Tag Archives: interview

4 Tips for Finding and Hiring Top Healthcare Talent

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Finding and hiring top healthcare talent is your main priority — and your biggest challenge. Here are four tips to help you overcome healthcare recruiting hurdles and fill every opening at your facility with the right candidates.

Work on Your Job Descriptions

Job descriptions aren’t just a place to list the must-have qualifications you want to see in applicants. If you truly want to appeal to top talent, start looking at these descriptions as an opportunity to make your healthcare facility stand out. On top of detailing the experience, skills, and education a candidate must possess, explain some of the perks they’ll access when working for your medical center, such as:

  • Insurance benefits
  • Flexible scheduling
  • Paid time off
  • Retirement planning

Find the Right Place to Post Jobs

Pay careful attention to the job boards you use, because the places you post your job openings matter just as much as the effort you put into writing the descriptions for them. Along with the popular job search engines that any company can access, consider posting on websites exclusive to the healthcare industry. This will guarantee that your listings appear in front of even more clinical and non-clinical healthcare professionals.

Nurture Your Company Culture

If your facility struggles with employee attrition, you’ll have a hard time not only finding top talent but also retaining it. To make your medical center stand out to well-qualified applicants, establish and nurture a company culture that they’d want to be a part of. You can start by surveying your current staff, getting an idea of where your facility excels and where it could improve, and implementing actionable changes as soon as possible.

Partner With a Healthcare Recruiter

Finding top healthcare talent is a multi-layer process. Without the time and resources available to put in extra effort every step of the way, your healthcare facility will have a much harder time attracting the best candidates. That’s why more and more medical centers are partnering with healthcare recruiters that know where to find the perfect fit — every time.

At HealthCare Support, we specialize in placing healthcare professionals in both clinical and non-clinical roles across all 50 states. From administrative openings to executive-level positions, our healthcare recruiters quickly and effectively find, screen, and recommend top talent. And once we find the perfect match to fill your position, we continue to monitor their progress and offer continual support. To learn more about our search process, contact HealthCare Support today at 407-478-0332.

How to List Your Nursing Credentials

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Your nursing credentials sum up your education, active licensure, certifications, and greatest professional achievements. Whether you’re filling out a job application or signing a legal document, you’ll need to pay careful attention to how you write them. Here are some tips to help you list your nursing credentials correctly.

Listing Your Nursing Credentials

As a nursing professional, your credentials should appear in the following order:

  1. Highest earned degree (including doctoral degrees, master’s degrees, bachelor’s degrees, and associate degrees)
  2. Licensure (including RN and LPN)
  3. State designations or requirements (including APRN, NP, and CNS)
  4. National certifications (including RN-BC and FNP-BC)
  5. Achievements and awards (such as FAAN)
  6. Other recognitions or certifications

Your highest earned degree comes first in your list of credentials for multiple reasons: Your degree doesn’t require renewal, and it is the least likely of all your credentials to change. Of course, you may continue your education in the future — replacing what you originally listed with the most recent, highest earned degree. Because licensure is necessary to practice nursing and may or may not be renewed, it is always listed second in your line of credentials.

State designations and national certifications follow licensure because these, too, are required for practice and will expire without continued education. Finally, achievements, awards, and other recognitions are left last on your line of credentials. These additional honors aren’t required to practice nursing, but they are still significant to your professional experience and can help you stand out as a competitive nursing candidate.

Once you have finished listing your credentials complete your resume with your experience listed from your most recent position. There is typically no reason to list any employment that surpasses the last 10 years.

Nursing Credentials Q&A

Below are some of the most common questions that nursing professionals have about their credentials:

  • What should I do if I’m unsure how to list my specific degree or state licensure? Consult your state board of nursing for accurate listing information.
  • Am I required to list certain credentials? You should always list the credentials necessary for your profession in your state when signing legal documents.
  • What if I have more than one degree? List your education in order from the highest to lowest level or simply list your highest earned degree.
  • What if I have multiple nursing credentials? While you aren’t required to list multiple nursing credentials in any specific order, it may be useful to list them from most recently acquired to first acquired or in order of relevance to a specific job if you are applying for one.

