Make my plan The first nursing job playbook
You don't need to have your whole career figured out. Start with a few practical ways to explore your options and give a future employer something real to remember.
Try the hiring challenge3 quick decisions. Then a plan you can actually use.
01 / Step into the interviewer's shoes
Imagine you're listening to two applicants. Both care about becoming good nurses. Which answer gives you more to work with?
02 / Make it yours
Choose where you're starting. Your plan will update with 3 priorities, why they help, and how to get started.
Use the opportunity you already have
Ask questions and get to know the nurses, even on a unit you don't think you'll like. You can discover an unexpected interest or meet someone who opens a door—like the nurse who told me about the OR program. Your next clinical is a chance to learn about the job as well as patient care.
See what the work is really like
Shadowing means spending time alongside a nurse, observing their work and asking questions. You're there to learn, not take your own patient assignment. It helps you figure out whether you like the specialty, meet nurses on the unit, and show an employer you've explored the work. A shadow request simply asks whether you can arrange that visit.
Show interest. Meet people who share it.
A specialty nursing organization brings together nurses interested in the same area. Membership belongs on your résumé and can show you're serious about that specialty. A local chapter is a group that meets in your area: attending can introduce you to nurses, including people involved in hiring. Student memberships usually cost around $50 or less per year. Check eligibility, current dues, and any separate chapter fee.
Show you're willing to learn
A continuing education course—often called a CEU course—is focused learning on a nursing topic. Choose one related to the job you want, complete it, and explain what you learned. That gives an employer a concrete example of your commitment. This is especially useful when you're applying now or reapplying. Check the course's audience and cost before enrolling.
Your turn
Choose an answer in each dropdown. The 3 priorities and ready-to-use message below will update to fit where you are right now.
Borrow the words
Give your interest some evidence
Now put the relevant pieces on your résumé: clinical experience, shadow days, professional membership, and completed CEU courses. Choose what fits that particular application.
Use your own experience. Label observation as observation, keep patient details out, and don't imply independent nursing practice.
Start with a relevant clinical experience, school project, or completed learning activity. Write down what you actually did or observed and what it helped you understand.
03 / Remember what you're choosing
Keep your long-term interests in view. Also look closely at the support you'll have while you learn to be a nurse.
You're choosing a place to learn, too.
Build your future. Get support for right now.
Inside the Study Like a Nurse Membership, learn practical study strategies, work through nursing concepts in Make-it-Click Workshops, and find resources to help you understand what you're learning.
Explore the Study Like a Nurse Membership →YOUR NEXT STEP IN NURSING SCHOOL
Get practical study strategies, Make-it-Click Workshops, and resources to help nursing school make more sense inside the Study Like a Nurse Membership.
Get started today before this once in a lifetime opportunity expires.
