1 year down, still frustrating

I'm 2 months away from having a year's experience as an RN, The ONLY job i could get out of school was peds home health. A lot of people were saying that recruiters and hospitals would understand in this economy you have to take what you get, and probably wouldn't hold it against you. Now that I'm almost to my year mark I was hoping that my applications to hospitals would get a little better response than just the rejections i've been getting the past year. This week I got an e-mail from a recruiter at a hospital telling to to stop applying because i only had home health experience, not acute care!!! W T F! Are you serious?!? how much longer am I going to have to put up with this vicious circle of only being able to get $hitty jobs for lack of experience. How the hell am i going to get a job in acute care if they only hire people with experience in acute care. Give us other nurses a chance!! We're working our a$$es off trying to be good enough for the hospitals to be interested in, and nothing we do is good enough! :mad:AHHHHH

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

Sadly it is an employers market right now. There is no shortage of experience nurses, making the unexperienced undesirable. It may be years until this turns around. Perhaps you can find a position in subactue now.

[Nurse201007]

I'm 2 months away from having a year's experience as an RN, The ONLY job i could get out of school was peds home health. A lot of people were saying that recruiters and hospitals would understand in this economy you have to take what you get, and probably wouldn't hold it against you. Now that I'm almost to my year mark I was hoping that my applications to hospitals would get a little better response than just the rejections i've been getting the past year. This week I got an e-mail from a recruiter at a hospital telling to to stop applying because i only had home health experience, not acute care!!! W T F! Are you serious?!? how much longer am I going to have to put up with this vicious circle of only being able to get $hitty jobs for lack of experience. How the hell am i going to get a job in acute care if they only hire people with experience in acute care. Give us other nurses a chance!! We're working our a$$es off trying to be good enough for the hospitals to be interested in, and nothing we do is good enough! :mad:AHHHHH

I know exactly how you feel. I'm apart of the over a year club too. Although the hospitals won't hire you work wherever will hire you in the mean time, volunteer in a hospital if you can and network, network, network!! goodluck!!

[MrChicagoRN, RN]

That HR person obviously doesn't understand the skills of a home-care nurse.

We hired a nurse who spent her first year doing homecare, and she worked out wonderfully. As a former HC nurse myself I understand perfectly the demands placed on the HC nurse. She learned time management, critical thinking, and learned to involve the patient and family in the Poc. Think about what transferable skills you have learned, and make sure that it is included in your resume and cover letter.

[PediLove2147, BSN, RN]

I feel your frustration. I too thought I would get a few more bites after hitting 1 year. NOPE. I am still rejected from the hospitals.

Someone I worked with got a job in one of the major hospitals in my area. She had 8 months experience working the same cases I do. She gives me hope!

[SNIXRN]

are you doing anything else to stand out? i've said it before and i'll say it again - volunteer! i volunteered for the hospital i wanted to work for before i even started nursing school - that's a solid 2+ years of commitment. i worked full-time, went to school full-time and still managed to volunteer 4 hours every week at my dream hospital (this is ranked one of the best hospitals in the world). their new grad program opened up and they had over 400 applicants - they hired 30. i truly believe that showing my commitment to the hospital helped them in their decision to hire me (a rn with an associates) compared to others.

[PediLove2147, BSN, RN]

are you doing anything else to stand out? i've said it before and i'll say it again - volunteer! i volunteered for the hospital i wanted to work for before i even started nursing school - that's a solid 2+ years of commitment. i worked full-time, went to school full-time and still managed to volunteer 4 hours every week at my dream hospital (this is ranked one of the best hospitals in the world). their new grad program opened up and they had over 400 applicants - they hired 30. i truly believe that showing my commitment to the hospital helped them in their decision to hire me (a rn with an associates) compared to others.

i do volunteer. it hasn't helped unfortunately. it is a great hospital. i am sure they have hundreds of applications for each position. they want experience and i don't have it. they can afford to be picky.

[SNIXRN]

Have you talked to any nursing managers on the floor? They are the ones who can pull your resume and let HR know.

[jbee]

Have you tried agency nursing? You could pick up shifts in the hospital PRN/when available while keeping your peds home health job... although you would only be able to pick up shifts here and there, it would help you to get some hospital experience as an RN.

Good luck!

[Akeos]

All the agencies I've seen require at least 1 yr usually 2yrs in a hospital in the specialty you want to work. Do agency's do training for new nurses?

[EDnursetobe]

I know it's not ideal, but have you thought about PRN/volunteering in an acute care hospital. just to get your foot in the door and improve your resume?

additional certifications never hurt either, ACLS etc.

good luck! this economy is tough.