Unfortunately, the HR people would not start an LPN with 15 years of experience at a higher hourly wage than any other new grad, and they probably would not do so for a paramedic either. It's not fair, but that is generally how it works.
Submit a polished resume and cover letter and have two written references.
Put salary desired "negotiable" on the application. You know, it's like a poker game. They really want you to want them but for the lowest price. Expect a lowball first offer. Just say nicely I really need three dollars more to meet my obligations. The recruiter will say I need to check on that and call back. you will probably have a second offer for two more dollars per hour. That has always worked for me.
Also, mention the cost of living in Miami. Ask can you help with relocation expenses. This will be worth 1500 - 2000 easily.
With all due respect, this is a completely opposite situation in most of the country, especially where the OP is asking about. Employers don't have to pay relocation costs, there are TONS of applicants right there in the parking lot, ready to work.
New grads don't dictate the market value of their license, the oversaturated job market does. In these times, new grads are generally told exactly what they will be making, and the offer is a "take it or leave it" kind of situation. The new grad who wants more money is oftentimes the new grad passed over in favor of the one who DOES accept the offer being made. There's just too many competitors to make haggling of much worth, just something to keep in mind.
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Why not apply in the dept you have been working as a medic?
The OP currently works in NYC but hopes to relocate to Florida; therefore, applying in the department where (s)he's been working will not mesh with long-term plans.
Technically, you are a new graduate nurse with zero nursing experience. There is no way short of fraud to alter that fact.
That being said, it's up to the employer whether they want to acknowledge that you have 15 years of strong healthcare--albeit not nursing--experience. Some employers will take that healthcare experience into account and compensate you accordingly. Others will be very happy to focus on the "zero nursing experience" fact in order to pay you the lowest possible rate.
I would definitely play up that experience in any interview you go on. IMO having any healthcare experience makes you a stronger candidate than a new graduate who has no healthcare experience whatsoever. You've shown you know how to prioritize, know the basics of patient stabilization and can perform well under pressure.
Even if your 15 years' of paramedic work doesn't result in compensation, it may help land you that first job...and then with a couple of years of actual nursing experience under your belt, you'd be in a much stronger position to negotiate at the next job.
Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.
Your time as a paramedic will likely put you in higher contention for the job than a new grad without any time in healthcare. It is very unlikely, however, to garner you a higher pay rate. You can ask if the rate offered is negotiable and the answer is likely to be "no". The US is absolutely overrun by new grad nurses, both with and without paramedic and other types of healthcare exposure. This, in turn, makes every single one of them more expendable, since another is waiting eagerly in line for the opportunity to prove themselves regardless of the pay rate. Tread lightly. Paramedic experience is not nothing, but it is not nursing. It will give you an advantage. It will not likely give you more money.
If you can write your resume out to include all the things you are skilled at in bulleted points, it makes you look like a very strong medically knowledgable person.
I would encourage you to write a cover letter to attach to your resume. The cover letter can highlight just exactly what you bring to the table and why they should choose to hire you as a nurse at their hospital. This is where you toot your horn about your past experience and skills. I would also say in the cover letter that you recognize that being a nurse will be different, but that you feel that your previous experience working in a level 1 trauma center (those are good words to highlight) give you a good platform to start on.
As a friendly note, when you do get this nursing job (as I am sure that you will), tread carefully about speaking TOO much to coworkers about your medic experience. You dont want to come off as boastful. Some will want you to know your place as a new grad and wont want to hear about your experience until you prove yourself as a coworker first. Good luck!
Yeah, nurses who were former paramedics or EMTs can be the worst. Not all, of course, but some. Nobody wants to hear about how much "more" you could do as a medic for the billionth time.
^^Yeah the "running a code by yourself" comment reminds me of many paramedics I have come across.
I wouldn't state things like that, as it does appear boastful. You have "skills", as do many nurses. Now the patient is your full responsibility, no more performing as "skill" on the patient and your job is done.
^^Yeah the "running a code by yourself" comment reminds me of many paramedics I have come across.
I wouldn't state things like that, as it does appear boastful. You have "skills", as do many nurses. Now the patient is your full responsibility, no more performing as "skill" on the patient and your job is done.
Good luck, Florida has way too many new nurses.
Agreed. Don't mention stuff like this in the interview either, you'll come off as cocky and abrasive. The last thing a floor will need is someone who is going to upset the balance, believe me. Floor politics are heavily involved in the hiring process, especially with floors that have a little more turmoil than others.
And, in your "professional summary" can't you state:
- Nursing student with upcoming graduation date (August 2015) and 15 years paramedic experience
Something to that effect?
While I agree with what most others have stated: you probably will go in the "new graduate" pile because you are going to be, in fact, a new graduate. That being said, I'm going to be a new graduate in less than a month and I don't have 15 years of paramedic experience! If me and you were both applying for the same job, I'm pretty sure you have a leg up, especially if it was for an ER job!
Loo17
328 Posts
Why not apply in the dept you have been working as a medic?