As an aspiring nurse, finding a career in the field can start to feel like a job in and of itself. Indeed, if you have just gotten your certified nursing assistant degree from an accredited nursing school, you may be hitting the pavement looking for a position with a hospital, clinic or private agency. However, you may also be realizing that finding a job is slightly harder than you thought it would be. Yet, there is a chance that you are going about looking for a nursing job the wrong way. Many aspiring nurses have to be prepared for rejection, but with the right motivation, you will find exactly what you are looking for. Here are five job hunting tips for aspiring nurses.

1. Be open minded. There is a good chance that you will be faced with the question of whether or not you would be willing to take a smaller, part time, position. If you have just gotten your degree and are looking for something full time, you may have to meet yourself half way and snag any position – no matter if it is only one day a week. Who knows, that part time position may turn into something a little more full time.
2. Put yourself out there. Just because you got your degree, it doesn’t mean that you can sit back and wait for the jobs to come to you. You have to hit the pavement and you have to be persistent. If a job prospect doesn’t call you back, perhaps it is your job to call them back and see where you stand. With a little persistence, you will notice that employers are more receptive and you may wind up with more interviews. The more interviews you have, the higher your chances of landing a position.
3. Make yourself familiar with the medical care facility when you are applying for the job. You also don’t want to send the same resume and letter to each employer – you want to customize it. This is why researching the hospital, or clinic, before you apply is so important. When it comes to applying for a job, it helps an employer a lot when he or she can have a good sense as to why you are applying for the job in the first place. Moreover, stating a good reason why you want to apply and at a certain facility may also help.
4. Learn all the administrative tools that employers and employees use at a medical care facility. For instance, TaskMaster Pro is a commonly used program that records critical and confidential health documentation. Knowing how to use the program and how it can benefit the hospital could be the difference between landing a job and not landing a job.
5. Allow yourself some time to prepare for an interview with a hospital or clinic. Not only do you want to do your research, but you want to also be calm and collected. Not only that, but you want to make sure that you have your certificate and other information employers need to have in order to know that you are qualified for the position. Not being fully prepared could be a disaster.