Never too early to ask...

[PlanetCaroline]

My accelerated nursing program is only a year long, so it isn't too early to ask...

How do you get jobs?

My real question is that nursing school isn't nursing experience so how do employers evaluate you? Grades? Interview? Did you have letters of recs from teachers? I am changing careers so I have no nursing experience. How would an employer figure out if I'm worth the risk. Would a classmate with PCT, EMT, or CNA exp. beat me out if we applied for the same job?

I am not worried about finding openings. I am worried about making a good impression & getting a job that I could handle.

Thanks.

--Caroline

[llg, PhD, RN]

You're right. It is never too early to ask. In fact, I applaud you for thinking about career issues like this well ahead of time.

Hospitals (and other potential employers) are used to hiring new grads as well as experienced nurses. The good ones know what to look for in the application/interview processes. Yes, sometimes it does help to have some experience as a nursing assistant or something similar -- particularly if you are trying to get that first job in a specialty unit and/or intensive care unit. However, that is not usually mandatory. Strong recommendations from your instructors and good grades can also weigh heavily in the decision. The interview also weighs heavily for jobs where there is lots of competition. Experienced managers like to think they can spot the really good employees during an interview and will often "trust their gut" to make the hiring decision more than a grade point average or recommendation letter.

Also, I recommend that students carefully choose any elective experiences and/or student projects carefully. For example, if you have the opportunity to pick a topic on which to write a paper, choose a topic that relates to your career interests if possible. Then that project can be listed on your resume and discussed in your interview as evidence that you have a sincere interest in that field and made a little extra effort to learn more about it.

It can also help to introduce yourself to the unit manager while you are doing a clinical roration for school if you are interested in applying to work on that unit after graduation. If you make a good impression at that time, he/she may remember you come hiring time.

If you hang around this group for a while, you'll read lots of discussions about resume writing, applying for jobs, interviewing, etc. and pick up more specific tips.

Good luck,

llg

[fourbirds4me]

I agree...

Try you utmost to make an impression during clinicals. Then the staff will be rooting for you. Most of my classmates including myself were hired this way.

[EmeraldNYL, BSN, RN]

Caroline,

You will have lots of recruiters come visit you at Drexel. We had visits from the Tenet health system, CHOP, University of Pennsylvania, Nazareth, Cooper, and Einstein, among others. I just mailed resumes to the places I was interested in and they all called me back within a week or two. Since you don't have any nursing experience, they recommend that you list all of your clinical sites on your resume as well as what kind of floor it was. Some of my interviews were very relaxed and others I was interrogated a bit more. At the interviews they will ask you a little about what you did at clinicals. Getting a job is definitely not difficult. For me, deciding where to work wasn't difficult either-- I shadowed there on the unit for a day and just got a gut feeling that it was the right place for me.

[USA987, MSN, RN, NP]

Since I moved across country right after graduation...I sent out resumes with a letter of recommendation in March. I flew to my new location over spring break in April for interviews and accepted a position. Graduated in June and started my new job in July!!!

Starting early is an excellent idea. A lot of nurse recruiters I spoke with said they only like to take so many new grads at a time....

Best wishes!