Want to start in a specialty as a new grad? Here's how!

Do you have your heart set on a specific specialty you want to work in post-nursing school?

Did you fall in love with Labor and Delivery, or the Cardiothoracic ICU – and you just can’t picture yourself anywhere else?

If your clinical instructors, peers, or nurse friends are telling you that you HAVE to work 2 years in med-surg first – that is their opinion, but it’s not the truth. 

YOU CAN get hired into a specialty area right out of nursing school. But – it does take some strategy and perseverance to increase your odds of landing that job.

Here are my tips to landing a job in a specialty area as a brand new grad!

• Network
• Do not underestimate the power of your connections. I HIGHLY recommend networking in nursing school early on to start establishing connections that can help you in the future. In fact, I wrote an entire workbook  on how to successfully leverage nursing school to get your first nursing job!
• What exactly does networking look like?
• Introducing yourself to unit leadership
• Leaving the manager a thank you note
• Making connections with the staff on the units
• Ask a nurse you’ve worked with during clinicals if you can connect via email (you can reach out when job searching – and they can forward you on to their manager)
• Ask your clinical instructor if they have any connections with leaders or recruiters at the hospital they can introduce you to
• Be proactive in your networking. If you are doing your clinicals on a med-surg unit, walk yourself over to L&D after your shift and see if the manager is there. Or leave a note for someone to pass on. “Hi my name is Sarah and I’m a nursing student with St. Mary’s. I just wanted to introduce myself and share my interest in working in this department after I graduate. Do you have any tips for a new grad to get a job in L&D?”. You may need to do things outside of your comfort zone, but it WILL pay off!  
• Shadow
• Many hospitals give students or prospective employees the ability to shadow on a unit. You just need to get out there and find out how.
• During your clinicals, find out who to reach out to in order to set this up.
• Use your connections to find a nurse who works on the unit you want to shadow on, or ask unit leadership.
• In the pandemic, shadowing may not be possible for every organization. But you can certainly ask to get a better feel for the unit, and use this opportunity to network even more.
• Email the manager after you shadow. Thank them, share what you liked about the unit. Tell them you’d love to work there.

• Get a Job (or volunteer!)
• Working at the hospital you want to be a nurse at can HIGHLY increase your odds of getting an RN job there.
• If you can get a job as a nurse tech or unit secretary on your DREAM unit - that is amazing!
• But getting your foot in the door at the organization in some capacity (even doing volunteer work) gives you so much opportunity to build your (awesome) reputation and network with the right people.  
• Do Your Clinicals There
• If you have ANY opportunity to pick where you do your clinicals (especially your preceptorship/leadership rotation) pick that dream specialty area! That experience will be so helpful to put on your resume and speak to in your interviews.
• Apply
• Be persistent and apply to your preferred specialty. Does it say 6 months of experience preferred? Apply anyway. Get your name out there.

• Personalize Your Resume & Cover Letter
• Make it clear this is where you want to be. Customize your professional summary in your resume to state this, and speak to it more in-depth in your cover letter. In your cover letter, talk about being grateful for the opportunity to apply, why this is your dream specialty, and how you’ll contribute and why you’re a great fit.
• Convince them that they need to interview you!
• Need some cover letter guidance? Check out this example letter and fill-in-the-blank template to guide you!  
• Be Ready to Explain
• Once you land the interview in your dream specialty – be prepared. Be able to clearly and effectively articulate why this is where you know you want to be. Speak to your strengths and why you know you’ll contribute positively and be a great employee for them.

These are all actionable things that you can do to increase your likelihood of starting in your dream specialty.

But…. sometimes you still may not land that job right away. Don’t be discouraged. It’s often the first nursing job that’s hardest to get, and after you get a little experience the doors of opportunity open up and it’s easier to transition to exactly where you want to be.

My advice? Hang in there, learn everything you can, and work on making yourself an even better candidate. You will have plenty of time to move around in your nursing career – and experiencing different areas can also help provide valuable perspectives and skills.