CAREER PLANNING

Beginning a Job Search

Source of Job Leads
 “Graduates are asking
themselves, ‘How can I
help?’ rather than, ‘What do
I want?’ They are less
preoccupied with indulgence
and more focused on
reflection; they are feeling a
greater responsibility to
making a contribution to the
world...”

Rhema Ellis, NBC News (6/7/02)

 CAREER
A proactive experience of choice based on your
mission, guided by your vision, and grounded
by your values; frequently expressed in a
series of temporary work experiences called
jobs.
 THE RESILIENT, PROACTIVE AND
EMPOWERED NURSE ALWAYS THINK
CAREER AND NOT JOB!

HOW ABOUT YOU?

 THE THREE QUESTIONS YOU
SHOULD ASK YOURSELF BEFORE
BEGINNING A JOB SEARCH
1. WHO ARE YOU?
2. WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO OFFER?
3. WHO NEEDS IT?
 STEPS IN BEGINNING A JOB SEARCH

[Link]
YOUR MISSION

YOUR VISION

YOUR VALUES
 Your Mission

It is the evolving expression of what you

believe your life purpose to be.
• No longer than a single sentence
• Can be easily understood by a child
• Able to be recited by memory
• Perfectly suited to you
 Steps in Making a Mission
STEP 1 : What you do, in 3 action words
alleviate, involve, prepare, motivate, educate, etc
STEP 2 : What you stand for; principles & values
joy, service, independence, health, well-being, etc
STEP 3 : Whom you want to help, serve, inspire,etc
patient population, age group, nursing specialty, etc

Inspire, recognize and promote healing in

grieving adults.
 Your vision
It is a guidepost for your plans and goals, and wh
endeavour to be your future role or function.
Developing Your Vision:
• Write it down
• Take your vision outside your comfort zone
• Do not let stress be an obstacle
• Be patient
• Stay focused on the future
 Close your eyes and visualize
the answers to these questions:

• How do I want to see myself in the

future?
• What am I doing?
• Who am I with?
• Where am I and what is around me?
• What I feel around me and within me?
 My mission (what I do)
________, __________ and ___________

My values are (what I believe in)

_________ _________ and __________

To or for among or with (those whom you help)

_________ _________ and _________
 2. Select your Nursing Role

Basic work skills + Core nursing = Nursing role

  competencies
People Skills Clinical Competencies
-assessing,coaching, -Direct care nurse, Adult nurse Direct care nurse,
nurturing,advising, specialist, Telephone triage nurse, nurse manager,
Community health nurse, etc
listening,healing,etc InterpersonalCompetencies
or staff
Data & information skills -Advocate patient’s rights, Nurse development
psychotherapist, Beareavement specialist
-using [Link],
counselor Parish nurse,etc
systematizing, Managerial Competencies
negotiating, -Nurse Researcher, Case manager,
directing,planning etc Delegating
Concept and idea skills Educational Competencies
- Childbirth educator, Teach CPR,
- designing, empowering, Mentoring new graduates,etc
inventing, Technical Competencies
visualizing,etc. - Informatics nurse, Critical care
nurse, Performing wound care,etc
 3. Assess your level of Nursing
practice proficiency.
Level 1 : Novice – NO EXPERIENCE IN THE ROLE TO BE
PERFORMED
Level 2 : Advanced Beginner – HAS LIMITED RECURRING
EXPERIENCE IN PERFORMING ROLE
Level 3 : Competent – HAS ATLEAST TWO YEARS EXPERIENCE IN
PERFORMING SAME ROLE
Level 4: Proficient – HAS THREE TO FIVE YEARS EXPERIENCE IN
PERFORMING ROLE
Level 5 : Expert – MASTERY OF COMPLEX SITUATIONS, AFTER
FIVE OR MORE YEARS OF EXPERIENCE OF PERFORMING ROLE
 4. Know how to STANDOUT!
STANDOUT SO YOU DONT FADE OUT!
Consider the following:
• Experience, Credentials, Ongoing continuing
education, Professional Certification
• Transferable skills, Interpersonal Style and
Communication Skills
• Committees you have served on and Interests
5. Identify Needs and Resources

Identify professional, personal

&interpersonal skills, resources,
strengths and abilities necessary
TO LOOK QUALIFIED TO A POTENTIAL
EMPLOYER.
Consider the following:
• CURRENT TRANSFERRABLE SKILLS (INCLUDE NON-
NURSING WORK)
• PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL WEAKNESSES
(“SELLING” POINTS AND AREAS NEEDING
IMPROVEMENT)
• INSURANCE, LICENSURE, CERTIFICATION NEEDS AND
ISSUES
• POTENTIAL OBSTACLES, OUTER OBSTACLES AND
INNER BARRIERS
• TRAINING AND EDUCATION NEEDS
• PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL NETWORK
 6. Determine your risk potential and risk tolerance