Nursing Tips, Tricks, and Preparation

Are you a recent nursing graduate applying for jobs or an experienced nursing professional that’s ready to hop back on the job market? If so, you’ll not only need to get your credentials in order, but also have an interview-ready resume and virtually unlimited access to relevant job postings. That’s where HealthCare Support comes in. Our team of healthcare recruiters will help you find jobs, prepare for interviews, and settle into your new position. To learn more, contact HealthCare Support today at 407-478-0332.

How to Seamlessly Execute a Virtual Interview

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In the age of coronavirus (a.k.a. COVID-19) many companies have altered their hiring and recruiting practices. At first the changes started with limiting physical contact to help stop the spread of the virus. Handshakes moved to elbow bumps and then facial masks became a popular interview accessory. Now virtual interviews via phone and video are rapidly becoming the norm.

Not everyone is familiar with this type of interview process and though you may not need to route your commute, allow time for parking or find the perfect shoes to go with your outfit, you’ll still need to dedicate an ample amount of time preparing for your interview. Like any interview, you’ll need to understand the responsibilities of the position, make connections showcasing your experience, research the company and the hiring manager and prepare a list of questions you can ask.

For a successful virtual interview, you must be able to communicate your value well. Practice ahead of time with a faux interview. Set up your device, making certain everything that will appear in the background of your video is orderly and begin recording yourself answering typical interview questions. Next, review the recording and pay close attention to your mannerisms, eye contact and the speed of which you are speaking. Also practice alternative ways of answering questions that you may have stumbled over or taken too long answer.

Be sure to do a trial run of the conferencing software before the scheduled interview as well! Whether you’re a virtual interviewing veteran or a first timer it’s a smart step to take to eliminate technical hiccups. Skype, Zoom, GoToMeeting and Facetime are the most common video conferencing platforms used by our clients today. For most of these platforms, you’ll receive an email from our team with a link that will allow you to join the meeting. Test this link ahead of time and you’ll be prompted to download any necessary software to run the meeting when it’s time. For a phone screen or Facetime, be sure you are clear on if you will be initiating the call or if they will. Most managers are flexible to conduct phone screens in the absence of self-facing camera technology that is prevalent on phones, tablets and computers today.

Before you start your virtual interview make sure your device is sufficiently charged and find a quiet area. Separate yourself from pets, children or roommates who may create noise or distractions and silence your devices and computer notifications. Join the meeting ahead of time and don’t let technology get the best of you – make sure you let your personality shine through. Engage with the interviewer, be it by smiling or nodding it’s important to make a connection. You may need to be a little more animated to show your enthusiasm.  If you are having a phone interview and do not have the luxury of conveying your excitement visually through body language, get up out of your seat and smile through the phone. Think positive thoughts and let your confidence permeate the line.

While virtual interviews can be a substantial switch from what you (and the hiring manager) are used to, it’s currently one of the few effective ways to move candidates through the hiring process while respecting current health and safety concerns. Following these tips will allow you to execute your interview well while not only answering why you’re are the man for the job, but also showing your agility, flexibility and empathy towards our current situation.

Resources:

  1. How to join a Skype meeting using a link
  2. How to join a Zoom meeting
  3. How to join a GoToMeeting meeting

What to Wear to a Nursing Interview

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You’ve probably heard all the generic tips for a successful interview: come prepared, sit up straight, and dress the part. But for nurses, dressing the part can make it harder to actually get the part. So should you show up ready to scrub in, or should you arrive in something completely different than your normal workwear? Here’s your head-to-toe guide on putting together an appropriate nursing interview outfit.

The Hair

Your interview hairstyle is probably the sole part of your attire that should mirror your work presentation. Just like you would on the clock, keep your hair tucked and out of your face. Trim, groom, and appropriately style facial hair, if necessary. If you have medium to long hair, consider tying it back in a sleek bun or tame up do. However, if your hair is short, you can easily get away with a clean brush and a bit of styling product.

The Outfit

Picking the right outfit for a nursing interview is critical — but not difficult. Turn to neutral tones, and make sure your outfit is clean, pressed, and presentable. Women should wear a mid-length skirt or slacks with a blazer, while men should lean towards a suit and tie. Regardless of which outfit you go with, shop ahead of time so you select the perfect size, length, and fit that isn’t too tight or baggy.

