'How can students make themselves more employable?'

It is clear to everybody that being a student is a transient state. For three years we are gaining the knowledge and the skills to be able to become competent and professional nurses. As that time grows closer our minds of course start to think about things like employment and the sort of locations which we would like to work in.

During ‘Realise Your Potential in Nursing Week’ I want to talk about some of the small ways in which we students can make ourselves more employable and how our universities can help.

I am currently halfway through my training and the subject of employment has just starting to enter our vocabulary.

I have often mentioned the student services department in relation to money and learning support, but they also can serve a useful function in getting students adept at writing a CV or preparing for interviews.

On the subject of CVs, we can’t just expect to give a piece of paper with their details and education history to a potential employer and be satisfied.

Instead, we are encouraged to keep a documented portfolio spanning the entirety of our three years in training. This may be certificates that you’ve achieved at learning days or it could be letters of praise from a patient.

What it most definitely should include is a collection of personal reflections on times in practice where you have felt that you’ve excelled but also where you have learnt from things that you have done differently.

When thinking about your portfolio, try to add some other bits of flourish that will certainly help. For example, why not sign up to the employment bureau and get some part-time work around the university? You could volunteer to be a student representative or volunteer for the St John’s ambulance. All these things will show that you have a determination and are also willing to do more than just the minimum.

Use everything available to you, they’re there to help.

Good luck!

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