Taking a break for Christmas

I didn’t want to leave without saying anything, so I just wanted to let you know that I’m taking a well earned break from everything over Christmas and I’ll be back with you in the new year.

Happy Christmas everyone, I hope you get some time off somewhere to enjoy it!

End of an Era for Wake to Wogan – we’ll miss you Terry

I couldn’t let this momentous day pass without acknowledging the passing of this national institution. Wake up to Wogan has been on my radio since my first day at primary school, secondary school, the morning trip into uni and the commute into work. There are so many people who will be at a loss without Terry to ease them gently into a morning, and I will be one of them.

I’m sure Chris Evans will do a brilliant job, but by his own admission – he could never replace the great Sir Terry Wogan. It’s going to be shock to the system in January when Terry is no longer there. So I would just like to wish him all the very best, and I’m fully intending to get up early on a Sunday to listen to his new show.

Demand for Nurses.co.uk iPhone app is already 30% of nurses

Nurses.co.uk has become the first healthcare job board to offer an iPhone app. The app allows jobseekers to search and apply to thousands of nursing jobs on the move.

Matt Farrah, co-director, says the iPhone marks a sea-change in how users approach the web: “Mobile browsing isn’t new. But being able to do it well and successfully is. iPhone has been the first gadget to take mobile web usage to the mass market. What it’s achieved in 2 years has eclipsed everything else attempted previously.”

The Nurses.co.uk iPhone application allows searching by location, salary or job title. It even harnesses the iPhone’s in-built GPS system for local searching.

Sarah Gill, marketing manager for Nurses.co.uk, explained how they are looking at a growing percentage of technology-aware nurses: “A poll run recently on the NMC website asked about mobile usage. While it showed that 70% don’t surf the internet on their phones, we remain really excited about the 30% who might. That’s a lot of nurses and it’s also a group that will grow in number.”

Matt explained why it’s important to lead the market: “As a jobs board we’re meant to be smart when it comes to technology. But this is also smart business. Orange are now offering the iPhone on its network, and Vodafone to shortly follow suit. Even Tesco have announced handset sales!

“The opportunities for customers to get hold of an iPhone are increasing. Not only that – iPhones are simply brilliant gadgets. We’re thrilled to be a part of it, and the first in our market!”

Nurses.co.uk’s ‘Nursing Jobs’ application is available for free download from iTunes by searching for ‘nursing jobs’.

More details: http://www.nurses.co.uk/iphone.html

Free Nursing Jobs iPhone app now available!

Nurses.co.uk has become the first job board in its sector to offer an iPhone app. The app is now available for FREE and it will allow you to search over 8000 recent nursing and healthcare jobs, save the relevant ones, email them to yourself or apply there and then.

Download it for FREE now!

The NHS is an ‘easy target’ for thieves

The BBC has reported today that an inquiry is to be launched into the level of theft in the NHS. Items that have gone missing range from patients’ belongings to equipment from a mobile scanner unit and staff laptops containing patient information. The BBC reports that there have been 57 “high value claims over the last five years” (in excess of £20,000).

The NHS Security Management Service is reported to believe that the underlying cause is that so many NHS sites are open to the public for anyone to come and go as they please. Jill Atherbell, who is overseeing the investigation, accepts there is a limit to what can be done, but says:

I think like any organisation open to the public there is that risk something can be stolen.We have heard of ambulances having sat-navs and equipment stolen out the back while crews treat people on the street and laptops going from hospitals.

Get your nursing application in now – take advantage of the Christmas slow down

Plenty of job seekers have put their nursing job search on hold for the Christmas period, but that’s a good thing because now is your chance. With fewer people applying, you have a much better chance of being top of the pile.

Just stick to the golden rules of putting the right amount of effort into your application, tailoring your CV and preparing for the interview and you’ll be in with the best chance you can have.

Check out other posts on this blog or my youtube channel for all the info you need about the perfect application, CV and interview.

Daily Tip #6: Covering Letter to the Senior Nurse / Employer

A great covering letter can influence whether or not a recruiter moves on to read your CV, so you should whet their appetite with a few tasty details. Make sure you mention if you are a qualified nurse / registered healthcare professional and which body you are registered with, how many years experience you have and what your current specialist area is. If you’re a student nurse, you can mention which area you are hoping to move into eventually and what you career goals are.

Also make sure you include a few sentences about what a great worker you are, your ethics, commitment etc etc. That should get ‘em dribbling!

Daily Tip #5: Keep your CV under two pages long

Your CV is probably the most useful tool you have, and one of the only ways a recruiter or employer will get a full overview of who you are and what your experience is. However, it’s quite likely they don’t have time to read your full life history, so you should take care to limit your CV to a maximum of 2 A4 pages. Follow my CV writing video for more info how to present your details, and which areas you cut down on.

Daily Tip #4: Spell and Grammar check your CV

It’s really simple – employers and recruiters don’t look favourably on spelling and grammar errors. So check, re-check and then get someone else to read it in case you’ve missed anything. Don’t throw away your chance because you didn’t proof read properly.

Daily Tip #3: Plan the perfect personal statement

Your personal statement is one of your biggest assets. The difference between a great one and average one can be the difference between you getting the job / place and not, so it’s worth putting the time into it. A good idea is to draft out some ideas of elements you want to include, don’t worry about the order first off. Think about why you want to apply for that branch of nursing (student or NQ), what qualities you have that suit the role / course, what experience (voluntary / personal / paid) do you have that’s relevant. Then draft it out into a logical order, give examples of practical applications of your skills and most of all let your passion shine through. After that, proof read and proof read again!