How to Find a Nursing Job That Fits Your Priorities
Things have been a little quieter around ShineOnRN lately, and there’s a pretty good reason: we recently welcomed our second baby!
Having a newborn has definitely changed what matters most in my day-to-day life right now. And it got me thinking about how often our priorities can change throughout our lives, including what we need from our careers.
If you’re searching for a new job, it’s worth taking a step back and asking yourself: What matters most to me right now?
Not what should matter. Not what would make the most sense for someone else. And not necessarily what mattered to you five years ago.
In this post, we’ll look at how to identify your top career priorities, what to look for in a job posting, and how to use the interview to figure out whether an opportunity actually supports the things that matter most to you.
Step 1: Identify What Matters Most to You
Before you start scrolling through job postings, take a few minutes to figure out what you actually want your next job to support.
Think about the next chapter of your life, not your entire career. What would make your work fit better with what you need right now?
Some priorities might include:
Predictable hours
More flexibility
Higher pay
More time with family
Opportunities for growth
Meaningful or interesting work
Less physical or emotional strain
More autonomy
Greater job stability
A shorter commute
Choose your top three. Try not to create a list of everything you’d like in an ideal job. The point is to identify the things that matter most when you’re deciding between real opportunities.
Your priorities might also change over time. What you wanted from a job a few years ago may not be what you need today, and that’s okay.
Try this:
Complete the sentence, “In my next job, I most want…”
Write down your top three answers. Keep them somewhere you can refer back to as you search. You’ll use them to look beyond whether you’re qualified for a role and start asking whether the role is actually a good fit for you.
Step 2: Look for Evidence in the Job Posting
Once you know your top three priorities, use them to read job postings a little differently.
It’s easy to focus on the qualifications: Do I have the required experience? Do I meet the education requirements? Could I actually get this job?
Those questions matter, but don’t stop there. Look for evidence that the job supports the things you said matter most to you.
For example:
Predictable hours: Look at the listed schedule. Are evenings, weekends, holidays, or on-call responsibilities mentioned?
Flexibility: Look for remote or hybrid options, flexible scheduling, or information about how much control employees have over their schedules.
Growth: Look for professional development, mentorship, advancement opportunities, or clearly defined career paths.
Less physical or emotional strain: Pay attention to workload, patient volume, travel, physical requirements, or other demands that could affect your day-to-day experience.
Higher pay: Look for a salary range, differentials, bonuses, or other compensation details when they’re provided.
You won’t always find a clear answer in the posting. In fact, some of the things that matter most to you may not be mentioned at all.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the job doesn’t offer them. It just means you’ve found something you need to investigate further.
Instead of asking only, “Am I qualified for this job?”, start asking, “What can I learn from this posting about what working here might actually be like?”
That shift can help you spend less time pursuing jobs that look good on paper but don’t fit what you need right now.
→ Learn more about evaluating job postings in my post “How to Tell if a Nursing Job Posting is a Good Fit Before You Apply”
Step 3: Ask the Right Questions in Your Interview
A job posting can give you clues about whether a role might be a good fit, but it can’t tell you everything about what it’s actually like to work there.
That’s where the interview comes in.
Use some of your interview questions to investigate the priorities you identified earlier. For example:
Want predictable hours? Ask, “What does a typical workweek or schedule look like for someone in this role?”
Want opportunities to grow? Ask, “How do people typically grow or take on new responsibilities in this role?”
Want more flexibility? Ask, “What role do team members play in structuring their schedules?”
Want to understand the workload? Ask, “What tends to make a particularly busy week in this role?”
Notice that these questions don’t always directly ask about your priority. Instead, they’re designed to help you learn what that priority looks like in practice.
You don’t need to ask every question in one interview. Choose the questions that will help you learn the most about the things that matter to you.
And remember: the interview isn’t just about proving that you’re the right candidate. It’s also an opportunity for you to decide whether the job is right for you.
The more you understand about the actual day-to-day experience, the easier it is to decide whether the opportunity is worth pursuing.
Step 4: Look Beyond What the Employer Tells You
The job posting and interview can give you valuable information, but you don’t have to rely entirely on the employer’s perspective.
If possible, talk with someone who currently works in the role or on the team. They may be able to give you a better sense of what the day-to-day experience is actually like.
There are two ways you may be able to connect with someone who actually does the work:
1. Through your network
A LinkedIn connection, former colleague, or someone you’ve been introduced to through a professional organization may be willing to share what their experience has been like.
→ New to networking? Learn more in my post “Networking for Nurses: What it is, Why it Matters, and How to Get Started”
2. During the interview
Some employers include potential peers or other team members in the interview process. Use that opportunity to ask questions and hear directly from someone who experiences the job firsthand.
Questions like these can help:
What does a typical day or week look like?
What do you enjoy most about the role?
What tends to be the most challenging?
Does the job match what you expected when you started?
Then compare what you hear with what you learned from the job posting and other interviews.
Of course, one person’s experience isn’t the universal experience. You’re not looking for a guarantee that the job will be perfect. You’re gathering more information so you can make a more informed decision about whether the opportunity fits what matters most to you.
Putting Your Priorities Into Practice
No job is going to check every box. Knowing your priorities helps you decide which tradeoffs are worth making and recognize opportunities that fit what matters most to you right now.
Your career needs may change as your life changes, so start with what matters to you today. Use those priorities to guide your search, evaluate opportunities, and ask better questions.
Not sure where your nursing career could go?
If you’re still exploring your options, the Nursing Career Direction Quiz can help you identify potential career paths based on what you’re looking for from your work.