I am cheeeesing!!! Because I am officially a nurse. That's right! No longer am I the licensed non-working individual. But I am not here to gloat or rub it in. I wanted to give some tips. They are kind of out-of-the-norm....Very stalker-ish even! Hopefully, these will help you as they did me. Fyi...Try to be discreet at certain times with a few of these rules. Happy hunting!
Check out LinkedIn
This website is not only a networking tool for individuals but for companies as well. You'd be surprised how many CEO's and directors of nursing are on that site.
Stalker angle: many of the big heads keep their overall profiles anonymous. So you may see a title, but no name nor face. In order to override this. Look down to the bottom of the screen. There is a section called: people who viewed this profile, or something like that. Click on one of their names to see their profile. Once you do that, scroll back down again to the same section. The previous profile (that had no name) that you viewed will now appear with a name and (if, available) a picture.
Also, cue in on the groups. Not only was I a member of nursing groups,I also became a member of a recruiter's network group. You get to read all the dirt, do's and don'ts. One recruiter was asking the group on how to do her background checks without contacting the previous jobs. Another was dogging out the interviewee. From their attire to their responses. Are you kidding me??? Why shouldn't we be in on this too???? And the best part....It's all free. Also, they have a jobseeker membership. For like $15/mo or so, they will brand your profile with a gold jobseeker icon. I never used it but this month they are offering a free 30-day trial to use it. So if I were you guys, i'd sign up just flipping because.
Email Contact
Once you've secretly (ha!) bagged your info, use that as your seller when emailing them. How do you do that, you ask? Easy! Go to the website of the company. Look up their contact us info. Somewhere on the overly detailed site, you should see a "@mycompany.org" listed. Most companies have the usernames as their first name. Lastname@mycompany.org. Use that to your advantage. Send an email using two versions. Ex. Janice.Kay@mycompany.org, or jkay@mycompany.org. Its bound to get to them. In your email. Give a brief introduction of yourself. Talk about how you'd be interested in working for their hospital etc etc, attach resume and hit send. The worst that could happen....It gets eaten by their spam folder, or self-deleted. The best...They wonder how in the heck you got their email and forwards your resume to their hiring manager after scrutinizing you by phone. If and when they call, they'll go through the motions and then hit you with that question. When they do ask, here's what you say: oh I was researching how blank hospital recently became a #1 stroke center, etc etc and saw your name and info. Make sure you let it roll off your tongue.
Stalker angle: to score really good brownie points, research their name within the hospital's site and even Google them. I found a majority of my people had open facebook accounts, or were presenters at nursing conventions that I've attended. So for extra bit of measure, I threw in info that we had similarly in common.
Works wonders!!
Post Resume On Job Sites
When you put a resume on job sites, i.e., Monster, CareerBuilder, indeed, etc., update your profile once a week. Just think millions of people like you and me are constantly on the look for jobs. These sites charge employers almost a couple thousand a year to post their ads (yes!!! I've checked. Try uploading an ad as an employer and see what their bill is). Then do you think they actually look at all those 1-500 of 5,000,000 profiles. Of course not! They shave the first 5-10 they see and logout from the rest. So if I upload my profile on Monday, and i'm #3. What's my spot come Thursday? #56,412??? So, once a week, go to your profile and do anything. Re-upload a resume, delete your number and re-add it, add another location to relocate to...Whatever. You make one change, you're automatically put back at the top of the list. I would upload my resume, and my phone wouldn't stop ringing. Then come Wed/Thurs...Silence. I was fooling around and updated something of little importance. All of a sudden, my phone's off the hook again. That's when I figured it out. I told two other friends to do the same, and it happened exactly. So stay on top of those job sites.
Become A Super Stalker
For those of you desperately wanting to get your dream unit job: icu, or, nicu, dialysis, etc etc. Look up all the possible hospitals/facilities you would like to work with. Call the main number and ask for that specific unit. When transferred, tell the clerk you would like to speak to the manager. (for 1st time calls, call around lunch time. Hopefully, they won't be in the office.) once transferred, hopefully you'll get to the voicemail--detailing their name and the extension you called. Let's say you get the name, but not the extension. Then call the operator and ask for Janice Kay's ext. Try to sound as if you already work there. Pipsqueak voices are not allowed! Or maybe you got the extension, but no name. In that case, call the unit back, not the operator. This time sound kind of bossy. Most people will rattle of the mgr's name thinking you have a complaint. And if you're really lucky, they'll offer to give the direct line. With that info in tow, refer back to #2. Send your strategy email, then you must double back with a phone call. Sometimes, hr is super slow on the hiring process. But the mgr can push them, especially when she sees your resume is just what she's looking for.
Another hint: most nurse managers love new grads. Its the hr that's a blocker to us. Get in with them, and the table could turn in your favor.
Make The HR Assistant/Secretary Your New BFF
The job that I accepted was pretty much due to the hr secretary. I faxed my info over, waited a few days, and then called to confirm she got it. While she was looking to see, I could still hear her chatting to herself and I caught on that she didn't have a southern accent. So I played on that, and she let me know how she was an out-of-towner. After our 5 min conversation about how she adjusted and what brought her there (notice, I made the convo all about her!), I get a call from the chest pain coordinator the next day.
Results: I tested my strategies out, starting from Jan 25th till Feb. 14th (offer acceptance date). Overall, in 3 1/2 weeks, I've had 6 interviews, 6 offers, and selected for 3 residency programs in 2 different cities. Yesterday, I got an email to set up a phone interview for today. All of them are looking for experienced nurses, but still were willing to see me because of my unique, savvy contacting techniques. I start march 14th. They gave me four weeks to relocate and such. And lets just say i'm verrrrrrrrrrrrryyyy appreciative of the pay.
In closing, whether its who you know or not, 2.5 gpa vs 4.0, previous cna/tech/lpn experience or none, BSN or ADN, you've got to get out there and make something happen for yourself! Faxing in the good ol' resume just doesn't cut it anymore. Be proactive. I wish everyone of you the best in your endeavors. We all have worked hard just to get to this point, so its inevitable that our time will come. Some sooner than others.
*doing my happy dance* boo-yow!!!!! *fist pump*
