Tired of Hearing the One Year Experience Required Line!!

sunnyskies9 · Sep 3, 2012

oh one more! look for new grad internships/residencies. I know several hospitals in my area that have them. and they require that you have

Tracks85 · Sep 3, 2012

Shame that sounds really tough. In South Africa we have to do a one year community service after graduation, which helps with that immediate post graduating experience. The USA is a HUGE place, there must be a job for you! Good luck!

BrandonLPN, LPN · Sep 3, 2012

Do the research BEFORE signing up for nursing school. Is there a market for LPNs where you live? If so in what fields? If it's mainly LTC and you're one of those people who would "never" work in a nursing home, then maybe you have some serious thinking to do. And if places aren't hiring new grads (easy to find out, pick up a phone) I guess you should try to get an aide job while in school to get your foot in the door. Don't make such a huge life decision blindly just hoping for the best.

mhogan285 · Sep 3, 2012

What I don't understand is by the time we graduate we've all had clincals and preceptorship so it's not like we actually have no experience. But that's one of the many reasons I'm going the military route. I immediately have a job after graduation. If I decide to stay til retirement great. If I decide to separate I have 4+ years of experience.

Jess_Missouri_RN · Sep 3, 2012

I am a graduate from a diploma school (only one in my state) and it was easy for me to land a job. Since the school is hospital based they (the hospital) hires the new grads! I graduated in 2010 and spent 2 years on a med-surg floor and now work in a geriatric/senior clinic and enjoy it very much. Back in school for my BSN and it continues. I have to disagree with the poster who said clinicals are experience because once you get thrown out onto the busy floor you realize clinicals are not experience. Its amazing how crazy that first year is because we are all so green and new. I wish I could give all of you struggling a job!! I hate to see so many new grads without a job!

wannabecnl · Sep 3, 2012

I hear you. Here are some thoughts:

1. LTC isn't necessarily a good first step. Another poster pointed out that many acute care hospitals won't count LTC experience for acute care, and in my area, all the LTCs were hiring... for experienced RNs only.

2. It might depend on where you live. NH is a state where all nurses get paid by the job, not the degree, but supposedly you may have a better chance of being hired with a higher degree. I don't know if that is true; my classmates (in a direct entry masters program) had mixed results on getting jobs, and we are being turned away for the same reason that others on this board have said: no experience.

3. IMHO, CNA experience in the same area won't turn the head of a manager who doesn't hire new grads. And I agree with the poster who said that you have to work at the level of your "highest" license, even if you are hired to do a different job.

4. You are right that it also may depend on who you know. I have a job I'm starting next week that I'm sure I got because I did my clinical in the department as a student, and the nurses there were pulling for me with the new manager. That is why it is important to develop contacts. That's where CNA experience or LPN/LVN experience can help: you will KNOW more people. People (myself included) pooh-pooh the idea of getting a job because of who you know, but think about it from the manager's standpoint: this is an applicant who the manager already knows, has history with, has some clue about their work ethic. Even if the manager doesn't know the person (like in my case), he/she has employees who are essentially vouching for the applicant, saying that they are confident in the applicant's ability. That says a lot about the applicant and his/her chance of success as a new grad in the unit. If the manager trusts his/her employees, it's preferable to picking someone blindly out of a pile of resumes. Not to say that your resume, OP, or anyone else who, like me, has been in this boat, isn't just as good. It's just that you or I are a bigger risk than someone the manager knows.

