell them about my plans, I just hope they dont laugh in my face. Thanks for the advice.!

Chaoticdreams33, MSN, RN · Jun 26, 2007

I plan on being out of the country for about twon months. The only thing I ma worried about is how it will look and if it will cause me to not be able to get work, everything else is not important.I wil make sure I dont loose my skills I wil read or do whatever I have to not forget. I have been getting jobs here and there so I am not desperate for work right now.Thats is a good idea though to inerview and tell them about my plans, I just hope they dont laugh in my face. Thanks for the advice.!

Well it sounds like you have your mind made up;)

Two months is a long time, it would probably be considered a LOA by most places standards. Have fun with your family and good luck with our job hunt. If your area is like many areas in the US you shouldn't have too hard a time finding a job!

carrie13 · Jun 28, 2007

I am in somewhat the same situation. I graduated in Jan '07 and will not have a nursing job until the end of this year at the earliest. My reason is because I am under contract with my current employer through December 2007 with some penalties if I leave sooner than that. I've tried to find a nursing job part-time but have not had any luck finding a hospital that is willing to invest in training me without a full-time commitment. I am a little worried about finding something a year after graduation...but I think it can be done. Just make sure you have your "story" down about why you waited so long

azor · Jun 28, 2007

For me,i passed my nclex in Dec,21 2006.Got my CA license but needed my state license by endorsement so by the time i got my GA license by endorsement,it was march 21 2007 and cos i'll have my baby by April 15 2007 and nobody will hire me seeing was really big,i had to wait till now that my baby is 2months.i am very ready to start.This is my story,i dont know know if they can take it like this if i tell them this truth or to tell them another thing which will mean lying.Talk to me about it.

RainDreamer, BSN, RN · Jul 2, 2007

Honestly I don't see why it would be a problem. Although a year is quite a bit of time .... why haven't you started working yet? As it's been about 5 months since you graduated, right? Or did you already have in mind that you'd be away from the country for 2 months?

If you're going to be visiting family soon, then I say wait until you come back to get a job. Because I can't imagine any employer giving the OK to take 2 months off. And it would be without pay anyway .... so you might as well just wait.

I graduated in May of '05 and I didn't start working until Sept. of 05. I studied for the NCLEX for a couple of months, took it in July, took a couple months off to spend with my family, then got a job in Sept. I did it for the same reasons you state .... that it would really be my last chance at a nice vacation before I started working.

It wasn't a problem for me, but I only took 4 months off, not a whole year. I can't remember my manager asking me about it in the interview. I think he had asked if I had worked anywhere since I graduated and I just explained to him that I took a few months off so I could prepare for the NCLEX, etc .... I just told him why I waited. And it was no big deal.

To me it just seems like you're maybe not being honest with yourself about why you're waiting so long to start working. If you were planning on going to visit family, then that's understandable .... but you mentioned you're going to visit them for 2 months, so why wait so long to go visit and take a whole year off?