Job hunt

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Specializes in Women's Health Care.

I am in Duke's WHNP program and scheduled to graduate in December. I would like to start applying for jobs. My husband and I can move anywhere in the USA. I would love any advice on where to look for openings (I've looked on ZipRecruiter, Indeed, and Google jobs), when to apply (is six months out too soon?), things to look out for, the best cities/states to be a WHNP, etc.

Ideally I would have a job to start ASAP after graduation. I vacillate between being totally focused on school and being paralyzed with fear about finding a job. It feels almost completely overwhelming. How did you all work through this process? Any and all advice is welcome!

Do you have a Linkedin profile with resume? If not do so. Just be prepared to get a bunch of recruiters contacting you. Someone I know, got hired directly by an employer via LinkedIn. But it will be mostly recruiters that contact you. Which is not a bad thing. I got my present job through a recruiter. Even though I am contemplating leaving(I've been here almost a year), I would still use a recruiter for my next position, especially If I make a move out of state.

Just do your due diligence when working with recruiters. Work only with one you feel comfortable with. Some will come off sleazy like used car salesmen. Their job is to make a sale. They get paid by the employer. Some of them are not concerned if its a good fit for you. The recruiter that I worked with, listened to my needs and didn't try to place me in the boondocks or with children. I was a new grad and she directed me to employers that were new grad friendly. You can also just Google NP recruiters. I can only speak to the work ethic of the one that I used, so do your due diligence.

Good luck!

Specializes in Women's Health Care.
On 6/29/2020 at 12:02 PM, mangopeach said:

Do you have a Linkedin profile with resume? If not do so. Just be prepared to get a bunch of recruiters contacting you. Someone I know, got hired directly by an employer via LinkedIn. But it will be mostly recruiters that contact you. Which is not a bad thing. I got my present job through a recruiter. Even though I am contemplating leaving(I've been here almost a year), I would still use a recruiter for my next position, especially If I make a move out of state.

Just do your due diligence when working with recruiters. Work only with one you feel comfortable with. Some will come off sleazy like used car salesmen. Their job is to make a sale. They get paid by the employer. Some of them are not concerned if its a good fit for you. The recruiter that I worked with, listened to my needs and didn't try to place me in the boondocks or with children. I was a new grad and she directed me to employers that were new grad friendly. You can also just Google NP recruiters. I can only speak to the work ethic of the one that I used, so do your due diligence.

Good luck!

Thank you for your response! I do have a LinkedIn profile, but the free version not the one that requires payment. Do you know if there is a major difference?

On 7/5/2020 at 4:13 PM, LuckyDevil2020 said:

Thank you for your response! I do have a LinkedIn profile, but the free version not the one that requires payment. Do you know if there is a major difference?

The free version works! I have been contacted numerous times by recruiters for jobs on the free version. Happy job hunting and goodluck.

I had a similar mindset when I was in my final semester of NP school. I did apply for jobs and found that most interviews were initial phone where I was told I will be considered when I become certified. Especially when I read some posts here on this site of multiple job offers prior to graduation, I felt anxious wondering if I would ever get a NP job...even before I graduated. Part of me regrets this "wasted" energy, but another part of me feels that that the practice of developing my resume and interview skills helped me to land an excellent NP job within a month of graduating and pending licensure.

It might be helpful to work on gathering references, putting together a great resume, interview skills, and putting aside money for licenses like DEA. Also, if you are looking at a particular state, consider starting the license process. I was looked upon as questionably committed because I did not have a license at a few places I interviewed by phone. I just heard questions related, as in why do I want to move there, etc., which makes sense.

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