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chapter 14 | Your Nursing Careerr 231 CikguOnline
table 14-2
Do’s and Don’ts of Internet Job Searching
Do Don’t
Focus on selling yourself: “My clinical practicum in Use many “I”s in the message: “I saw your job posting in Nursing
the ICU at a major health center and my strong Spectrum, and I have attached my resume.”
organizational skills fit with the entry-level ICU
position posted in Nursing Spectrum.”
Use short paragraphs; keep the message short. Long messages probably will not even be read.
Use highlighting and bullets. Forget to format for e-mail.
Use an appropriate e-mail address: DKWhitehead431@.... Use a silly or inappropriate e-mail: smartypants@...or
partyanimal@...
Use an effective subject: ICU RN position. Use subjects used by computer viruses or junk e-mailers: Hi,
Important, Information.
Send your message to the correct e-mail address. Assume; if the address is not indicated, call to see what
person/address is appropriate.
Send messages individually. Send a blast message to many recipients; it may be discarded
as junk mail.
Treat e-mail with the same care you treat a traditional Slip into informality—remember spelling and grammar checks.
business application
Keep your resume “cyber-safe.” Remove your standard contact information and replace it with
your e-mail address
Change the format of your resume: save your word Assume that everyone is using the same word processing
document as an HTML file or an ASCII text file program
Adapted from Job Hunt: The Online Job Search Guide. Retrieved May 13, 2008, from http://www.job-hunt.org/

■ Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Most the position before the interview. Be specific in
interviewers want to gain insight into your long- relating your contributions to the position.
term goals as well as some idea whether you are Emphasize your accomplishments. Be specific,
likely to use this position as a brief stop on the and convey that, even as a new graduate, you are
path to another job. It is helpful for you to know unique.
some of the history regarding the position. For ■ What are your salary requirements? You may
example, how long have others usually remained be asked about minimum salary range. Try to
in that job? Your career planning should be find out the prospective employer’s salary range
consistent with the organization’s needs. before this question comes up. Be honest about
■ What are your educational goals? Be honest your expectations, but make it clear that you are
and specific. Include both professional educa- willing to negotiate.
tion, such as RN or bachelor of science in ■ “What if” questions. Prospective employers are
nursing, and continuing education courses. If increasingly using competency-based interview
you want to pursue further education in related questions to determine people’s preparation for a
areas, such as a foreign language or computers, job. There is often no single correct answer to
include this as a goal. Indicate schools to which these questions. The interviewer may be assess-
you have applied or in which you are already ing your clinical decision-making and leadership
enrolled. skills. Again, be concise and specific, focusing
■ Describe your leadership style. Be prepared to your answer in line with the organizational
discuss your style in terms of how effectively you philosophy and goals. If you do not know the
work with others, and give examples of how you answer, tell the interviewer how you would go
have implemented your leadership in the past. about finding the answer. You cannot be expect-
■ What can you contribute to this position? ed to have all the answers before you begin a
What unique skill set do you offer? Review your job, but you can be expected to know how to
SWOT analysis as well as the job description for obtain answers once you are in the position.