This is a true career interview with a Registered Nurse as told to DiversityJobs.com, where you can find other interviews with healthcare professionals, like one with a Physical Therapy Aide.
I recently worked as a registered nurse for a local nursing home. I completed my schooling for my nursing degree eight years ago and have been working in the field since then. However, I recently took some time off to spend with my children, so currently, I am not working in the nursing home. I would describe myself as organized, quiet and helpful.
Being a white female has definitely helped in my career. I feel that some of the patients that I work with see me as an equal since most of the patients I care for are Caucasian, as well. Many of the female patients will talk to me about their problems more than I have seen with some of the other ethnicities or genders. The only discrimination I have experienced is when I first came on board as a nurse. I was young and was not really sure what I wanted to do, so some of the older nurses were skeptical of my skills.
My job consists of giving the patients at the nursing home medications and wrapping wounds that they may have. I do not do baths or dress patients, but I will sit and talk to patients if I have the time to do so. I give injections that patients need and I can also start an IV if it is needed. One of the things that people think nurses do not do is take care of the patient. Many people think that the nurse gives the medicines and do the paper work, and that’s it. This is not the case with my job – I love talking with the patients and I will try to help out when I can. If I am not doing anything and have a few minutes, I will help some of the nursing assistants with a patient, as well.
When I was working, I would say that the overall satisfaction of my job was at an eight. Most of my days were filled with people who came to work happy and ready to work with the patients. However, the one thing I would change is the people who come to work in a nursing home and don’t want to be there. If you don’t care about the job, don’t come to work and spread your misery around.
I am a single mother and while I was in nursing school I had a small child and was pregnant with my second. It was difficult having a child while I was getting my nursing degree. But fortunately, my daughter was born in the summer so I did not miss class. My teachers were excellent about my situation and I had great support. Nursing requires at least two years of schooling that can be received at a community college.
I always wanted to work in the medical field in high school. When my mother decided going off to college was not for me, I decided to get my nursing degree instead. It was honestly not what I wanted to do with my life, but since I have been working in the field, I would not change it for anything. If I could turn back time, I would have gone on to medical school after I got my nursing degree.
Nursing is not the easy job that people may think it is. It is hard work and the schooling is hard. I thought that becoming a nurse would be just book work and then sitting back and watching the nursing assistants doing the busywork. I was wrong! Nurses have more responsibility than the nursing assistants because the life of the patient rest with the decisions that you make.
There are a few things that I have seen that are strange working in a nursing home. One of the strangest, and also the sweetest, was a couple who decided to have a sleepover in one of the rooms. They thought no one would catch them but janitors have to clean the rooms even if there is not a patient in them.
Every day is a new challenge. I get up and go to work because I know that I will be a friendly face that patients will see that they may not see in their family or friends. It is comforting to know that I bring a little sunshine into someone’s life.
One of the biggest challenges is when there is a nursing assistant who does not want to pull their weight. This makes my job harder because I have to go back and do the job they were supposed to do. The working world is brutal and you have to know what you want in life in order to succeed at your career.
Death is inevitable at a nursing home. This is the most stressful part of my job and something that I wish I didn’t have to deal with. However, it is okay if people see you cry over a death of a patient; it shows you care about what you do. When a patient passes away, because I know it will happen where I work, it pulls at my heart strings. I know I have had some form of contact with that patient and maybe there was something I could have done to help that person live longer. Then there are those who give you the smile in the morning or during the day after you fluff their pillow or brush their hair. All they want is the attention you give them.
I make about 15 dollars an hour and I work 40 hours a week. Starting salary is about $30,000 depending on where you work and the facility you work in. I would say I can manage my money, but I enjoy the raises I get.
I get two weeks of vacation a year and it is not enough! Seriously, I take my vacation spaced out and I manage it well.
I would tell my best friend to be sure you know what you are getting into. You have to have a heart to be a nurse.
