What am I doing wrong??

sunflowerross, LPN · Jan 7, 2010

Wow, is it really that hard to find a job in Portland!?! They're hiring nurses right & left in Eugene--keep looking! Sounds like you need to switch your RN to Oregon--Good Luck!

lilwbprincess · Jan 8, 2010

lilmomaluvinlife -

When I was reading your post it sounded exactly like my experience, except that I haven't moved :) I have been an RN since 2006, worked with Legacy for 2 years (trauma stepdown), left to go pursue a private peds clinic RN job for 1 year, and lost that job in October. So I had been VERY actively searching since that time and had the same experience as you. With my stepdown experience I thought, okay, I'm definitely qualified for med/surg -- I got zero calls for all the med/surg positions that I applied for. I applied with Kaiser, Legacy, and Providence for many med/surg positions and a couple stepdown med/surg units. ZERO call backs.

I DID call pretty much every HR department with all of these systems. I emailed them my cover letter/resume as well. I figured it was better to get my name out there and have someone tell me NO rather than not do that. I hated doing it though because I felt like I was being such a pain.

With that said, the one and only call back I did get was with OHSU for their neuro ICU internship, which I was offered and accepted.

Keep putting your name out there and contact the HR departments. The market sucks, but I feel it is getting better. They're all just being super picky because they can be right now. They are trying to find someone that fits their "mold", but unfortunately overlooking very qualified nurses, such as yourself :)

Good luck and feel free to send me a private message if you need support or have Q's or whatever!

lilmomaluvinlife · Jan 8, 2010

Thanks for your support! I know I saw that OSHU internship and am kicking myself for not applying!!! Well congrats on getting in somewhere! Im sure it's a great program...

:nurse: Thanks again...

Spiderella · Jan 13, 2010

Apply to everything...you never know what might push you through. Do you have your resume on Monster/Careerbuilder? A little persistence goes a long way. My sister works in HR, and she said that after seeing the same resume over and over again in the pile, she eventually puts them through to at least one position that they fit, just for their tenacity. It is scary, but Kaiser, Prov and OHSU post jobs almost every week. I would suggest you to sign up with the Job Alerts on all the websites. Prov/Kaiser will email you any jobs that fit your criteria set in the job agent. OHSU has a feed to all their job postings. Just stay on it, and don't let up until you get a job!

nrsnic, BSN, RN · Jan 14, 2010

Wow, is it really that hard to find a job in Portland!?! They're hiring nurses right & left in Eugene--keep looking! Sounds like you need to switch your RN to Oregon--Good Luck!

I sure wish I knew where this was happening...

It took me three months of looking to find the job I had (I worked in a hospital at the time, and had been for seven years!), and I just lost that job two days ago. I am seriously having to consider moving way out of state...something I was stressed about having to do the first time I had a hard time finding a job! The local Eugene/Springfield job market just doesn't seem as positive as you're making it sound :crying2:

lilmomaluvinlife · Jan 14, 2010

Sorry to hear about that nrsnic... That is unfortunate... Times are rough right now!!! Just have to stay positive... Even sometimes it's tough to even do that :0(

OregonBSN · Jan 21, 2010

I know of 6 new grads starting on the ICU and 1 on the IMCU in Salem, they all have their BSN. Of my graduating class this past December, about 10 of us have jobs now. I know many people have moved out of state to find a job. Oregon and Washington are pretty much in the same boat - saturated with new nursing graduates.

UniqueHealth · Jan 21, 2010

I lived in Eugene for 20 years. 27 Yrs old now. In school in SF for nursing. I know for a fact They are hiring RN's in Eugene left and right.

Check out Oregon Medical labs and PeaceHealth medical. I know they have about 120 current openings for RNs...

Eugene sucks, But It's where the money is in Oregon for nursing. Riverbend is HUGE..

lilmomaluvinlife · Jan 21, 2010

Well at least some nurses are being hired... unfortunately I am not interested in moving to Eugene. Especially after I just recently moved all from california to Portland. Plus I love Portland and living here is worth the wait!!! ;0)

nrsnic, BSN, RN · Jan 22, 2010

OK, I have to ask...where are these positions you speak of? I am currently hunting in that area (Eugene/Springfield) and there certainly aren't 120 positions for just nurses. Are you including all of PeaceHealth, which is also located in Alaska and Washington (not to mention a few other places around this state)?

I am not trying to argue, I really want to know where you're getting this information. I know that if you have a year or more of experience you do quite a bit better, but as a new (or practically new) nurse you're up the you-know-what creek...

On another note...I worked at PeaceHealth for seven years as a hospital phlebotomist at OML (now PeaceHealth Laboratories). I made a lot of positive relationships with nurses, charge nurses, and department heads. Toward the end of my educational sentence (I worked full time too, so it really wasn't fun), I started looking for a nursing position (around April 2009). I couldn't get my foot in a single door. I had letters of recommendation from a neonatal doctor (who is also in charge of the PeaceHealth hospital pharmacy), a per diem house charge nurse/LCC instructor, another well known and respected LCC instructor, and I could have given them 20 references from almost every department in the hospital. It didn't matter one bit. There simply weren't any positions. I ended up having to go into a LTC facility.

When I contacted HR again about a month ago, I was told (verbatim), "the job market is worse off than before when you were looking." I have another tab open in my web browser right now (Friday 1/22/10 @ 12:12 AM) and there are 31 total jobs listed in the Eugene/Springfield area for nursing, and that includes listings for CNA's and LPN's (so the number of RN positions is actually much lower than that).

So as you can see, I have a bit of data that suggests that the local Eugene/Springfield market is a little less than optimal. Again, I can't stress this enough...I am just this side of desperately looking for a job, so please...please prove me wrong :banghead:

lilmomaluvinlife · Jan 23, 2010

To lilwbprincess....

Hello... I was curious to see how the OSHU ICU program was going? I was going to PM you but realized I can't due to not posting enough... lol. Anyway... I am still looking for work and am really considering applying for the icu internship. I know there is one in April. I don't want to miss it this time... When was you interview and how far advance did they tell you that you were accepted before the program began? Are you learning a lot? How does it work? Are you in a class all day? Is it paid for? So many questions ;0)

Thanks!!! :nurse: