trouble finding job in NJ

MiaNJ · Mar 21, 2008

Hi I recently graduated from college in florida with a BSN, and moved up to nj to live with my family. I have applied to so many hospitals up in NJ but am having bad luck because it seems everyone wants someone with experience. I have my clinical experience just from school and a tech job I had. But, it seems they want more. I graduated in December of 07 and have been applying since. Had a few interviews but they want experienced nurses. Has anyone else had this problem recently? is it me? do i smell

No, it's not just you. I've also been searching for a new grad. job for a few months with no success. I'm starting to get frustrated and wondering if I will ever find a job. It does seem to be very competitive in NJ. Have you tried looking in NY? I am going to start doing that, but need to get my NY license.

Chloe'sinNYNow · Mar 22, 2008

'fraid I was in this same boat not very long ago. I also went 1000 miles away to return to my hometown for a hospital job. I put all my eggs in this basket after first settling for a position in a local hospital that was alllllllll wrong and a very poor fit. Now upon reading the posts fr that area I find new grads having probs finding jobs there too.

It seems as though you gotta pay your dues in this industry. Get your foot in the door early on as a tech/extern/intern and then they hire from within. I had my name on a wait list for a local hospital for months waiting for the next new grad orientation to start before relocating so far away, and was told "oh sorry, we hired from within and only had 3 positions to fill; you're going to have to wait another 6 mos til the next". That jump started my tush to hightail it outta there.

My advice? get in their faces. show them how much you want the position. Sell yourself. Get glowing letters of recs from your clinical instructors. And visit in person to the HR recruiter. Shadow on the unit you want and make them fall in love with you. Ask good questions that show critical thinking. Meet with the unit managers and give them a copy of your resume as well.

GOOD LUCK!! :icon_hug:

Chloe

:nurse:

RN-BSN,BA

Sheila1214 · Oct 20, 2008

:saint:Interestingly enough I graduated from nursing school in nj and and moved down to Florida as a new grad and can't find a job but I'm getting ready to move back home bc I know hospitals there that do hire new grads and are great teaching institutions. I don't know where you all live but my home in in Jersey City, NJ which is northern and about 8 min from Manhattan. Hospitals in the area that hire new nurses are Trinitas hospital in Elizabeth, NJ but apply Sep-Nov bc they graduate classes in Spring and Fall. You can apply to St. Barnabas in Livingston and Newark Beth Israel in Newark, NJ, which is an excellent teaching hospital with signon bonuses and they welcome new grads. There's also UMDNJ who have excellent MedSurg units and are also looking for new grads. There's also St. Michael in Newark, NJ and if you want to go the distance St. Vincent Medical Catholic Center in Staten Island also hires new grads and trains you up. I've either worked at two of the hospitals mentioned and interviewed at the others. They're great and I hope and pray for you all to find what you need.Good Luck. If any of you know of anything or anywhere here in South Florida besides Jackson Memorial and South Baptist system I'd appreciate it. Thx!

Infinitee07_RN · Oct 20, 2008

no you're not the only one looking for a job in nj.I just got off the phone with two nurse recruiters one from Holy name hospital in nj and the other from SUNY downstate in brooklyn..They both said the usual " yeah, we need nurses with experience for now, call us in a few months and we'll see if anything opens up then" i swear i was listening to a recording, are you serious? :banghead:What ever happened to " oh you'll get plenty of job offers once you're done with nursing school" yeah right..

Seems like no one wants to hire new grads except for LTC's ..I'm going that route for now, i have no other choice i'm tired for sitting in the house and callling and sending my resume everywhere and getting the phony " yeah call us back in a few months".. One recruiter went as far as telling to go to a LTC and come back per diem in a COUPLE of years..Could you believe this, is that what i went to nursing school for? I went in with the intention of making people feel better by providing holistic care to them...

So my advice to you is get whatever you can and grab that experience and hopefully we will all get our dream job! All in all, any experience is better than none! I say all that to say it's not only you i'm in the same boat too..and if you find any hospital hiring pm me and let know thanks.. :up:

good luck:nurse: