I'm a nursing student and I passed the NCLEX-PN in January. I'm currently going for my RN and will complete it in December if all goes well. Problem?
I'm BROKE and I would like to start working as a nurse since I am now an LPN but I *cannot* find a job. I visit EVERY local hospital's website (about 4-5 hospitals) every day. Yes, every day. I look for new positions for LPNs but in the past 3-4 months I haven't seen any, and if there are some open, I can't work them b/c it will interfere with my schooling.
I also check and put my resume on CareerBuilder.com and Monster.com. I've applied to all of these hospitals regardless of whether or not they have said they have an LPN position open. And I've seen a few nursing homes post on careerbuilder.com, and I've applied to them and that's gone no where. I'm assuming it's b/c they'd rather have someone w/ experience =(
I do live in a rural area but it's a horrible tourist trap in the summer, so I know the hospitals will probably hire more nurses to deal w/ the larger summer population (this place literally doubles or triples in the summer), but I'm SO frustrated I literally think I'll NEVER get an LPN job until the summer, or even until I finish my RN.
This is caused me so much frustration, I've literally been crying every other day for the past month or so.
I too have run into some trouble but, I knew this could happen and understand the reasons.
I'm a new grad RN and, since I needed to have knee surgery before I started a job, I was out of commission for a couple of months. So, I just concentrated on the NCLEX.
I don't have any RN experience so they can't throw me on the floor right away like other RN's. And, because of this, a lot of hospitals only hire new grads a couple of times a year. They train their new grads as a class because it's more efficient for them to do it that way. And, when you apply a couple of months later long after the class has started, you miss the boat ... so to speak.
Also, other hospitals got flooded with new grads from five different schools all at the same time so ... even if they don't have a class, so to speak, they've already hired a lot of new grads. They can only train so many new grads at one time.
So ... I just kept trying different hospitals. Luckily, there's a lot of them in my area and I'm now getting some interviews. I could take a really crappy job tomorrow if I wanted to but, I'm holding out for something better.
The bottom line is: once you do get experience, then it's a totally different story. I would have a job tomorrow if I had experience.
My hospital "doesn't hire LPN's" either.... but they hired me!
Here's the secret; quit screwing around with HR departments. They only have the power to say "no" to someone that doesn't meet a strict set of guidelines: years of experience, type of license, etc.
When it comes to nurses, HR departments typically have little to say about the process: hiring decisions are made by the unit director/manager. So.... that's where you go first. Dress professionally, arm yourself with multiple copies of your resume, and head into the hospital(s) and go to the floor(s). Ask the unit secretary for the boss's name and location. Be confident.
Most bosses would love to hire an LPN that is soon to be an RN: they can start orienting you immediately, can put you into existing staffing holes soon, and will have a new RN on staff in the near future. This is all a major plus to a unit director. All the HR department sees is "an LPN" standing in front of them "now".
When it comes to nurses, HR departments typically have little to say about the process: hiring decisions are made by the unit director/manager. So.... that's where you go first.
This is true. Or, I would touch base with both.
Sometimes the recruiter doesn't know anything. Other times they're really helpful.
But there's been more than one occassion where I found out there were job openings but, the recruiter said there wasn't.
it's funny, but i graduated from excelsior college in may of last year. i think i've put in about 7 applications, and i got job offers from every place i applied.
perhaps you're in a weak market? whatever you do, persistance will pay off. keep applying, and be sure you talk to people in person.
May and December are the optimal times to apply, at least in my area, because that's when all of the new grad programs start ... right after graduation. About half of the hospitals in my area hire most of their new grads then.
Try LTC--weekends and eves. Hospitals are really not hiring LPN's especially for short term stints who can't work full time. One possible is to try the Float pool manager and go perdiem for them. Stick with nursing it will work out.
The hospital where I work no longer hires LPN's,.but the physicians offices do,..so that you can actually hire on with the Hospital working what we call regional services,.Dr offices of every specialty,.then when you graduate, become an RN you are first up for the hospital postions as you are all ready an employee,..I worked as a "medical assistant" in many offices before I graduated from RN school and passed my NCLEX,.then went straight to the floor I chose to work,.even got to keep my previous raises,.making my starting pay as a new grad above those who hadn't been already working for the company,..make sense? BTW I did not take formal classes or pay for training to be a MA,.it was on the job!
megananne7
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