When People Think of Nursing, There are all sorts of Expectations
Nursing is seen as a highly rewarding and stable career. We’ve all heard that nursing entails: Great benefits! You only need to work three times a week, twelve hours each day then you have the rest of the week to relax at home or even take a vacation. There are a lot of overtime opportunities also! Enough to build your Roth IRA and 401k for the ultimate security during retirement. Now all’s left is to work in the Bay Area, California, where new graduate nurses have starting pays of $70-80 per hour, and seasoned nurses make over $100 per hour in big-named hospitals such as Kaiser Permanente, Stanford, El Camino Health, Sutter Health, or John Muir Health.
There are so many specialties to choose from – You’ll never be bored as you can switch specialties any time you wish. Let’s see what the popular options are…Med-Surg, ICU, NICU, Labor & Delivery, Pediatrics, Psychiatric, Pre-op/PACU, Operating Room, Hospice, Long Term Acute Care, Home Health, Nursing Informatics, Case Manager Nurse, Flight Nurse…and more!
I heard you have passion as a labor and delivery nurse? Don’t worry! All you need is a pulse and your license to secure a job…where the nursing career is over saturated in California.
the Reality of nursing often falls short of expectations
Unfortunately, reality is not this pretty: You do need more than a pulse and a license if you want to get hired in Bay Area, California. Along with being one of the most competitive states to get into a nursing school in California, there are also much higher expectations for working in this state…and let’s face it: The job market is rough right now with all the hiring freezes everywhere including the field of healthcare. Nurses are needed everywhere except in the Bay Area. Even if nurses are needed, experienced nurses are preferred over new graduates.
Too many people attempt nursing believing that they will make bank coming right out of school. Not everyone will start off making six digits right out of nursing school in the Bay Area of California. I am speaking from experience – My first nursing job paid me $45 an hour.
Even if people are not expecting to make a lot of money, there are many who believe that they will get the specialty they want in an acute care setting immediately after they graduate…There may be some who get lucky, but oftentimes those results came from a lot of time and dedication during school to make themselves the best candidate for their preferred nursing specialty.
I’ve heard from many of my nursing peers and seen far too many posts on the reddit r/nursing sub on new graduates having a difficult time finding jobs in the Bay Area, California. I’ve seen comments of some stating that it has taken them more than 100-200 job applications and they could only have one to five interviews, and ghosted afterwards. Some of my peers even had to move out of state to obtain a career in their ideal specialty. It may take a few months to a year of consistent applying to find a job.
What It took for me to finally get a job in the Bay Area, California
I was one of the few nursing students in my cohort that obtained a job three months before I graduated nursing school. I omitted applying to new graduate programs for acute-care hospitals and landed a job at an ambulatory surgery center instead.
So why in the right mind would I forfeit my chance to apply to big hospitals for those dreamy benefits? The reason is simple: I did not want to go through the same systematic process of buttering up professors to obtain three letter of recommendations, spend soul-sucking life out of me to write cover letters/personal statements on why I want to become a nurse and how I would benefit the healthcare system, and go through an intense interviewing process to land in a specialty that I may not like. The whole process just seemed too burdensome for me.
These are the steps that I took which helped me land in a specialty that I enjoy:
- Prepare for the NCLEX as soon as possible. I listened to Mark Klimek’s lectures during my commutes to school, and I also utilized UWorld for test preparation. I purchased the 90 days NCLEX-RN Review with Next Gen with three self tests but some of my peers purchased the 180 day access. I only started to diligently prepare for the exam during the last two months before my scheduled exam date. It is essential to have your license processed in the California BEFORE applying to jobs since most require you to have it to be considered. Some will still consider you, but if you unexpectedly fail the exam or do not have it processed by the time the job accepts you, your position will be forfeited.
- After passing my NCLEX, I focused on building my resume albeit having limited experience. It took approximately 80 job applications and three interviews before landing my first nursing job. I joined resume workshop sessions and made many fixations before and after sending them out. The process is grindy but I did my best to tailor each resume to specific jobs.