AngelicDarkness · Sep 4, 2012

So like many of you on here I am a new graduate seeking that ever so hard to get 1st job!! But if I hear the You need one year of experience line again I just might lose my mind!! LOL I mean one guy from an agency even sympathized with me saying he feels bad because he knows how hard it is but told me that alot of home health agencies have to obtain nurses with one year minimum experience in order to comply with guidelines to run the agency. So state regulations are even making it Hard for new grads to get jobs. If everyone requires one year how do they expect new nurses to get that year? This is job hunt has been more stressful than nursing school.. I guess it goes without saying that its not what you know but who you know because unless you know someone in healthcare that can get you in or have some sort of connection its gonna be a lonnnnnnnnggg road to finding that 1st chance. My advice to all my fellow new grads is keep your heads up and never give up email call and even walk into places exhibiting confidence and you will get something!!!! Im not giving up till I land that job willing to take a chance on me!!
Signed a Frustrated New Grad

I've never had that brought up to me in an interview. I know it seems to be common on these boards, but I've always applied to jobs regardless of the experience they quoted. If they didn't want me based on experience, then I didn't get the interview. When I was a new grad, many places wanted 3-5 years experience, but in a time of a lot more new grads than experienced nurses I think they realized it was an unrealistic goal.

Don't give up. When I graduated, I applied to every retirement/LTC/hospital community in the area. I sent out a massive email, and 3 different facilities took the bite. Now 2 years later, I still get calls from other agencies. It is all in the presentation, and your resume:) Good luck!

NurseTamTam95 · Sep 4, 2012

Volunteer with the school nurse. Experience does not have to be paid. All kinds of businesses hire nurses.

Did you know that casinos, and some pharmacies hire nurses. Some large companies do as well. Expand your

list of potential employers. What is it going to hurt?

nursemike, ASN, RN · Sep 4, 2012

First, my sympathies to all those going through this. Any way you look at it, it sucks when you can't find a job. The one year experience requirement for agency/travel is old news--they've always looked for experienced nurses. I was fortunate to graduate when the nursing shortage was still pretty severe, had my position secured before my final semester--my interview began, "Well, you've got the job, obviously..." (I was advancing my career at the facility where I already worked, so my Director knew me before we began.)

And, I'm sorry, but the best advice I can offer a new grad is persistence. If you don't give up, you will find something, eventually. If you can be flexible about the type of role and where you work, that helps. Relocation may help--the economy isn't the same everywhere. You might consider looking at your resume to make it look as desirable as possible. I saw this thread on Facebook and noticed late that it was in the LVN/LPN forum, so, no offense whatever intended, but if you can advance your degree while you're looking, that does open some more opportunities. And while it's no help to those who've already graduated, a job in healthcare while you're in school is a definite advantage. My previous job was as a transporter/orderly. Pretty limited patient care, compared to an aide, but still a fair amount of patient interaction, and more to the point, it showed my employer I could show up, follow instructions, get along with patients and coworkers--all things that you don't necessarily learn in nursing school, but valuable nonetheless. If you are the person doing the hiring and your choice is between a unit clerk you've been able to count on for a couple of years who just got his/her nursing license and an unknown quantity who just got his/her nursing license, who would you choose? Of course, the proviso is, if you take that pre-nursing job, you need to be someone who can be counted upon.

My unit no longer hires LPNs. We have one who has been here since before that policy began, and she is one of the best nurses I've known. But it's hard to schedule her because a lot of our assignments must go to RNs, and some must go to RNs from our particular unit. It happens, occasionally, that we'll have her and a resource LPN on the same shift, and it's a bear to make out the board for that shift, because a lot of our patients require a lot of tasks outside an LPN's scope. Finding 5-6 patients who are LPN-appropriate is difficult. Finding 12 is just about impossible.

That's my unit. Housewide, I think we are pretty much not hiring LPNs; in fact, we are almost strictly hiring only BSNs. A couple of new hires are ASN who did get hired on the condition that they are actively in their BSN program, and we've even hired a couple of GNs with their BSNs but no license, yet. (That was common practice when I got hired, but only happens now because they were already aides and we knew we wanted to keep them.)

