Need advice from you wise ones? CNA/intern job--how can I stand out among applicants

[butterflygal]

I'm finishing up being a first semester junior nursing student and will be a second semester junior starting in Janurary. I have a great non-nursing job that works around my nursing school, and I can't work a ton and study as much as I do (I bust my butt LOL) , so this job works well for now. However, I would like to work in a hospital starting in May/June (which will be the semester before senior year.) I'm just wondering if you have any tips on how to get either an intership or just a plain old CNA job--how to stand out among all the other tons of applicants on-line.

(I have applied for CNA jobs before, but never got one, but I think that was because I didn't have enough clinical experience which I'll have my the end of my entire junior year.)

Also, everything is on-line. Do I send my letter(s) of recommendation in the mail before they contact me about my on-line application? (I don't want to wait until after they contact me because my letters are good and may factor into them contacting me. What if I don't find an intern or CNA job will that hurt me in getting an RN job? I'm doing very well in my classes and my instructors have told me I'm doing great in clinicals (though I don't know how to prove this in an application).

Tips needed please.

[love-d-OR]

From my experience and knowledge, hospitals would rather hire a student nurse with a minimum of a semester clinical exp, over an experienced CNA. One you are believed to have more critical thinking skills and secondly, you are more likely to stay with the hospital when you graduate. So thats a way of recruting future nurses. Where I work, a good 30% of us are studnet nurses.

How do you make your application shine? Emphasize on the fact that you are in nursing school, list your clinical rotations and skills, critical thinking. I would send my resume along with the electronic application without the letters of recommendations. Those should be made available upon request. On your cover letter make sure you state your future goals with the hospital, what you can bring to the table and the importance of this experience to you as a future nurse. Sell yourself girl!

Good luck

[nursemike, ASN, RN]

I'd suggest choosing a facility where you are interested in working as a nurse, and letting them know that. As love-d-OR said, hospitals are often happy to use some of their CNA positions as recruiting tools, and it doesn't hurt to have proven your work ethic and common sense before you start orienting as a nurse (just be careful to stay within your scope--an aide who is a nursing student is still not a nurse!)

Application processes vary a lot, but I'd think leaving a resume with HR would be a reasonable approach. Or you could fill out the online app and use your references where they ask for references.

Good luck.

[Tait, MSN, RN]

I was a waitress for my entire schooling career. I will say I am very glad I did so, I didn't have to stress over set schedules like my classmates, I worked weekends and made great money and learned a million things about managing mutiple people/needs/wants etc and made great money that freed up a lot of time for me.

If your job works atm for you, go with it. School is important and I think it is better to have strong clinical reviews and good grades because you had the time and ENERGY to do well.

I put together a portfolio for interviews. I have paper copies of my resume, common questions to ask, academic awards, lisence certificates, silly awards from student government, notes from patients etc. I take that with me to ever interview (which luckily for me was only the two jobs I have had). When applying I did the online application and then made sure (even if not required!) to attach a file of my regular resume. I joined the ANA to beef it up a bit (even thought that doesn't seem to be active and I still have to find out why my $250 some odd dollars didn't work) and I also make sure I have plenty of references available to write letters. Usually one work, one non nursing advisor and a few clinical instructors. I let them know that I might be back in the future for references as life goes along and I keep in contact via email.

As far as getting hired I believe going in and knowing what you want, being very reasonable about your schedule to start (yeah I work nights, but I love it!) and having a set of questions, even if you have to read them off a paper, shows that you want to know what you can bring and they can provide! Don't be afraid to ask about salary, I usually keep that one til the end, and make sure you get a chance to not only talk to the HR Nurse Recruiter, but also the supervising nurse for the floor you are applying too.

Best of luck to you!

Tait

PS. Sorry I didn't realize you wanted a CNA/Intership, but I would say all the above apply! Why not use the CNA jobs as practice runs! Because ideally where you choose to work pre-grad might just be where you will stay! So treat it like a real deal RN interview and keep asking questions!