Understanding the mind of a nursing recruiter is a tricky and probably impossible task, but if you can get close to knowing how they will look at your nursing application, you have an advantage. So with that in mind, I am going to try and give you a few words to the wise.

1. Recruiters have very little time to spend on each application.

This may sound like a statement of the obvious, and it probably is, but what isn’t so obvious is how to grab the attention of a recruiter in the few short seconds they have to scan and assess your application. There are a few key elements a recruiter will look for in your application for a nursing job:  NMC pin number, nursing experience, eligibility to work in the UK (if appropriate) and most recent nursing position. So the best advice here is to make sure all these elements are clearly shown at the top of your CV, see our example CV here.

Your PIN number is as important as your name, so it should be at the top along with your address and contact phone number. If you are a NQ nurse, simply state ‘awaiting NMC pin’. For the majority, your address will also cover your eligibility to work in the UK. Nursing experience should be shown right underneath your contact details and you should include number of years qualified, years in current position, current employer and a brief description of your current role and responsibilities.

2. Recruiters want to select someone as soon as possible, so why are you perfect for their needs?

You can instantly appeal to a recruiter if you tick all the boxes and you can show that you are the ideal candidate who can solve their recruiting need. The ideal way to do this is to include a paragraph in your covering letter describing how your experience, communication and personal skills are exactly what are required for the position. Keep it as succinct as possible, don’t waffle and be specific about your skills using examples from your current role / nursing course.

3. A recruiter likes your application, but you don’t have enough experience for the role.

We’ve all been there, applying for a job that’s a little beyond our reach, but there is a way you can be taken seriously. You’ve got the recruiter interested by following the two points above,  now they are checking your application against the essential and desired criteria and they’ve spotted where you fall short. If you can anticipate this and include a section in your application on how you to plan to fulfill their requirements, you could be in with a chance. Eg. (this is a contrived example, but just so you see!) You have experience in A&E from your course placement, but you don’t have the required 1 year’s experience. You could include in your application the learning outcomes you achieved from your placement, how you can develop if you got the job, and what goals you would set yourself if you got the position.

If no one applies with the required experience, there is every chance the next best in line could be put forward for interview. However, if you fall a long way short of the required experience, then it’s probably best to leave it a little bit before applying.

Hope that helps, feel free to leave a comment if this has been useful or not, I’m always interested to hear!