Why can't i get a job???? US RN

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Why can't I get a job?

I'm a 24 year old male, recent BSN graduate, obtained my RN license this month. I've applied to 20 RN & GNP (Graduate Nurse Permit) positions within 7 different hospitals in my city and surrounding cities (I applied for about 3 positions per facility). It has been 3 and a half weeks since my applications have been submitted and all 20 application statuses online either say "closed" (yes I know closed means the positions have been filled) or "un-qualified" or "pending".

Keep in mind, all 20 nursing positions I applied for have a minimum experience requirement of either "less than one year" or "graduate nurse" with a minimum education of an associates. No other requirements were posted. I met All desired preferences on every position I applied for with either ACLS certification and or education/ BSN and prior experience.

I have 6 letters of recommendation from either clinical site instructors and or nurse assistant professors at my university. I maintained the presidents list throughout nursing school and graduated with a cumulative GPA of 3.8. I have 700 clinical hours, 200 in critical care, 200 in med surg, 100 in Ob/peds. 100 in psych and 100 in community. (And yes all of this information and more is on my resume). I was also a nurse tech prior to nursing school and made sure to network during clinical rotations.

So why can't I get a job? I have a bachelors of science in nursing, 700 clinical hours, 3.8 GPA, I was in the SNA all throughout my program, volunteered at local children's hospital during my breaks, recent RN license, 6 letters of recommendation for hire, I've made sure to apply for positions that are for graduate nurses or RNs with less than 1 year of experience.

I've even made the effort to meet with unit managers in person that were hiring, even gave a few a hard copies of my resume and recommendation letters to them directly and bypassing HR. Still, nothing!

I'm just bent over backwards at the fact that everyone keeps saying "nursing is in so high demand right now, you will get a job so fast bla bla bla" when in reality it's been 3 and a half weeks since I've applied for 20 positions and not a single call back. All of the other open RN positions are for either charge nurse or require a minimum of 2-3 years experience so I can't apply for the others ones.

Why can't I get a job? What am I doing wrong? Advice?

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If all of that is on your resume, I would suggest to simply the document. To much is a bad thing in the HR world. Make it simple, formal, and to the point. That's just my opinion from the information you have given.

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I made sure to not overwhelm my resume with too much information. My resume is only 1 page highlighting key information.

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Your qualifications and experience are impressive.You can't get a job because of the geographical issue. Go to where the "new" nurses are needed.

Best of luck, you've got this.

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Specializes in LTC, med/surg, hospice.

Where are your classmates getting jobs? I would try to find out tips from them and also network even more. You may have to expand your search. Have you applied for only FT spots? I would apply for PT also.

As stated, par down your resume if necessary.

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Specializes in Emergency/Trauma/LDRP/Ortho ASC.

I'm assuming you live in a large city since you've applied to 7 hospitals. If this is the case, have you thought of applying to some smaller hospitals in the surrounding cities? I lived in a large metro area as a new grad, didn't even get a sneeze from the big hospitals. I applied to some of the smaller outliers and had 3 offers within a month.

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A few of my fellow cohort had pending jobs prior to graduation due to a contract they signed with the VA. A scholarship resource they got,granting the VA to pay for their school and when they finish they work for them for 2 years. I didn't do that, wasn't even aware of such things prior to nursing school. Few other cohort were prior combat medics and a few EMTs so they already have job placements pending as we'll due to their prior careers. I've tried to get in touch with some who got jobs but I haven't heard back from them at all. I've looked into PT however most PT potions posted said " 3-4 shifts per month" I can't do that lol I need FT

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Took me a year to find a job, don't give up- finally landing a job in telemetry and today interviewed at a diff hospital for OR. PM me as my last job is hiring many telemetry nurses.

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Yes, my city is quite large and 3 of the largest hospitals here serve up to 3 counties, so about 2.5 million people. I actually did apply at a brand new hospital about 40 min outside of my city that I heard were in a nursing shortage because no one wanted to move/ live out there. I applied about a week ago for that smaller facility,magenta heard back yet.

How long did it take you to get a job as a new grad ?

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

You may be in a very nurse-saturated area.

BTDT is correct...go to the areas that are new grad friendly if you want a job sooner rather then later.

If you desire to stay in your area, you may need to cast your net wide and look outside of the hospital setting.

Best wishes.

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
I made sure to not overwhelm my resume with too much information. My resume is only 1 page highlighting key information.

They don't care about your clinical hours. If your graduated from the program, the assumption is you had at least the minimum number of clinical hours required by the state to take NCLEX. Most places also don't care about your GPA.

Three and a half weeks is not long at all. Many new grads are waiting for months, some even over a year to get a job. If you were told that jobs for nurses are plentiful, and that you can get a job in whatever specialty you want, you were sold a bill of goods, and you didn't do your due diligence when it came to researching jobs for nurses.

I have 6 letters of recommendation from either clinical site instructors and or nurse assistant professors at my university. I maintained the presidents list throughout nursing school and graduated with a cumulative GPA of 3.8. I have 700 clinical hours, 200 in critical care, 200 in med surg, 100 in Ob/peds. 100 in psych and 100 in community. (And yes all of this information and more is on my resume). I was also a nurse tech prior to nursing school and made sure to network during clinical rotations.

If all of this is on your resume, you need to whittle it down. A resume for a new grad should be one page. Write a compelling cover letter (1 page) telling the facility why you would be a good fit for them. And give it time.

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You're right actually. My city has literally 6 Nursings school, 4 associates and 2 BSN programs. The associates shoot out 20 new grads every 4 months, but the BSN program shoot us out yearly. Most of the major facilities in town are moving toward magnet status and only hiring BSN RNs but it doesn't seem that way ATM lol as I have my BSN

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