To get endorsement or not?

[SwampCat, BSN]

I've applied to everywhere in state that is within an hour's drive. I've applied to multiple positions. It's been "thanks, but no thanks" or no application status change for weeks on end. These places have specifically said not to call or email about job status as they will just ignore you.

It will cost about $300ish to get MA endorsement. There are a few MA hospitals that are within an hour from my home that I have applied to numerous times, but I feel as if they do not take me serious because I do not have MA endorsement (despite making it clear in my cover letter that I would do so if offered a job).

But I would hate to apply and spend the money for MA endorsement and then be called next week by a CT employer, KWIM? That's a good chunk of my monthly budget.

Yes, I have only been job hunting for 5 weeks, but in reality I have two kids, bills, etc and as of passing the NCLEX I was no longer able to work my job as a PCT (and that hospital just cut a ton of jobs and there are no openings there whatsoever). I'm watching what little I have in savings trickle away. I refuse to insolvent. I refuse to get TANF or SNAP. I just busted my tail on my own to get this far.

What should I do? Just bite the bullet and dish out the money and hope it pays out? OR possibly waste that money by either not getting a job or getting a job in CT?

[GuEsT78]

One suggestion, and hopefully one that will involve no out-of-pocket expense. With all those job applications, you've put a lot of bait in the water, but you're not even getting nibbles. That means something.

The problem may not lie with you but with some unperceived but fatal flaw in what you've been sending out. When employers have lots of people applying for a position, they often have criteria that quickly move some applicants into their 'don't hire' category. Cutting the applicants to be considered in half cuts their workload in half.

You might get a experienced nurse, perhaps even someone who's worked in hospital administration, to look over your applications and resume for gotchas that could be hurting your chance of getting interviewed. One of the most deadly is "doesn't look like she'll stay with us for long." Another closely related to that might be a skepticism that, living perhaps 40 miles away and with two kids, you might not be able to come in on short notice. I once got a job because I pointed out that I lived so close I could show up in little more than the time it took me to change clothes.

Look too at the overall impression you're creating with your applications. You can do little about the facts you put into forms, but you can find ways to emphasize your strengths and downplay your weaknesses. Also, take the time to 'tune' your application for each specific job. Again, that's where an experienced friend can be helpful.

[SwampCat, BSN]

Thanks for your reply. I've had university faculty look over my resume and it was given the thumbs up. Every cover letter is personalized, plays up my strengths, and is looked over by another nurse friend. I keep wondering if there is something, but no one seems to find anything "wrong" with it. Now I'm starting to get irrational: did I put a wrong phone number? Did my ex hack my computer and attach something saying "don't hire me!"

Maybe I'm just another new grad in an area with a glut of nurses.

I heard Aldi's pays pretty well for store managers . *sigh