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Any other nurses having trouble finding a job?

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disneybride

disneybride

Shiny_Rock
Joined
May 13, 2008
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139
I live in MA and have been job searching for a year without success. I have my BSN and additional certifications and no luck so far at all...applied to every hospital within a 2 hour driving distance...had a few interviews, offered two positions and they both fell through, one due to budget constraints and the other the position was cancelled because of too much internal interest and union conflict issues with part-timers wanting more hours. I''m feeling really discouraged at this point.
 
weird there is a huge demand here.
My niece just finished her lpn and had 8 offers.
Next year she is going to go on and get her RN and the place she is working will pay half if she works 20 hours a week.
 
What state is this strm? I have been forced to look into relocating, leaving behind my family, fiance, and cats because I drained the last of my savings this month and have zero prospects on the horizon. Everywhere I''ve looked is not hiring inexperienced nurses at this time...I never in a million years pictured I would be jobless after one year of searching.
 
Date: 1/22/2009 2:26:48 AM
Author: disneybride
What state is this strm? I have been forced to look into relocating, leaving behind my family, fiance, and cats because I drained the last of my savings this month and have zero prospects on the horizon. Everywhere I've looked is not hiring inexperienced nurses at this time...I never in a million years pictured I would be jobless after one year of searching.
Click to expand...

Northern IL, Southern WI (Rockford, Freeport, Beloit, Janesville area)
lpn wage is ~$20 an hour I am not sure what the higher ones are.
Chicago area I hear is higher but the cost of living is 2x
Generally 4 10 hour shifts or 3 12 hour shifts per week is the regular schedule plus some overtime usually.
There are a couple nursing schools here also.
Surgical nurses are in the highest demand as the lack of them is limiting the surgery schedules.
 
Date: 1/22/2009 3:09:42 AM
Author: strmrdr
Date: 1/22/2009 2:26:48 AM

Author: disneybride

What state is this strm? I have been forced to look into relocating, leaving behind my family, fiance, and cats because I drained the last of my savings this month and have zero prospects on the horizon. Everywhere I''ve looked is not hiring inexperienced nurses at this time...I never in a million years pictured I would be jobless after one year of searching.
Click to expand...


Northern IL, Southern WI (Rockford, Freeport, Beloit, Janesville area)

lpn wage is ~$20 an hour I am not sure what the higher ones are.

Chicago area I hear is higher but the cost of living is 2x

Generally 4 10 hour shifts or 3 12 hour shifts per week is the regular schedule plus some overtime usually.

There are a couple nursing schools here also.

Surgical nurses are in the highest demand as the lack of them is limiting the surgery schedules.
Click to expand...

I didn''t know you lived near me Storm!

It seems like there is a ton of demand in this area in general. I live in Madison and it seems like there are always job postings for nurses.
 
I don''t know if it''s the same where you live, but here in So. Florida, it seems that the job openings go to the nursing students who financed their nursing school through hospital scholarships and were guaranteed jobs if they committed 2 yrs. I graduated in 03, and paid for my education myself. I was able to get a job only because the hospital wasn''t able to keep staff in it''s NICU and needed to fill internships. I left the unit a year and a half (now I know why they couldn''t keep staff!) I couldn''t find another job (like your experiences). I gave up on nursing - but I hope you find something soon! You have really dedicated yourself to the nursing profession with your credentials - my hat''s off to you.
 
HEy, my friend works for a staffing company that staffs nurses... You might want to look that route. It is a way hospitals go around budget constraits because they are contract/contingent workers..most of those end up w/ job offers from the hospital.

http://www.maximstaffing.com/candidates/nurseStaffing.aspx

I wish you the best of luck! I know you didn''t ask for it...
but here''s a little good luck ****DUST!***
 
Hi, Disneybride! I''m a nurse, live in Philadelphia, and work in the ISICU at a teaching hospital. I was talking to a nursing student at work a few weeks ago and she said that she is having a difficult time finding a job at a hospital in the area, and may have to relocate to Baltimore. Also, I''ve realized recently that the nursing positions on Craigslist and local sites are slim to none, or agency. I graduated in ''05, and found a job right away, as did a lot of my classmates. I was lucky, I graduated from an AS degree program, and now most hospitals here are only hiring BSN graduates (my hospital changed their rules 6 months after I started).

I don''t know. It seems the demand is governed by locality. Are you in/near a big city? It seems the demand here for nurses has declined a lot in the past 3 years. The positions that are available seem to be geared towards experienced nurses.