The Accessories

To show personality while staying professional, nurses sometimes wear colorful scrubs with fun prints and patterns. During your interview, however, you’ll want to accessorize for functionality rather than flair. If you want to wear jewelry, stick with plain options like stud earrings and a classy watch. And if you prefer to wear cosmetics, lean towards a neutral, minimalistic makeup look.

The Shoes

Shoes can make or break an outfit, but the interview room isn’t the place to start setting trends. Instead of opting for stilettos or boots, polish your look off with a pair of cap toe shoes, flats, or modest heels. As always, pay attention to matching your shoes with the rest of your outfit, including the belt, and tucking or neatly tying your laces.

Land an Interview With HSS

Picking the right outfit isn’t the only way to prepare for a nursing interview. To get insider tips on perfecting your resume and delivering a killer elevator pitch, join the talent network and start your job hunt on the right foot with HealthCare Support. Our healthcare recruiters match each candidate with relevant positions and equip them with the tools and knowledge to confidently tackle applications, interviews, and performance reviews. For more information, call us today at 407-478-0332.

Finding Your Career with a Healthcare Recruiter

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If you’re a job-seeking medical professional, you know the struggles of sending out applications. Because, no matter how familiar you are with finding the right opportunities, tailoring your resume, and waiting to hear back, you might still struggle to get your foot in the door.

Fortunately, there are professionals who dedicate their careers to helping others find theirs. Healthcare recruiters can provide you with professional tools and services to guide you to the right job opportunities. Here’s a closer look at how they can help you take the next steps in your career.

Save Time and Money

Stop spending hours searching through job openings and let a professional recruiter find the best ones for you. A healthcare recruiter matches you with the positions that fit technically and personally, which allows you to focus on perfecting interview skills and researching employers. You’ll also receive instant alerts when employers post relevant job listings.

And, the outstanding services and resources provided by recruitment agencies typically come at no cost to the applicants. So, there are no membership fees, additional expenses for specific resources, or extra costs to help you find the right job.

Find Your Best Advocate

Healthcare recruiters don’t only work with job-seeking candidates; they also work with actual employers. Recruiters partner with employers to match them with candidates that fit into their culture and meet their specific professional requirements.

If your resume fits a job posting provided by one of your recruiter’s partners, they’ll be your biggest champion in recommending you for the position and fully preparing you for an interview.

Develop a Mentorship

Before every interview, a professional recruiter coaches you on how to handle the conversation. The recruiter asks practical questions that could appear in your interview, and you’ll receive guidance on how to best answer each one.

Once you start working in the right position, you can still count on your recruitment agency for support throughout the hiring and employment process. Whether you need help preparing for your first day on the job or want some feedback down the line, the right agency is always on call.

Join Our Talent Network

Recruiting agencies want you to succeed as a candidate, because it’s what grows their business. Placing the wrong candidate in the wrong position reflects poorly on recruiters, so they strive to put you in the perfect position that matches your skills, qualifications, and goals.

At HealthCare Support, we strive to help our candidates make the biggest and best steps in their careers. And our recruiting professionals are available with additional advice and encouragement long after you’ve settled into the right position. To join our talent network or speak with one of our healthcare recruiters, call us today at 407-478-0332.

31 Ways to Be Ambitious This August

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August 1st – “Do something nice for someone.” Not only will it make them feel good, but it will make feel good too!

August 2nd – “Make someone laugh – it’s Friday!” A big stress reliever is laughing and a study shows that people will like you more if you make them laugh.

August 3rd – “Go sit in the sun and absorb some Vitamin D.” Vitamin D promotes bone growth, reduces depression, promotes weight loss, and fights diseases! Why wouldn’t you want to be lounging around in the sun with all those health benefits? But, don’t forget to wear sunscreen!

August 4th – ” Look at yourself in the mirror. Give yourself one compliment.” You can either be your own biggest fan or your own biggest enemy. By complimenting yourself, builds confidence and positivity within yourself.

August 5th – “It’s the first Monday of the month! Dress for success.” Dressing professionally demands respect and it also builds your self-confidence. It’s also fun to know you look great!

August 6th – “Excercise for 30 minutes.” This can be going for a walk during your lunch, going to yoga, and everything in between! Get up and be active – there are so many health benefits to working out.

