I'm constantly amazed at the similarities between my MBA coursework and the concepts I teach about leveraging your nursing skillset for job opportunities beyond the bedside.
Today, I'm sharing a secret way to stand out against the competition.
In business, a SWOT analysis is used to evaluate companies, products and business situations. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Strengths and weaknesses are internal influences. Opportunities and strengths are external factors. I've done some SWOT analysis in grad school.
That's when I realized the same concepts could be applied to your alternative nursing job search. As a nurse, you're already following some of the SWOT concepts when you highlight and list your strengths in your resume.
You can use the entire powerful tool to determine how you can leverage your strengths to outweigh your weaknesses and identify any opportunities or threats to plan your next career move. A SWOT will help you polish your nurse resume and cover letter, prep for interviews and ultimately negotiate your salary.
Your Strengths
Identifying what you’re good at is the easy part of doing a SWOT analysis. Strengths are your selling points. You'll want to show employers all the benefits that come with hiring you.
The positive characteristics or qualities that come natural to you are the internal skills and abilities you’ve developed over the years. Controlled by you, they include your positive experiences in a variety of settings.
Supervising, developing ideas, serving on committees, even volunteer work are all worth adding. Credentials, certification, training/education, awards and memberships are all part of what makes you a strong, unique and versatile candidate.
Your strengths are also the things your coworkers, friends and family say you’re great at. Maybe you’ve got a knack for organization, you’re a strong leader or you’ve got the patience of a saint. Be sure to check in with people who know you best, because they can definitely give you insight into strengths you never considered.
Your Weaknesses
You've got to know what your weaknesses are before you start looking for a job. These are your qualities or characteristics that need improvement. Here's where you'll need to dig deep and be honest with yourself.
Do some soul searching to help identify the areas that could use some work. We all have weaknesses, but women who are self aware and can face those weaknesses head-on are more likely to get the job they want.
Think about the areas you find challenging. Maybe they're tasks you don't do well , lack experience or required skill set? Think also about any potential negative reviews or criticisms about things that you struggle with.
Don't skip this step, be sure to come up with a list of weaknesses to give you a big step up from the competition. Most people don't do this step. If you know your weaknesses, you can take the necessary steps to to improve those areas.
Job Opportunities
Opportunities are positive external factors outside of your control that could influence your ability to get a new job. You'll need a solid understanding of all the external factors you can take advantage of. You've got so many tools and resources at your disposal. Consider some of these suggested opportunities:
Is there a shortage of your skillset in the industry you're interested in?
Are there more opportunities for you to grow or climb the career ladder?
Now more than ever, the sources used to find the perfect job are literally at your fingertips. Do some research to determine what's going on in other sectors of the healthcare industry and study market trends.
You can do some networking to identify people who can help advance your career or you can take classes or training to fill gaps in your skillset or qualifications.
Job Threats
Threats are uncontrollable negative external factors that may prevent you from reaching your goals or objectives related to your job search.
Competition from other nurses is a real threat. There are a lot of nurses vying for alternative nursing positions. Recruiters are getting hundreds of applications for a single position.
Money might be a threat. With corporate work, your salary is often capped. A major benefit of bedside nursing is the ability to work as much or as little as you need to make the amount of money you desire.
Little room for advancement is another threat that you'll want to consider and determine whether it applies to the positions you're interested in.
Create a job hunting plan that matches your internal strengths with the external opportunities you've identified. Using a SWOT analysis will give you a leg up on the competition because most job seekers don't do this level of analysis when looking for a job.
This is some “nursing out of the box” thinking. Sure, it takes a bit of effort. But, you're not most job seekers. The fact you're here, reading this post is proof that you're willing to go above and beyond to find fulfilling work that fits.
You're not going to sit back and let someone else dictate your career and the impact it has on your life. You're more proactive and more likely to get the job you want. Nurses never settle. Download the Beyond Bedside Nursing SWOT Analysis worksheet here.
