Which states are not saturated with new grad nurses?

[GameRN]

Hi everyone!

I’m a new grad who graduated Dec 2019 with my BSN. I’ve had no luck save for one interview here in my state of California. It’s not what I originally planned but I am deciding to look out of state.

Where would you all recommend I look? Arizona and Nevada are in my radar but I would like to hear from some of your experiences. Any other CA grads been in my shoes?

Thanks!

[adventure_rn, MSN, NP]

Instead of searching by state, you may have better luck searching by region. The biggest cities in every state have at least one nursing school (likely several schools) and therefore you will likely have greater competition with other new grads. You could have better luck by searching for smaller hospitals in more rural/suburban areas in any state (potentially even in CA), as they tend to have less total new grads. Unfortunately, those cities/towns are a little harder for outsiders to find, since people unfamiliar with the area usually think of the bigger, more well-known cities.

Honestly, the more ‘desirable’ a location, the more competition for jobs(hence SoCal) so you may want to seek out less desirable places. The same goes with flashy, big-name hospitals. Even within a particular region, don’t limit yourself to the brand-name academic tertiary referral centers. Keep searching to see if there are other smaller local/community hospitals on the city outskirts or in the suburbs.

[jobellestarr]

If you want a bit of adventure, try Indian Health Service. I lived on the Navajo reservation for years and I loved it.