Incredible Health Staff

Tips for Finding a Job After Nursing School

Mar 11 2020

New Nurse Graduates / Tips for Finding a Job

Finding nursing jobs for new graduates is no easy task. Graduates have to contend with a crowded field of applicants, outdated hiring practices along with a lack of acute experience.

But the nursing job search isn’t just about your years of experience or the letters after your name. There’s a lot more to do before searching for a nursing job. For example, you need to determine what you’re looking for and what makes you unique.

Amanda Murillo-Rodriguez, the nurse career expert behind The Résumé RX, provides nurses with resources and strategies to build their dream careers, from résumé templates to job search techniques. Amanda took over our blog to share her tips for finding nursing jobs for new graduates who are about to enter the job search.

What kind of prep should nurses do before beginning a new job search?
Nurses should research the community in which they plan to work so that they can get a good idea of what demographic their community serves and what sort of services are available. Nurses should also have a good idea of their personal priorities (hours, commute, family needs, for example) so that they can look for opportunities that align with those priorities.

What’s one thing new grad nurses can do to set themselves apart?
A new grad nurse who has had healthcare related work or volunteer experience will certainly stand out against others without it. I recommend getting a part-time job as a nursing assistant or patient care tech while in school, or participating in a medically-related community service activity. This shows your commitment and interest in the healthcare field.

How can a veteran nurse tell when it’s time to start thinking about their next job?
If a nurse is starting to lose compassion for their patients, or is quick to jump to conclusions or label patients, this can be a sign of compassion fatigue. Also, if a nurse is having a hard time compartmentalizing work and home life, and struggling to “turn off” their work brain when they’re home, this can be a sign of burnout or secondary trauma. Our jobs involve a lot of emotional energy, and sometimes that energy can be depleted to the point that we do not have enough of that energy leftover for ourselves or those we love.

What encouragement do you have for nurses who are feeling frustrated in their career or job search?
Try to take some time to practice positive mindset techniques. It can be easy to spiral out of control with obsession or frustration, but I find that those that stay positive while also being strategic about their job search have the most success.

Where can I find nursing jobs?

First, try joining Incredible Health, where nurses can create a profile for free to start receiving interview requests. Browse nursing jobs in our marketplace here.

There are also many job boards elsewhere online where you can browse open nursing positions. Here are a few examples:

Nurse Retirement and Savings: 3 Tips to Help Nurses Reach Their Financial goals

Mar 11 2020

Personal Finance / Savings Tips for Nurses

There’s no time like the present to get the most out of your savings, but it can be hard to know where to start. Cash savings, retirement, investments – what’s the most important thing to know? There are often unknowns that can make it feel hard to plan ahead, from how the market may change to how your cash flow may fluctuate. But financial health starts with taking accountability for what you can control right now. Financial adviser Elizabeth Husserl offers three tips for nurses to make it easier to save, and to make sure that you’re saving smart.

#1 Know Yourself First
The first step to building a successful savings plan is understanding your own goals and your own unique approach to wealth. Elizabeth recommends you start by reflecting on your short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals. Get out a pen and paper and take some time to answer these questions:

What adds to your sense of wealth?
What was your most recent experience of jealousy, and what did it teach you about what you long for?
What would your 90-year-old self tell you was the most important thing you did in your life?
If you had five years left to live, what would you most regret not doing?
Imagine you are financially secure and that you have enough money to take care of your needs, now and in the future. How would you live your life? Would you change anything?

#2 Know Your Cash Flow
Before you can build a plan for saving money, you need to understand how your money is moving in and out. Look at your earnings and your spending. Do you notice any patterns? Are there items in your cash flow that could be removed or reduced to help you better utilize your income? Determine which of your expenses are non-negotiable, and what nonessential purchases may be causing leaks. Removing nonessential expenses is the most powerful move you can make to increase your savings. Elizabeth recommends taking your savings out first before paying for the discretionary items.

Questions to ask yourself:

Do you really know where your money goes?
What was the last item you regretted purchasing?
Is your money being spent on the things that truly matter to you?

#3 Know the Best Vehicle for Your Goals
Some types of savings accounts and strategies are better suited for short-term goals like travel, while others make more sense for long-term goals like retirement or saving for college. There are four different distribution buckets where you can “park” your money to support your savings goals. The main differences between these options are how money goes in, how it grows, and how it’s taxed. Understanding each of
these distribution buckets can help you create an effective savings plan tailored to your specific goals.

Cash – This includes the money from your paycheck after taxes are taken out, your checking and savings accounts, and cash on hand. This money is taxed before it enters your account. The advantage to this savings bucket is liquidity, meaning you can access your money as soon as you need it. The downside is money in this bucket grows very slowly, with interest rates at 0.01% on average. One way to increase this growth is to open an account with an online bank, where interest rates are closer to 1.7% on average.

Ordinary Income – This bucket describes accounts where you receive a deduction once. Unlike cash, there is a penalty for removing this money early. Elizabeth encourages nurses to learn about and take advantage of employer matching plans, where they match your contributions to your account.

Tax Advantage – For these accounts, you pay your taxes when you put the money in, rather than when you take it out. All withdrawals are tax-free, making this an excellent vehicle for retirement and education savings.

Capital Gains – This bucket is best suited for mid-term goals. Your money grows more quickly in these accounts, because the yield is higher than a checking or savings account. Capital gains include stocks, rental properties, and mutual funds.

Now that you know what your savings goals are, what your cash flow is, and what the best vehicle is for your specific goals, you’re ready to save more and stress less! But if you still have questions, you can watch the full webinar for more details and a Q&A with Elizabeth Husserl.

How One Nurse Landed His Dream Job

Dec 02 2019

Most of us know how demoralizing the job search can be – how it feels to put yourself out there, imagine yourself creating a new future, and then…crickets.

I remember reaching out to Arinze because it was my first week at Incredible Health. He told me about how tough his job search had been, how the long commute had been getting to him. I could hear how defeated he felt to be putting so much effort into the job search and not get any responses. Then he told me: “Incredible Health changed my life!”

Within two weeks of finding Incredible Health – with Molly as his Talent Advocate! – Arinze had an offer for the role and shift he wanted. He went from commuting over three hours to working in his own neighborhood. That’s the kind of change that improves every aspect of your life. Nurses work hard. Their job search shouldn’t be.

Watch the short video to hear from Arinze about his experience. And if you want hospitals to apply to you instead of the other way around, take a few minutes to create a free career profile here.

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