I am trying to seek others advice in the general and the new graduate forum. Same story new grad story different day...graduated Dec 2010, passed NCLEX January 2011 and NO calls backs or interviews, just rejection emails. I have applied to sooo many positions. I am wondering if something is wrong with my cover letter/resume/application even though I had my resume professional done.
Even though I have applied to so many positions and followed the "chain of command" should I drop my resume off at places I am interested in? I am worried that I will just be rejected in person, not via email
You might try the U.S. Navy, U.S. Army or the Air Force to see if you are looking for a nursing job. They give you the training and you have four to five years experience depending on commitment. As long as you pass the physical requirements and do the paperwork.
None of the branches are accepting new graduate nurses until the next fiscal year. They are stocked up new grads too.
my suggestion would be apply in rural areas/smaller cities... esp if you are willing to relocate. That is what worked for me. I applied to almost 75 jobs before I got anything. I kept track of every applications I put in and I also called HR to see if they reviewed the application & also let them know I was still very interested in the position - I didn't call everyday and wasn't a nuisance. .. but you get the idea.
I was familiar with Adventist Health while in nursing school.. if you are CA... lots of Adventist Health hospitals are in rural areas... I would apply there... look up all the different locations and apply away!
Another thing I did was pulled up a google map of California and looked area to area, city to city and looked up the hospital in that area. I went on to the hospital website and apply and apply!
I did what winter_green did, and it was really helpful. Opened google maps, zoomed in to a manageable-sized map of the area I wanted, and just searched "hospital". Random clinics, medical centers, little community hospitals, LTC facilities, etc. would pop up all over the place. Then I could start looking in to them individually.
And I agree, a big spreadsheet is super helpful:
-You want to keep track of where you applied so you can follow up, follow up, follow up!
-You need a place to track the job requirements / deadlines / other hospital info, as the job description may not always be up
-When you get a call back from a recruiter at XYZ hospital, you want to be able to pull up all the info at a glance, not stumble over your words
I live in north Georgia, and I agree that it is much easier to find a job in a more rural area. I went to a school right outside of Atlanta proper, and while many of my classmates did find jobs (most of them teched during school), a lot of them did not or it took a long time for them to land one because they wanted to stay in the metro area. I already lived around 50 miles north of school anyway, so I preferred NOT to look in the metro area for jobs. I applied to several, but only followed up on two that I was more interested in. Of those two, I got interviews and offers for both within two weeks of graduation. I was told by both of these units (one L&D, one ER where I accepted the offer) that they prefer new grads because they can make them the kind of nurse that they want them to be. In general, it seems that that attitude has been the consensus from hospitals near me- they like new grads. The metro Atlanta hospitals are more strict and only accept a limited number of new grads into their programs. It is nice that the bigger hospitals offer a residency and educational programs, but smaller hospitals will usually work with you on how long you orient to ensure you're comfortable. The ER I was hired into gives a 12 wk orientation with the option of extending it to up to 24 weeks if I feel like I need it. Never be scared that you might bug someone by calling or emailing. I probably actually called and emailed a little too much, but it ended up getting me two job offers to pick from. Just be persistent and willing to move around. Good luck!
I graduated in May in CA with my BSN from a well known school and have applied to 100's and 100's of jobs.. i have even gone into a couple place in person adn nothing. I relocated to Las Vegas in Jan to be with my boyfriend thinking that there had to be something here for me. But it is the same story! I literally counted the other day that number of places ive applied.. almost 200 in las vegas.. no call back.. they seem to just put my resume in the trash! its very frustrating i am beyond frustated and depressed!
I eventually just stopped applying for "regular jobs" and focused all my attention on new grad programs - research, following up, talking to the recruiters about it, etc. That got me much farther than the hundreds of apps I sent out for jobs that said things like "experience preferred but not required".
the north east (i am in the boston/southern nh area) is tough for new grads too. i've been licensed since last summer and still without a job. only recently have i been getting any interviews.
B52-H
97 Posts
None of the branches are accepting new graduate nurses until the next fiscal year. They are stocked up new grads too.