Nursing Recruiters 2020 Q&A Panel

On Friday, October 2nd 2020, The Center for Career & Professional Development, in partnership with the Davis & Henley College of Nursing, hosted a Virtual Nursing Career Forum which featured two separate events (1) A Q&A session with nursing recruiters from Yale New Haven Health, Hartford Healthcare, and NYU Langone Health and (2) A Virtual Career Fair, hosted through Handshake, which featured 17 employers including Northwell Health, Hackensack Meridien, and Rutgers Nurse Residency Program. Over 150 nursing students from the Davis & Henley College of Nursing and St. Vincent’s College attended the events, networked with recruiters, and gained valuable insight into their opportunities after graduation.

Some of the advice provided during the Q&A session included that students who are seeking post-graduate fellowship opportunities should start the search process early! Fellowships begin to be posted shortly after the new year. For full-time positions, they advise to begin applying about 2-3 months in advance, but it is never too early to begin establishing a professional network. Additional insight included that interviews tend to be behaviorally-based: they ask questions about past experiences to determine the type of care you would provide as a future nurse. Our recruiters encouraged students to utilize keywords within the resume in order to pass through various applicant tracking systems and to continue to build relationships with current clinical supervisors. The most sought-after skills for new nurses are interpersonal skills as it pertains to patient care and interactions with co-workers, ability to network (recruiters tend to pay attention to referrals and who participates in University-sponsored events), and the ability to articulate ones’ core values. Some of the most common mistakes nursing students make is not including “unrelated” healthcare job experiences in their resume; these experiences tell a tremendous story about your skills and knowledge that you can apply to your future nursing career. They ended the session with pieces of advice for the audience which included to keep your options open as it pertains to entry-level opportunities, be willing to pivot, find an organization where you can grow internally, and always maintain a positive attitude as you prepare to enter the workforce during these uncertain times.

From all of us at SHU, we thank you nursing recruiters for your partnership!