Job Applications – How many is too many?

I’ve always been an advocate of quality over quantity when it comes to job applications (especially in the nursing jobs and social care sectors), but how do you strike the balance between sending quality applications and maximising your chances of getting a job?

Unfortunately I don’t think there is one simple answer to this question. The answer is going to be personal to you and your situation. If you’re desperately looking for a nursing or social care job, aren’t currently working full time and you have the time to carefully plan and tailor each of your applications, the answer will be that you can manage more applications than someone working full time and only passively seeking the ideal position.

The key thing is not to overload yourself by trying to do too much. You have to consider the possibility that every application you make will attract an invitation to interview, which you will have to prepare for and book time off work to attend. Imagine if you’ve sent 10 separate applications, all of which attract the employer to contact you by phone or email – you now have 10 different contacts to manage, plus to decision whether to move forward with every single one.

Only you can decide how many job applications you want to send at any one time, but I would definitely say less is more. Don’t forget you can always follow up the ones you’ve sent but not heard back from by contacting the employer directly. Not only does this show you’re a committed job-seeking candidate, but also that you’re on top of your game by keeping records of communication and following up where you’ve not received a response.

How to get a job in domiciliary care

Domiciliary care is a career path that is open to anyone regardless of career experience. You can get a domiciliary care job at any point in your life from straight out of full time education to later in life after several different jobs.

It’s an incredibly rewarding job to have, as long as you have a genuine passion for helping others. It can be extremely hard work at times and you will no doubt encounter all types of people who have very different needs, so if you don’t have a genuine passion for the job you will quickly find the work unfulfilling and stressful.

When recruiting for domiciliary care jobs, recruiters often look for people who will be suited to the work rather than experienced social care or healthcare assistants. You will need to have a patient attitude, a positive approach, attention to detail and good communication skills. Of course, if you do have healthcare or social care experience then that’s a bonus, but it’s much more important to have the right approach to domiciliary care.

When you’re applying for a domiciliary care job, make sure you highlight your personal qualities in the covering letter, or in a section on your CV. Showing you’re aware that approach and attitude are as important as experience will definitely show the recruiter you understand the role. If you don’t hear back from an employer or recruiter straight away, feel free to follow it up with after a suitable length of time, say 2 -3 working days. It shows you’re a committed candidate serious about finding work in domiciliary care.

How to secure a job in Nursing or Social Care

You might think that getting a job in Nursing or Social Care is relatively easy during a recession, after all, everyone still needs access to healthcare services both acute and in the community. Unfortunately that’s not always the case, especially in the public sector where empty posts are being left vacant, agency staff are seeing their hours reduced or cut completely and specialist nursing posts are being lost.

However, you can still be assured that there will be nursing vacancies available in your local area in the public, private and charity sectors, they just might not be in exactly the speciality you pictured yourself working in. This is the age of compromise in job hunting, and any nursing experience is good experience, even if you have to take reduced hours or a bank position. The most common nursing vacancies advertised across all sectors call for adult qualified (RGN) nurses, usually with 1 or more years experience, but feedback from recently qualified nurses indicates that newly qualified nurses are being accepted for some of these positions on the strength of their application and if the department can afford to offer a preceptorship. Bank positions are common for newly qualified RGNs to gain some experience, though not ideal for making the transition from student nurse to qualified professional because there may not always be the support you would expect from a permanent position.

The next most commonly advertised vacancy is for mental health (RMN) nurses, and there are vacancies regularly advertised for RMNs within nursing and EMI homes from both local and nationally run care home groups. There are also occasionally acute mental health jobs advertised as well as community mental health jobs such as with the local CAMHS team. Learning disability (RNLD) nurse jobs are also available in similar locations – residential homes regularly require RNLDs, and you can choose whether to work for a private company or the local council as both organisations operate residential facilities.

Despite a nationally known shortage of midwives, it’s still the most difficult sector to get a job in as a newly qualified professional. Many people who want to eventually become midwives do an adult nursing course first and then complete an 18 month conversion course to become a dual registered nurse and midwife, which leaves their employment options more open and increases their chances of employment. There are still midwife jobs available in the public sector, but many midwives are now widening their job search to include the charity and private sectors. Healthcare charities such as Medecins Sans Frontieres employ midwives with UK and Irish midwifery registrations to travel around the world working in different countries.