- Make sure that you have your certifications such as your BLS, PALS, ACLS, NRP, NIHSS from American Heart Association (AHA) readily available on your resume. Your chances of getting hired will be much higher if you add EKG certification to the list since it helps you stand out from most other candidates.
- Cover letters are a must. Prepare an outline of the cover letter, making sure to personalize each letter for every application. The outline I used was a small introduction of myself, why I want to join the team, what made me interested in the specialty, and how I will be a good asset to the team. Some job applications, namely the big hospitals will have specific criteria that you will have to write about for the cover letter.
- Apply, apply, apply to every single job post that you see! I applied to all new graduate positions and even jobs that say “1 year experience preferred”. The only time I avoid applying is if they have ‘x’ amount of years required. Many new graduates often do not have a job because they are too picky on their selections. It is okay to start in a specialty that is not preferred especially if Med-Surg is the only option. There are paths (usually internal hires) that will make specialty-shifting easier.
How to make yourself more marketable before you graduate
Do not go into nursing school thinking that all you have to do is focus on nursing material and pass the exams only. You have to be on top of your toes constantly.
At the start of your program, apply to become a nursing cohort lead or become the president/vice president/treasurer etc. of your school’s nursing club! Although you will have more responsibilities, it is very beneficial to add that information onto your resume. I promise you, it will help you stand out a lot more as a nursing candidate.
Be proactive in your classes and make sure the professor knows your name. This will not only help professors know that you are actively engaged in the class but also make it a lot easier for you to ask them for letter of recommendations before and after you graduate. Don’t put yourself in an awkward situation…One of my nursing clinical instructors shared that a student asked her for a recommendation letter but rejected her because she had no idea who she was.
The same thing applies for nursing clinicals: You have to be willing to participate and help the nurses and other staff including the CNA, technicians, etc. Do not just stand and watch others do the work. Go to nursing clinicals prepared and ready to learn! This is literally your best bet in making direct connections with the healthcare team. Maybe you will be lucky and meet a hiring manager who wants you right after you graduate.
Also start preparing for your interviews as soon as you can. Make sure you put actual effort in writing those nursing journals. Those assignments are there for a reason. At the end of each clinical rotation, review those nursing journals and identify what you learned, and what experiences helped you grow. What specific experiences allowed you to advocate for patients? If you saw a code blue, how did the interdisciplinary team work together to help the patient? How did you do your head-to-toe assessments?
I know I am repeating myself, but please make sure you obtain your nursing license before you apply to jobs. Start studying for the NCLEX at least a few months before you graduate that way you can be ahead of the job application game.
Near graduation, you can also volunteer at a church or a food bank, or work as a CNA or patient technician. Employers love to see active students and are also more likely to choose you for an interview.
If you are in school right now, look at what your peers are doing right now and ask yourself: “How can I make myself stand out more?”
Distance is almost always temporary
Please do not worry about the distance between your home and job. Even if it takes an hour to commute to your job, TAKE IT because what you are trying to do is gather all the knowledge and experience that you can from your very first job before applying to others. It would be even better if you can move a couple hours then come back.
Many of my peers ended up moving away from the Bay Area for their first job. However, one of my peers was different: He was determined to be an ER Nurse. He applied to all the nursing residencies that he could in the Bay Area, Central Valley, and even in South California right as soon as he obtained his nursing license. Although he was rejected to so many programs, he continued to stay strong. He was finally accepted to a nurse residency program in South California and he sticked around for one full year. That one year of experience was the key that brought him back to where he belongs in the Bay Area, and now he works at one of the most competitive hospitals there.
With that said, if you are not able to find a job in the Bay Area, please move out of the area or even to a different state. Obtaining a job outside of the Bay Area with your preferred specialty is so, so, so much higher compared to within the Bay Area. You may have a pay cut, but it is better than not making any money and spending so much time sitting on your computer or laptop endlessly applying.
Applying for jobs is a time-consuming process; Although the number game is important, the quality of your application is just as important. Do not be discouraged: There is a job for every one, you just have to not give up and be patient. Sometimes, the job that you apply to will reach out a few months after you submit them. That is exactly what happened with mine. Just because you may start at a place that you do not prefer does not mean that you will be there forever.
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