New Grad, Newly Licensed, ready for a job!

[kbuse]

Hi! I am a newly licensed nurse, graduated from a college in Los Angeles and moved up to Northern California to start my career but have found it incredibly challenging to get my foot in the door up here. Many hospitals aren't hiring, much less hiring new grads and I'm starting to feel discouraged. I have been applying to every hospital out here and have been relentlessly calling HR with no leads. Is there anyone with any advice for a new grad in the field on how to get myself out there?

[atyurbest01]

Hi I'm a new BSN RN graduate from New York, whom is experiencing the the same job search dilemma. The city hospitals and agencies in NYC are only willing to hire experienced nurses. When I tell people I that I can't find a job they say "I don't see why isn't there is a nursing shortage?" ahhhhh I hate that I wish I could just yell shut up what do you know!!!!
Don't get discouraged and don't give up!!! try networking its not what you know but who you know. So everywhere you go say "I'm a new RN I'm looking for a job" (especially in a doctors office, social gatherings etc) always keep your resume handy and ready to distribute, go to job fairs, subscribe to nursing magazines they have great job posting in the back, get help from your school career office if you have one.

[element]

kbuse and atyurbest unfortunately hospitals or corporations ( they own 90% of hospitals I guess) dont hire new nurses that easily, if you notice all their ads require 6 month experience, even if you have one ,chances are very little, the best you can do is to volunteer in the hospital where you want to work in that way you get some experience while looking for a job and they might offer you the job after sometime as you already know them, sometimes it is the people that you know not what you know.
There are job offers though for new interns and student like Saddleback and Salinas Valeey Medical Hospital has one last month I think, you just have to search all the time, but competition is very tough as there are a number of new nursing graduates, or you can do non acute nursing job like in skin clinic where they are willing to train nurse, but careful because once you enter non acute areas of nursing, no hospital will hire you again in acute side, take it from my experience I have difficulty applying back in acute care even though I have experienced, they dont count your experience unless it is recent, which is unfortunate, so choose carefully if you decide to enter in a different field. Maybe you can apply in far flung places where there are no applicant like the north pole kidding aside. Good luck!

[newRN]

Hi, I am also a newly licensed nurse here in Ohio. Been applying everywhere it seems, and either don't hear back from most of the large hospitals, or do get interviews at others but they don't consider me for their positions. Most of my work experience is in another profession and I am in my forties, and I too am getting a little discouraged. I don't know if this area has no shortages, or if they just want experienced nurses, perplexing to say the least.

[LindaJ.]

Are they offering any positions.....night shift, prn, anything??

[PunkyGirl]

Kbuse.... I have 10 years experience, but because I haven't been working in a hospital or clinical type of facility the past several years... I can't get a hosptial, clinic, or other nursing facility to even grant me an interview!
In my opinion, there is either NO nursing shortage OR they would rather have 2 floor nurses on an 18 bed unit, throw caution to the wind that nothing goes wrong, have a charge nurse who is doing the work of the Unit Clerk and filling in as the nursing assistant. This way, you can work those nurses 12 - 16 hours a day, 4 days a week, and in my state... you do not get overtime and full-time with benefits is 4 12 hour shifts a week! This is why I left hospital nursing.
I worked at several hospitals and experienced the shortage, but they don't seem to do much about it except call an agency if they need someone.

I don't mean to sound negative, I am just being factual about how it is in my state. However, there are always ads for newgrads in the paper here. I just don't know any personally to know if it's like that here also. (In Oklahoma)

There are so many new surgical centers, pain management clinics, specialized hospitals and other places in my area that you would think would hire a nurse.......
Especially in CA, TX and NY. But, I have had nursing friends there experience the same.

I posted a thread about my own dilema: http://forums.nurse.com/showthread.php?t=3881

If they have telephone triage in your area, you might try that... Also www.fonemed.com (I worked for them and they were great).
I hate to hear other nurses are experiencing this nationwide, but it does put perspective on the idea that I might consider going back to school in another area.

[kbuse]

Thank you all for replying! It certainly provides perspective, I am so amazed at how this problem seems to be hitting everyone. I have continued to be persistant - a few girls I have heard have been hired simply by showing up at the hospital and demanding to see the managers for an interview - and though I haven't yet done that, I was fortunate to get hired into a New Grad Program in Los Angeles which means that I will have to relocate. It seems like that is the best opportunity, just grab your 1 year experience anywhere and you'll be able to apply it to the facility that you really want to work in, even if it means relocating.

Has the job search shown any more improvement for any of you in these last couple weeks? Thank you again so much for your help!