I feel your pain... I can only imagine what you''re going through. All that studying, the NCLEX, it''s all so stressful to begin with... but listen, DON''T GIVE UP! I know for a fact that nursing is a tough field, so tough that after a few years in one place, most want to explore new things, change units, etc. So that means positions are like a revolving door... you''re bound to come across something. I think I''m in the upper third of our unit''s seniority list, and I''ve only been there 2 1/2 years!
Have you followed up with any of the hospitals you''ve applied to but haven''t gotten an interview with? Stopped by HR? Make sure you keep an eye on the hospitals websites in your area to see if any new openings pop up... Then get to that hospital ASAP, go to HR and ask if it would be possible to speak to the nursing manager of that unit. The unit managers have the final say as to who gets hired. My first interview was with the head of the Nursing Dept, the second was with my unit manager. Have an extra copy of your resume, in case you do get to speak with the unit manager.
I feel like I''m rambling a bit here, but I''m kinda upset FOR you, yaknow? How long have you been on the job hunt for? What about your classmates - have they had success?
Lots and lots of job dust to you. Keep the faith!
 
We definitely need nurses in Las Vegas if you want to relocate here.
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My cousin just finished nursing school in Maryland in December and moved to Texas right before Christmas. She had a job as of January 15 with a sign on bonus. I guess the demand is higher here.

****Dust*** that you find something quick
 
I''m in MN and there are tons of nursing positions here. That seems to be all that''s ever advertised in the paper and the hospitals always have lots and lots of postings on their sites as well. It must be a regional thing, but until now I thought that it was this way everywhere.
 
Thank you so much for your advice and responses. I''m going to look into these areas...the problem is, is that the cost of living is less so the pay is less but my bills and student loans are not going to drop down to match the payrate of the area....my students alone are $506/month...I pay out roughly $2400/month to bills even after getting rid of all extras with no relief in sight and I''m really, REALLY struggling. I haven''t even bought clothes for myself in two years.

Lynnie, how do you like Philadelphia? I just applied to CHOP yesterday but the recruiters weren''t really helpful at all. I live in Boston and there is absolutely no shortage here except for the one that''s created by greedy hospitals who want the bottom line for themselves. They would rather work their nurses to death than to hire more. A local NICU has their nurses working six days a week (all 12 hour shifts!)...it''s unreal that they''d rather pay out all that overtime than to train new nurses. I have kept in touch with HR and the nurse managers at those hospitals and there has been no change. They blame it on the insurance companies not wanting to pay to keep patients in the hospital anymore. I have done everything from hound HR, to walking onto floors with my resume, to being on a first name basis with several of the nurse managers in the Boston area hospitals. I just had an interview for a NICU out in central MA that went really well, I ended up interviewing with five people after I was only supposed to meet with the nurse manager and clinical coordinator, but then the same thing happened...an emergency management meeting was called hospital-wide to discuss budget and freezing positions (right after the hospital advertised they were hiring!) and I talked to the HR manager the day before who told me they still hadn''t made a decision because they don''t yet know if their position is one that will be frozen. I''m so sad and frustrated I don''t know whether to cry or scream...I''ve done plenty of both.

 
Houston is in great demand for nurses and we have one of the lowest costs of living in the U.S.
Of course, you''d have to live in Houston though. lol.
 
Have you looked into a temp/contracted job? I just did a quick CL search and found a few temp positions here in my region. The newspaper classifieds seem to be getting thinner and thinner each month, yet there seems to be plenty of demand for nurses (I'm not sure how much experience all this positions require). One of my friends is a nurse and lives outside the city, in a town with a much lower cost-of-living, and makes $60K per year. This is in the Northwest.
 
I''m just a student in the BSN program right now, but Hospitals here in California are hurting really badly for RNs, even ADNs. They are offering crazy sign on bonuses of like $5,000 or leasing a car for you for a year, or housing help. There are a lot of recruiting agencies that offer similar bonuses as well. I wish you all the luck!
 
My MIL is a nurse she''s been telling my SIL (also a nurse) to go to Cali for a loooong time. From what I understand, nurses are unionized and make an amazing living compared to nurses in other parts of the country.

Iowa has a nursing shortage, too. Cost of living is amazingly low, and larger metro areas, Des Moines, for example, really don''t feel like "Iowa" at all.

Re: loan payments - I know it''s no fun, but depending what kind of student loans you have, they can be paused for awhile to get on your feet. I remember looking into it last year, and the interest rate/penalties were not bad at all.
 
Do you know what parts of California are hurting for nurses? I looked into it and it appeared there wasn''t much of a shortage but maybe I was looking in the wrong areas.
 
I live in SoCal and there are a lot of hospitals here hurting for nurses. Are you a new grad? Do you plan on going to grad school?

I know UCLA offers a steeeeppp discount on their tuition costs if you work for UCLA Medical Center (66% off tuition) and new grads make about $65,000/year.

Any idea which county or area you want to work/live in?
 
Disney, Philly''s cool, but it''s also the only place I''ve ever lived. Lots of history, museums, and all that jazz. As far as nursing goes, I think the starting rates here are in the neighborhood of $28/29 an hour plus shift differentials. It seems you have your heart set on the NICU... any flexibility in that area? I only say this because it seems that a lot of ICU''s don''t want to hire new grads... Have you thought about trying other types of units, just to get "in", and move on in a year or two?

THat''s crazy that that hospital would rather pay out all that overtime than training new nurses.

