Help I am now certified as a CNA

yousoldtheworld · Nov 3, 2008

Idon't live where you live, but the best advice I can give you is apply EVERYWHERE, and a day or two after you turn in your application, call to check on it. It shows initiative.

rancelumsden · Nov 3, 2008

As stated, apply everywhere.

You can either do the 'old fashioned' library thing and get a phone book listing all area hospitals, LTC, assisted living, ambulatory clinics, and home health or use the internet to find institutions in your area. The library is a good place to find local newspapers where smaller institutions often advertise.

Hospitals often belong to a 'chain' --- a large corporation and will have a website. Find them --- most hospitals in the Chicago area advertise on their own sites and don't list jobs in job boards or newspapers.

Either find a website or actually visit the institution and fill out an application in person. Around here, Of course, be sure you have a decently written, spell checked, grammatically correct resume and do the same for applications. They should be neatly written. Also, job boards such as Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com, and Healthjobsusa.com list all sorts of jobs.

Be patient. It could take only weeks, or a couple of months before you hear something. But if you apply at every place you possibly can, something will open up. There is a lot of turnover in the industry and you will hit on something eventually. I applied to at least 50 places when I was first looking. I first compiled a huge list of close to 100 places (being in Chicago area, it was not difficult). I spent a lot of time searching the net to find nursing homes in 'x' town, hospitals in 'x' town, then cutting and pasting name/address/phone/website (if applicable) info into a word document. Just keep at it --- I would apply at 3-5 places a day either online or in-person.