Why are you planning to go to nursing school in the first place? You want a career you love, with stability, a solid income and generally excellent career mobility. Part of looking at schools is to narrow down to a short list the few schools of nursing that provide you with the necessary resources to kick-start that career when you graduate. Career resources, assistance and planning services are important.
One of the best skills you can learn as a nursing school student is how to craft a professional resume, or CV. Most recruiters and potential employers will ask for one and even if they don’t, it’s highly recommended that you provide one regardless.
Make sure your nursing school choices feature resources for resume and CV writing that you can readily get your hands on, and/or workshops that could provide you with resume writing tips and tricks specific to the nursing field.
Any job interview you participate in is important—could easily make or break your chances at a nursing job. The best place to learn how to handle yourself in a nursing job interview is while you’re still on the launch pad in your nursing school program and preparing for your career take-off.
Ask admissions officers specific questions about available resources and services at the SON campus career assistance office. Ask specifically about career seminars and one on one counseling services that include information and tips for job interviews.
Also in the nursing field it is not uncommon to be asked to participate in telephone interviews versus personal, or face-to-face interviews. You could be interviewing for a travel job halfway across the country or checking out a hospital job in another state. In most cases nursing recruiters and nurse managers will simply pick up the phone and ask you to carve out time for a phone interview. How you handle yourself with this is important, as well. Make sure that career office has the chops and information specific to nursing students to provide you with adequate interview guidance.
Does your prospective nursing school career office offer the option for alumni contacts? Nursing school grads are an excellent resource when it comes time to hit the job market. They have experience in particular hospitals, with travel assignments, have already interacted with particular recruiters and nursing management—they are in positions to provide new grads with very important information on the nursing job market.
Many career offices make it part of their job to provide job boards, job postings and provide information on hospitals that commonly invite new grads to come work among them. Make sure your career assistance services include job postings, near AND far.