The job search begins...at least part-time

Today I start looking for that next job...at least on a part-time basis. The little one isn't in school yet due to the school having fall break until next week (I must get used to these year-round schools), and there's still a lot to be done around the house. So my efforts aren't going to be full-time just yet. This week I'll get the resume brushed up, find facilities to apply to, and get my RN-BSN program squared away. Once the little one is in school I'll step things up.

To be honest, I like being able to spend time with my little one. We're going to have a couple of outings this week. He's been dying to ride the tram system so we're going to plan a little trip somewhere for our train date.

The one thing I must do today is get that kitchen tackled from top to bottom, and get the extra packing boxes into the spare room, so at least the living room looks finished. While I'm a packrat at heart, even I can't stand this mess.

Still nothing has changed

The nurse recruiter never e-mailed me back :)

Neither has my RN-BSN advisor for that matter, which is making me wonder if I'm better off removing it from the resume right now, since I seem to be in this state of limbo as far as where I am in the program. At this point, I'm wondering if I'm even if the program since all they seem to be doing is studiously ignoring me--I mean, I'm officially admitted to the school and I was told I have a nursing program advisor, yet I don't seem to exist.

I am debating about either switching programs or scrapping the BSN and going straight for the MSN. The problem is finding an RN-BSN which is primarily online and which is NLNAC or CCNE accredited (as the program I'm currently in is). The other problem is that should I go straight for the MSN that will cost big bucks...which considering I don't have a job in CA yet, I should probably hold off on doing.

The job search will begin officially on Monday...at least on a part-time basis anyway since my son doesn't start school until the following week. Going on interviews with him in tow is probably not a good idea ;)

Some things haven't changed in the last two years

I still haven't started the job search in earnest yet, but out of idle curiosity, I called the number of my local hospital's nurse recruiter. Of course, I didn't get a human being: I got a recording that started off with "If you are a new grad, blah, blah..." with instructions to go to the hospital's website. And if you weren't a new graduate, you also got instructions to go to the website. Either way, there was no chance to leave a message...yet the website states that if you want more information in nursing careers at Hospital X to call the nurse recruiter.

So I shot them an e-mail because I'm curious to see how that will be handled :)

We are home, and the job hunt begins

We've been in the house since Wednesday. The basics are set up (read: utilities and the beds) and now it's a lot of unpacking and organizing. I'm currently taking an unpacking break to have some tea.

The trip across country has not been kind to my waistline...in fact, my weight is downright hideous. A lot of driving (no physical exertion involved in that!) and dining out has caught up with me. So as of yesterday we've forsaken eating out and have been eating in. I've given up diet soda and been drinking more water and herbal tea. I've been watching what I eat, both the types of food as well as the portion sizes. I'd like to say it's been working so far, but I seem to have put on 2 lb since then! I'm hoping it's just water weight. Once we get things organized in the house I'll start getting exercise in.

So...

I applied for a job here--inpatient psych at the local hospital. It was a spur-of-the-moment application: I wasn't really ready to begin the job hunt in earnest, but the job itself sounded so perfect and exciting that I was swept up in the rush and so I did it. What a drastic difference from the first nursing job hunt two years ago! I have a detailed resume at the ready...and the resume actually has some meat to it. I've also got references in hand, both written and telephone. I've got certifications and memberships to back up my credibility. Last, I don't feel as hopeless as I did the first time. I feel more confident in both my interviewing and nursing abilities, and less desperate to grab anything that comes my way.

Last, looking for work gives me more motivation to get this certification exam scheduled and done with.

So the move to 2731 is completed

Well, almost. We're still living in the motel that we've been in for the last three days. Tomorrow we should get the keys to the house. In a few days after that our furniture and stuff should arrive. Next week I will get the little one enrolled in school. And then, perhaps then...I can start looking for that job.

I'm scheduling my certification exam for November. I had really wanted to tie it all up before I started the job hunt so I could add that extra RN-BC bullet to the resume, but I've got too much going on with setting up a new household from near-scratch. I can't stop and spend all that time studying. Besides, with the way the job market is, it may take so long to find something that I'll have that RN-BC bullet before I go on actual interviews.

I started making a list of the psych (and non-psych) facilities in the area. I really haven't done much more than that: my internet connections are so sketchy right now that I don't want to start an online job hunt that I can't keep up with. My printer is in storage so I can't print out the resume. And my interview clothing is in storage too...though I have been debating about making an investment into a suit for interviewing. I was smart enough to keep my RN portfolio with me during the trip so I have all my important paperwork. If I was truly smart, I should have printed out a few copies of an updated resume before we left. Oh well.

We should have internet in the house by Friday, so I can start doing more job-hunting work online. Worse comes to worse, I'll find an OfficeMax and bring them my resume on disk, and they can print out some copies for me.

Part of me keeps saying to relax and enjoy this time off, since Lord knows when I will have this opportunity again. My better half says that there's no rush for me to get back to work, because we really want to get the little one settled. He's been through a lot with this move, and then we have to get him set up in Special Ed once we arrive, so the better half would rather we (me and him since his new job will have him home more) focus on that. We've even talked about possibly having a second little one while we are here...but I'm neither one way nor the other on that one. There's plusses and minuses for each side...though I did tell my better half that it will only happen after I drop some weight and get to my pre-pregnancy weight because what I'm at right now is not good. That's only 30 lb.

The weather is beautiful...well, it rained today. Everyone said it doesn't really rain out here in California, and I'm here to say they are wrong. In fact, it rained as we crossed the border three days ago: we were driving through sand dunes and no vegetation whatsoever when the skies opened up and a deluge fell. Go fig.

Never forget

I know I won't.

Wow

I am officially eligible to sit for the Psychiatric-Mental Health Certification exam...so says the email that I just got from ANCC. Pretty impressive since I only applied this morning. I decided to wait until I hit the "2 years as a paid nurse" mark before applying. Two years...if that new grad stench isn't off of me by now, it never will be!

I won't be testing for a while though...I'll probably end up doing it in California. I could try to rush it in before we move, but there's so much going on that I don't think I'd have enough time to really devote to reviewing. Of course, there's not a lot that is terribly new as I live and breathe psych nursing every single shift I work. Still, we all know there's a BIG difference between real world nursing and the ivory tower world of nursing that these tests are all designed around :)