When to start applying for jobs...

[Bonny619]

I graduate in December and I don't have an externship, so i'll need to line up my job, when should I start applying? October?

How do you go about that? Do they just hold the job for you?

[kaitsmama]

I applied for and got my job in March. I graduated on May 5, and I will start work on June 11th! It really dpends upon the facilities in your area and how they prefer to hire/train, but in my area the best jobs for graduate nurses were filled early. HTH, Laura

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

start calling the nurse recruiters at the hospitals in your area about three months before your graduation date. they will tell you when the best time to submit your application will be. the hospitals that regularly hire new graduates are usually knowledgeable about when the graduates are available to start working, but don't assume that. they also set up special orientation programs for the new grads around those times as well. watch your sunday newspaper classifieds for advertisements of job fairs, particularly for nurses. keeping in contact with several nurse recruiters will also help you find where any job fairs are. nurse recruiters are also good sources for learning about job prospects, particularly if their hospital isn't hiring. pump them, nicely, for as much information as you can get from them.

you will want to have a resume and cover letter ready to send out at those times. be prepared to go on interviews. don't limit yourself to one facility. interviews are excellent learning experiences. these facilities want you as much as you want a job. choose your job offers wisely.

yes, they will hold a job open for you. but, i will be honest. some people in some facilities are not honest and will promise graduates anything just to get them in through their doors, hired and working. they will play on the inexperience of a younger new graduate nurse thinking that they won't object to being taken advantage of this way. it was done to me as a new graduate and some years later as an experienced nurse. i quit both jobs on the spot when i discovered the deception that was perpetrated on me. the problem of something like this happening, however, is that all the good jobs have been taken by the time graduation rolls around and these weasels know this. when it happened to me, the only place i could get a job was in a nursing home. it was another three years before i was able to find my first hospital nursing job. it was because i lived in the boondocks and my choices for work were limited. chat up the staff nurses in the hospitals where you are doing your clinicals over the next term of school to get a feel for the way they feel they are treated by their administration.

you will find job hunting and interview information on the nursing career advice forum on allnurses

[Bonny619]

Thank you very much for the great info. Ive had wonderful clinical experiences at quite a few different hospitals and I feel I made some good connections!

[Megsd, BSN, RN]

If you're planning on applying for any kind of new grad internship, I'd contact them sooner and ask when they recommend you apply and what the process is. The internship I plan on applying to recommended I apply in August, and I don't graduate until November. I will need two faculty recommendation letters which will take some time to gather, so I am glad I found out early what the expectations are for applications.