For any nurses and midwives who feel working in the UK is not for them, there is always the option of moving the Middle East, Australia or New Zealand. These three countries in particular are anxiously recruiting for all types of healthcare professionals, but it’s advisable to work in the UK when you first qualify before applying for a vacancy abroad. For band 5 equivalent nursing positions it’s common for employers to request 2 or more years experience, for a band 6 equivalent it can be 5 or more years experience. Moving abroad for work is a whole lifestyle change, but the benefits are generous if you want the experience and a guaranteed contract term. In the Middle East for example a common package of benefits with a 2 year guaranteed contract includes tax free salary, free furnished accommodation (or allowance if living with your spouse), paid for return flights to the UK, medical insurance / cover and generous annual leave entitlement.

While nursing candidates are having to widen their search for employment, qualified social workers and care managers are finding an increase in the number of vacancies available to them. Newly qualified social workers in particular are in demand and usually command a starting salary in the region of £25,000 per year. Care managers are also in demand, and jobs are available to wide range of qualified candidates, both qualified nurses and experienced social care professionals, but in both cases a management qualification is expected. Aiming for a care manager job should be a long term career goal rather than a short term expectation. You will be required to have several years experience in employment in a deputy manager or team leader role in addition to your management qualification before you could expect to be hired as a care manager.

However, no matter how many applicants you think may be going for the same vacancy as you, and no matter how unlikely you think you are to actually get the job, the key to getting your application noticed is to tailor it to that particular vacancy. Analyse the person specification and the job description to match up the requirements with the skills and experience you have. Use this list to tailor your CV by drawing attention to the experience you have that’s required for the job. Always make sure you highlight your relevant skills and revise your application until it’s crystal clear when reading it that you’re the ideal applicant.

On Nurses.co.uk we provide a career resource centre that has a whole range of articles about writing your CV, personal statement and covering letter if you’re a newly qualified healthcare professional, and how to make the most of your placement experience when applying for your first job in the profession.  You can also read first hand interviews with current nursing students as well as qualified nurses in all areas of nursing. We also ask recruiters to contribute to this section with helpful insights into the recruitment industry and how to make yourself a successful candidate. Nursing Careers

References:

1. RCN: Decline in Scottish nursing posts is bad news for patients 30.08.2011
2. RCN warns of rising pressure as staff cuts mount 03.10.2011
3. Lack of specialist nurses affects patients care 13.04.2011
4. Patients ‘at risk from midwife shortage’ 15.09.2011
5. MSF Midwife jobs 05.10.2011
6. Top questions asked by candidates about moving to a nursing or midwifery job in the UAE 20.09.2011
7. How to write a nursing personal statement for your first nurse job application 28.10.2010

Care Manager jobs the most abundant right now

We current have more Care manager jobs than other job type advertised on Sociacare.co.uk, so that lead me to write an article yesterday drawing people’s attention to the fact that care manager jobs are the most advertised right now.

Becoming a care manager isn’t as inaccessible as you might initially think. Obviously there are requirements for leadership and management qualifications, but if you’ve got several years experience in social care, there’s no reason why you couldn’t undertake that professional development and apply to be a care manager.

You will definitely need either nursing or social care experience. If you’re applying to be a nursing home manager, then a current NMC pin, recent supervisory experience and a management award such as the RMA, NVQ 4 in Leadership and Management for Care, or the QCF Diploma Level 5 in Leadership and Management for Care are all acceptable. If you want to be a care manager of a facility that doesn’t offer nursing care, or doesn’t require you to be a qualified nurse then you will usually need the NVQ Level 3 or QCF Diploma Level 3 in Health and Social Care instead of a nursing qualification. You will still need to achieve a management qualification from the list above and have recent supervisory experience before you can apply.

However, none of those professional development awards are unachievable. There are many organisation, particularly within the charitable and private sectors that will support employees by assisting with partial or full funding of courses such as these. However, if you’re already qualified, you can check out the full list of care manager jobs posted on Socialcare.co.uk by following the link.

Middle East Nursing Jobs – could you move to the UAE?

I often see Middle East Nurse Jobs posted on Nurses.co.uk, I wonder how many of you would consider taking a nursing job in the region? There are so many great UAE Nursing Jobs currently advertised with us that I know if any of you NMC registered nurses wanted to go, you probably could.

As many of you will have noticed, this week I’ve been working closely with Alex at Green Care Management to promote their UAE Nursing Jobs, in particular in Dubai and Abu Dhabi (you can check out their nursing and midwifery jobs in the United Arab Emirates here). The benefits are without a doubt impressive, and the security of going with an experienced agency is definitely important, but what are the pros and cons of making the decision to emigrate for the sake of your nursing or midwifery career?