[Edson!]

I think that one poster above adds a perspective you might not like, but might consider. That is, working nights. It's funny. Some places don't want an new nurse on nights because of lack of experience with less support staff present. Other places know they need to fill this shift, regardless. I think if you can get a really good mentor/preceptor (I make the distinction between simply "precepting" and preceptions along with true mentoring. We need less for the former and more of the latter.)

Anyway. Some big university hosptals are more eager to take new nurses, because they know to get experience, they will work these shifts and are even willing to work every other weekend--12 hour shifts.

A fairer weekend commitment when one works 12 hour shifts is every third weeked. However, ifyou don't mind every other weekend on 12's and off shift, keep looking. You are bound to get a position.

[chipdrew]

I wish that more hospitals would be willing to hire on new grads or nurses that have been inactive. I was fortunate enough to be a new grad and in the Air Force when they placed me immediately in the ER at 23 y/o with no experience. It paved the way for the course my career took post-military life, and now looking back nearly 20 years I feel so blessed. Now, I work as an ER Manager for a hospital in Southern AZ near the border, and I make it my mission to give other new grads who like myself had little to no ER experience the chance to start off thier career on the right path. Good luck in your job search and dont give up!

[NursingGuy]

This is interesting. In my experience, graduated in May this year, and interviewed @ 4 hospitals... of my offers, I picked the hospital that was the closest to me, and had a very good deal. I used to work as an aide (prior to graduation) at a hospital almost an hour away from me, but they wanted to pay over $2.00 less/hour than the hospital 15 minutes from my house. In fact, a young lady I graduated with, went straight out of school, and into the OR orienting to be a circulator!

Now this is a "suburban" hospital. From all I've heard, yes there's a big shortage (the hospital I came from as an aide was short over 50 nurses by the time I left), and I don't think that some of these places that are being mentioned in this thread really have the liberty to turn their noses up at new grads... I can easily see where some fat-cat adminstrator would be saying, "I'd rather overwork our existing short staff than go through all the expense to orient and mentor new grads." But IMHO, those hospitals are selling themselves short, since I think it's the new grads who have more of the inclination to stay in one place for longer than some experienced nurses would... let's face it, the more experienced you are, GENERALLY the more choices you have.

I hope, wish, and pray for ALL my "fellow" grads who've come out of school this spring and/or summer, every success and you get a job somewhere where you can get your feet wet and gain the experience that will yield you more opportunities in the future. Don't give up... you didn't through school, so don't quit now!

~NursingGuy

[dulexx]

niceguy, where in western pa are those hospitals?
tx

[dulexx]

NursingGuy, where ae those hospitals in Western PA?

[NursingGuy]

Originally Posted by dulexx

NursingGuy, where ae those hospitals in Western PA?

A few I could rattle off from the top of my head:

Jefferson Regional (south of Pittsburgh)
UPMC-Mercy (downtown)
UPMC-Shadyside (Shadyside area of Pittsburgh)
Allegheny General (Northside area of Pittsburgh)
Forbes Regional (Monroeville)
Excela Health-Westmoreland, Latrobe, and Frick (in Westmoreland county, east of Pittsburgh)

These are by NO means an exhaustive list of hospitals, and I don't mean to leave out any or "slight" any hospital or group -- not my intention. These are ones I know up til a couple of weeks ago were still hiring. If anyone knows differently, feel free to correct me.

~ NursingGuy

[kminornurse]

Keep your head up!! One day you will find a job....But one thing I am noticing is that if you have your BSN instead of your RN you are more than likely to get hired. Here is an idea keep looking for a job and take some online courses that will help continue your education to a BSN. You can work at your own pace with online schools, that is what I am doing right now. I am an RN right now but hopefully in a year or so I will graduate with my BSN that I am taking online with American Sentinel University... www.healthcare.americansentinel.edu

[insenescence1]

Just a warning for the moment; recent news reports a potential layoff at UPMC, although I suspect it might not involve nursing. And UPMC is the strongest health system financially in the region; West Penn/Allegheny just reported a gross overestimation on expected revenue to the tune of about $79 million. They are going to be a bit short this year.

And the UPMC system has it's good and bad. The experience and opportunities are hard to beat, but the tradeoff (conditions) sometimes made me question if it were worth it.

But P'burgh is a fun town, and I am sure a flexible person will have no problem finding some kind of a nursing job.

OTOH, our unit (ICU in Atlanta), just hired over a dozen NEW GRADS, and we will be expanding our unit by somwhere from 3-7 more beds in January.