Related: Attitude, Career, Expectations, Job Search, Learning, NCLEX, New Grad, New Nurse, New Nurse Tips, Night Shift, Nursing Jobs, Resume

You've worked hard.  Stayed up night after night studying.  Suffered through exhausting clinicals.  Missed out on time with friends and family.  Shoved thousands of facts into a weary brain.  Now all you want is to put all your new-found knowledge to work.  Get out there into the workplace and do your thing.  You're confident.  You're prepared.  You're ready.

You start pounding the pavement.  Sending out resumes.  [...]

Related: Application, Interview, Job Search, Resume

I want to get some feedback from anyone who has used a professionally written resume. I am considering it but I'm not sure if it's worth the money. Any and all comments are appreciated.

Thanks - Hope to her from you soon!

Michelle

Related: Career, Interview, Job Search, Networking, New Grad, New Nurse, New Nurse Tips, Night Shift, Nurse History, Nursing Associations, Nursing Jobs, Nursing Shortage, Nursing Trends, Resume

RealityRN member Auntymai writes, “I haven't been able to find a nursing job and the situation doesn't look good. I've been in contact with my professors at school, and I've been told that the new graduates are not able to find jobs either,”

It’s a sentiment voiced repeatedly by our RealityRN community—and the phenomenon is perplexing. After all, nursing students have been told there’s a nursing [...]

Related: Attitude, Career, Interview, Job Search, New Nurse Tips, Professionalism, Resume

You’ve heard the stories about over-the-top interviewing gaffes. Like the applicant who smelled her armpits as she walked through the door. Or the applicant who answered a personal call and asked the interviewer to leave the room for a few moments. Or the applicant who asked the interviewer for a ride home after the interview.

Most of us have enough sense to not make these blunders. [...]

Related: Application, Career, Communication, Interview, Job Search, New Nurse Tips, Nurse Recruiter, Nursing Jobs, Nursing Shortage, Professionalism, Resume, Success, Truth

Most new nurses spend countless hours gearing up for the interview. But really, the interview is just a fraction of the evaluation process. Before you even meet face-to-face with a potential employer, you must demonstrate through written communication— your application and resume—that you’re a competent professional.

Unfortunately, many new nurses skimp on this important phase of the job-acquisition process.

According to Carolyn Steffel, a nurse recruiter at [...]

Related: Career, Interview, Job Search, Nurse Recruiter, Professionalism, Resume

It’s not about what you would do, it’s about what you did do.

That’s the essence of behavioral-based interviewing, which aims to discover how the interviewee acted in specific employment-related situations.

Why is behavioral-based interviewing so popular? Because, according to Carolyn Steffel, a recruiter at Edward Hospital, a magnet hospital in Naperville, IL, “You can teach someone skills, but you cannot easily teach someone a behavior. Despite [...]

Related: Career, Interview, Job Search, New Grad, New Nurse, New Nurse Tips, Non-Verbal Language, Nurse Recruiter, Nursing Jobs, Nursing Shortage, Professionalism, Recruiters, Resume, Truth

With the touted nursing shortage, you’d think you could bomb an interview and still land any job you want. Think again. Hospitals—especially, reputable ones—are selective. Recruiters use the interview to predict your performance and if you’ll be a good fit. Based on interviews, nurses are often rejected. That’s why Carolyn Steffel, a nurse recruiter at Edward Hospital, a magnet hospital in Naperville, IL, says to [...]

Related: Career, Education, Goals, Leadership, Learning, Nursing Shortage, Professionalism, Resume, Teamwork

The way you start your career as a new nurse is important—but often overlooked. With so much to learn, we tend to focus mostly on the job – we’re so worried that we’re going to hurt a patient. It takes a while before we discover that we’re never going to know everything. So as you start your new job, think about launching your career. Here’s [...]