Marketing Yourself as a Nurse in the USA

Good morning, everybody and welcome to AMN Healthcare International show Onwards and Upwards. Everything a global health care worker needs to know about living and working in the United States. I'm your host, Danielle Freedman, the host of AMN show, Onwards and Upwards and so excited to be here with you today. At AMN Healthcare, we have both direct hire and staffing.

So, we are here to place you in your perfect match. Let's bring up that map of all our jobs spanning across the United States. And if you are inclined today, you can see we have opportunities in every state. So, wherever you may be looking to go with direct hire or staffing, we have recruiters on hand who are ready and excited to place you. You can apply today AMNHealthcare.com/International, and our recruiters will contact you and help you find your perfect match. Today we have a very exciting show, we are going to be talking about how to make yourself marketable in the United States how to get a position. So, let's bring out our expert guests. 

Good morning, good evening, good afternoon. I know everybody may be in different time zones. It's nice to see some returning faces and some new faces, let's take a moment to do some introductions, let's start with Deirdre. Hello, everybody and thank you so much for having me on again Danielle I love being part of these shows.

My name is Deirdre O'Regan, I am the Senior Director of Recruitment at AMN Healthcare International. I'm excited to speak today about how you can market yourself to our fabulous clients who are waiting to interview you. And I look forward to taking your questions and again, thanks so much for having me. I love seeing where everybody is popping in from so continue to put that in the chat. We love to see where you're listening in from. 

Thank you, Deirdre, very happy to have you today. I know you're gonna have some good insights for nurses, let's go with Nesrine next. 

Hey, good morning my name is Nesrine and I'm a surgical ICU RN currently working in North Carolina ICU Health Medical Center. I'm happy to be with you in this show to share with you my experience in the US.  

We are very happy to have you on Nesrine and I'm sure all our viewers are very excited to hear about your experience, let's go with Dan next. 

My name is Dan Pamonag and I'm one of the international nurses here in Maryland, USA. So, I've been working here as an emergency department nurse for more than a year now. 

Okay, I'm sure Dan's gonna have some good insight for us. So, if you have any questions for any of our expert guests, please feel free to put them in the chat. Let us know where you are watching from. I love seeing where our viewers are. I know we span countries worldwide. So let us know where you're watching from and ask questions. Our guests are here and happy to answer. So Nesrine and Dan, I'm going to turn to both of you first, we'll let Nesrine go first. Can you tell us a little bit about your journey to the United States? And what made you decide to come to the United States? 

Yeah, my journey to the United States started in 2020. It was based on a personal decision and some personal events that happened in my life. So, at that point, I realized that I should be in another place in a place where I'll be able to progress to pursue my career, to pursue my education level and to be in a place where the nurses feel happy. So, I bet for a moment I was searching and looking for all the opportunities that I can reach. But I realized that there is something I should seek professional advice for it. And here comes I message a professional international recruiting agency OGP-AMN at that time, and they were so supportive and so helpful, guiding me in this journey and it's been a long journey. It was not easy without them. And they were so supportive, and they guided me from A to Z in every step in my journey to us. 

Thank you for sharing Nesrine. Well, that makes me really happy to hear that really is our goal here at AMN International and we want our support from our nurses throughout the whole process because like you said, it can be really hard. It's a very exciting process. I'm actually an immigrant myself I came from South Africa. And it's very exciting, but there is a lot of differences and a lot of things to consider. So I'm glad that you had a really good experience with AMN. Dan, can you share why you decided to come to the US what factors you considered?  

Yeah, sure so it started actually last 2021 when I take took my NCLEX examination. So at first I was hesitant to take this examination because it's really hard to pass the NCLEX and IELTS exam. So I did pass both of the examination then, my friends from United States were my classmate before they encouraged me to apply here in the United States. So I seek advice from one of the group in Facebook indeed, told me that it's better to do direct hire. So that's the time that I've know it Connetics, but right now, they are known to be the AMN International and yeah, so after that, I tried to apply with them. I was interviewed by three hospitals and all of them. They, they want me to be in their hospital, but I chose which is the best. So I think I made the right decision to go into the EMS because they provided they provided me a hospital, which I am perfectly comfortable working with. And right now, yeah, I'm enjoying myself working here in United States of America. 

