New Grad NPs - some job search comments

[FullGlass, BSN, MSN, NP]

I am a PMHNP and in charge of recruiting for our practice.  Just want to make a few comments:

1.  I get a lot of resumes from new NP grads that are a little puzzling.  The person graduated from their NP Program 2 or 3 years ago, yet continued working as an RN.  I strongly urge new grad NPs to get an NP job ASAP.  When I see these resumes, if it has been more than 1 year since they graduated, I wonder what is wrong with the candidate.  Was no one willing to hire them?  Were they unwilling to put any effort into looking for a new job?

2.  Please make sure you have a decent resume.  I get so many resumes that are poorly written, full of typos, and oddly formatted. 

3.  Order of info for a resume

Put your name, phone number, email address, and at least city and state at the top of your resume.

Objective - I consider this optional

Experience - If you are a new NP grad, OK to put your NP clinical rotation experience and NP education first.  However, if you are an experienced NP, please put your actual job experience first!  For experienced NPs, education is toward the end of the resume.

Education

Credentials, etc.  Please put your NP, RN, NPI and furnishing #s as well as DEA if you have it

4.  Please be realistic on your expected salary.  I don't care if you have RN experience - I am not paying for that.  I am paying based on your NP experience.  This means that some new grad NPs with a lot of RN experience may take a pay cut for their first NP job.  I would give some credit if the RN experience was directly relevent, like a psych RN who is a new grad PMHNP.  And please do some research on what NPs make in your geographic area for your specialty.  If the going rate for a PMHNP seems to be $150K to $180K per year, and you are a new grad, you are going to be making a starting pay - that means at the low end of the range.

5.  Do some prep for the interview.  Find out a little about the organization by looking at the website.  Be able to demonstrate some subject matter knowledge.  

6.  The day before the interview, confirm the interview day and time.

7.  Write a follow up thank you email after the interview.

8.  During the recruitment process, once a prospective employer contacts you, respond promptly to emails, texts, etc.  That means checking your email, texts, and voicement frequently.  If you don't respond promptly, that is a good sign you are not very interested in the position.

Note:  This has been discussed before.  If you are an RN who works in a state that pays RNs extremely well, like California, you may be very disappointed upon becoming an NP.  There are RNs here who make $120 per hour as a permanent employee with full benefits.  The brutal truth is that there are no jobs that will pay a new grad NP that.  So only become an NP if you truly want to be an NP, not because you think it is a way to make a lot more money.

 

[Jamaica3]

Excellent post! Thank you for expressing what no one has openly acknowledged, but I've long suspected—I won't be able to avoid a pay cut.