CHOP is a great hospital, they have an awesome reputation. It''s beautiful inside, too! I did a clinical rotation there, but it was in the Rehab Unit, and kinda sad... kids with brain damage, burn victims, etc. It really takes a lot of dedication to work with those kinds of patients. If you land an interview there, let me know! I can give you a list of must-do things while in Philly. St. Christopher''s is another children''s hospital in Philly, if you''re interested in looking them up. The University of Pennsylvania Hospital has probably THE BEST reputation in the area. They set the standards for all the other hospitals around here. And you have the BSN that they want.

I just checked my hospital out, but we don''t have any openings in the NICU.

I hear ya on the school loans, too. One of my co-workers pays $1000/month towards hers. I couldn''t imagine. I luckily got accepted to the Community College of Philadelphia''s nursing program, so my loans were a measly 7K total.

Still sending dust....

PS Cute kitty! What''s it''s name?
 
Disney,
I am sorry to hear that you are having a hard time finding a job. I do know a nurse in my office(pediatrician) who did get declined from the new grad program at our local university hospital- in pediatrics. She took a clinic job with us instead and will maybe try the hospital later.
when I graduated in ''96 I think the market was similar(in philadelphia). I took a job in a nursing home/skilled nursing facility that was connected to a hospital. I did work there as a nursing assistant prior and I knew the manager, but as I remember it, there were tons of nursing home jobs and the other more desirable ones were much harder to come by. I moved to CHOP in pediatrics one year later without trouble.
Are there less desirable jobs you could take or no jobs at all that are willing to take new nurses? I can''t believe the market is so hard considering they talk about shortages all the time. But I also remember others telling me how cyclical(sp?) the market is for healthcare. The CA market where I live now is asking for experience but I think you can find some managers who will take new grads. The money is great at union hospitals in Ca, but I know that''s awfully far from MA.
Hope you get something soon, as I am sure this is very stressful. Do you have certain criteria for jobs that you have to have? I will keep my ears open for you even though it''s the wrong state. take care and good luck.
 
I haven''t read the entire thread, so if I''m repeating I apologize. Have you thought about a travel position? Your moving expenses are usually paid as well as housing. Try American Mobile Healthcare. I traveled with them a few years ago and it was a very good experience.
I can only speak about the state of Georgia, but the last figure i read recently is 1 nurse for every 63 people. That''s a frightening thought!!!
 
If you're wanting to stay in your area, try to get your foot in the door by doing pool positions. Be available to work when the hospital needs you. By showing interest and putting yourself out there, if an opening becomes available, they will come to you.

Also going to area's with high populations of retiree's will diffinetly be a plus. I live in Florida and we have a nursing shortage big time. I work as a recovery nurse. I'm thinking about being cross trained in the OR but I don't know if I'm able to physically do this (it's really cold in the OR and there are alot of lifting and holding).

But I have worked on the floor, ICU, worked as charge nurse.... there are alot of different avenue to take. But you have to be flexible... you might not be able to get the shift or the days off that you want, but in the beginning you have to be flexible.
 
Date: 1/22/2009 2:34:30 PM
Author: disneybride
Do you know what parts of California are hurting for nurses? I looked into it and it appeared there wasn''t much of a shortage but maybe I was looking in the wrong areas.
Click to expand...

My friend''s niece just graduated near the top of her class, and she is having problems finding a job in So Cal because she isn''t bilingual. She''s getting very discouraged.
 
I grew up in MA and moved to CT for nurse practitioner school. My mom actually just retired from a MA hospital as a nurse educator, in part because she was frustrated with how little training/orientation new nurses are given and hiring/firing limitations due to unions.

A quick search just turned up openings at St Francis, Hartford Hosp and CCMC. I can't speak for St Francis, but I looked into jobs at CCMC (which is affiliated with Hartford) and the benefits are superb! I do know that St Francis has a good new grad program. I strongly suggest focusing in ICU openings. While the acuity can be daunting, the training and orientation tend to be longer and better as the DONs know the acuity is so much higher. Also, the ratio is much more in a nurse's favor. Therefore, you will have fewer patients while you get used to working on a floor, and there are more nurses around to ask questions and for help.

I can also tell you that my research has shown a lower base-housing price (homes and apartments) than where I grew up. (south shore) As much as I would love to move back to MA, DH and I may end up staying here because we can afford a better life! So, come look south of the border.

ETA: I wouldn't recommend a travel position as your first job. It takes a really good, experienced, confident nurse to be able to adjust to new surroundings every 6 weeks. It is amazing how much you realize you DON'T know at your first job! I think it would simply be too difficult and stressful as a new grad. Plus, travel nurses can sometimes be met with well, hostility is really too strong of a word, but I think you know what I mean. Nurses have to earn their stripes wherever they work. Later on, though, the money is great!
 
I also just checked Yale New Haven. 123 listings on their website. I lived in New Haven for 3 years and LOVED it.
 
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