Okay, well, thank you for sharing, Dan. That's all very helpful for our nurses to know. So Nesrine mentioned that she came to the US to pursue her career and pursue further education. What made you want to come to the US? 

Please tell us more Nesrine, and then we'll go to the next question. 

It's for both of you. It's so lovely. 

So like I told you, my decision was based on a personal life events, but it came in the right time. And like, then he mentioned AMN OGP, they guided us through our journey. So they make it for us a little bit more easier, especially how to apply for immigration, and how to apply for our NCLEX. It's not an easy exam at all They prepared us a time before the exam. What made me come to you is a better life, everyone around the world dream to be a US citizen, and a better life for nurses, and better opportunities. To be honest with you, I have 19 years of experience in my previous half hospital, and I They respect this experience, gave me a lot, taught me a lot, and I got many opportunities to learn from them. And I realized that at one point I should move for further advance. So that's why I realized that going to United States being an a nurse in United States will add to my experience a lot. Because we are learning every day learning process will never stop. Coming to a new culture and you place is not something easy. And it was a challenge for me. I spent a lot of time reading about the new culture that I will be in the new place that now I love the most. The place where I'm living. It's, it's like me, this is where I love to live. This is the place that I should be in. So I'm happy and I'm proud of myself to reach this point. And it would never be achieved without you guys and dreaming for being here was something in my mind all the time. So just achieve my dream is something very big, very valuable for me. 

Congratulations on doing that Nesrine. It is not easy and as Dan knows, as well, so you guys can both be very proud of yourself. I know I talked to a lot of nurses who say very similar things about wanting to pursue a new career, wanting to reach the American dream. You mentioned being regarded highly as an American nurse and all of the benefits that come with being an American nurse. So thank you for sharing that. So Deirdre, I want to turn to you. So both Nesrine and Dan mentioned Connetics, they mentioned OGP. They mentioned staffing, they mentioned hiring, can you give our viewers a little bit of an overview, what are their opportunities with AMN what are their opportunities to come to the United States as a nurse?  

Absolutely so by choosing AMN Healthcare International, you have the opportunity to choose either direct hire or staffing and sometimes that can be confusing. Alright, so when you work with us, what we want to do is find the best solution for you, and Nesrine and Dan mentioned, what their motivations were for coming to the US. And by working with our expert recruiters, we help you get to that motivation, you know it yourself anyway. But ask yourself, why do I want to come to the US, do I want to go to a certain location because I have family there, I may have friends there. I've heard from relatives that it's a great place to live. Do I want to further my education? If I'm bringing children with me? What's the education system like in different states so that I can make that best decision? We are the only organization that offers both opportunities in direct hire and in staffing. So if location is of primary importance to you, then talk to your recruiter about that if you want to be in let's say, North Carolina, for example. We may have staffing opportunities in North Carolina, we may have direct hire opportunities, we may have both. So, that's where you want to work with your recruiter, we refer to ourselves as your career consultants, and there is no bad choice. There's no better choice. It's just what's going to work for you. And your situation and our recruitment team will help guide you in the right direction. 

Thank you, Deirdre. And if you are watching and you are wondering, I want to hear more about direct hire and staffing. We go into a very deep dive, you can look back at our past onwards and upward shows and we go into a deep dive on direct hire and staffing. What both offer what you can expect from both how they're the same how they're different. So make sure to go check that out. So I want to take a moment to look through and see where everybody is watching from today. We have Yossef watching from Pakistan, Belle from London, Lucy from Brazil. hello, Lucy, and Tom from India. We have got viewers from all over the world. We got a Lina from UK, Grace from Ghana. Good morning, good evening, good afternoon to everybody, thank you for joining us today. And once again, feel free to ask questions of our team and our nurses in the chat. We'll be taking them during the show. So Deirdre, I want to ask you, what tips should nurses consider when they're looking at a recruitment company, what factors should they be looking at? 

