You passed the NCLEX! Congratulations! The following are some tips on what to do after you’ve passed the NCLEX to help get a job as a new grad nurse!
Create Your Resume
Many schools require you to do this before you even graduate (I know mine did), but if they didn’t, now’s the time! Create a detailed resume of past job experience that applies to nursing in some way. Maybe you were a medical assistant while in school like I was, perfect! Put this on your resume. Maybe nursing will be your first medical job, and that’s fine too. Have you ever worked in retail? Great! Then you probably have experience working as part of a team, possibly some sort of leadership skills and people/communication skills. All of these are necessary for nurses and it’s what employers want to see!
See more on this in my Resume Tips and Tricks post.
Get your Letters of Recommendation
While putting together a resume, or even before that, reach out to those whom you want writing your letters of recommendation (aka LOR). It typically takes people a couple weeks to get back to you, so start early. If you want to be proactive about it (which I always suggest) make a list of the things you would like them to include in the letter. For example, when I was in college I also worked retail, so when it was time to ask for my LOR, I simply asked one of my coworkers. In my email to her I included the following. The time period for which we had known each other professionally. Our working relationship titles. And the qualities she witnessed in me that would also translate well into my future career as a nurse.
Check out my other posts on How to Ask for an Amazing Letter of Recommendation and Who to Ask for a Letter of Recommendation.
Apply, Apply, Apply
While many schools make it seem like nursing jobs are easily accessible and abundant, once you start your job search it may feel as though you’ve hit a dead end. You did all this work to study and prepare for the biggest, most stressful test and you passed that NCLEX! But now it’s time to get paid for this knowledge!
Bottom line: Nursing jobs are in demand and yes, it is true that nurses will always be in demand BUT training a new graduate nurse also takes a lot of time and costs a lot of money for the employer, so remember this when you begin interviewing. Put yourself in the employers’ shoes. It would be a lot easier to hire someone who has already been nursing for five plus years rather than someone who just graduated and still needs training. So take a deep breath, sit down, and apply to anything and everything that might be of interest to you and see what sticks!
Visit Where to Search for Jobs and What to Expect Out of Nursing: Expectations Versus Reality for more info.
Interview
You got an interview! Congrats! Show up slightly early, dress professionally, and get ready to talk yourself up. Sell yourself! Now’s your time to boast, professionally that is.
Fore more interview information, visit What to Wear for My Interview, What to Bring to My Interview, and Common New Grad Nursing Interview Questions.
Always Take the Interview
Always take the interview, even if you aren’t sure it’s a good fit. For me, I got offered an interview for a new grad position in the OR (which is exactly where I thought I wanted to be) at a hospital that I hadn’t heard much about. I scheduled my interview, did my research, and started to hear some not so great things about the hospital. However, I still went to my interview. I did this first because I needed to make my own opinion about the hospital and the staff I could potentially be working with, and second because of the great interview experience. In the end I was offered the job, but I actually turned it down because of my gut feeling, and because of a two year contract.
When you interview, it is important to remember that you are looking for a match (kind of like speed dating!). Not only is the employer looking to see if you’d be a good fit for them and the hospital, you also need to be thinking, “Can I picture myself working here?”, “Do I like what I’m seeing?”, “Do the nurses look happy, like they’re enjoying their jobs?” all SUPER important questions! After all, once you get a job, you don’t want to be unhappy and have to do this whole process all over again, especially if you signed a two-year contract.
Also be sure to check out How to Know if I Should Take the Job Offer and What to Expect in the First Year as a New Grad Nurse once those offers start rolling in!
Good luck new grads! And congrats on passing the NCLEX 🙂
Unsure of what specialty you want to go into? See below for the Specialty Nursing Series:
- What Makes a Good Med Surg Nurse?
- What Makes a Good ICU Nurse?
- What Makes a Good Peds Nurse?
- What Makes a Good ED Nurse?
- What Makes a Good NICU Nurse?
- What Makes a Good Labor and Delivery Nurse?
- What Makes a Good Psych Nurse?
- What Makes a Good PICU Nurse?
- What Makes a Good Onc Nurse?
- What Makes a Good School Nurse?
- What Makes a Good Home Health Nurse?
- Plus be sure to head over to their matching Specialty Nurse Interview!