Have a few personal and professional references you could call on to attest to your character and working history (do this before you fill out an application or have an interview).
Polish your networking skills.
Make sure necessary certifications are current—make a plan if they are not.
Understand any educational requirements. If you don’t have them, know what might work in place of a specified degree.
Have an interview outfit ready to go.
Have you investigated?
Have an idea of the type of organization you want to work in—hospital, clinic, private office.
Read up on the nursing industry to identify pain points or trends.
Identify the nursing leaders in the area you are considering.
Can you explain your strengths?
Craft a two-minute elevator pitch to explain your strengths.
Ask those close to you to explain your best qualities.
List both your technical skills and your soft skills.
Look up other resumes with a quick online search to see if yours explains your work experience enough.
Do not underestimate what you do.
Does your job search fit your plan?
Know how a job move will help you advance in your career.
Decide if this is a stepping stone or a long-term move.
Envision how this new position will fit in with your personal and family obligations.
List how this move will contribute to your personal satisfaction (more or less responsibility, greater impact, higher salary, more service opportunity).
Use these as starting point to make sure your job search starts off on the right foot. The more you have considered, the better your focus will be.
Are you thinking it’s time to test the water on a job search? Is your career feeling stagnant and you think it’s time to move to a new organization or even a new branch of nursing?
What can help you with your decision if you’re not ready for a full-fledged job search?
Testing out whether it’s time for a job switch takes some thought and a little bit of work. Here are a few ways nurses can gather information without jumping into a full search.
Sit in on Seminars
Find some seminars or classes that will help you decide if you want to move from emergency nursing to travel nursing or from infusion nursing to cardiac care. Get some experience, talk to a professor or class leader, and chat with others in the room (even in online classes) to get a point of reference in your job change decision.
Become a Visible Networker
Networking isn’t all about finding a new job, but it is about becoming noticed in your profession. And if you have an active and extensive network when you are looking for a job, you’ll have a valuable resource. Find association meetings, nursing groups, or even a few general business groups and regularly attend meetings. Meet new people and offer your help as well.
Go to a Career Fair
Find a healthcare career fair and take some time walking around. Come prepared with resumes just in case you find an excellent opportunity, but make gathering information your primary goal. Investigate what jobs are out there and see how your qualifications measure up.
Gain Skills
Whether you take on more responsibility in your current role or gain skills on a team to learn new skills (volunteering for your town’s emergency response team, for instance), know you need to learn more. Start the process for a new certification or volunteer to learn the new software at work – just make sure your skills are current, cutting-edge, and marketable.
If you decide a career move is your next step, you’ll be ready with a solid understanding of the available opportunities and how your skills will meet the market needs.
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