 

Great question. So, I would encourage everybody, and I'm sure that Nesrine and Dan did this as well is do your research, right? So when you choose a partner to work with and coming to the US, you want to look at how many years of experience does that organization have? Are they a member of the alliance of ethical recruitment? Are they accredited with DMW, right? So you want to ask all of these questions. And of course, you're going to take advice from your family, your colleagues, your friends, but doing your own research is going to be very, very important as well. So you know, you also want to look at you see this slide up here, what kind of opportunities are available for you through that organization, and what benefits do they provide, what specialties are they recruiting for right now? And all of these questions are what you want to ask your recruiter when you connect with them. Don't be afraid to ask questions. We encourage questions. The more questions you ask the better informed you will be. And when it comes to the time when you're making a decision on where you're going to be living and working in the US. You want to make sure that that's the right decision for you and your family. So that's why we take that extra time to really educate on the opportunities that we have, where they are, what it's like living in that state, what it's like working at that health system or facility. For the most part, we'll have been working with them for many, many years. So we have a lot of information that will help guide you in the right direction. But it all starts with doing your research. 

Thank you, Deirdre and I know it sounded like Dan and Nesrine also both did their research, it's important to look into the company that you're coming with, make sure that you're coming with a fair and ethical company here at AMN Healthcare International, both OGP and Connetics, which are direct hire and staffing are both accredited with CGFNS. So, you want to make sure that you're coming with someone you can trust. So, Dan, I want to turn to you, you said you've been here for about a year. How did you know that it was the right time to start this process? It can be a long process, as we've said, but how did you know it was the right time to start looking? 

Yes, so that was around 2021, when I started to decided to move to the United States of America, it is because of the career advancement. I just wanted to move forward. I just wanted to like express myself and like, like, I wanted to learn more new things about how nurses works in the United States. So for me being in the United States, it gives me a lot of opportunity to learn more and to elevate my nursing career. So when I started to move here, it was difficult for me at first because I have to adjust with a lot of factors like the communication skills, their state of the art technologies. Those are the things that we have to adjust also on how am I going to communicate with all the people with the doctors with the patients, because I have to adjust everything. But once I adjusted to those things, I was able to like be more confident working here in the United States. So I think it's more on mindset on how you're able to, to prove yourself here in the US. 

Thank you for sharing, Dan, I think that's a really important point for everybody to note. It's definitely your mindset. When you're coming into this, if you have a good and positive mindset and a realistic, a realistic mindset that can make a really big difference. I know for my family, when we were coming from South Africa, we had a safety issue that came up. And that was kind of that moment that my parents felt like we should be looking into moving into the US. We want to have a better life. We want more freedom opportunity. So that was kind of the catalyst for my family. Nesrine did you have a moment where you thought okay, now's a good time for me to start looking into the US what kind of made you think now I should look now I'm ready? 

Yes, I had that moment. That changed my life when I had like you also safety issue and when I lost my mom, it was a sad moment for me. Because she was the most valuable person for me in this life I'm not married, I have no children. And so I realized that I should move to a place where I feel myself more safe, more able to advance in my life, a place that looks like me, I'm a person who likes challenges. I'm a person who like, change. So this moment was the decision that come to my mind. That dream in my mind's for long periods of time. Comes in true moment that I should be there. 

Well, I'm so sorry to hear about your mom, Nesrine. But I guess for everybody, everybody has those moments in their life where they realize, okay, now it's time for me to go down a certain path and we all have those moments. I'm sure everybody watching has those moments. Deirdre just from a perspective of recruitment and coming to the US as an RN, when should a nurse kind of consider that it's the right time for them? You know what, what factors should they be thinking about?  

