Networking is an essential practice if you want a successful career as a traveling nurse. Building a strong network of nurses, doctors, and other professionals can catapult your career to unimaginable heights. As a traveling nurse, you may not know how to build a tight network, wildly if you are leaping from assignment to assignment, not knowing what to look for, or how to approach certain situations or who to connect with online. Here are a few things to remember while networking as a traveling nurse.
Represent Yourself as a Nurse
To start molding your networking skills, you need to represent yourself as a nurse. The best way to do this is to join professional websites that are out there on the internet. These people may have open opportunities for you in the future that can take your career to the next level. You want to be sure to build a connection with the people you bond with on these sites. Check-in occasionally talks about new technology, studies, etc.
The Best Networking Tools are at your Fingertips: The Internet
The internet is your best friend when it comes to networking. There are sites that you can join to build your pool; Linkedin, The American Nurses Association, The American Association of Critical Care Nursing, etc. These websites can help you stay on current events, technologies, discussing best practices, finding job opportunities, etc. Some of these sites require a monthly fee to join, but it is well worth it in the end.
Be a Social Butterfly
With these websites and social media, you need to build that bridge of connection with your fellow nurses and other medical professionals to build that networking pool. Staying connected to current events, studies, even personal life, can only help you in the long run with finding other career opportunities. When that bridge is built and sturdy, you don’t know what these other professionals may have in the future for you.
The Power of Networking
As a traveling nurse, you are not working with a permanent hospital or facility. It would help if you kept your options open, even when working with an agency. You need to represent yourself as a nurse twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Because you are not tied down to a facility, it is easier to move through the ranks, move through different departments, gain other skills with equipment, medical departments, etc. Also, remember no boss is watching you, recommending you to a board for promotions. It is all up to you to find the next step in your career.
So, if you like to travel and help individuals as a traveling nurse, here are a few tips to keep in mind while you make your way through your assignments. Keep in touch with friends when you meet new people while on an assignment, bond with them, talk about different studies, new technologies, etc. This will build the networking bridge, and you can add them to your pool. Connect with other nurses online; create a Linkedin, add the new people you meet while on assignment, and add their connections. Be careful of what you post or say on social media. It can come back to bite you in the future.
Networking is one of the most important practices to do while being a nurse. When you build a networking pool, you are growing yourself, your career, and helping others who connect with you. As a traveling nurse, you need to keep everything as open like a book; your dream career may be just around the corner.
Conclusion
As a traveling nurse, a lot of the growth in your career is up to you. That is why networking is so important. You want to build with different people you meet on various assignments, online, etc. Be sure to represent yourself as a nurse all the time; networking is an everyday thing that can’t be avoided.
Be sure to follow the tips and tricks to get your networking search on track; if you are interested in moving and growing as a nurse, you must start networking right away. You don’t want to be stuck in a rut forever. TLC Nursing can help you move forward with your traveling nursing career. The diverse assignments that they have to offer can open up your networking pool considerably. Plus, they are a great group to work with. Check them out.
