Thank you kindly, Kati, for inviting me to guest post on your wonderful and informative site that helps nurses be the best they can be. I’m honored.
I’m Nurse Beth, and I blog at nursecode.com. I’ve enjoyed many nursing roles, one of them being a Nurse Manager, which provided me with lots of interviewing and hiring experience.
My passion is helping new nurses. One, because it’s so tough out there to land a job, and two, well, because I love new nurses and their energy.
I know how the hiring process works, and I want to help new grads get started in their careers.
Here’s what you need to know about getting hired from an insider!
1. You need a strategy to get hired as a new grad nurse
Many new grads are discouraged and panic once they discover it’s not easy to get hired.
You have to stand out. That’s your hiring strategy.
At every contact point with your prospective employer, you have to stand out from the hundreds of other applicants.
2. Job Seeking is your Job
Let me ask: Is job seeking your full-time job?
- Have you studied and rehearsed your interviewing skills as much as you’ve studied for anything in school?
- Have you gone outside of your comfort zone in your job seeking endeavors? Yes? When? What did you do? see, I’m tough 🙂
- Do you get up early Monday through Friday, dress in business casual, and devote eight hours to getting a job?
Once job-seeking becomes your full-time job, you will see results.
3. Beware These Easily Avoidable Mistakes
Here are some basic easy fixes.
- Having an unprofessional email contact easily remedied
- Having grammatical errors anywhere on application no excuse
- Failing to follow application instructions to the letter fastest way to the shredder
- Not smiling during an interview confident candidates project warmth and openness
- Offering a weak handshake at interview passive and insecure
- Not making eye contact during interview confident candidates get the job
- Not having knowledge of the company at the time of interview savvy candidates are prepared
4. Smart Resumes Stand Out
Stop them cold with your savvy resume. If your resume doesn’t stand out, it doesn’t matter how perfect you are for the job. You won’t get an interview. Wow them even though you are a new grad with limited experience.
- Customize. If you are applying to five different employers, you need five different resumes. Target to each employer by modeling the language of the job description using their keywords
- Visually appealing layout and use of white space. One page long, mistake-free. Clean, neat, easy to read format.
- Highlight relevant accomplishments, volunteer work, projects, honors, that illustrate how your skills match their needs.
- Avoid cliches. Everyone is self-motivated and detail-oriented. Instead, give examples “Led senior class in a community project to educate the public on handwashing”
5. Creative Cover Letters Stand Out
Your cover letter lures them in. Captivate them with a creative headline, make them nod at a personal story, and make them want to reach for the phone to call you in for an interview.
Are you finishing nursing school and worried about how you’ll land that first job? Not sure what to put on the resume, what to wear to the interview, or what kinds of questions to expect? In this course you will learn how to write a resume, market yourself, finding jobs, interviewing and more.
6. Interview to Win
If you are interviewing but not getting called back, the problem is most likely your interviewing skills. Interviewing is a learned skill.
The candidate who interviews the best is the candidate who gets the job.
Many new nurses mistakenly believe that if they have a Tele interview, they should review Arrhythmia. Or to prepare for an Oncology interview, cram the night before on chemo medications. Wrong. They are not looking to see if you have in-depth knowledge of a specialty. They know you’re new.
They are looking to see if you are safe, and if you fit in. It’s really as simple as that.
Interviews are often panel interviews consisting of the Nurse Manager, Clinical coordinators, and staff RNs. After the interview, the Nurse Manager will turn to them and say “Well, what did you think? Will he/she fit in?”
Nursing units are a group, a family if you will, and Nurse Managers want to make sure you’re a good fit. Fitting in is about projecting warmth, openness, and learnability.
Clinical Scenarios During an Interview
They’re not going to trick you with clinical questions. Commonly they will describe a patient scenario where the patient is in some kind of distress. No matter what the clinical details, they are really looking for responses that show you are competent and safe. Here’s what to say:
- You stay with the patient shows a safe nurse who doesn’t panic
- You call for help shows you know your limitations (rated most important by many interviewers)
- You initiate any basic interventions (example, apply o2, re-position: cue from the scenario) shows basic clinical competence
- Bonus points: You anticipate what the provider will order (EKG, labs) shows critical thinking
Prepare for Behavioral Interview Questions
Anticipate that the bulk of the interview will be spent on behavioral questions. Prepared candidates will not say “I’m a perfectionist” when asked, “What is your Greatest Weakness?” It’s a cliche and a cop-out. A prepared candidate will be ready with a valid weakness that is not a core skill for the job and quickly segue into the positive.
Are you prepared for “Tell me About Yourself?” Use the Present/Past/Future model. Tell them where you are now, mention your previous positions, and close by saying you’d like to work for them in the future. Not rambling takes practice.
Within twenty-four hours after the interview, send a handwritten thank-you note. This common courtesy is not so common and will make you stand out.
7. Networking Nets Jobs
Networking is one of the best ways to get a job. Contact clinical instructors. Clinical instructors are well connected and have Nurse Manager friends. Contact classmates who graduated before you or with you and have a job.
Reach out at church or the gym to find other nurses and start talking. Join a professional nurses’ organization. Volunteer and make contacts.
8. Risk-takers Stand Out
Some of these are risky, and only you can weigh the personal risk/benefit. Ask yourself: “What do I have to lose?”
- Consider relocating as the nursing need is geographical.
- Cold call a nurse manager. Respectfully, with resume in hand, “I just wanted to drop this off in person.”
- Use humor sparingly in your resume or cover letter to stand out. “I love Nutella” under Interests
- Call HR. Applications get lost, it happens.
- If you’ve had interviews and not been selected, call and ask for feedback on your interviewing skills.
9. If you are a nursing student, even better
Work as a PCA in the hospital you want to get hired as an RN. You almost certainly will get hired with your home-field advantage.
Smart nursing students understand that clinical rotations are a time to be seen, make contacts, and stand out.
10. Never Ever Ever Give Up
Tolerate this uncomfortable and ambivalent stage in your life with patience and grace. This too shall pass.
Remain hopeful-you didn’t come this far to fail. You will succeed!
Remember, new grads get hired every day- and with a solid hiring strategy, you will, too!
Again thank you, Kati and all your wonderful nursey followers!
If you enjoyed this post, please stop by and read:
Uncensored Thoughts of a Nurse Interviewer: from Inside the Interview Room
How to Answer “Why Should We Hire You?”
Nurse Beth
This is a great article! I would also like to add the importance of treating a “job shadow” as an extension of your interview. I often am asked to have prospective nurses shadow me in home health field. HR asks me for direct feedback on how I think candidate would be for position and if they should hire. It still amazes me how many candidates HR and or management want to hire that show up late to job shadow without a call to me and/or are unprofessional. I understand if coffee gets you moving in the morning but would you show up late to your interview because Starbucks had a long wait? Treat this as a second or third interview if you really want the position. Also be honest with yourself if it really isn’t going to be a good fit!
That is a great tip. Often we think of a job shadow as part of the training, and not an extension of the interview process.
Megan, this is a REALLY good point! Whenever hospitals offer shadowing as part of the interview experience (which is brilliant, if you ask me), they can and should rely heavily upon that nurse’s thoughts/impressions. I have a short story: I know someone who was in your shoes (experienced nurse on the unit), and a prospective nurse went to shadow. This person had a great resume and interviewed beautifully for the cath lab. They were in the cath lab, and the prospective nurse complained about the lead aprons all shift. This gave them a pretty bad impression because wearing these aprons was a basic aspect of this position… needless to say, she didn’t get the job. However, had they gone merely off of her interview/resume, she would have… and they would have figured out how bad of a fit it was going to be.