Right, the short answer to that is now they should if you have not already applied, then get your application into us today. You know, there's nothing that is worthwhile having is easy. And yes Dan talked about NCLEX and Nesrine talked about NCLEX and IELTS. And, yes, it is very challenging to get through both of those things in order to qualify to come to the US. But Dan and Nesrine are testament that if you put in the work, it worth, the reward at the end of that process is more than worth it. You know, Danielle mentioned that I too, and I'm an immigrant, I was born and raised in Ireland, and came here many, many years ago, I've been with this organization for 16 years. So you can just imagine how many more years before that. I came here to the US and, and there were challenges along the way. And there were disappointments along the way. But what really is important is that you keep that motivation is that you keep that fire burning inside of yourself and go back to well, why did I make the decision to move here in the first place, choosing a partner that is going to help you through those challenges is going to be very, very important. So when you look at AMN Healthcare International and the what we provide, like an example is English preparation. So we want to help you prepare for that IELTS exam or whatever other English exam that you are going to take in order to qualify to take that NCLEX exam and ultimately arrive here in the US. So to repeat myself, the time is now we always say get your place in line, our expert recruiters are ready and waiting to speak to you give you lots of great information on the opportunities available both in direct hire and in staffing and help you make the right decision for both you and your family. 

Thank you Deirdre. So I'm sure a lot of nurses are watching now and thinking okay, now might be a good time to apply. But there's a lot of nurses applying, how do I make myself stand out? What can I do to make my application better? 

Great question so I'm going to take Nesrine as an example again. So Nesrine mentioned when she introduced herself to us a little bit earlier that she's got 19 years of experience. So here in the US, there is a saying that put your best foot forward, right, so you want to make sure that you are highlighting your experience. So Nesrine, a surgical ICU nurse with 19 years of experience, you want that front and center so that when those hiring facilities are looking like, I want to speak to this nurse, because look at the great experience that that she has. So here just to kind of go down through the list and NCLEX pass is of course number one, once you pass NCLEX take a look at your specialty. If you are more specialized, it may take a longer time to place but that's okay. Because you want to focus on how much you're how many years of experience you have, in that specialty. Currently working in an acute care setting is going to be very important because the facilities that that we work with are looking for that current experience so that when you do come to the US they transition is not as challenging for you. And take a look at what your degree is right? So bachelors masters, of course you want to put that front and center as well. It's not saying that diploma or associates are bad thing, but depending on where you want to be certain facilities may require that bachelor's degree, years of experience and the type of hospital experience. So again, we talked about misery and having 19 years of experience. So really highlight that and what kind of situations what kind of challenges were presented during that 19 years? And what did you learn from it, and how can you apply that to your practice here in the US, we talked about English language, your exam status, of course, that's going to be very, very important. And we can help you through that. So if you have NCLEX, you are currently working, we want to hear from you. If you do not have English currently, that's okay. We can help you prepare for that, and also as you're looking at what qualifications you are presenting to whatever facilities you're interested in interviewing with, concentrate on any continuing education you did courses you did, what EMRs you work with, and all of that is going to help your application stand out from the many others that we receive on a daily basis. And your recruiter will help you with that as well in making sure that we're highlighting the most applicable benefits that you have to your experience to where you want to be in in the US. So hope that helps. 

Thank you Deirdre. I think there are some good tips there some good tricks to make your application stand out, make yourself more look more marketable for a job in the US. So Dan, I want to turn to you thinking back to the application process, was there anything that that was surprising to you, or anything, that really stands out from that process? 

During the process, I think the support of the AMN or the Connetics
nursing job agency, are we known now that's an AMN, because they were helpful throughout the process from the start that we got an interview from a specific hospital. And they always give us some information or updates about where I'm at where we are, where we were at that moment. And that's really important for those who are applying for a job in the United States of America. Also, when we got the offer, we saw the benefits. 

