Does anyone else have those kind of weeks? Or month, maybe? Actually, now thinking about it, this entire month has been pretty strange--a good, new type of strange.
I took my NCLEX in the first week of August and got my passing results within 48 hours. Woohoo! So, now what? The infamous and most dreaded job hunt.
I had been applying to various new graduate programs in California since March, but didn't have any luck. I had one interview, but didn't get chosen for the second interview. That was okay, because I (at least) got interviewing experience. There were some hospitals that I got instant rejections from, and others where I never got rejections (even till this day).
Days passed. Weeks passed. I started getting nervous as a noticed more and more people in my nursing cohort scoring interviews and getting into new graduate programs. I wasn't even getting a call for an interview, so I kept thinking, "I wish I had been a CNA. I wish I had more certificates. I wish I had volunteered continuously during school. I wish I knew someone on the inside that could hire me. I wish... I wish... I wish..." The more I kept thinking about things I could change, the more depressed, anxious, and upset I got.
As I was in my "slump," one of my close friends sent me a text saying, "Hey, this hospital is open. Go apply!" While applying, I was thinking, "What are the chances? I haven't even had clinicals here, but hey, it can't hurt to apply, right." So I applied with a light heart and didn't think too much about it. However, about a week or so later, I was sleeping and my phone started to ring. I usually don't pick up phone calls from numbers I don't know, but this time, I felt like it was important. So I decided to pick up, and with my high-pitched-I-just-woke-up voice, I answered, "Hello?" And the rest is story. That call was for an interview. I practiced with one of my friends, went to the interview, and was told the same day that they wanted to do a second interview. And the next day, I was offered a position as a Registered Nurse.
And so, the reason for my blurred week is because I started my new graduate hospital orientation this week. I feel very blessed right now. I had no idea this would even be possible. It is crazy how life is; something that I never expect always seems to happen!
So, with that said, are any of you nursing students or nurses looking for jobs? One thing that I want to say is don't give up. My mom has been telling me this from the beginning and I want to pass it along to you all. "There is one hospital that is a match for YOU. It doesn't matter if you want to get hired at a specific hospital, there is one planned route for you. You just need to be patient until you find it."
Good luck everyone!
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| My first day post-work! Sorry for the dirty mirror >< |
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