I got my CNA licence sometime last month. I know it doesn't seem like a long time for me to be complaining of having no job yet, but bills are piling up and I am getting really stressed.
I've applied to all kinds of hospitals & nursing homes. Dozens upon dozens of positions, and I keep getting those stupid automated rejection emails, lol.
I don't know what I am doing wrong. All the places to apply to require you make an online app. Despite this, should I just show up and take a paper resume/cover letter? Do they even want a cover letter? What do I say when I go? Who should I speak to?
How did YOU get your first CNA job??? And where??? Why did YOU stand out? Am I not getting hired because I challenged the CNA exam and didn't actually go to school for it? I've had my BLS for a while and am willing of going to get my EKG cert. I really don't know what else to do.... I even have nice references, not from nursing instructors obviously, but from medical technologists I know and other CNAs.
I took care of my uncle after having open heart surgery. I included that in my resume. I'd measure his urinary outputs and changed his linens in the hospital because the nurses and CNAs were running everywhere and I decided to pitch in his care. I know I could be a great CNA if someone only gave me the chance.
I'm so tired of feeling useless! I make really good grades & am entering nursing school this fall. Whaaaaat on earth do they want from me?! Experience!!!??? GIVE IT TO ME!!!!
I am also curious as to what became of the OP's job hunt. As for myself I looked far and wide for work BEFORE going back to caregiving for months on end! After I redid FOC and all those other nursing assistant classes, (paid for with money gotten from an under the table home care job working for my own family), I found an ad on Craigslist for a local AFH seeking either a CNA or a NAR and since I am an NAR I decided to apply. Well, It wasn't the first place I'd ever applied at after getting my NAR. No, I tried a lot of different places all over my city for months with no luck. Well, I started to analyze everything that could be going wrong and realized that I had never thought about creating a job résumé for myself! So, I found and downloaded this neat little program for my iPod Touch called "Eternity (or Infinity, I can't remember exactly) Résumé Builder" and used it to help me make a simple, precise yet professional looking résumé and emailed it off to a several different places; mostly Adult Family Homes and private families needing in-home caregiving for their family member because I knew I wanted to stay away from the hospitals and nursing homes. Well, it was less than 24 hours later that I get an email from the above-mentioned local AFH asking me to come in for an interview and that they "really liked my résumé." It was during the very first interview that the AFH provider offered me the job on the spot. I think we clicked because we both grew up in family-owned and operated AFHs and are both around the same age and she has the practice of allowing her would be caregivers to tour the house and spend a shift shadowing another, more experienced with her place, caregiver as she does her work to interact with the clients and get a feel for what will be expected of you before you are fully hired just in case it turns out to not be your cup of tea. I am currently going on my seventh weekend with them and hope it stick around for many more. (I only work two days a week and stay three nights, which is how I like it and I will work off an off, kind of be on call, for any of the other caregivers if they need me to).
What I want to know is what do you say when you walk in to one of these facilities with resume in hand? Also, is a suit ok to wear or is that too dressy?
What I want to know is what do you say when you walk in to one of these facilities with resume in hand? Also, is a suit ok to wear or is that too dressy?
Hello,
In my experience, while you may feel a little self-conscious, it is always better to be too dressy than too casual. A nice suit always makes a good impression on an interview.
What I want to know is what do you say when you walk in to one of these facilities with resume in hand? Also, is a suit ok to wear or is that too dressy?
Stand up straight, introduce yourself & tell them why you're there. Remember to smile genuinely & give a firm handshake. And - a suit is just fine; lets them know you're serious.
----- Dave
p.s. Took me 6 weeks to find my current job; it's at an LTC, not the best job I've ever had, but am I ever learning a lot!
Skayda
191 Posts
I am also curious as to what became of the OP's job hunt. As for myself I looked far and wide for work BEFORE going back to caregiving for months on end! After I redid FOC and all those other nursing assistant classes, (paid for with money gotten from an under the table home care job working for my own family), I found an ad on Craigslist for a local AFH seeking either a CNA or a NAR and since I am an NAR I decided to apply. Well, It wasn't the first place I'd ever applied at after getting my NAR. No, I tried a lot of different places all over my city for months with no luck. Well, I started to analyze everything that could be going wrong and realized that I had never thought about creating a job résumé for myself! So, I found and downloaded this neat little program for my iPod Touch called "Eternity (or Infinity, I can't remember exactly) Résumé Builder" and used it to help me make a simple, precise yet professional looking résumé and emailed it off to a several different places; mostly Adult Family Homes and private families needing in-home caregiving for their family member because I knew I wanted to stay away from the hospitals and nursing homes. Well, it was less than 24 hours later that I get an email from the above-mentioned local AFH asking me to come in for an interview and that they "really liked my résumé." It was during the very first interview that the AFH provider offered me the job on the spot. I think we clicked because we both grew up in family-owned and operated AFHs and are both around the same age and she has the practice of allowing her would be caregivers to tour the house and spend a shift shadowing another, more experienced with her place, caregiver as she does her work to interact with the clients and get a feel for what will be expected of you before you are fully hired just in case it turns out to not be your cup of tea. I am currently going on my seventh weekend with them and hope it stick around for many more. (I only work two days a week and stay three nights, which is how I like it and I will work off an off, kind of be on call, for any of the other caregivers if they need me to).