How Student Nurses Can Increase Their Chances of Employment

Nurses are a vital pillar in every community, and work tirelessly to keep general and emergency healthcare running smoothly, and so, nurses are in high demand. Even so, the job market is tough and wherever there is a job, there will always be competitors, and one of the most important things you will learn is that you must stand out.

The sooner student nurses start thinking about this, the better, because all of a sudden they will be fighting for jobs, and sometimes a polished well written CV won’t cut it. For this reason, students should be looking for outside opportunities or further education to make them stand out as the ideal candidate. Here are our top suggestions for how students can make themselves the best of the best.

Volunteering Opportunities

Students who decide to take part in volunteering opportunities always look great to employers, as it proves experiences and dedication to the job. Various volunteering opportunities are available, and so it is important that nursing students have an idea of what kind of nursing they want to go into, in order to tailor their experience to their potential job.

One easy opportunity would be to ask local GPs or nursing homes for volunteering opportunities – often if there isn’t space for volunteering, they will allow a student to shadow one of the nurses for a short amount of time. Other than this, online volunteering opportunities, allow a range of medical services, such as helping substance abusers, young families, and general clinical services.

Further Education

Another way student nurses could work on being more attractive to potential employers, would be to maintain extra qualifications to make them more suitable for the job. Opportunities like this normally come after students have completed their general nursing degree, as you can go on to pick a more specialised course. For example, many nurses choose a Family Nurse Practitioner course, which can be completed online, and so would not interfere with their current work or studying. Being a more qualified nurse will make you more sought after and therefore finding employment will be much easier.

Working Up the Ladder

The final suggestion to help nursing students increase their chances at employment, is it aim big but start small. If you’re fresh out of university, still relatively inexperienced in comparison to some other candidates, you’re less likely to be chosen over them for a certain position, especially if it’s quite a high position.

Therefore, for nursing students who are struggling to get employed, they should try and apply for jobs that are slightly below their qualifications, or even start part time at a practice. Basically, the tactic is to take what you can get, and then once you have a secure position, prove your skill and make yourself a key member of staff. By doing this, you have job security, and will more than likely start making your way up the ladder to that position that you want.

However, this isn’t the easiest method, as many expect to just instantly get that dream promotion, and are disappointed when it doesn’t come as quickly as they expected. You will only move up quickly if you work hard, and so this is not an easy way to the top!