So I have just found out that my dream job has rejected me after what I thought was a great interview with good references.
Looks like all my hard work didn't mean anything. BSN. Magna Cum Laude. 3+ years of healthcare experience. Nothing. While other new grads get their dream jobs with no experience. It just ticks me off.
So now, I do not know what to do. I had my heart set on the babies, but looks like that isn't happening. I am now starting to apply indiscriminately, even though I am not in love with any other specialty like I am with the babies.
Now what? To the more experienced nurses out there, what happens if you don't get that dream job? Do you stop pursuing it and just take what you can get? I am so disappointed.
Wait until you lose a much wanted "dream" job to a nurse who has to be accommodated due to a health issue. Basically, they interview with a pulse and a valid practice permit and get the job. That happens all the time in my system and is a huge slap in the face to the nurse who thought s/he had aced it!
Or to someone with union seniority...and they're not necessarily better qualified than you.
Sorry it didn't work out, I have similar aspirations. But don't give up, keep applying and maybe gain other nursing skills/experience in the mean time, which can benefit you in the future.
Sign on with a home health agency (for extended care) and tell them you only want to work with itty bitties. You will get some itty bitty experience and will be able to use that to your advantage when applying again. And keep telling yourself that babies may not be in your present (at least full time), but they will someday be in your future.
Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.
Oh how times have changed! Sorry to be an oldster piping up, but I'm going to anyway (privilege of age .)
For my first job out of school, I wanted to be somewhere that would challenge me. I applied at MGH (Boston) and they put me where there was a need/opening. My 'dream' was to have a nursing job, didn't matter on what unit.
The best job I ever had was as a float, because it was different every shift. Got to experience lots of specialties, realize my strong and weak points and preferences.
Just concentrate on getting a job, period. There will be time enough to work your way towards something specific, if that's what you have your mind set on.
I realize the lay of the land is very different these days, but realize it is possible to find out you actually like working in an area you previously rejected as not ideal.
Funny that you should mention the float pool. I just received an email regarding an interview for med-surg float pool. I am worried that this may not be a good fit for a new grad. However, float pool new grads start off making more than a three-year nurse and one cannot beat the flexibility.
I have accepted the interview, but oh man. Float pool as a new grad? Med surg? Night shift? Uh oh....
Specializes in Psych, Substance Abuse, Case Management.
I consider myself very lucky because I did get my dream job. However, I was willing to work anywhere just to get my foot in the door - med/surge, peds, nursing homes. I empathize with you. Other new grads with no medical experience were hired relatively quickly, while I couldn't even land an interview. That had me thinking something was wrong with me. Now I know that good things come to those who wait. Don't give up.
Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.
No Stars in My Eyes,
Funny that you should mention the float pool. I just received an email regarding an interview for med-surg float pool. I am worried that this may not be a good fit for a new grad. However, float pool new grads start off making more than a three-year nurse and one cannot beat the flexibility.
I have accepted the interview, but oh man. Float pool as a new grad? Med surg? Night shift? Uh oh....
Not to sound scary, but 'trial-by-fire' will absolutely get your feet wet and help you conquer many fears. Oh the things that you will learn! I floated once to Neuro ICU at MGH, but the nurses there were aware of my shortcomings; they weren't expecting me to know everything, they were just happy to have another pair of hands to help out. I said, "point me in a direction and tell me what you want me to do." Mostly I ended up 'collecting data' (v/s, emptying one thing, filling up another, helping turn and reposition, help other nurses with stuff I could do to lighten their load while they did the more critical stuff.) But I had a head nurse I could trot my numbers and stats to, and anything out of my range of experience was accommodated. They were nice enough to give me the least critical of the critical. Yes, it was scary, but after the shift was over (only 8 hours, not 12) I felt pretty darn good!
Not to sound scary, but 'trial-by-fire' will absolutely get your feet wet and help you conquer many fears. Oh the things that you will learn! I floated once to Neuro ICU at MGH, but the nurses there were aware of my shortcomings; they weren't expecting me to know everything, they were just happy to have another pair of hands to help out. I said, "point me in a direction and tell me what you want me to do." Mostly I ended up 'collecting data' (v/s, emptying one thing, filling up another, helping turn and reposition, help other nurses with stuff I could do to lighten their load while they did the more critical stuff.) But I had a head nurse I could trot my numbers and stats to, and anything out of my range of experience was accommodated. They were nice enough to give me the least critical of the critical. Yes, it was scary, but after the shift was over (only 8 hours, not 12) I felt pretty darn good!
Agree.
I started out as a Float LPN at a Rehab hospital; best way to push myself out of the student nursing zone RIGHT into the beginner nurse zone.
It helped me focus on critical thinking and how to practice in "anticipation", meaning setting up a routine on how to be prepared for anything. As well as allowed me to become resourceful in my knowledge base.
It also helped me learn how to advocate for myself, especially if the assignment was "wonky" because the "float nurse is here" and they snared to give the assignment out of turn because they wanted a "break".
I wanted a specific specialty when I graduated. I now work in the OR of a large academic hospital that treats patients from all ages - my patients are sometimes preemies, sometimes very elderly. I never really thought I'd work in the OR or that I'd like it as much as I generally do. There are days it just sucks...but I've had enough jobs (both healthcare and not) to recognize that will happen no matter where you work or what you do.
If I hadn't gotten the job I initially got (or the one after that), I may not have found what I have now. I have to agree with a previous poster who mentioned that a workplace that is supportive of new grads is worth its weight in gold - it really is. I didn't know this before my current job. :)
I would apply in a lot of places - take a job that is offered, and work for a year or two then go somewhere else (another unit, or elsewhere all together). Nursing is wonderful in that there are so many options and you can switch it up every few years and never be stuck in the same thing (unless you love it) for 15 years. I wish you the best, and hope that you find a job supportive of new grads with a great team of coworkers! :)
A solid background in meg surg makes a better nurse, it gives you a career long base to build on.
When I started out I never dreamed I'd work as a L&D nurse, never, ever, no way. That's where I am now and it is truly my dream. When you start out you really don't have the experience to know what is the perfect fit for you. Instead of thinking you were rejected, treated badly etc, etc, why not open your eyes to whatever the universe is trying to tell you? Get out there and see what happens. Some jobs suck terribly but they'll make you appreciate the good one when it come along. Good luck, it's all a big adventure.
.)
Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN
4 Articles; 7,907 Posts
Or to someone with union seniority...and they're not necessarily better qualified than you.