Taking time off before I get my first job...

WIN007 · Apr 21, 2011

I know this has been discussed before but I wanted a fresh set of opinions...
I am about ready to graduate with my RN in a week or so and a job that I was really hoping for (and at first seemed guaranteed) now seems like it is unlikely to get as any other new grad job. At the moment, I feel like I am not ready to jump right into the workforce; I feel a little burned out and emotionally spread thin after school. I want to take a some time off... at least six months but maybe even a year (if I take that long, I will at least continue on to my BSN). I just don't feel it would be good to go into the field scrapping my emotional barrel so to speak; I want to take some time to recharge my batteries so I am fully ready to commit to a nursing career.
Is this irresponsible on my part? Is it going to make it impossable for me to get a job when I am ready to begin? Is this a wise choice? I am single, young and willing to relocate (in fact, I would love that) and I would even take a refresher course if I was out of school longer than six months?
Does anyone have experience or advice they can offer? Thanks

Well, I know two such stories. One person took a year off after college and then had a heckofa time finding a job.. she finally settled for something with a very small company that since has laid off most of its staff, ie, is looking again. Another took a few months off and then got an RN job at a premium hospital and a premium unit. I doubt it hurt though that she babysat for someone important in the clinical world there. She was also a straight A scholarship student...

My .02, well, I gather you haven't taken your boards yet. That should be your focus for a bit and you'll be more attracftive as a candidate if you've already taken your boards and passed. I think relocations and seeing the world while you're young is everything. But decide on three or four cities you'd like to relocate to (after assessing the nursing market there) and then find the major hospitals/providers in those areas and apply. Think outside the box, is there a VA hospital or major outpatient surgery center network? There's more to nursing than just in-patient.

My point is I think you'll get plenty of rest by the time you take the boards and find a job.

No, I wouldn't recommend taking a year off before doing any of this. The one person I know who did that didn't exactly experience the optimal outcomes considering her grades and education. These are not the times for that; competition is too fierce.

morningland · Apr 21, 2011

Thanks for the reply...

I will for sure take and pass my NCLEX before I take anytime off... I want that done and out of the way and I wouldn't consider myself done with school until I finished it. Honestly, I think a year would be too much but that was just in an extreme event.

Double-Helix, BSN, RN · Apr 21, 2011

I do think that it will be harder for you to find a job. A lot of the new nursing positions are posted in the sping/summer as the hospitals know schools are graduating and many nurses take summer vacations which opens up some per diem time. That being said, you can certainly spend the summer doing fun activities, travel a little, but just send in some applications during your time off and be willing to take a day or two to do some interviews.

Trauma Columnist · Apr 21, 2011

With the job market, I'd be sending out resumes and maybe you'd be lucky to get a job in six months - it might be a forced time off.

I sure wouldn't just take time off at this point.

Also, and forgive me if this is unwanted advice - if nursing school was stressful, you will find your first nursing job to be undoable.

Develop some coping mechanisms for this stress - it will serve you well throughout your life.

WIN007 · Apr 21, 2011

Thanks for the reply...
I will for sure take and pass my NCLEX before I take anytime off... I want that done and out of the way and I wouldn't consider myself done with school until I finished it. Honestly, I think a year would be too much but that was just in an extreme event.

Get your RN (NCLEX) by all means. I would say if you have in good faith tried, passed the boards, put in your education, willing to relocate and in six months have gotten nowhere, time to regroup. a refresher course might help, but I'd rather use that 6 or nine months picking up an additional certificate or license in something that IS hiring. Learn to fix air conditioners or become a paramedic, whatever floats your boat. That way you have two things you can do. You can always take your refresher when the market picks up. Just thinking out loud.

elkpark · Apr 21, 2011

In the current economic situation and conditions for new grads, it could easily take you more than six months to find a job even while you're actively looking. I would certainly not recommend that you intentionally take time off. However tempting that prospect may seem, it will really put you at a disadvantage in starting your career.

llg, PhD, RN · Apr 21, 2011

Even if you are lucky to find a job as a new grad ... you are going to get several weeks (probably a couple of months) off as you take your boards, etc. Use that time wisely ... have a little fun ... and learn some coping strategies!

Then don't bite off more than you can chew for the first 6 months of your job. Don't try to go to school while simultaneously trying to adapt to the work world. Be good to yourself and give yourself a chance to succeed at work. That's your best route to success.

Taking too much time off is not good for your chances of success of getting a job or of being successful at any job you get. 2 or 3 months, tops. And that should be plenty of "fun" time before you grow up and join the adult world of supporting yourself.

morningland · Apr 23, 2011

Thanks for the advice... in the end, I am going to do what I need to do to be a whole, healthy and spiritual person. I want to be a nurse but a career will NEVER take priority over my well being. I am going to take the time that I need to get myself back on track and if they I can't get a job because of that or I don't succeed at nursing because I needed to do what was right for me and not just my job than I guess nursing will never be for me :)

p.s... I was never reffering to taking fun time off or just relaxing; I was talking about some alone time for serious soul searching and refinding who I am as a person.

elkpark · Apr 23, 2011

Thanks for the advice... in the end, I am going to do what I need to do to be a whole, healthy and spiritual person. I want to be a nurse but a career will NEVER take priority over my well being. I am going to take the time that I need to get myself back on track and if they I can't get a job because of that or I don't succeed at nursing because I needed to do what was right for me and not just my job than I guess nursing will never be for me :)
p.s... I was never reffering to taking fun time off or just relaxing; I was talking about some alone time for serious soul searching and refinding who I am as a person.

(Then why bother posting here and asking what others think?)

morningland · Apr 23, 2011

(Then why bother posting here and asking what others think?)

Your right; sorry if I came off upset. I guess I was just hoping that I would be able to enter the field when I was ready which I really thought would be better for me in the long run. I'm sure everything will work out how it need to

caliotter3 · Apr 23, 2011

Why not apply for jobs and take the lag time as your "vacation" by not fretting over the process? You can do a lot of relaxing and working on you while you send out resumes and fill out online applications. It will probably take six months to a year or longer to get any bites and you could put the extra time to good use relaxing and enjoying yourself otherwise. If you take two weeks to go to Hawaii, you won't be able to jump on a notice to interview, but what are the chances that would come in while you are on the beach at Waikiki?