Being able to successfully network is such an important skill as a new grad nurse seeking employment. It’s all about who you know, who you are as a person, and what type of work environment you’re looking for. In this post, we will break it down so that you’re able to get the most of out every networking opportunity until you land your dream job. Let’s learn how to professionally and successfully network!
Success at Job Fairs
Attending job fairs is a great way to begin networking. Most universities will coordinate a job fair for the school of nursing. So all you have to do is show up prepared! Which leads me to my next couple of points; what to wear, how to present yourself, and what to bring.
Check out Where to Search for Your Dream Job for more info on jobs and job fairs!
What to Wear
Dressing the part is so important! Whether you’re at a job fair or an interview, you need to come professionally dressed. Doing so says to potential employers that you care about how you present yourself. It directly translates to how well you’ll represent yourself in your future workplace. If you show up in jeans and a T-shirt, it shows you put little to no effort into your outwardly presentation and employers will not take you seriously.
For more interview information, check out What to Wear for Your Interview.
Presenting Yourself for Success
Once you arrive at a job fair, you’re on. Every move you make from the moment you step in ‘till the moment you leave is pretty much your interview. If you’re going to a job fair put on by your school, make sure to branch out and not just walk around with your nursing buddies. Employers will see this as you taking charge of your future, a good leadership quality which they’ll most definitely be looking for. Walking around on your own at a job fair also makes you that much more approachable to employers.
Make sure you are standing up straight and carrying yourself with confidence. You’re going to want to network with everyone. You never know where you’ll end up! The more people you know the better when successfully networking.
Make Yourself Stand Out
To successfully network, setting yourself apart is key. Don’t give the five-minute spiel about why you wanted to become a nurse but do give them some little nugget of information about you that will separate you from your peers.
Maybe you’re the only one there that wants to go into Labor and Delivery, that’s great, tell them that! Or maybe you can ask the employer how they got into nursing and find something of similarity between the two of you. This will make a more personal connection with your potential employer and help them remember you once the fair is over.
What to Bring
Being unprepared at an event like this will NOT come across very professional to your potential employer. Make sure you show up with copies of your resume, copies of your letters of recommendation (or simply a list of all your recommenders and their contact information), a pen and some extra paper to take notes on after each new connection. If you’re anything like me, you’re going to forget their names, which will make it a lot more difficult to reconnect with them later on down the road.
For additional info, check out my post on What to Bring to Your Interview.
Pro Tip: Once you’ve met with a representative from each facility, write down that contacts information (if not already given a business card) as well as what the facility has to offer, how you felt after speaking with them, and what questions you might have for them in the future. This way when you’re back home, you can easily reference what hospitals made you excited to apply to their program and do a little more research on your own.
If you haven’t yet gotten your resume and letter of recommendation together, check out the following posts for some guidance.
- Resume Tips And Tricks for New Grads
- How to Ask for an Amazing Letter of Recommendation and
- Who to Ask for a Letter of Recommendation
How to Close
After receiving all that valuable information from your potential employer, it’s normal to feel a bit overwhelmed while trying to gather your thoughts to move onto the next employer. Make sure to hide this overwhelmed feeling. Instead, thank them for their time and move out of the way so your peers can have a turn. Then head to the side and take your notes, collect yourself, and move on to the next employers’ booth.
After the fair is over, go back and reference the people you’ve connected with. If you already have a LinkedIn, now’s your chance to add them while you’re still fresh in their minds. Say you had a question written down that you never got answered, this is your time to ask that question in your friend request. If you don’t have a question that’s okay too! In your friend request, thank them one more time and remind them where you met. It should look something like this…
“Samantha,
It was so nice meeting you at the Job Fair yesterday and being able to pick your brain about the Medical Surgical Unit. I will most definitely be applying to the New Grad Program in the Spring.
Thanks again!”
For those of you who haven’t set up your LinkedIn yet, visit How to Set Up Your LinkedIn for Success.
Now that you know how to professionally network, get out there! Figure out when your university or other nearby schools are having job fairs and attend them!
Good luck!
For those of you still in nursing school, visit Top 10 Best jobs for Students in Nursing School.