Roles and Issues in Advance Practice Nursing

The Job Search Strategies Video Transcript

Hi everyone, and welcome to the session on the job search for nurse practitioners. My name is Kaitlynn Arvidson and I'm the Manager of Graduate Career Planning here at Regis, and I'm here to help you with anything you need for the job search, whether it be for your preceptorship or searching for an MSN role, nurse practitioner role upon graduation. At this point, I'll share my screen with you so you can then see the PowerPoint. Okay, here it is.

Here are the job search tips for success for nurse practitioners. Job search strategies. Using a blended approach really works well in any case where you're looking for a job, because companies tend to hire from within, use a personal referral, the online job board, an employment agency, LinkedIn, job fairs, or even a blind search. All of these tools are useful for you, because the employer is using all these tools as well.

Hiring from within. Converting your clinical rotation to a full time position is something you can do if given the opportunity. Master the required skills. Plan your exit and reentry. Meet with your preceptor to discuss career plans, ask questions about how the PNP you're working with landed the job where he or she is today. Meet with a contact in human resources. Keep in touch with your supervisor, coworkers, and human resource staff, as well as the online job board. It's always nice if you've precepted somewhere to then have that information of how the inner workings of the organization are, the culture of the organization, the feel of the environment, and then decide if that's a good fit for you.

If it is a good fit, searching for a role there when it's available could be a really great opportunity for you. Sometimes employers tell us that they actually utilize the precepting opportunity to find a candidate to then fill jobs in the future. Keep that in mind. It's really important and I think that would be good for everyone to utilize their preceptorship as an opportunity to really interview with an employer. Whether they're looking to hire in the end or not, it's definitely good experience because sometimes they might not even tell you that you're looking to hire or they might not know that they're going to need someone, but in the future, such a small world that these opportunities could always come back and then it's always nice to mention that you went ahead and precepted there for a certain amount of time throughout MSN.

Job search resources. Use industry specific resources. Professional organizations for nursing at the national level, AANPs a good one to go through, and regional level. Each state has their own organization, and I've listed them there in the link so feel free to click there and take a look at the job resources there. They're very helpful, very relevant to the field, of course. Sometimes there's also job postings there, as well as advice in how to find jobs in that particular state or region. Online resources: Indeed.com, hospital and private practice websites, community health center networks, LinkedIn, all great places to find a job. Of course, keep in mind going back to the first slide, that circle splitting up the different places that you can find a job, it's always important to have a very balanced approach. Not always looking online, not always just networking, but doing a combination of everything to then land your first opportunity.

Job search strategies in terms of fairs. Health care career fairs in your area, it's good to know when those are occurring and how often. Even if they are solely for RN positions, it might still be a good way to go and meet RN recruiters, because who knows? They could either refer you to those that recruit for NP roles or maybe they also recruit for them. Many of the recruiters we work with here at Regis do recruit for the clinical staff nursing specifically, and MSN as well as BSN level roles. Oftentimes, you'll find some great resources in these fair settings, depending on where they are and how they're formatted for the day.

It's a great opportunity to meet recruiters and briefly discuss your experience in the health care arena. Develops confidence in describing your strengths, academics, and experience in the nursing field. That's something that's really nice too, because if you're at a job fair you can actually speak to people and give your 30 second commercial about who you are, your background in terms of academics and also career, and talk about what you're looking for in a job.

It just gives you a lot of practice at talking to employers, which sometimes can take time to perfect. Utilize these opportunities as a chance to get in front of an employer, and really treat it like an interview. Dress for success, so usually anything professional would be applicable. A dress with a suit jacket or a full suit you could wear. Sometimes people will then just wear dress pants and a dress shirt, that's fine too. You don't necessarily have to wear a suit, but the more professional you look, the better. It seems like recruiters from various organizations treat the conversation more seriously when you look like you're on an interview.

Receive valuable job advice from employers you might not have considered initially. That's always great too, because some employers that you might not know of, you might not be aware of the types of things that they offer within their organization. It's good to meet with them and get a better sense for the types of roles that they have. Also, you can create a network. Fellow students, employers, RNs and PNPs that you know that have been classmates with you in the past, it's just great to have a network of people that are in your professional level career. You can kind of talk to, get feedback, and even network for informational interviews.

Job search strategies best fit. Something I love to talk about in terms of job positions and opportunities, it's really nice if you can find that best fit in terms of the environment you're looking for as well as hours, of course, type of scheduling, location in terms of your geographic location where you're living and working, it's always nice to find something close to home, or you know, if you're looking to move, that's really great too. Seek the best fit PNP career for you, selecting the type of work environment you'll excel in is so important to your career advancement.

These are the types of different organizations you an work in: hospitals, assisted living, rehabilitation, clinics, health insurance providers, home health agencies, government/municipal organizations, travel nursing, rural health, nurse residency programs, and locum tenens roles. If at any point you're not familiar with these types of positions, feel free to contact me. I'm more than happy to talk to you about the various types of PNP roles that are out there and how to go about searching for them.

Job search strategies in terms of experience. Oftentimes, candidates express having difficulty finding PNP roles that accept new grads. Temporary, on call positions, and urgent care clinics. These types of employment may lead you to explore the specific employer you're interested in until a full time permanent role is available. Be flexible in finding your first position but prioritize your personal needs, the things that we talked about: your commute, salary and benefits, opportunities for advancement, training, all those things go into finding the first best fit role.

You really want to position yourself in an opportunistic way so that you can start working there, hopefully climb up the ladder at that particular organization, or just gain some necessary skills you can then transition to another work environment. Lastly, ensure that you meet the minimum qualifications for the NP positions you're applying to. Licensure, years experience, and specialty knowledge.

This concludes the job search tips for success for nurse practitioners workshop. Gives you just a taste of the job search and where to go about finding positions. Of course, if you have questions or you want individualized help in doing this, I'm always available to you, and email's the best way to contact me to set up an appointment. Those can take place virtually, by phone, whatever works best for you. Thanks so much, and I look forward to helping you soon.