August 7th – “Call someone close to you – someone you love. Express your gratitude towards them, tell them you love them or thank them for being there for you.”

August 8th – “Write a nice note on someone’s desk.” This brightens up people’s day and freshens up the office environment.

August 9th – “Bring in some treats for the company.” Get your ‘Martha Stewart’ on and bake some cookies, brownies, or cupcakes! Or bring in some yummy carbs and goodies for everyone to chow down on.

August 10th – “Clean up your friends’ list on social media” Still friends with those annoying, popular girls from high school? Just unfollow them – you’ll feel less anxiety logging on without seeing all their posts about “joining their pyramid scheme”.

August 11th – “Wash your car.” There’s nothing better than a squeaky clean ride! Just cross one more thing off of your list.

August 12th – “Meditate ten minutes before coming into work” Get your mind focused and relax before the worries of work sink in.

August 13th – “Schedule a lunch date.”

August 14th – “Organize your desk – sanitize too!” You should be organizing and ridding your desk of germs, at least, once a month. Not only does this help you avoid illnesses, but it also reduces stress by not having to deal with a messy desk. Messy desks make for messy minds!

August 15th – “Go into the office early or stay late.” Think of all the work you can get done by spending a little more time in the office.

August 16th – “Organize your folders on your desktop.” Get rid of folders or documents you don’t need anymore to clear space up on your computer.

August 17th – “Buy yourself something nice – you deserve it!” Everyone deserves a little splurging every now and then.

August 18th – “Make a to-do list for the week.” Reach out to this partner on Monday, clean your bathroom on Tuesday, finish that project by Wednesday… Write down everything you want to get done within the week – personal and professional.

August 19th – “Ask three coworkers about their weekend.” And actually listen.

August 20th – “Learn something new.” Knowledge is power!

August 21st – “Read a career article.”

August 22nd – “Make your bed, you lazy bones!”  Navy Seal William H. McCraven, commander of the forces that led the raid to kill Osama bin Laden, told the 2014 University of Texas graduates, “If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task, and another, and another. And by the end of the day that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed.”

August 23rd – “Introduce yourself to someone new.” The more friends the merrier!

August 24th – “Clean your home.”

August 25th – “Meal prep your lunches for the week.” Start your week off right with healthy lunches!

August 26th – “Turn off your cell phone today.” Don’t let the hundreds of notifications distract you from your work.

August 27th – “Get a full nights rest.” A whole eight hours of sleep? Unheard of! Well, not tonight…

August 28th – “Compliment five coworkers.” Compliments are nice to receive but even better to give. Tell someone how much you love their hair or their outfit! You could turn around someone’s awful day to somewhat bearable.

August 29th – “Help a coworker with one of their projects or responsibilities.” Help out some of your coworkers that are stressing over certain projects, they’ll appreciate it.

August 30th – “High-five 10 coworkers.” August is over, time to celebrate the coming of a brand new month.

August 31st – “End the month doing three of your favorite things you did this past month from the list above.” You’re ending the month & starting the new month as productive as ever!

Are You Engaged at Work?

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This info graphic explains some great ways you can ensure you are remaining engaged at work. With 2/3 of the American working population disengaged we couldn’t help but share some tips!

statistics: CBS News

How to Fall Back in Love with Your Job

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Throughout the course of our professional career, we fluctuate between loving our job and despising it. When you first start a job, you start a new chapter in your life. You’re financially supporting yourself, you’re starting to make new friends, and you’re working for a company that chose you out of hundreds of people – overall, it’s a fresh feeling. But sometimes these feelings seem to evaporate over time. In fact, every year, 5.6 million people leave their job, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Falling out of love with your job happens to millions of people so, in order to overcome this, you should figure out if you want to move on and find new opportunities or learn how to fall back in love with your job. If you choose the latter, here are a few easy ways that can help you:

