As a CNA student, you will want to start preparing for your future career as soon as possible. You are about to embark on something that will be challenging and rewarding in equal measure, but there is no time like the present to get started on making this journey happen.

In order to make sure you have everything ready for when you graduate from class and enter the workforce, we’ve created this blog post and action steps with information about how to get your first CNA job. We break down what skills you should hone while still in school (or even before), how best prepare your resume, where you can find jobs after graduation, common interview questions and more! The sooner you start thinking about these things now the better prepared you’ll be later on.

Contents

Step 1: Prepare a Killer CNA Resume

As a CNA, the first thing you have to do is prepare your resume for presenting yourself as an asset to potential employers. This can be difficult if this is also your first job and I know how hard it was from experience which made me take help from professional writers in my field of expertise along with people that knew me well enough.

Although it might be tough for a fresher to understand the components of writing an effective resume, they can always opt for professional help. It will not only save them from losing out on opportunities that come their way but also teach them how to write resumes in future too. More importantly, the CNA job requires candidates’ resumes be written well enough to make employers want call even those who are not selected during the interview process itself!

Here are a few helpful tips when writing your resume:

Write Proper Contact Details

The first thing to keep in mind when preparing a CNA resume is including the complete name of the nursing assistant, with their surname spelled correctly. It’s also important that this section includes contact information for them — like mobile numbers and landlines if they have any. The best part about organizing your contact details is keeping it as simple as possible so employers can find where to call easily without getting frustrated trying all different combinations!

The email address is another important feature of the resume which should be included so that, in cases where they call for an interview process but it gets missed somehow, at least a candidate can still find out about this opportunity. The residential address also needs to be available on your resume because employers have been known to send letters directly there if you are selected for an interview.

Be Clear with is your Objective

The next part of the resume should be a clear description of why you want this job and how it will benefit your future career. While not being too vague, do not mention anything that is unrelated to what they are asking for in their advertisement or job posting.

By writing a clear objective, a nursing assistant has an opportunity to get hired by making themselves stand out from other candidates. One way of doing this is through focusing on how their skills can benefit the organization and what they have learned in previous jobs that could be used there too.

Don’t Forget to Mention Relevant Experience

The next important part of a resume for the post of CNA is to highlight your related experience in nursing, and list out what kind of work you have been doing. It’s also necessary not to put too many details about irrelevant information, but enough detail on major experiences should be provided. The place where training or relevant certificates were attained must also be mentioned clearly. The nursing assistant can also mention a few other details, such as having worked for non-profit organizations.

Review for Writing Error and Grammar Mistake

One last step is to review the CNA resume for any errors in grammar and spelling. This ensures that employers will not be turned off by mistakes or typos, which could send a negative impression of you as an applicant. With all this preparation, the nursing assistant has already done half of their work and is only a few steps away from getting his or her dream job.

Pro Tips: Before writing it, Download a standard resume format from the internet and fill in information relevant to the job. You too must do the same, and alter it each time you are applying for a job. That way, it will be job-specific and employers would love to read it. Remember, employers just want to know you, your qualification, experience and personal details such as hobbies, social security number, hobbies, etc.

Step 2: Search for the Job

Visit all the healthcare settings in your area even when there were no job openings advertised. Introduced yourself to the receptionists or HR personnel and let them know that you have a certification, so if they had any vacancies for you later on, they could contact you then.

Step out of your comfort zone by visiting every health care setting you can find near where you live! Even though there might not be an opening now, it is possible one will open up soon–and maybe someone from their office has heard about something great happening at their company through word-of-mouth which may lead to employment opportunities too…so why miss this opportunity? All you need to do is look around yourself!

Below are some tips that will help you to find a suitable job:

Contact your Local Schools

Before taking up the course, find out if your vocational school will help you in finding a job. Many schools have separate departments or individual who can inform students about various vacancies available with local employers. If your school is well established, it’s likely to have an excellent resource for helping its graduates land jobs and may even provide access to lists of potential employers where you are most likely be able hireable as soon as possible after graduation.

Ask your Instructor

You should build good terms with your instructors and nurses while doing the course. They might know about which hospitals or clinics are hiring people like you, as well as other colleagues who can give their references for you. It’s best to ask them where they think would be a great place to apply because they will have more knowledge of what places look for CNA candidates based on experience with those same organizations in the past.

