Getting a Job as a CNA when resume is IT heavy...

[EmBeMap]

I have been in IT for the last 7 years and worked my way to the top, (helpdesk all the way to project management) but for the last 1.5 years I have been taking the academic classes from the RN program at my local junior college. Well I finially decided to make the jump but im finding it hard to even get considered for hospital entry level positions. Seems like I just keep putting in applications and never get phone calls.

Im wondering if there is something I should do different to get my foot in the door.. I have tried heartfelt cover letters, trying to get in front of the recruiters for the hospitals (here in houston they won't talk to you unless they call you in). I would really like to work in a hospital setting because of tuition reimbursement and hopefully sign on at a hospital I will want to stay at once I get my RN. Btw, for those who think im nuts for changing sides, I'm a people person, I LOVE technology (the newer the better) but unfortunately IT is all about business and politics not technology or the users. I was talked into volunteering at a county hopsital as an interpreter and noticed i could do 13hours on my feet helping people and I wanted to go back the next day. In IT if you are at a job for 13 hours its because something was screwed up. I have never had the same feeling of accomplishment as when I helped these people navigate through their health crisis. I plan on being an ER nurse... Any suggestions on how to get my foot in the door ? I am ready to do LTC as well but.. unfortunately while I will get the job satisfaction of helping the residents .. I won't get the tuition help to make me an RN....

Thanks in advance,

DONALD

[amanda1229]

I'm trying to get a hospital position as a CNA, so I'm in the same boat to some extent... But right now I'm volunteering there, talking to all of my nursing professors and looking for connections, asking for specific people, talking to the people I work with at my LTCF, mastering any skills I need as an hospital aide that I don't as an LTC aide .. good luck to us both I suppose. :)

[jb2u, ASN, RN]

Hey Donald,

Welcome to allnurses. You could try to contact the managers of the floors that you want to work on. Sometimes this moves the process along. If a manager is interested in you, they will call HR and say, "hey when are you sending over Donald's resume to me. I want to interview him!" It does not always work, but it is worth a shot. A lot of places like hiring future nurses as cna's. I wish you much success.

Sincerely,

Jay

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

Donald, I became a nurse after my programming/project leader spot was outsourced to Bangalore.

Just a word of warning - don't romanticize nursing. There's just as much political intrigue and nonsense here as in IT, and then throw in a lack of testosterone and a soupcon of estrogen - wooooeee!

[Ready2BRN]

I've been a CNA for about 6 months now (I was in the biotech field for 5 years before switching to healthcare). But what I found during my job search was that most hospitals require that u have experience (at least 1 year). That's why I decided to work at a nursing home, gain my experience, and then move on to a hospital....plus nursing homes pay more:)

[xonforefunx]

i just finished my CNA 1 class. Like you, I applied at our local hospitals but no call backs, nothing. I talked to one of my lab/clinical instructors who worked for a hospital, and she talked to HR manager for me who refered me to a recruiter and now I have an interview on Tues. So basically what Im saying is maybe you can talk to one of your instructors and maybe they can talk to some one for you

[MotivatedOne]

I graduated back in 2005 with a degree in IT and would you believe that I couldn't find a job in that field. I decided to go to school to get my NA certification thinking I'd get a job fresh out of the program considering I was one of the top students in my class. Did I get a job...NO!!! Noone in my hometown would hire me. I felt like such a failure at one point thinking it was me, because I didn't have any type of experience in either field I felt I was doomed.

One day I was chatting with a friend online telling her I really wanted to go to school for nursing and was looking at a school in here hometown. She talked me into applying and after I was accepted I decided to apply to the hospital in that town for a CNA position...This was at about 3:30 on a Thursday afternoon. Would you believe at approximately 8:30 am the next morning I received a phone call from the hospital wanting to schedule me for an interview. I thanked God every way I could possibly think of. Getting in the hospital I'm in now was a long process but I am so happy I stuck with it because even after my first interview I was supposed to be scheduled for a second interview but the unit manager was too busy to schedule me right then and there so she said she'd call me later to schedule. She never called.

It had been about 2 weeks, I finally called the recruiter back, told her my situation then she told me she'd forward my information to a couple of other unit managers. about a week later I was finally scheduled for my second interview...To make a long story shorter than it probably would've been had I not stopped ranting, I got the job with great benefits and I am like so happy I didn't give up. That's basically the point I was trying to make...don't give up!!! Sorry this post is so long winded. Good luck!!!!!

[ncan]

I'm trying to get a hospital position as a CNA, so I'm in the same boat to some extent... But right now I'm volunteering there, talking to all of my nursing professors and looking for connections, asking for specific people, talking to the people I work with at my LTCF, mastering any skills I need as an hospital aide that I don't as an LTC aide .. good luck to us both I suppose. :)

I also struggled getting my foot in the door, I was a Veterinary Technician for 5 years, so I had some healthcare expiriance, and both fields require compassion.

I am sure that at some point, the hardwork pays off! I was just hired on as my first CNA position and they payed for my CNA certification. There is also scholarship programs available for students that are continueing on in Nursing, what a great deal!

GOOD LUCK!!!