To say the nursing field is booming would be a massive understatement. Throughout the past several years, almost every position within this niche medical industry has experienced extreme growth, and the trend is slated to continue. When we look at the Licensed Practical Nurse, or LPN, industry, this one field is expected to bloom by over 16 percent by 2024. Because of this, more aspiring nurses are signing up for LPN training than ever before.
If you’re one of the many who have successfully graduated from an LPN training program, and passed the NCLEX-PN examination, then it’s time to begin the most dreadful part of starting any new career: the job hunt.
While job hunting is notoriously boring and stressful, there are several unique and powerful job hunting tips capable of boosting your success rate. Whether you’ve never worked in the medical industry, or you’re switching careers, follow the advice given below. With a little determination, patience and luck, you’ll soon be starting the career of your dreams.
Job Hunting Tips #1 | Refine Your Resume
While this may seem like a no-brainer, you’d be surprised how many newly certified/licensed LPNs submit an old and unrelated resume. Even if your only experience in the medical industry is from school, you should customize your resume. Just because you don’t have years of experience as a nurse, doesn’t mean your fresh license won’t get you the job you want. You simply need to learn how to customize your resume. For example, if you hold a vast amount of customer service experience, rewrite this experience to demonstrate your ability to tend to difficult customers and adhere to company policies. While unrelated, hiring managers are able to draw parallel lines and see that if you were an excellent customer service representative, you’ll likely bring this same level of professionalism and dedication to the nursing department.
Job Hunting Tips #2 | Think Beyond Nursing Homes
Do you think nursing homes are the only place that readily hire Licensed Practical Nurses? If so, then you’re robbing yourself of many unique opportunities, some of which offer much greater pay opportunities. While nursing homes are a traditional career path for LPNs, they aren’t your only option. A wide variety of medical clinics, including hospitals, are always looking for talented, dedicated and freshly graduated LPNs. Expand your job hunt to non-traditional companies, and see what future opportunities await you.
Job Hunting Tips #3 | Contact Your Training School
While not available from every institution, most offer some sort of career placement service. If you aren’t taking advantage of this resource, then you’re absolutely selling yourself short. Even if your school doesn’t offer an official placement program, in many cases, professors and other staff have connections with local clinics and hospitals. Now’s the time to stretch your networking legs. If done properly, you may save yourself months of submitting resumes and performing interviews.
As a general rule, try and only attend a training program that offers a career placement service. Most of the time, these programs work with third party clinics to find positions for new graduates. In some cases, you may even find yourself working in the facility where you performed your clinical training.
