So, you’ve been a nurse for a while, and now you want to leave the bedside. But how can you stand out?
A remote position for you is out there! Here are 3 tips that will help you on your journey.
Bonus Tip: Maintain An Abundance Mentality
An abundance mentality is a belief that you have what it takes to be successful, and that there are enough resources available for you to do so. This mindset drives the positivity needed to help you land your first remote nursing job.
Scarcity mindset mantras:
- “There are hardly any remote jobs for nurses, and the ones that exist are probably taken”
- “Everyone else wants to leave the bedside, too”
- “I don’t have any remote experience”
Abundance mindset mantras:
- “There are plenty of remote jobs out there for me”
- “Lots of nurses want to remain at the bedside and have no desire to work remotely”
- “I have the skills it takes to change my career”
1. Demonstrate Your Trustworthiness
Ultimately, hiring managers want an employee they can trust to carry out the job description for their remote nursing job.
- Use LinkedIn. Create a LinkedIn account. Even without tons of connections, posing yourself as a nurse with a professional online presence will make any manager feel fortunate to have you on their team. Check out the Nurse Fern LinkedIn Light Up Course to learn more about optimizing your profile for remote nursing jobs.
- Get a referral. Use your personal or professional network to strike up a genuine conversation with someone that has a remote job. Many jobs offer a monetary referral incentive. If your network trusts they can put their name behind you, then it’s a win-win.
- Personalize your resume. Incorporate appropriate keywords from the job posting into your resume. Don’t let your resume get overlooked and thrown in the virtual trash because it didn’t play nice with the applicant tracking system (ATS). The Nurse Fern Resume Template has you covered!
What if I don’t have the experience or qualifications mentioned in the job description?
For example, if the remote nursing job description says “utilization review experience” and you genuinely don’t have any, you should avoid lying in your resume. However, you can include this in your professional summary at the top of your resume by saying “seeking utilization review experience”. That way the statement is truthful, and the keywords will be picked up in the algorithm.
2. Highlight Your Technological Competence
Without in-person oversight, your manager will benefit from a nurse that’s well-versed in technology.
- Know the basic technologies. Familiarize yourself with Microsoft Office and Google suite products. LinkedIn Learning and Microsoft Learn are two great resources that offer online courses to enhance your business and technology skills.
- Lean into your charting experience. Mention all the charting systems that you previously worked with in your resume (and if you were a superuser!). Many remote jobs will have you reading or abstracting information from these systems.
- Don’t forget your internet. Reassure your hiring manager that you have a secure and reliable internet connection. The company’s specific internet policies will specify if they need you hard-wired into the internet. This will give insight into the mobility and flexibility you may have on the job.
3. Lead With Professionalism
Even if your reasons for leaving the bedside are because of family circumstances, disability, mental health, or burnout, show this career change to a potential employer in a way they see will benefit them.
- Accentuate unique job responsibilities. In your resume, highlight previous experience that wasn’t just in the scope of your typical RN workflow. Committees, unit councils, charge responsibilities, etc. can put you at an advantage.
- Be consistent. Over the course of the hiring process, show your capability of consistency and meeting deadlines. Be on time for interviews and be dressed appropriately (and not just from the neck up!).
- Steer away from personal questions. During the interview, emphasize a professional reason why you are making the career change to a remote nursing job. Use your bedside experience to lead into why you are making a career change now. Avoid speaking about your personal circumstances, and know what questions are illegal for a potential employer to ask you in an interview.
The Bottom Line
As a nurse, you already have most of the expertise needed to secure your first remote job. Find ways to showcase your competencies so employers will see that you’ll be an asset to their team. Most importantly, know that you are capable and you deserve your dream career.