Of course, we have to study the cost of living of the states that you're going to the crime rate, there's a lot of factors that we have to consider actually when we're applying to United States of America. And also the surprising part is when we move here in the United States, still the Connetics AMN and still supporting us, giving us an update, they're trying to check up on us if we are okay here until now. They're still contacting me, if we're doing great, and how's our other Connetics nurses? So that is very helpful for us because we feel the support that they're giving to us. 

That's great to hear, Dan. Well, thank you for sharing some insights into how the process went for you. And if there were things that really stood out to you, that's very helpful for our nurses. Nesrine, what about you? Was there anything that surprised you about the application process or anything you want to mention to nurses who may be thinking about going the application process? 

Yeah, be honest, in your application, be yourself. Like I told you, it's easier for you to be guided with a professional real institution. What I did is I started my career with them step by step. So they helped us and they guide us, for our first of all, English exams. English is not the first language for everyone. So this is a challenge for people who have the English is their second language like me. 

And then our preparation for the NCLEX. And then when we moved from our origin countries, to us, they were guiding us step by step where we will be relocated, and they guided us also on our relocation process, the relocation team in OGP AMN they were amazing team. They were ahead on top of every step before even we think about it. So my first experience when I stepped inside the United States, they were here for me, they were helping in relocation process and they were also checking on me if I'm doing well, adjusting to my new environment. 

And till now, I'm still receiving periodic calls from my managers and my recruiters on how I'm going in my real life. Because transferring from country to country or from place to place is not an easy move, especially if you are moving alone by yourself like me. But it's not impossible for all. All nurse says who are coming to United States. Just do your research about the place that is similar to you. And don't be scared from moving this big that in this life, this will make you proud of yourself because this is a big achievement. 

Thank you, Nesrine, I think those are some good words for our nurses who are watching around the world, do your research. And once you are able to make it through the journey, be proud of yourself because it can be a long journey, but worth it in the end. I love seeing those pictures of Dan and Nesrine and the US, Dan, I love that one of you by the Statue of Liberty. That's amazing such a great picture, and as read seeing your smile in those pictures, I think really says it all. So if you are watching today, and you're thinking, Okay, this all sounds good. I'm a little inspired, which is great and I'm ready to apply. But I'm a little confused. How am I going to figure out what are the steps? How am I going to know what's the right way to go the right path, I would direct you to what we call our success path. So our success path is a graphic that we're going to bring up, it's on our website, and anybody who is wondering about this process and feeling a little bit lost and confused, you can find it on our website. So we mentioned doing your research, there's a lot of good information out there on the internet. But sometimes it can be a little bit confusing. So what we've done is we have taken each step of the process and make and made it into a success path for you.

So the first step is going to be passing that NCLEX. So if you remember that was on the address list of how to make your application stand out. Passing your NCLEX is going to be your first step and your number one step. Once you have passed the NCLEX. That's kind of like your golden ticket that gets you to the next round, you are going to prepare for the interview. So at this point, the AMN team is going to help prepare you and put you with either a direct hire or a staffing position, whatever is going to be right for you based on where you want to go in the US. Maybe you have family in a certain location, maybe you like the weather in a certain location, whatever it may be, our team of recruiters is going to help you find the good match for you. Once you get a job offer, you're going to move to step three, which is the visa framework. If you are coming from a country other than Canada or the US, you are going to be going through the Green Card route. Our team is going to help you throughout the whole process. So they're going to help you gather all the right documents, make sure you're submitting things on time. We're also going to help you with step four, which is the licensing and credentialing. So this is where you get your license endorsement for the states that you're going to be practicing in, you're going to get a visa screen certificate. If you need to pass your English exam. This is where you're we're going to help you do that. Once you get your approval, you're going to move to step five, which is the Get Ready game plan. This is where we're going to get you ready for that transition. As Dan and Nesrine have mentioned, it is a very exciting transition. But you definitely need to prepare, you want to make sure you're ready for the big move. Step six is going to be the arrival sequence. This is where you touch down in the United States.

