Interview #6 (and counting)

Alternate title: "Argh, give me a full time job with benefits please!"

(Follow-up from June's Nursing update)

Interview #1: Patient Care Coordinator (May) "filled position already, check back in 6 months"

Interview #2: 'Peace, Love, and Medicine' office RN (July) heard nothing, I think they went with somebody with experience

Interview #3: Long Term Care RN  (July) heard nothing, but I don't think I sucked up enough during the 2 hour job shadow because I was kinda counting the minutes until I could escape

Interview #4: Substitute School Nurse, my kids' school system (August)  GOT IT.  Except I've only worked 1 day...

Interview #5: Full Time School Nurse, different school system (September) heard nothing (it's been 10 days now so it's probably a 'no')

Interview #6: Nights, Full Time, Med/Surg RN at hospital 40 miles away with mandatory overtime (means 4 twelves one week, 3 twelves the next week), weekends & holidays (Yesterday)  at the end of the interview "filled position already, check back in a month"

And counting...

Hello September!

I'm kinda tired of my life being mostly on hold still. I really thought 'graduate nursing school, get a full time job, yay my life is finally together!' And now almost 4 months later, I'm still not there. I truly apologize for being such a broken record. It's just I feel like most days I'm digging around for spare change to pay the bills while I'm applying to 5-10 RN jobs weekly and never hearing anything from anyone. It's super frustrating to say the least.

The 'on hold' part is probably mostly mental, sure I could possibly be making plans but in general everything I want to do costs money. Even the really little things. The kids' jean quilts, I need money for the flannel backs. Driving to see friends, I need gas money. The kids want fall clothes, I need new clothes and contact lenses, we need shampoo, laundry detergent, etc. I am so tired of waiting and there's nothing I can really do to make this better other than keep doing what I'm doing: applying for jobs, talking to my contacts (which are dwindling as people change jobs) and just racking up the days as a volunteer RN (my pseudo RN experience at the moment).

So far I've managed to keep myself out of depression but I'm not sure how much longer I can keep a Pollyanna attitude. The divorce was suppose to be the hardest part of my life. Nursing school was suppose to be the hardest part of my life. Now? Now, I'm suppose to be working and looking back and saying 'I've come so far!' Instead the hardest part of my life is still hanging on as I'm unemployed. This sucks. I'm so tired of it. I keep thinking, 'it could all change tomorrow!' and then several tomorrows come and go and I'm still unemployed.

It's a good thing I'm stubborn because if I wasn't, I think I would have given up a long long time ago.

Moving on

Back to our regularly scheduled program.

Still no RN job.

Still sewing at the sewing gig.

Still mostly broke.

Hmm, nothing has really changed other than I recently got my heart broken.

Blah.

Where's the TV remote, I want to change the channel.

August 11th

I haven't been much in a writing mood. I've been in a 'wait and see' mode for the last few weeks. It's not been very pleasant actually.

The sewing gig is going well. It doesn't pay enough and I can't get more than 18 hours a week (I've tried and next week I'm actually only scheduled for 12). I suppose it's better than nothing. I had an interview for the MOST PERFECT RN JOB EVER* about 2 weeks ago and then I haven't received a phone call back. I did call and leave a message about a week after saying that I'd love to have the position and please call back and let me know the status. Nothing. I have another upcoming interview for an assisted living/long term care facility (the new fancy word for 'nursing home'). I don't know much about that job other than where it's located and it's a RN position. I also applied to about 10 other new job listings on Thursday and Friday.

The kids start back to school in a few days. We're buying school supplies today. And doing laundry. And waiting.


* Local (less than 2 miles away), 8am-5pm Monday-Friday, new doctor's office opening in September with a very laid back, patient centered 'peace, love, and medicine' approach. So perfect...

Employed, sort of

On Monday, I hadn't heard from any nursing jobs so I started sewing at 9am. It's going really well, I also worked Tuesday, Wednesday, and a few hours yesterday. I've learned a few tricks the hard way (Hobbled Roman Shades, oh boy) but overall, I like it. Course I actually have no idea how much I'm getting paid yet because they didn't mention it and I never bothered to ask. I figure it's a bit more than minimum wage and I know it's less than RN pay so does it really matter the exact hourly number right now? Money is money at this point. I'll find out next Friday when I pick up my first paycheck.

Quote of the Day: "The number one sign you have nothing to do at work: The 4th Division of Paperclips has overrun the Pushpin Infantry and General White-Out has called for a new skirmish." ~Fred Barling

Slow...

It's been kind of a slow 'Katie' week.