JustJobs.com is a job search engine that finds job listings from company career pages, other job boards, newspapers and associations. With one search, they help you find the job with your name on it.Registered nurse image from Shutterstock
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The leaves are changing, the kids are back in school, and that familiar chill is in the air. You think it's the perfect time to look for a job, and it is! But are your job search fears preventing you from making that leap?
It's not uncommon to feel lost when embarking on your job search journey. After all, school teaches us everything except how to get a job. What should you put on your resume? What questions should you ask in an interview? How can you stand out in the hiring process when there's so much competition?
Are you feeling spooked yet?
Believe it or not, there's no need to be afraid of the job search process! You can land your dream job with the right tools and strategy. You can find a job that won't give you nightmares. Here are three spooky secrets every job seeker should know as they look for a job this fall.
1. An Effective Job Search Starts With An Interview Bucket List
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Despite your fears, you've decided to take the plunge and look for a new job. You might be asking yourself, "Where do I start?" The answer is simple: start by creating an interview bucket list.
An interview bucket list is a list of 10-20 companies you'd love to work for. Are you passionate about a company's products or services? Do you feel connected to its mission? Can you relate to its values and beliefs as an organization? If you answer "yes" to any of these questions, that company probably belongs on your interview bucket list.
Once you create an interview bucket list, you'll be able to conduct a targeted job search, one with direction and a foundation upon which everything else will be built. An interview bucket list helps you focus your job search and networking strategies on the right opportunities, making it easier to get your foot in the door at one of your dream companies.
2. Your Job Application Needs To Disrupt Hiring Managers
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In order to stand out in the hiring process, you need to disrupt recruiters and hiring managers. You accomplish this by doing two things: optimizing your resume and writing a disruptive cover letter.
A well-optimized resume includes keywords from the job description. This ensures your resume gets past the ATS and into the hands of the hiring manager. Once it's in front of the hiring manager, it needs to grab and keep their attention. Quantifying your work experience—adding numbers to your bullet points—will make you stand out from other applicants. Hiring managers will want to know more about you and your accomplishments, and that's how you land a phone interview.
Before that, though, a hiring manager will read your cover letter. To disrupt them, you need to write a disruptive cover letter (obviously!). A disruptive cover letter gives you the opportunity to tell a story about why you feel connected to the company you're applying for. It's that storytelling aspect that will stand out to hiring managers and compel them to pick up the phone and give you a call.
3. Employers Hire You Based On 3 Things
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You can't get hired unless you know what employers are assessing you on in the interview process. While your skills and expertise matter, companies actually hire for three things: personality, aptitude, and experience (in that order).
Most job seekers don't realize how important it is to demonstrate their personality, aptitude, and experience in an interview. You could have the right experience for a job, but if the hiring manager doesn't think your personality is a good fit for the company culture, you probably won't get a job offer.
Make sure you demonstrate your soft skills and learn how to answer behavioral interview questions to prove you're the best candidate for the job you're applying for, not just the most qualified.
Want To Learn More Job Search Secrets?
As you look for a job this fall, it might be helpful to know some more spooky secrets so you can get over your job search fears and finally take control of your career.
We know the job search process can be scary. However, it's important to get clear on what you want to do next and focus on conducting a strategic job search, or what we refer to at Work It DAILY as job shopping. This is the only way to effectively market yourself to employers. If they can't see exactly where and how you add value, then that's going to decrease your chances of landing the job.
The competition is fierce, and there are a lot of factors that are out of your control. But the one factor you can control is your job search strategy, the tools and tactics you use to land a job.
If you want to learn the secrets to conducting a strategic job search, sign up for our Job Search Bootcamp, a two-hour, on-demand video workshop that comes with a free workbook.
In this video workshop, you'll learn:
- How to use backchanneling to get directly to hiring managers.
- The secret to using a connection story to stand out against the competition.
- How social media can be your secret weapon to get job interviews.
- The resume format that is getting job seekers more job interviews.
- And, a lot more hacks for job search success!
Let us show you the secrets to getting a new, better-paying job you actually love. Sign up for our Job Search Bootcamp today.
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