That moment that you have been waiting for and working for. I remember my moments coming to the United States. I think everybody remembers their moments. It's a very exciting moment. And we are going to have all of the support for you on the ground so that you don't touch down and feel like what do I do now? Where do I go now. And then step seven, which is enjoy and prosper.

And that's our goal for all of our nurses just like Dan and Nesrine. So if you are inspired today, you can apply on our website. It's AMNHealthcare.com /International and our recruiters are on hand ready and waiting to take your applications. 

Okay, so Deirdre I want to turn to you. What should our nurses have ahead of time before they apply, do they need to have anything ready?  

So great question so the first step is to apply, right? So I think our handle is up there. AMN Healthcare.com/International. And what I would say is yes, there are some documents that you're going to need to provide and in order for us to facilitate your immigration process. Your recruiter will guide you on what those documents are, but think about your schooling, transcripts, your NCLEX pass letter, your current English scores, all of those things are going to be necessary but we do provide you step by step. Here's the documents that you need right now, here's what you're going to need later in in the process. And there are also some civil documents that you're going to want to have on hand.

If you are coming alone, then your passport, your birth certificate and for your dependents as well. So all of that is going to be required for the most part, you probably have that already. And then when you get to as the immigration part of your process, you will be working with an immigration coordinator who will then guide you on any additional documents that you need to facilitate that process. But in besides the physical documents that you need to file your immigration petition, I would say come prepared with what you are looking for. Where do you want to be, right? So if like, Dan, you want to go to Maryland, then come prepared to have a conversation with your recruiter that I want to go to Maryland because of XYZ. You know, there are yes, we have direct opportunities, and we have staffing opportunities. And then Danielle had mentioned that we did a very robust show a few months back detailing the similarities and the differences. And while there are some differences, there are more similarities. And that's where you really want to work with your recruiter on identifying where you want to be. First and foremost, we have heard from, from our nurses, that location is their number one motivation and number one driver. So we want to get you where you want to be. The our recruitment teams work very, very closely together. So regardless who you end up, speaking to initially, we're going to talk to you about all of the opportunities that are available to you in the location that you are looking for, and make sure that we get you to the right place. So hopefully that is helpful to everybody and we look forward to speaking with you. So get applying today. 

Thank you Deirdre I see there's also a question in here in the chat that I'm going to give to you. So Fouzia says I'm a diploma nurse past NCLEX and pursuing bachelor's degree, can I start the process with AMN? So given our considerations of how to make your application stand out, what do you think for Fouzia? What's your recruiter perspective here? 

So definitely the opportunities that will be available to you will just be more plentiful. If you have that bachelor's degree, we do have opportunities available for diploma nurses as well. But based on what you want to achieve here in the US, I would encourage you to still apply with us today and continue pursuing your bachelor's degree. You know, there is a time frame when you apply and all of your requirements process your immigration, ideally, you have your Bachelor studies completed before you arrive in in the US, which will just open more opportunities for you. 

Okay, so Fouzia. Hopefully, that is some good information for you. And some good insight from our Senior Director of Recruitment, so you heard it straight from her mouth. Dan, I'm going to turn to you now. I want to know, what do you think is the most important thing and nurse should keep in mind during their job search for you in the US and how to market themselves in the best way possible? What do you think? 

For me is because every one of us knows, because we have to know ourself actually, we know our capabilities as a nurse and we are experienced nurse. That's why we are applying into the United States. I think it's better to build the resume from the time that you graduated from nursing. And do more certification like PALS BLS ACLS, that is one of the most important certificate that we have to apply for us to be able to apply here in the United States. It's not a requirement, actually. But it's a plus factor. Apart from that is we have to trust ourselves that we can do it here in the United States. So for me prepare yourself also with financial, your finances, because moving into the United States, especially us coming from the third world country, it is difficult because our salary is not that high compared to here in the United States.