Use the Internet

To find jobs as a Certified Nursing Assistant, try searching the internet and reading local nursing websites. These will have ads for clinics or hospitals looking to hire CNAs. Below are some tips to help you with your search:

Register with a popular job search website where potential employers are likely to find you.
Modify your search by changing words a little and see what websites are shown by the search engine.
Ask your peers and other professionals about the websites which are very popular with the employers.
You can check the websites of individual hospitals or clinics. Click on their career section and submit your resume there.
You should also try doing cold calling to find a job.
Make several copies of your resume and visit the various hospitals in your town or city. Check with their human resource department if they have any vacancies for a certified nursing assistant.
Upload your resume on job portals. Many online job sites can find a job for you. They might charge a nominal fee for registration, but it will allow employers to go through it. If it attracts any employer, you will get an interview notice through email.

Cold calling is the best way to find a job because some employers might not have kept their websites updated, or may be thinking of listing vacancies. If they receive your resume before that though, they might consider you for an interview before anyone else does. Also, hospitals do not list their vacancy at all; instead candidates are called through references and if you visit these places you can get a position easily!

Read Newspaper

There are many jobs in the classified column of today’s newspaper. Call each job you come across and make an appointment while speaking to them professionally, as this will create a positive response for your call or they may suggest that you send a copy so that they can go through it and get back to you.

Ask your Friends & Family

Friends or family may know someone who needs your service, and they could tell others about you. This is an excellent way of getting a job because if you have less experience, then offering personalized services to individuals at slightly lower rates than those with more experience might be helpful in landing the position. Get started by creating a social network that lets people know about your qualifications through mouth publicity; contact any known person serving in medical industry for references as well!

Get a Volunteer Job

If you are not able to find a job after using the above methods, then try offering your time as part-time volunteer services at community centers or hospitals. You can also take up another part-time job simultaneously and even if it doesn’t pay well, this might help you get experience that will ultimately give you an edge over other candidates during interviews.

Pro Tips: If you are willing to relocate to other cities, choose cities where there is a higher employment rate for CNAs. This will also increase your chances of getting a job.

Step 3: Excel your Interview

When you go for your interview, it’s likely to be with the Human Resource Manager or Director of Nurses. You may also get a tour so that you can explore more about the workplace and see if it looks like somewhere where you’d fit in well as an employee. This is a good opportunity to check out all aspects of the place including how clean and organized everything seems, but most importantly whether staff members seem friendly or not!

In case you are applying for a private duty CNA job, take the chance to meet your potential patient. You will be able to see if there is good rapport between both of you which is essential in this kind of relationship. The nurse aide may also need to prove whether they can provide all basic medical care and services required by their patients at hand.

The interviewer would like to see the passion, compassion, and professionalism that you carry with you in your CNA job. If these things are taken care of then there’s a good chance for an interview and getting the job!

Below are the CNA jobs interview tips that you can follow to make a good start at job hunting:

The person going to attend the interview should be ready with the information such as day, time and venue of the interview
A copy of the resume and current state nursing assistant certification
Name and designation of the person going to conduct the interview
Any reference or recommendations from previous employers, patients or their families

The person going to attend the interview should remember that the first impression means a lot. Hence, groom yourself and check the following before you set out to attend one:

The candidate should be properly dressed and clean-shaven
He should wear neat, clean and ironed clothes
Men should be in formal wear like trousers and collared shirt and leather shoes
Women can go for formal trousers or skirt and team it up with an appropriate business shirt and formal shoes
Do up your hair neatly as you would while on the job, this will create a positive impression
If you have tattoos or body piercing done, try and cover it to the maximum. Women shouldn’t wear too much makeup or jewelry which may be distracting for the one conducting the interview

You should do your homework properly; do some prior research on the type of questions that are usually asked. Be prepared with answers for questions that might be as given below:

What is the reason behind leaving your last job?
Do you know to take vital signs?
What is it that you enjoy most about being a CNA?
What do you enjoy the least about being a CNA?
Have you ever been disciplined or fired from the job?
Where do you see yourself five years down the line from now?
Is it ok if we contact the reference that you have mentioned or your past employee?
Sometimes, even you are allowed to ask some questions. You may ask for the following information:
How many facilities you would be required to work?
What is the training or probation period?
How many patients you are required to attend to in a shift?
What are the benefits of career advancement opportunities one can expect?
How many other staff members would be working with you?

Job-hunting for any profession is a frustrating and tiring activity. Apply all the resources at your end in finding the job. Make use of reference, mouth publicity, media, etc. to get employers’ attention towards your profile. Do not lose your heart even you have to wait for a long time; it’s important to keep applying if you want better results. Hope you have found our post helpful and if so please share with friends who might be looking for work as well. To learn more visit our other post or contact us if there anything else we can help you with.