PROFIT AND LOSS ANALYSIS : Overall risk to be

found in your selected career step after
weighing all the pros and cons.
CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING :
• PROS (reasons to pursue career)
• CONS (reasons not to pursue career)
• PROFIT (what I may gain from this career step)
• LOSS (what I may lose from this career step)
 7. Create a plan for your goal
State a clear goal, in specific and concrete
terms, using action verbs and outcomes that
can be measured.
TASKS (What actions are needed?)
TARGET DATES (By when?)
OUTCOMES(Evaluate the results and identify
what’s next)
REVISIONS(Develop new goals and/or tasks
needed)
 8. Job Search Strategies
a) Set aside schedule time each day to keep track of your
progress
b) Create space in your home to keep related supplies and
information even inspiring quotes and pictures to encourage
you
c) Start a filing system for each employer contact you have
made, NOTE time of contact, result of contact, your
impressions of the conversation and what the next step to
take is.
d) Think twice before sending resumes and query letters to
potential employers who may not be looking for what you
have to offer. Each letter you send is requires follow-up
contact of some sort.
e) Tell everyone in your professional and personal network
(online and in person) what kind of job you are seeking.
f) Use job posting within your present organization to generate
“leads” and possibilities; ask your peers and colleagues in
other organizations to do likewise for you.
g) Attend job fairs. Do not forget your resumes, dress
professionally and expect to be interviewed by potential
employers.
h) Peruse healthcare and nurse-specific classified ads in
newspapers and nursing publications.
i) Use the internet for employment information and job
listings.
 Sources of Job Leads
1. Networking : means developing a broad
list of contacts -- people you've met through
various social and business functions -- and
using them to your advantage when you look
for a job. People in your network may be able
to give you job leads, offer you advice and
information about a particular company or
industry, and introduce you to other so that
you can expand your network
 The networks around you:
• Work relationships, present and former
• School relationships, present and former
• Professional associations
• Conventions, seminars and conferences
• Relationships with your own healthcare
providers
• Family relatives, Friends and neighbours
• Health and sports clubs; social clubs
Networking skills and strategies:

• Give and get

• Be proactive and assertive
• Present yourself with confidence
• Formalize your Networking experience
• Increase your visibility
• Be an Active listener
• Consider everyone you meet as a contact
• Open windows when doors close
• SMILE 
 Sources of Job Leads
2. Listservs : These are mailing lists, a kind of
electronic bulletin board, Special interest
groups such as universities, associations and
professional organizations maintain listservs in
which you can post messages, ask questions,
give answers and track happenings.
 Sources of Job Leads
3. Usenet News Groups : These sites provide
information relevant to a specific interest you
may have in nursing or in healthcare, or a
personal interest as well.
 Sources of Job Leads
4. E-mail (Electronic Mail) : Using email makes it
possible to establish and maintain
relationships with nursing and healthcare
colleagues.
 Sources of Job Leads
5. Job/Career Fairs : Companies send employees got
to these fairs to meet and recruit top prospects.
Your goal is to prepare beforehand and identify the
key employers in attendance and then develop a
strategy for breaking through the clutter of
perhaps thousands of other job-seekers. And even
if the employer is not in the market for someone
with your mix of skills and experience, you can still
get your foot in the door through this method.
 Sources of Job Leads
6. Recruiters/Headhunters : Only use those professionals
who are employed by companies to screen and select
the most qualified candidates for positions the company
has open. Avoid any employment agency where the
applicant must pay the fee. Headhunters and recruiters
are great sources of job leads as long as job-seekers
remember, like real estate agents, that these
professionals work for the employer, not for you. And if
you don't have the qualities their clients are looking for,
they will not be interested in helping you get a foot in the
door.
 Sources of Job Leads
7. College Career/Alumni Offices : One of the greatest benefits of
a college degree -- besides the degree itself -- is joining an
extremely large network of people that share one important
element: your college or university. And regardless of the size of
your alma mater, chances are pretty good that there are other
alumni in your field who would be willing to help you advance
your career.
Contact the professionals from your alma mater's career
services and/or alumni office and begin reaping one of the
extended rewards of your college education. And if you're a
current student, get over to those offices today and take
advantage of all the services they offer!
 Sources of Job Leads
8. Want Ads : Newspaper classified ads were, at
one time, the main source of job leads for job-
seekers. Still, perusing want ads can be helpful
for some types of job-seekers, particularly those
seeking entry-level positions. It's worth noting,
though, that career experts have never placed
great value on job-seekers replying to want ads
because many times these positions have been
filled by the time the ads are published.
 Sources of Job Leads
9. Journals, Newsletters, and Professional
Publications : There are numerous reading
materials which list job vacancies, often in
specialist areas, such as professional
publications. Try other healthcare
publications, nursing journals and newsletters
of professional associations.
Thank you....