There are jobs for new grads! (success story)

17 Posts

I just wanted to make this post to encourage other new grads that have been having a difficult time finding jobs and let you know how I went about applying, etc. This is just going to be my story from the time I passed NCLEX to this present day. This will be fairly long (just a warning!). There is a TL;DR at the bottom for those of you that want it. :)

I've been a CNA for 4.5 in two different nursing homes/skilled nursing facilities as I went to college and nursing school. I have no idea if that experience helped me get phone calls from hospitals or not, but I'm sure a resume with some healthcare experience looked better than one with none. I graduated this past December and took my NCLEX in mid January and passed. I did have the benefit of living at home and paying for my school with cash (myself, not my parents!), so while I definitely wanted to find a job, it was not an urgent need.

Through my networking, I was able to land a PRN RN job in the skilled nursing facility I worked at as a CNA. I was trained for 6 days and never used again. In hindsight, I should have been much more assertive with the DON both on my pay (he lowballed me for the area) and also for the hours. After all, I had been a very good CNA for this facility for 3.5 years. I didn't care too much because he wasn't the type of person I wanted to work for and the SNF work was definitely not what I wanted either.

After not being used for about a week and a half and not wanting to even talk to the DON, I decided I had better start applying to smaller hospitals in my area. These hospitals only wanted applications online, and when I showed up in person with a resume, I was immediately shut down by the HR rep (I would recommend NEVER asking for HR. Instead, ask to speak to the Chief Nursing Officer or a Nurse Manager of a unit). After 3 days of finding out that the local small hospitals weren't hiring new grads, I decided to expand to other cities in my state, and finally out of state. During this time, I did an online ACLS certification class and applied to roughly 150 positions across many states. Many of these positions stated in the description "will consider new grad RN." I only applied to a position if it did not require experience, but I definitely applied to any that said they would consider new grads. I was not picky in what the position was or where it was located.

From these 150 applications I sent out online, I received 4 phone calls interested in me. Being stupid, I turned down one position because the pay was too low without finding much more about the position other than that it was a med/surg pediatrics floor, which didn't sound great to me. The other 3 calls that I received were for an acute care rehab position, a med/surge position, and an ICU position. The ICU position intrigued me the most.

While I was applying, I decided I would work another connection I had through my CNA job and I got hired as the full time PM shift RN at another SNF. Yes, I was going to try this SNF stuff again! I was to have 8 days of orientation. I was trained by a new grad RN with about 6 months of experience for 2 days starting on Wednesday. On Friday, I was trained by a new grad LPN. Starting at 6PM each night, I was going to be the nurse in charge of the entire facility. I did not feel comfortable at all about this especially as a new grad when I should be becoming competent in my skills, assessments, and learning how to be an actual nurse. I felt unsafe and like I was risking my license at this job. I quit this job the following Monday morning and did my best to keep my connections with them. The DON was very understanding of my reasons for quitting. After this, I really knew that SNF work was not for me!

Quitting that job enabled me to apply very aggressively to another 150 positions and be more available to field phone calls. This second wave of applications so far has yielded just 1 phone call. What I started to do after I was stupid with the first place that called me was have a list of questions that I would want to ask about the position. I would let whoever called me tell me about the position first and then I would just make sure I found about nurse:patient ratios, if nurses get called off often, what kind of preceptorship program they offered, etc. I showed a genuine interest from that point on. From doing so, I received job offers for the ICU night shift position, a med/surg night position, and a telemetry day shift position. I just accepted the ICU position this morning and will be moving on Monday.

I am a very mobile male and so I have no problem throwing my clothes, some cookware, and a few entertainment things in my car and driving off to my new job. I understand not everyone is able to move, but if you are single and can do it, DO IT! What I felt was key to this was how I approached each phone call. I just relaxed, enjoyed my conversation with whoever I was speaking with, and got all my questions answered. Showing an interest in the job and pursuing that interest is what employers want to hear. The ICU nurse manager that hired me was kind of wavering on the position, so I called him up after getting another job offer and just played that offer off of him. I was very assertive with this guy (almost aggressive) and I think that was what he needed to hear. I was not willing to risk being so aggressive unless I had another job lined up, though.

All in all, my advice is to be willing to take a few nights and apply apply apply online (Getting your ACLS probably doesn't hurt either). However, 20 applications at 4 hospitals where you want to work is not going to cut it. Then, no matter who calls you, act like it is the best job ever because even if you would never take it, you are getting better at asking the questions you need to know and answering their questions and showing enthusiasm and selling yourself. When they call you, that is the interview so make the best of it! You might never get them on the phone again. One of the coolest experiences from this was the med/surg job offer I got. I talked to the nurse manager for about 10 minutes and then she had the HR person call me back about 20 minutes later with a job offer. This whole procedure of job searching only took me about 1 month.

TL;DR

Be willing/able and ready to move anywhere
Apply online to every position, everywhere... as long as experience isn't required. (If it says "experience preferred," apply).
If you get a call, act like it is the best job ever and you want it. Ask important questions that matter and that show your interest.Be yourself and relax! (Unless you are boring, then act interested! LOL)

Truthfully, that last bullet is the most important advice I can give. It is crazy how doors will open up for you by getting an offer for a position even if you don't want it. You can use that offer as leverage for another position, and you are constantly getting better at selling yourself to other employers.