Finally! I am graduating in May and am excited to begin the job search. I attended a great networking event recently and feel very optimistic about looking for public health jobs as a new BSN. I have a couple questions for those of you in the field.

-When should I start submitting applications? I hope to take the NCLEX within a month of graduation; should be able to work by July 2016.

-How should I organize my previous employment? I've worked in a clinic for the past 2.5 years; prior to that I worked at another clinic for one year, but beyond that, my "employment" history consists of odd jobs, contract work (as a massage therapist), waitressing, caregiving, etc. during school so I leave that off and only list "relevant" stuff (internships, volunteer work, research). Basically, my resume looks like this:

Relevant Employment History

-Clinic A 2014-Present

-Clinic B 2013-2014

Other Relevant Experience:

-Internship at Clinic C Fall 2012

-Internship at Clinic D 2011-2012

Volunteer Experience:

Volunteer at Clinic E 2015-Present

Volunteer at Clinic F 2014-Present

Research and Presentations (blah, blah)

Awards and Scholarships (blah, blah)

Is that okay, or should I be listing all those odd jobs? It makes it look like I have "gaps" in my employment history where I only interned/volunteered during school, but frankly, listing lots of temporary and irrelevant jobs seems strange. Also, on the online applications it *does* ask for three to four previous employers. For this, is it also appropriate to list an internship for one or two of them if the internship was a significant commitment? I'd rather do that than list "Manager Bob" from the short waitressing stint I had over the summer between sophomore and junior year.

Thank you!

I think you're on the right track. Only list relevant experience. I think it's perfectly acceptable to have gaps in your employment history when you're still in school. If you have extra space to add more, I would add a "skills" section. Are you bilingual? Proficient in MS office? Familiar with different EHR systems? I would never have thought to add those kinds of basic computer skills to my resume but as the youngest person in my office I am the unofficial IT person and those kinds of skills are very coveted in PH as there are a lot of reports, charting, etc.

If you're looking to work for a county health department or other government job I would apply early if possible. I applied for my job in April, graduated in June, was called to interview in July, and got my job offer on the day I took (and passed, thank god!) the NCLEX. The interview and hiring process for government jobs can be very slow, so if they will allow you to apply before passing the NCLEX I would. It also might help to try to reach out to a PHN manager there to explain your timeline and your interest before you even apply. Then they will recognize your name come interview time, and you might get some ideas of the specific job responsibilities and what they are looking for. That way you can tailor the way your present your responsibilities at your past jobs to reflect the exact skills they are looking for.

Wonderful advice! Thank you so much!

You've got some great advice from PHN921, and I don't know that there is much I could add to that. I'd certainly echo be prepared for it to take a lot longer than a private sector job. For both of my public health positions, it was probably 2 months between submitting my application and receiving a job offer. Government HR moves at the speed of molasses, and I think this is probably true no matter what part of the country you are in. Good luck!