Some people get jobs right away and some people don't. I was one of the blessed/lucky new grads that landed a job about 2 weeks after receiving my license. Here's what I did:
1) Pray !!! Prayer works. Ask God to give you patience and to help you in your Job Search
2) Preserverance. Keep calling, turing in your applications, and resumes until someone says yes. Everyday I would do this and finally someone said " yes" !
3) Sell yourself. When I went on my interview and I sold myself. I told him ( the DON) how I was willing to learn and that I'm a fast learner. I'm compassionate, can work as a team and etc. He told me that my " new grad" speech is what won him over.
4) Be optimistic- Every since I started NS everyone has been saying that no one is going to hire new grads and blah, blah, blah. I refused to give into that. I told myself since day one that I will become a nurse and find the right job for me. My positive attitude is what kept me going, even when I didn't have a job I kept believing everyday that I would get one soon.
5) Don't turn down jobs. If you get offered a job as a nurse take it !!! It can be LTC, Substance abuse, and so on. So what if its not your dream job or your least preferred job... its a job. The job may not even utilize all of your nursing skills but its still a job. As long as the job does not interfere with your moral beliefs than take it. My bottom line is that if you need an income and something to put down on your resume then you should take the job offered to you now and once you get 6months-1 year experience leave that job and go on to something else. I'm sorry but in this economy we have no time to get " picky".
Last but not least... don't give up your search and don't give up the fight. You have completed nursing school and passed boards so finding a job should be the least of our worries. It'll come at the right time. Keep looking and follow my rules and you will land a job.
*** Keep applying until.... you get a job. Key word is UNTIL.
