Oliver Nicol of Eden Medical - his tips for nursing jobseekers

With his experience of nursing recruitment Oli of Eden Medical Recruitment is perfectly placed to suggest how to design your nursing CV, how to prepare for interview, and how to increase your chances of a successful outcome when applying for jobs.

As you know, some great candidates have terrible CVs.... In your view, what are the most important rules a candidate should obey when writing a nursing CV?

The most important rules nursing jobseekers should think about when constructing their CV are:

1. grammar / punctuation / spelling

2. keep the information factual, don't overly elaborate otherwise you will get found out at interview

3. make sure that you provide an explanation for any gaps in employment

4. It is always easier for the recruiter to work with a candidate who has clearly stated their ‘Reasons For Leaving’ under each noted position.

How should nursing staff best prepare for interview – what are you looking for?

- The obvious piece of advice, preparing in advance for the interview is to read up on the organisation you have applied for

- Typical questions for nurses at interviews seem to revolve around scenario questions especially relating to medication and care standards

- Work out how to get to the interview location and always be early rather than late (clients won't mind if you are running late if the holdup is beyond your control, as long as you call them to let them know your progress)

- Of course remuneration and benefits are important to any candidate, however never base your questions to the client just about this

- You should always tell the client what you can offer them, not just ask what they can offer you

Tell us, honestly now, what are the most frustrating things candidates do to recruiters?

In order of frustration:

1. candidates assuring me they will attend interviews with clients I have spent time arranging for them only for them not to turn up on the day.

2. thankfully a rare occurrence is candidates accepting a position with an organisation only for them to bale out just before they are meant to start the role i.e. because they have found a more agreeable role elsewhere

3. when candidates fail to be forthcoming about their reasons for leaving their last position (dismissals or tribunals) or any other important piece of information which might be relevant to their job application.

4. not returning phone calls to the recruiter. It is the recruiter’s job to balance a relationship between the client and candidate. If candidates do not keep communication maintained then the client will give up quickly on the candidate’s application

Note: most candidates I deal with are great and have a strong work ethic, so the above points only relate to a small percentage of applicants!

Oli, what brought you to recruitment? And what keeps you interested (you’re not allowed to say “the money”)?

I came into recruitment purely by accident. I applied for an administrator role through a recruitment company in Central London, Rainbow Recruitment, and after the interview was informed I was too over-qualified for the role (probably the recruiter trying to make me feel better).

There was however a vacancy for a temp controller within the company which they thought I'd be great for and offered it to me.....and the rest is history!