It will be near impossible to get a job in Calgary as a new grad unless you are hired by the unit you do your preceptorship on.
Most new grads get their foot in the door rurally.
The hiring process in AHS heavily favours internal applicants. Positions are posted and with new language in the last nursing contracts, employees on the unit the posting is for are able to fill it without interviewing, the position gets awarded to the person with the highest seniority.
If nobody on that unit wants it, then they’ll move on to internal applicants from other areas (or casual/temporary staff working on that unit).
Then those positions that become vacant get posted and the cycle continues. It’s called internal churn. It makes it very difficult to get hired on as an external applicant. Adding in a lack of experience makes it even harder.
Postings in smaller cities are usually much easier to get.
Well considering you're competing with 10 schools in AB that have BN or BScN programs (not including bridging programs) and most transitional grad positions are filled with candidates who completed their final placement on said unit, I would say your chances are zero.
Being real with you here. Your chances of landing a job in Calgary, coming out of province is nil.
Your best bet is to look at rural communities \~ 50 km from Calgary (if you have your heart set on living in the city).
My advice: don’t. I graduated with my BSN in December from SK and moved here to Calgary shortly after. I got my RN in February and it’s been brutal trying to find an RN job. I’ve applied to maybe 150 ish positions in 2 months, and only last week did I get a pre interview screening for a casual position. I had no idea it was like this, or I would of stayed back in SK and would of had a job months ago. It sucks and I feel so defeated, so if you decide to move here, good luck :(
Hello, did you hear back from them about the prescreen interview for the casual position? I'm asking for a friend who got a similar prescreen interview two weeks ago
Agree with comments. Hear of senior nurses, some with 20+ years of experience, unable to get hired in Calgary. It is a notoriously hard city to get a job in.
It took me a year to find an RN position after graduating from the u of a in 2016. I was unlucky and the unit I did my preceptorship on was not hiring.
I had to work as a clerk for a bit and apply internally before I got interviews.
Apply to everything, even if you're not interested in that field. Apply to rural areas if you can.
It's difficult in Calgary. I got my permanent line and competed against 700 other applicants across the province. You need experience and be proficient at answering interview questions. That's half the battle. It's best to get a casual line in a hospital, but unfortunately despite the "nursing shortage" this is the worst time to get a casual line since the influx of Filipino LPN-RN have saturated the job market. This last week alone, my manager got 20 applicants desperate for work because they can't land anything.
Best advice is to do rural nursing to get loans paid off. The more rural, the better.
Don't move to alberta.
I moved 7 years ago from BC and am planning on moving back.
AHS is soo toxic and it doesn't matter if your are frotnline or management, community or acute.
Calgary is more expensive then parts of BC and if you stay in your province where you got loans you will have them paid for. Come in a few years after your loans are paid for by the government.
Are you talking about the “transition new grad program” or just applying to positions as a new grad?
Some departments/programs do offer the “transitional new grad program” which may offer you a better chance.
You should consider being a travel nurse for AHS, find an agency who will get you contracts within AHS then after when you make huge money decide if you still want to work internally for AHS
This wild to read. Got hired immediately post grad in sask and we are always in need of more still. Bummer to hear this is an issue in Calgary, but I guess good the hospitals have staff? :/
It’s because you’re completing with internal applicants. The down side of AHS is that it’s province wide. So a new grad nurse from Fort Mac who already is hired by AHS will have their resume looked at over a senior/experienced nurse coming from another province. And Calgary has been notoriously hard to get a position for years.
It will be near impossible to get a job in Calgary as a new grad unless you are hired by the unit you do your preceptorship on. Most new grads get their foot in the door rurally. The hiring process in AHS heavily favours internal applicants. Positions are posted and with new language in the last nursing contracts, employees on the unit the posting is for are able to fill it without interviewing, the position gets awarded to the person with the highest seniority. If nobody on that unit wants it, then they’ll move on to internal applicants from other areas (or casual/temporary staff working on that unit). Then those positions that become vacant get posted and the cycle continues. It’s called internal churn. It makes it very difficult to get hired on as an external applicant. Adding in a lack of experience makes it even harder. Postings in smaller cities are usually much easier to get.
Well considering you're competing with 10 schools in AB that have BN or BScN programs (not including bridging programs) and most transitional grad positions are filled with candidates who completed their final placement on said unit, I would say your chances are zero. Being real with you here. Your chances of landing a job in Calgary, coming out of province is nil. Your best bet is to look at rural communities \~ 50 km from Calgary (if you have your heart set on living in the city).
My advice: don’t. I graduated with my BSN in December from SK and moved here to Calgary shortly after. I got my RN in February and it’s been brutal trying to find an RN job. I’ve applied to maybe 150 ish positions in 2 months, and only last week did I get a pre interview screening for a casual position. I had no idea it was like this, or I would of stayed back in SK and would of had a job months ago. It sucks and I feel so defeated, so if you decide to move here, good luck :(
Hello, did you hear back from them about the prescreen interview for the casual position? I'm asking for a friend who got a similar prescreen interview two weeks ago
Nope, not a thing
Urgh did a pre interview as well through AHS about two weeks ago but also nothing.
Agree with comments. Hear of senior nurses, some with 20+ years of experience, unable to get hired in Calgary. It is a notoriously hard city to get a job in.
It took me a year to find an RN position after graduating from the u of a in 2016. I was unlucky and the unit I did my preceptorship on was not hiring. I had to work as a clerk for a bit and apply internally before I got interviews. Apply to everything, even if you're not interested in that field. Apply to rural areas if you can.
It's difficult in Calgary. I got my permanent line and competed against 700 other applicants across the province. You need experience and be proficient at answering interview questions. That's half the battle. It's best to get a casual line in a hospital, but unfortunately despite the "nursing shortage" this is the worst time to get a casual line since the influx of Filipino LPN-RN have saturated the job market. This last week alone, my manager got 20 applicants desperate for work because they can't land anything. Best advice is to do rural nursing to get loans paid off. The more rural, the better.
Don't move to alberta. I moved 7 years ago from BC and am planning on moving back. AHS is soo toxic and it doesn't matter if your are frotnline or management, community or acute. Calgary is more expensive then parts of BC and if you stay in your province where you got loans you will have them paid for. Come in a few years after your loans are paid for by the government.
Are you talking about the “transition new grad program” or just applying to positions as a new grad? Some departments/programs do offer the “transitional new grad program” which may offer you a better chance.
You should consider being a travel nurse for AHS, find an agency who will get you contracts within AHS then after when you make huge money decide if you still want to work internally for AHS
This wild to read. Got hired immediately post grad in sask and we are always in need of more still. Bummer to hear this is an issue in Calgary, but I guess good the hospitals have staff? :/
It’s because you’re completing with internal applicants. The down side of AHS is that it’s province wide. So a new grad nurse from Fort Mac who already is hired by AHS will have their resume looked at over a senior/experienced nurse coming from another province. And Calgary has been notoriously hard to get a position for years.