Applying for your first nursing job can be a pretty intimidating process. Preparing early and having a strategy will be instrumental in your success in securing your first job. I was in a very small (and when I say small, I mean 16 students) associates degree nursing program in Breckenridge, Colorado. The local mountain hospitals and clinics there do NOT hire anyone without at least one year of experience. This meant I needed to drive the 1.5 hours to Denver for my first nursing job. Due to limited connections in the Denver area I began networking and prepping for my first nursing job while still in school. I found this to be very helpful, and it ultimately is what landed me my first nursing job.

I’m going to briefly outline tips and strategies to help you get your first nursing job (based on experience, advice, and hind-sight!).

1. NETWORK: I tell all nursing students to start doing this while in nursing school. During each of my clinical rotations I made it a point to introduce myself to the nurse manager, whenever I could (this is typically the person doing the interviewing and making the decisions about hire, so it’s not a bad person to connect with!). There were a couple of nurse managers that I set up time to meet with one and one and let them know I was really interested in working on their unit after graduation. Now, I will be honest.. I really wasn’t interested in working on MOST of these units, but when you are a new nurse, you take what you can get! It’s a lot more likely a nurse manager will remember you if you take the time to introduce yourself and let him/her know your interest in being a part of their nursing team (this comes in largely beneficial if applying for a job on their unit post graduation).

2. IMPRESS, or at least try to: If you are going to take the time to introduce yourself to the nurse manager make sure you are on your game during clinical rotations because there is a good chance she/he will ask the precepting nurses how you did. Even when you are terrified/hate your clinical rotation/want to hide in the linen closet for 12 hours/or feel like you are constantly in the way, do your best! If your precepting nurse appears overwhelmed or totally annoyed by your presence (which often feels like the case), offer to help him/her by refilling patient’s water cups, changing bed linens, etc. If you are to insert your first catheter let your precepting nurse know you are excited to learn and appreciate their guidance (despite the terror you are feeling inside! It’s also okay to let them know you are a bit nervous). Try to be a resource to the nurse and show your interest in learning.

3. Don’t be discouraged that you don’t have experience. Your first job likely will not be your dream job, but who is to say it can’t become your dream job? My first job was on an in-patient psychiatric unit. I thought for sure I wanted to do L&D or pediatrics. I fell in love with psychiatry and went on to become a psychiatric nurse practitioner. Take peace in knowing that this first job will be a stepping stone; it will hopefully, at a minimum, get you the experience you need to apply for other jobs.

Okay, you have graduated, time to start looking for jobs! First step, prepare your cover letter and resume.

4. PERSONALIZE YOUR COVER LETTER: Make sure your cover letter is customized for the job you are applying for. Add things such as why you want to work at that particular hospital, clinic, etc and what it is about that specific nursing job that you are interested in. Keep the cover letter short and to the point. Sell yourself, don’t use color, and don’t use fancy font.

5. MAKE SURE YOUR RESUME IS PROFESSIONAL LOOKING: If you are struggling with your resume use this resource, it has sample resumes for new nurse graduates:

6. ONCE YOU APPLY, FOLLOW UP! This one is important! I often looked online or would call the hospital, clinic, etc and ask to leave a message for the nurse manager or ask for his/her email. I was often given her email address, which was what I wanted anyways. I would send a personal email letting him/her know I applied for an open position and was very interested and that I was eager to hear back( I also left my phone number with my name). Short And Sweet. (If you have already met with the nurse manager, or introduced yourself to him/her, make sure to mention that!). If you don’t follow-up, you are only as good as everyone else that applied for the same job.

7. DON’T PUT ALL YOUR EGGS IN ONE BASKET: Apply for a lot of jobs. The most important thing as a new nurse is obtaining one year worth of experience. Remember, your first job might not be the job you were hoping for, but it will give you the experience and networking ability to apply for other jobs.

8. YOU LANDED AN INTERVIEW, NOW WHAT?!PREP…..

Research the organization. Be familiar with their goals and objectives. Read the job description, really! Make sure you know what duties are expected.

Write out answers to the most common interview questions, so you feel prepared when they are asked: Why do you want this job? Why do you want to work here? What will you be able to contribute to the team? What are your strengths and weaknesses? Tell me/us about yourself?

Practice! Write out the questions and answers, then practice with someone.

9. INTERVIEW TIPS: As part of the hiring committee for nurses I will tell you what worked and what didn’t…

*Dress up. Some places don’t mind if you come in wearing scrubs, but some do— don’t risk it, put on business professional clothes (and guys— clean-shaven).

*Bring multiple copies of your cover letter and resume… many people will want a copy during the interview (During one interview I had a panel interview with NINE people, talk about intimidating! Unfortunately I did not have enough resumes for everyone, so now I bring a lot of copies).

*Shake hands with everyone and introduce yourself. It is okay to be nervous, it’s expected (just don’t keep telling the interviewers how nervous you are).

*Make good eye contact with everyone, try not to say umm.

*When answering questions, keep the answers positive— don’t talk negatively about previous coworkers or supervisors. Do talk about poor experiences and how you learned and grew from them.

*Let the interviewers know what you want THIS job and want to work at THIS organization.

*Talk about your stable work history (or explain why it wasn’t so stable). Let them know you are very motivated and your long-term goals correlate well with the job you are interviewing for.

*At the end, when they ask if you have any questions, say Yes! Prepare questions ahead of time. It makes you look interested. Don’t be afraid to ask hard questions… during one of my interviews I was told there had been a lot of turn over, so one of my follow-up questions was Why had there been so much turnover?! Ask if there is training provided and what it entails? Ask what the culture of the unit is like? What are staffing ratios? What are weekend requirements? How many hours are the shifts? What qualities and skills are they seeking? Make sure to end by reassuring them you can provide the quality and skills they are looking for.

At the end, shake everyones hand, thank them for taking the time to meet with you, and let them know you are eager to hear back from them.

10. THE INTERVIEW IS OVER, NOW WHAT?

Follow up with a thank you email, even if it is just to HR. Let them know you are eager to hear back. The waiting game is hard… it can often take weeks before you hear back, so be patient.

Good luck, you’ve got this!

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