You CAN get a GREAT job in the first year!

[FloridaBeagle]

Hi everyone,

I graduated last August, and like most new grads, had to take a job that wasn't ideal. My patients were high acuity, very needy, and of course I had too many of them and couldn't give them the care they deserved. Then, there's the issue of pay: the pay was okay but not good, but after being sent home r/t low census several times a month (once even twice in one week!) the pay became horrid.

So, after about 4 months at this job, I started applying elsewhere. Like everywhere and anywhere. Most hospitals never responded, some called back saying they were interested, but wanted me to contact them when I was closer to that golden year of experience. I continued anyway, hoping that by month 6 of experience someone would give me a chance. I didn't let the endless rejections deter me, because with each month that ticked by, I figured my chances were only improving.

And today it happened! I got the call that I have a new job! This hospital will give me a pt ratio of 4:1, will pay $10 an hour more than my current job, gives me guaranteed hours, and a $2000 relocation bonus! Oh, and they're flying me up there next week to do my physical and TB and stuff, at their expense!!! Hotel and meals covered too. Free trip!! Woo-hoo!

I am on cloud 9!!! I feel like I won the lottery. I can't wait to start my new job and move to my new city. It's gonna be a great year.

[adventure_rn, MSN, NP]

Congrats!! I'm sure that's an awesome feeling. I was in the same boat and got my dream job right out of school. I love the patient population, families, care, unit, and staff. Amazing orientation, decent pay, day shift, and close to the beach.

I feel like new nurses are taught to prepare ourselves for the worst and expect to take a crappy first job if we have to. It's such a relief when great jobs actually do come along. I think one element is casting a wide net, and the other element is sheer luck.

[blackribbon]

I took the job I considered crappy...but it was a hospital med/surg job and I wasn't going to miss out. Low census meant that I got cross-trained in psych (something that I actually really wanted to be in). Continued low census meant I jumped at the opportunity to apply for a position at my "dream" hospital that wouldn't even look at me as a fresh grad. However, a combination of a good word from the inside and a beautiful recommendation from my preceptor at the old hospital got me hired into the big hospital's GN residency program. It is the hardest job I have ever had am so grateful for the 4 months I had on the slower med/surg floor...but I am starting to really love it. That all said, I truly miss the smaller hospital and if I didn't need the benefits and the learning opportunities give at the big hospital, I might be willing to go back to the small hospital now that they are screaming for RNs (we all left when we were being called of twice a week). I still do contingency work for the small hospital and love the "family" feel of the staff there.

All that is to say, don't turn your nose up at that less than perfect job offer. Yes, I now have the job I always thought I wanted and even have been able to help a classmate get a job immediately after graduation. However, I miss the job I almost didn't take...it wasn't just a job, I was part of a genuine community. (One of the older nurses brought me a birthday cake when she found out I was working my birthday and even walked it to the psych floor when I was floated there that day.)