Think outside the hospital to build nursing experience -- Career Center Blog

April 30, 2012

Think outside the hospital to build nursing experience

Post a comment |
E-mail |
Print
- Share:

By Randy Woods
NWjobs

One of the enduring myths in the job-search world is the idea of getting into a "recession-proof career," one that will always have high demand for job candidates no matter what the economy is doing. While these mythic careers are about as rare as hen's teeth these days, there is one career segment that many people still believe fits this description: Nursing.

While this may have been true several years ago, before the global financial meltdown, it's now just as hard to find a good RN job these days as any other profession. With more older nurses choosing to hold off on retirement and work longer due to the recession, there are fewer and fewer openings available for new nursing grads and those with little to no experience. According to the American Nurses Association, the cost to recruit a single new RN is between roughly $62,000 to $67,000, as that new person must be trained in the new system. Because of this, many hospitals that are looking to slash budgets are only considering candidates with a minimum of one or two years of experience.

So how can new nursing grads manage to break the catch-22 of needing experience before they can land a job that would actually give them experience? The answer might be to avoid the hospital setting altogether and start getting creative with your career strategy.

1) Volunteer your time -- No, this won't pay the bills, and it may take up more time that you could be using to search for paid positions. But spending a few hours or days a week working for a free clinic or the local American Red Cross chapter will at least put your RN degree to use and give you a chance to add some real-world experience to your resume. Plus, volunteering will allow you to network with other nurses and find leads on other positions. Also, just doing the rewarding work you've been training to do, even if it's not for money, can help ease the psychological stress of not finding a full-time job.

2) Take a pharmaceutical position -- To some, this may sound like joining Darth Vader on the Dark Side, but the fact is, there tend to be more positions available among the major drug companies, and their association with the health care field can help get you a foot in the door down the road if an RN job opens up. Often a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree can help land you a job in in the pharmaceutical sales or administration. For those RNs looking to earn a BSN, the University of Washington-Bothell campus offers an accelerated RN-to-BSN course to help give you more potential job opportunities.

3) Specialize -- Is there a certain area in which you want to focus your efforts? Are you interested in ICU work or neo-natal care? Are you cut out for the adrenaline-filled world of the emergency room? If so, do whatever you can to demonstrate your expertise in that particular subject area. The Internet has dozens of continuing education courses in any number of nursing niches. By completing as many of them as you can, you can let prospective employers know that you are dedicated to pursuing a career in that particular niche and have the CE credits to prove it.

4) Emphasize transferable skills -- There's a good chance you already have a fair amount of experience and don't really know it. If you have worked in other positions outside of nursing during your career, make a list of the various duties you had and find the skills that can be easily transferable to the nursing profession, such as the ability to make quick decisions, solve problems equitably, provide excellent customer care and demonstrate interpersonal skills. If you can back up these claims with proven results, all of the above skills are in crucial need in any health care setting, so be sure to give them top billing on your resume.

Randy Woods writes about job-search tools, networking techniques and other tips to help you land your dream job.