Trouble Finding a Job as New Graduate??

EricJRN, MSN, RN · Jul 20, 2006

Look for new grad nurse internships. There are a ton of them in the Houston area and they'll usually keep you on as a staff nurse after the internship.

suzy253, RN · Jul 20, 2006

Graduated in May and am already working as a GN and am taking the NCLEX later this month. Luckily, i graduated from a 3-yr diploma program and was hired straight away in the hospital associated with our program. Not all the grads in my class went to this hospital though--about 1/2 of us. Others are in Level 1 Trauma centers and Women's and Infant's / Hasbro children's Hospital. Good luck with your job hunt.

littlerose · Jul 21, 2006

Dont worry about about finding a job. I went on about 8 interviews before I got the JOB that was best for me. I figured out what I was doing wrong and corrected on the last two interviews.

DDD · Jul 21, 2006

This is my biggest worry. Please let us know how it turns out for you. I'd love to hear a daily progress report. I was never able to find work when I graduated the first time with my BA in education. I've been there. It's a nightmare! Three years later, I'm a nursing student.

LAnewgrad · Jul 22, 2006

I waited until after graduation to start looking for a job bc I was unsure of what state I would be living in while most of my classmates already had jobs secured. I was worried to death that I wouldn't be able to get a job especially since I had absolutely no prior experience. I only had retail experience working at the local mall! I had nightmares thinking I would be quickly rejected. I ended up sending resumes to 5 hospitals, and 4 were interested and wanted to set up interviews. My very first interview, (I was scared to death), the nurse manager offered me the position right after it was done. You will definitely find a job soon esp. with your experience as an LVN. Just make sure your resume and cover letter are nicely presented and try to find the name of the nurse recruiter so you can address it specifically to her/him.

NJNursing, ASN, RN · Jul 23, 2006

Many of us were pitched for jobs in our final semester of nursing school. They held job fairs at the college or nurse recruiters would come to speak to us during lecture time. I graduated in May and my internship doesn't start until August. NONE of my 31 classmates are working as a nurse yet because just about all of us took internships, but many, many of the hospitals around here are willing to hire new grads. You might not get the floor you want and it'll most likely be med-surg to start, but then you can transfer after 6-12 months. SOMEONE out there will hire you. Try your local nursing publications (like Advance if you guys have it) and look specificially for places that'll hire new grads. They know that May grads won't be able to take their NCLEX until June/July/August and know that they won't be able to start until later summer/early fall. Just keep plugging away. Something will work out for you.

leixlip · Jul 24, 2006

When we were in school we had a lot of recruiters come and buy us lunch. I ended up working a residency for one of those that was not initially on my job radar. Thankfully jobs are so plentiful here that pretty much all my class had jobs before graduation. If you did meet some recruiters it's a good time to do a little networking.

debsuztx · Jul 29, 2006

Still nothing on the horizon!

I have heard of internships for new grads, but most of them started right after I graduated. I did see one for St. Lukes, but my HESI score wasn't high enough for them. I have applied to St. Lukes, Memorial Hermann, Methodist, HCA, Tenet, Triumph, Kelsey Seybold, etc. No takers yet. How long should I wait after I have applied online and submitted my resume to call or go up to the facility and show my face and ask for the job in person? As you can tell, I'm not very patient. Just feeling very frustrated at the moment. Thanks for letting me vent. :confused:

truern · Jul 29, 2006

I would make sure my resume looked top notch and was printed nicely and I'd go in person to apply. There must be hundreds, nay thousands, of applicants online. Do something to make YOU noticeable!

Make sure to send a hand written thank you card to whomever helps you..whether or not you actually interview. It's those "personal" touches that get noticed.

Good luck :)

sunshine9 · Jul 30, 2006

You may want to call and find out when their new grad orientations are. I believe that most of them are unfortunately in June and Janurary, which I think that you mentioned you may have unfortunately missed due to personal circumstances. I think that St. Luke's had one for September but the website shows that they are just finishing interview right about now. What is the HESI. I don't think that I ever had to take it before and have never heard of it. Maybe we don't need it in Massachusetts. Is it a must for Texas? Please let me know if you find out any info and hope that your job search goes well. I am interested in moving to Houston, or someplace in Texas after I finish nursing school and afraid of running into the same problem. It's difficult to go through all the schooling, and then go through the problems of trying to land a job. I am hoping to land a job before I graduate, but I am not sure how most places are about allowing you to take a day or two off to go back home to test and then trying to transfer your license over.

But I am wondering if some of the places have not called back because their internships have already started and the deadlines have passed. I would definitely call and try to find out so you know where you stand with some of the hospitals and if that is the reason why you are not getting some callbacks.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Aug 4, 2006

Have you applied at facilities other than hospitals? Are you open to working somewhere other than a hospital? Clinics, rehab centers, home health agencies, nursing homes, assisted living, hospice, and other non-hospital settings would quickly hire you.