  1. Rearrange your desk or your office. You’ve been at the same desk for a long time now. Freshen things up by rearranging it or buying new decorations. You spend forty hours a week around the same space, be sure to surround yourself with the things you love. Also, keep it neat and tidy. 
  2. Take more breaks. Walk around your building a few times. Workout during lunch. Taking productive breaks during your day allows your mind to relax. Working out or going for a walk recharges your brain and clears your head.
  3. Read a career book that relates to the industry you work in. This can help you appreciate your line of work and will motivate you to get back in the office and grind. Other people go through the same thing, but they write about it to help you get over it as they did.
  4. Befriend passionate coworkers. It’s easy to be around people that are passionate about what they do, and it helps you to be passionate too!
  5. Celebrate your accomplishments. It’s fun when you do things right and you’re positively impacting the company. So, celebrate when you do things right or when you reach a goal! It will relieve work tension and remind you how good you are at what you do.
  6. Do one nice thing a day in the office. Hold the door open for someone, buy someone lunch, or write positive notes on people’s desks. Simple stuff like this is an easy way to make you feel good.
  7. Try something new. If you feel like you’re doing the same thing repeatedly, maybe it’s time to try other things and learn new things outside your job description. Talk to your manager about whether you can take on new responsibilities to help other teams or departments.
  8. Remind yourself about the way you felt when you got the job. How relieved and excited were you when you got offered the job? When all of a sudden all the applications you sent in and interviews you went on were over and you secured yourself a job. Remind yourself of that feeling you got and put it in your back pocket. Always keep that feeling close.
  9. Think about all the good things about your job. This can be whether your company culture is awesome, you love your job or all of the great friends you’ve made. Just remind yourself of all the good things going for you. Thinking positively impacts you more than you know.
  10. Maybe it’s time to take a vacation. Life is better when you have something to look forward to. Decide to take a vacation or a staycation. Not only will you be excited leading up to the event which will make the days pass by, but your brain can also use the break.

 

Questions You Should Be Asking At Every Interview

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Asking questions during an interview allows the interviewer to know you are interested in the position and you are serious about the company. You also want to make sure you’re getting every single piece of information about the position and the company before you accept the job. so, which questions should you be asking to give you a good feeling about what this opportunity is all about?

Interview Preparation: Pharmacy Technician

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According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2019 there were 417,860 open Pharmacy Technicians positions. Pharmacy Technicians prepare medications with the help of a pharmacist, whether that be counting out, labeling, recording, and measuring the correct medication for each patient. Pharmacy Technician positions are one of the most common positions we staff here at HealthCare Support so trust us when we say we can help! Prepare for these questions and you’re sure to crush your interview!

Why do you want to become a Pharmacy Technician?

With this question, they are generally trying to figure out if you are passionate about the role. Think this one through because you don’t want to say what everyone else is saying. Be memorable by coming up with an original and meaningful answer.

Why do you want this job?

Don’t be one of those people that answer this question with “Because I need money” or “Because it pays well”. Explain how your past jobs relate to this role, why you would want to work for this specific company, and what you can do to positively impact the company.

Why do you want to work for this company?

Start first by telling them why you picked the pharmaceutical industry and then narrow it down to why you chose that certain company in the pharmaceutical industry. Your knowledge of the company will show here so make sure you study everything about it – from what they do, to who the CEO is, and what awards they’ve won. Try to know as much as possible about the company – this will also show how interested and passionate you are about securing this role.

How do you deal with difficult customers?

The hiring managers want to know that they can trust you to deal with customers appropriately and calmly, especially being in the pharmaceutical industry. You will get a lot of unhappy customers complaining about why their insurance doesn’t cover certain prescriptions, so prepare to share an example of how you have diffused a situation in the past.

Can you work well in a fast-paced environment?

Working in pharmaceuticals is always going to be busy and fast-paced. Hiring managers want to know if you can work under pressure with certain deadlines and if you have the attitude and strive to get certain tasks done.

What do you think the most important quality of a Pharmacy Technician is?

Be honest with this question. Come up with a good quality and then relate it back to you. For example, being compassionate is a very important quality to have, especially working in the healthcare industry. Then explain why you are a very compassionate person.

What is your greatest weakness?

This question is asked in almost every single interview. Some cringe-worthy examples are, “I work too hard,” “I care too much,” etc.  Come up with something original, and put a positive to spin on it.

Congratulations on being asked to come in for an interview– you’re going to do great, just remember to just be yourself! If you’re still on the hunt for your dream job, check out our current openings here.

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