Sure I did a bunch of stuff with Shaun over the weekend but it was his suggested stuff. I'm definitely not complaining and I would have suggested 'Katie' stuff if I had any stuff to do. I just don't. I'm so caught up on the To Do list of my life that I'm kinda out of stuff.* The last 3 things on the random 'Do Someday To Do List' are organize recipes, make jean quilts (which are for the twins and they are going to help me with them), and sewing a thing for my dad. Damn. I don't think I've ever been this caught up with my life before. It's a very bizarre feeling. And slightly unsettling.


*(Granted I could come up with A LOT of things To Do but they all cost money and I'm still operating under the 'can't spend any money on anything besides food, gas, and bills' budget. It kinda sucks.)

Nursing update

So I graduated nursing school back in May...

At the time I was interviewing for a local physician office job (lots of patient education, some case management, M-F, 8-5, no weekends, no holidays) and I thought I was 'in' because I had two awesome interviews with HR and I already knew the nursing hiring manager (and her boss too!). Therefore I quit my student nurse job because 1. I hated it and 2. I was super busy the month of May plus studying for NCLEX test and I wasn't getting any hours in and 3. new awesome different RN job soon, woohoo!

Uh yeah, that job fell through.

So I passed the NCLEX on June 11th (last hoop of nursing school jumped!) and I have been applying my ass off to jobs ever since. I've lost count to exactly how many positions. 50+? 75+? I've applied to the health department, many hospitals, home health companies, and physician offices. And by 'many' hospitals, I mean 7 hospital systems, probably well over 15 hospitals if you count the individual different locations within one system.

I have not heard back from any of them...

Nursing shortage? What fucking nursing shortage?

To say I'm a little disheartened is an understatement. One entire hospital system is on a bit of a hiring 'blackout'. Another announced layoffs by the end of June. The rest? Literally have 1-3 positions open. Total. Last year, one of the largest most well known hospitals in Indy had 40-ish new RN jobs listed. (I've been watching for years. I also keep on eye on housing prices and used cars. I may need a job. Oh wait...). So great, there's not a lot of open positions out there. But it gets better. All of them have the criteria of 'MUST HAVE EXPERIENCE.'

Side rant: I hate the phrase 'MUST HAVE EXPERIENCE' more than I hate people driving under the speed limit with no passing zones, my old student nurse job, and the beeping from smoke detectors when the battery has died, all COMBINED. Because generally the position requirements follow up that phrase with '1 year' of said 'MUST HAVE EXPERIENCE.' 1 measly year? That's not 'EXPERIENCE.' That's barely out of orientation. So WTF?!?! How the hell does one get this crappy barely counts as 'MUST HAVE EXPERIENCE' for 1 year if you can't get job anywhere at all because you don't have this magical bullshit 'EXPERIENCE'?

*deep breath*

I apologize for all the yelling and cursing.

I've heard it takes time, hospital HR departments are notoriously slow with hiring new nurses. I've heard it'll turn around in a few months, hospitals can't operate without nurses no matter how much they want to cut costs. I've heard it's who you know, not what you know. (Hm, I know a lot of stuff but I don't know anybody, crap.) I've heard you need to poop glittery rainbows and sacrifice kittens on the blue moon during a July snowstorm to get a job... Wait, what?

A kind mom of a friend asked me a few weeks ago "so are you excited about getting a hiring bonus?" I almost cried. Those don't exist anymore! Yeah this is so not what I expected 4 years ago when I registered for nursing school pre-requisiste classes.

On a slightly more positive note, I do have a job offer. It's part time, days at a local sewing place (they do custom fabric interior design work, mostly window treatments, pillows, etc). And while a dollar earn anywhere is a dollar earned, I'm not super excited. Because damn, I just spent 4 long years and a lot of money and heartache to earn my RN, BSN and I'm not using it now or as it seems, any time soon.

So here it is, Universe. You have until July 8th to give me some sort of encouraging move towards a RN job anywhere (phone call? email? may I dare ask for an interview?) or I'm taking the sewing gig.

#kbyethanx

Another day, another 'not earning any dollars because I don't have a job yet'

Today:

Did 7 mock interviews with a friend's paralegal students. What do I know about interviewing? Next to nothing. Paralegal careers? Again, next to nothing. It was fun though!

Bought a new purse on clearance for $17, originally $59. Thought about buying some capris (I think I'm too short) and a v-neck blue sundress but ultimately I put all the clothes back and bought a iced grande white mocha no whip at Starbucks instead.

Drove Shaun's Camaro to all of the above. I love driving the Camaro! Although why does spellcheck not recognize the word Camaro?

The plan for the rest of the evening is to be super lazy, goof around on the internet, clean up some writings and websites, maybe take a bubble bath, and did I mention being super lazy? Yep, that's the plan.