Pros

• Tax free salary at the same or higher pay point than currently available in the UK, the main motivation some would say
• Guaranteed length of contract
• Free furnished accommodation or allowance if you’re going on a spouse visa and intending to live with your husband / wife
• Return flights paid for, usually once or twice a year depending on the deal in your contract
• Annual leave, as you would expect
• UK interviews face to face with the employer, so you know exactly what to expect before you make the decision
• Support from the agency who received your application right up to you deciding to go, and often beyond that as well
• Often the roles are based in brand new hospitals with new facilities and resources available.
• Plenty of other English speaking staff, and many other UK nurses who have made the same move as you
• Still maintain your NMC registration, providing you meet the conditions of course

Cons

• Leaving the UK, the NHS or private practice and stepping into a new working environment
• A new country and a different culture
• Not being near your family and friends
• Register with the United Arab Emirates Nursing and Midwifery Council, which may be an extra expense

So it would appear from that brief analysis that there are more pros than cons to moving to the UAE for a nursing job, but no one will deny that the list of cons contains some pretty big ones that need considering before any decision is made. If it’s something you’ve always wondered about but never been brave enough to investigate, now could be just the time for you. No one’s going to force you into going if you get through the process and decide it’s not for you, so you should feel comfortable about making an enquiry and taking it from there. You never know, it could be the best thing you’ve ever done, especially if you’re finding nursing in the UK a bit of struggle right now and are looking for a change. Enquire here.

A new open approach to recruiting nurses and midwives on the social scene

If you follow our Facebook page for Nurses.co.uk (if you don’t, like it now!) you will have noticed today that the lovely Alex from Green Care Management and I have started work on a new idea! As usual, simple ideas are the best and hopefully this is a pretty awesome idea for anyone looking for nursing jobs or midwifery jobs.

It’s common for recruiters to be pretty tight-lipped when it comes to releasing details about jobs into the public arena, and that’s usually for fear of a competitor ‘reverse gazumping’ them and stealing their client by pitching a better deal. However, in this increasingly competitive job market the game rules are changing, and in order to attract the best candidates, recruiters are having to work harder and crucially, release more details about the jobs they advertise.

So for any recruiter who is brave enough to do so, I am offering them to chance to be featured on our nurses Facebook page and have a dedicated note to a particular job vacancy shown on the page. They will be required to post an in-depth job description, give details of salary, benefits and working pattern (if known). Candidates will be able to freely access every detail available about a particular job before deciding whether or not to make an application.

This is a huge step forward for clarity in recruiting, and I’m so proud that we’ve made the first step. To check out the nursing and midwifery positions that are available through Green Care, you can read the note about nursing and midwifery jobs in the UAE on Facebook. This is a sign of things to come – there is as much detail there as anyone could expect, and the contact details for the recruiter are shown as well.

In order to continue this trend, it’s important that candidates have a voice. Tell recruiters what it is that convinces you to apply for a job online. Please answer this poll – choose as many answers as you like. Your feedback is really important to us, we can’t do it without you and after all, we’re here to provide a service to you the job seeker!

RCN’s new online training for HCAs nominated for award

The Royal College of Nursing recently launched a freely available online learning resource for all new healthcare assistants across the UK, and it has been nominated for a prestigious e-Learning Award.

The resources was constructed with all new HCAs in mind and is based on the NHS Knowledge and Skills framework in order to ensure anyone working as a healthcare assistant has access to suitable induction material. It’s available online and is free of charge to anyone, but as a healthcare assistant working in either the NHS or private sector there are National Occupational Standards that can be printed off as a checklist and completed as you develop your working knowledge with other healthcare and nursing colleagues.

It’s designed to be used alongside your induction at your new place of work as a healthcare assistant, but equally could be undertaken by an experienced HCA or nursing auxiliary in order to show a recognised standard of competency.

If you’re interested in studying through this system called First Steps, follow the link to being your learning journey.

Never applied for a job on a nursing job board before? Here’s a helping hand

If you’re someone who is used to using the internet on a regular basis but never before applied for a job on a nursing or social care job site before, here’s an introduction to how it works and how you can make the process work for you.

Applying for nursing and social care jobs online is now such common place that you will rarely ever fill in a paper application any more, but if you’re not familiar with how it all works, it can appear a little bit daunting. In this article I’m going to give you an insight into how it all works and give you hints about how to be successful using it.