Whether or not there's a "nursing shortage," really good nurses are always in demand. So, the real trick is, persuading your prospective employer that you will be a really good nurse. There are many excellent nurses practicing who were so-so in school, and some miserable nurses who made excellent grades. The skillsets for a nurse and a nursing student are not unrelated, but they aren't identical. Your grades are what they are, so if you do get an interview, play up all you can the skills that aren't graded. I can be at work, on time. I can listen to my supervisors and more experienced co-workers. I can exercise good judgement. Those qualities are always in demand, and far from as common as one might suppose.

Good luck.

oldlvn · Sep 4, 2012

I am an LVN.

I graduated last year in august.

I looked for a job...looked and looked. Begged and pleaded. I spent hours and hours over the past year pouring over my resume, writing specifc cover letters and just trying to land a job. I fell into a depression. It sucked. It was pretty bad. I finally woke up one day and said..today will be the day and I landed a temp job.

I was able to do some private duty work for a specific client (private pay no agency) that I worked with a team to provide post surgical care for a client with a RN as my charge. While it really helped me regain some hope...

I have literally 2 mo. of "experience".

They didn't tell us about this in nursing school. They told us there was a shortage. They told us our clinical time would count as experience.

I feel betrayed.

I feel that I wasted a year. I feel like my family sacrificed for nothing.

I am not a young chicken. I owe student loans that I have to start paying back very soon.

I am now looking at transition programs to get my RN. Not that they are having much of a better time finding jobs but at least I will have more options.

Please don't tell me..I'm not looking hard enough because I AM. I am applying to anything I see. I am ignoring the "must have 1 yr experience" and applying anyway. I have applied to home health, LTC, Stepdown...you name it. Hell at this point I'll take a job as a receptionist at a Dr.'s office.

I just don't know what to do that I'm not already doing.

I think it's criminal that these schools are continuing to market their programs the way they are. If I had been told I would have to search for over a year for a job I would have gone directly to the RN program...OR looked into other healthcare avenues. I would never have put my family through this for nothing.

It's just wrong.

AngelicDarkness · Sep 5, 2012

I am an LVN.
I graduated last year in august.
I looked for a job...looked and looked. Begged and pleaded. I spent hours and hours over the past year pouring over my resume, writing specifc cover letters and just trying to land a job. I fell into a depression. It sucked. It was pretty bad. I finally woke up one day and said..today will be the day and I landed a temp job.
I was able to do some private duty work for a specific client (private pay no agency) that I worked with a team to provide post surgical care for a client with a RN as my charge. While it really helped me regain some hope...
I have literally 2 mo. of "experience".
They didn't tell us about this in nursing school. They told us there was a shortage. They told us our clinical time would count as experience.
I feel betrayed.
I feel that I wasted a year. I feel like my family sacrificed for nothing.
I am not a young chicken. I owe student loans that I have to start paying back very soon.
I am now looking at transition programs to get my RN. Not that they are having much of a better time finding jobs but at least I will have more options.
Please don't tell me..I'm not looking hard enough because I AM. I am applying to anything I see. I am ignoring the "must have 1 yr experience" and applying anyway. I have applied to home health, LTC, Stepdown...you name it. Hell at this point I'll take a job as a receptionist at a Dr.'s office.
I just don't know what to do that I'm not already doing.
I think it's criminal that these schools are continuing to market their programs the way they are. If I had been told I would have to search for over a year for a job I would have gone directly to the RN program...OR looked into other healthcare avenues. I would never have put my family through this for nothing.
It's just wrong.

Where are you located?

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Sep 5, 2012

oh one more! look for new grad internships/residencies. I know several hospitals in my area that have them. and they require that you have
This is a thread in the LPN/LVN forum. Just be aware that nearly all new grad internships/residencies are for RN graduates. Some are restricted to new BSN/RN graduates.
Also, LPN's are considered enlisted personnel in the army. It's my understanding with the current economic culture that there is not as great of a demand for nurses in the military--whether LPN or RN unless one has specialty training. I was speaking to a recruiter casually and was told that the nurse officer corps in each of the branches is limited to RN's with a minimum BSN from an accredited school/college of nursing.