Nurses Job Hunt
Published Mar 10, 2012
ceebeeRN
40 Posts
As we all know the job market in general is tough out there and it seems extra tough for nurses. In the meantime, I need a job to pay the bills and who knows, I may like my potential new job so much I might end up staying indefinitely even if the nursing job market starts to open up a bit more. I opted to stay in a health related field, so I often apply to medical assistant or medical receptionist jobs, and many times I get the reaction: "oh maybe you misread the listing, but we're not looking for a nurse" or "you're overeduacted/ dont have the right kind of education for this position"
Sometimes during the interview, i get asked: "are you working/have you worked as nurse?" or the toughest one "How do we know if a better employment opportunity more in your field arises, you will not just promptly leave?"
From the perspective of a potential employer, I can see why all of these are fair questions. That is always the most uncomfortable part of the interview for me when questions like that come up.
What should I say when asked about potentially leaving if a nursing opportunity comes along?
I don't want to seem like I'm deflecting the question but the best I've been able to come up with is to say that I am very success-oriented and that I would and do give 100% to any job I am offered, whether it was in my specific area of study or not. I then mention skills and qualities I've developed as a result of my healthcare background that ARE applicable to the position.
I'm thinking of omitting the nursing degree and license part from my resume when applying to nonnursing jobs--I'll still include that I graduated from college with a Bachelor of Science though. Of course, if during the interview, I'm asked directly about my major, I'll say I studied nursing.
What are some of your opinions/ideas/experiences?
Has anyone successfully broken into another career path after getting their nursing degree/license and not being able to get a RN position?