First off, when you arrive at any of our sites whether that’s Nurses.co.uk for Nursing jobs, Socialcare.co.uk for Social Worker Jobs, Healthcarejobs.ie for Healthcarejobs in Ireland or Carehomejobs.com for Care Home Jobs, they all work in a similar way. If you’ve not registered with us before you will need to do so in order to apply for any of our jobs. Go to the Sign Up link on any of the sites to register, your login will work across any sites in our network (check out the logos at the top of this blog for which sites they are). Simply follow the instructions all the way through to uploading your CV and once you click upload CV, you’re done. You can now apply for any jobs on any of our sites. You can only apply for a maximum of 10 jobs in a day, and that limit is part of our anti-spam policies, plus it’s not good practice for candidates to manage a potential 10 interview requests at any one time.

So you’ve worked on your candidate profile, uploaded your CV and now you’ve found a job you really like the sound of. Simply click apply and you will see a cover letter box appear at the bottom of the page. You can write a message to the recruiter in this box, and while your CV and career profile details will automatically be sent with your cover letter, it’s a good idea to give the recruiter a summary of your experience and why you’d be a great candidate for that job in the cover letter space.

When you’re happy with everything you’ve written you simply click submit. Your CV, career profile information and cover letter are automatically bundled into one email that goes directly to the recruiter who posted that vacancy. They are given your contact details and will either contact by you by phone or email, so make sure you are monitoring both!

Unfortunately if you don’t get a reply within 1 working week, it’s likely you haven’t been successful, but that doesn’t mean you can’t follow it up with the company you sent your application to just to be certain. It’s always good to get feedback about the applications you make so that you know how to improve for the future. In order to find out the email address of the recruiter that received your application, simply check your email inbox because each time you apply, a copy of the application is sent directly the email address you registered with. If you haven’t received a copy be sure to check your junk folder in case it’s ended up there.

If you would like more details about this and to find out more, check out our careers toolbox article – Here’s how to find and apply for nursing jobs.

New school year and new jobs coming online for nursing and social care

With the last bank holiday of the year in the rear view mirror, that means it’s time for the kids to go back to school and time for healthcare recruitment to be given a new injection of life. We usually see that approximately 25% more jobs are posted this month than at any other time during the year, and that candidates have a similar heightened response by making more applications.

So, make it your aim this month to apply for the jobs that suit your experience with an updated CV and career profile. We’ve always championed the tailored CV & application approach (anyone not familiar can read this nursing CV article) because it’s more likely to be successful for you in getting an interview invitation. This is especially important during the busy month of September because you’ll be competing with more qualified applicants than at any other time. You need to make your application stand out from the crowd, and I don’t mean by making your CV background pink or writing it in a massive font.

You can make your CV eye catching by simply laying out the answers to the questions that a recruiter has in their mind when they read your CV. They want to know the following things when reading your CV:

1. Is this person qualified to do the job?
2. Do they have the right professional registration? (if required)
3. Do they have the necessary experience and professional development qualifications?
4. What additional skills do they have that could be useful?
5. Can I contact them by phone or email, or both?

You’d be surprised how many CVs we see that don’t provide simple, clear answers to those questions. Don’t make it difficult for a recruiter to figure out answers to these key questions, lay it out on a plate for them. Combine all that information into a section at the top of your CV, directly below your contact details – which should definitely include a phone and a email address. Use bullet points if necessary rather than a large block of text, use spacing in conjunction with text to make it easier to digest quickly. If your CV answers those 5 questions, it’s highly likely you’ll be selected for interview, and once you get through to interview you are more in control of the process and there you can promote all the reasons why you’re great for the job. Follow these links for nurses jobs, social care jobs and social worker jobs.

New QCF Diplomas replace NVQs in Health and Social Care

Well, I say new, I feel a little behind the times because somehow this changeover happened in January and until now has passed me by! The NVQ qualifications in Health and Social Care have been replaced by QCF Diplomas in Health and Social Care. Thanks to the lovely people at W&P Training for pointing to their site for more info (they supply these and many other courses, so if you’re looking for training in social care, try them!)

You can now undertake a QCF Diploma Level 2, 3 or 5 in Health and Social Care instead of the NVQ 2,3 and level 4 in Leadership and Management for Care Services. There are more details about the changes on the skills for care site, it explains how the new QCF diplomas will replace the old NVQ system, and how the new diplomas are awarded. If you’re interested in studying for a qualification in care, this is the place to look.