So I think if you're doing like the direct hire, you should have enough budget to support yourself for like, for like a month here in the United States. But of course, I know hospitals are offering like a sign on bonus. So I don't think that will be a problem in the future. If you're going to apply here and to market yourself here in the United States. While you are applying here in the United States, you have to be more confident. You have to know the basics of the nursing the nursing skills, like you have to know the self the head to toe assessment. You should express yourself on how you are how efficient you are as a nurse. Because I think they're looking for foreign nurses who has an experience. And I think if we have this kind of experience, and we can answer those questions, we are able to be hired. And also we have to review the vision, the mission and core values of each hospital. Because it is important to know those things, especially when, because they will know that you're doing your research to be and they will know that you're interested to be part of their hospital. 

Such excellent points Dan, I think that is really good advice for our nurses who are watching and thinking, how do I make myself more marketable during the job search? And how do I make myself stand out during the interview process? If you know why you want to go to a certain hospital, you've done your research, you have the experience, you show up confident and ready to answer the questions, you are going to do well on that interview. So I think that's really, really good advice, thank you for sharing Dan. Nesrine, I'm going to turn to you and ask the same question. What do you think nurses who are watching worldwide today should consider when they're looking for an RN job in the US? And how do they make themselves more marketable? 

First of all, concentrate on your positive points like Ms. Deirdre mentioned. So I will give myself an example when you want to formulate your resume, put your positive points that strong points that you have. Like for example, I have 19 years of experience on my bachelor degree RN, I'm a master prepared RN. My certificates that I had through my career, being a preceptor being a mentor, I have been a charge nurse for a good time of experience in that position. I have experience in like, for example, where I'm working now the critical areas. I'm elaborate about your qualifications. BLS ACLS, I was a clinical instructor for BSN students who are newly hired to the hospital.

So all these points are strong points, you have to add them to your career, or to your resume or to your CV, when you are marketing yourself, then know where you want to go like you. Many of us love to be in a state where you have a temperate weather, where you have metropolitan cities, or where you have a calm greenery, beautiful scenery, places. United States is a very beautiful country, it's a huge country, there is a lot of opportunities here. So you just know you just do your research about even the small details in your life, what you like and what you dislike. And from there, you can zoom your focus where you want to be self confident, be ready to answer all questions that they might ask you about. Be honest, what you want and what you don't want. Express yourself like you are training yourself, how you go to the interview, how you will advertise about yourself. A lot of things you can highlight about your career and about your personality they might like that. And be prepared for anything be prepared for being in difficult situation, being in nice places being in funny places. Just be yourself, this is my advice for all nurses who are planning to come to you as it's a great achievement. It's a great opportunity. Look what you want from this place and search for it. And that's it.  

Thank you, Nesrine. Those are such good point in such good advice for our nurses who are watching, focusing on the positives that you bring to the hospital. Focus on your experience. Do your research know where you want to go all very good advice. So thank you for sharing that. So, Deirdre, I want to turn to you. How can you give us an insight, one more thing I should add to go ahead Nesrine. 

Financial point is a very important point. So you have to be prepared before you come to United States financially. Because you have to support yourself, at least for the first few months is in your life. 

Good advice so both you and Dan touched on that being financially prepared to come here saving up making sure that you're ready to make the move. That's very, very good advice for everybody to consider. And that's something that the AMN team, we'll also discuss with our nurses throughout the process. We give you a lot of advice, a lot of tips as you're going through, you know, we'll say now's a good time to start saving. So don't worry, if you're watching and you're thinking, this all sounds great, but it's a little overwhelming, it can be a little bit overwhelming. But we are here to help you through the process. And then you could come out on the other side and thrive like Nesrine and Dan are doing. So Deirdre, I want to turn to you. I'm sure a lot of nurses are curious, how does AMN evaluate which candidates get to interview for which clients? What do you what do you consider?  

Great question so we look at a number of different things. First and foremost, we look at your experience. So if you want to go to a certain location, and we've got facilities, healthcare systems in in that location, each and every client is different with what they are going to require. Some clients will want bachelor's prepared nurses, they'll want a certain amount of years of experience, they'll want you to have certain qualifications, certifications that Dan had mentioned, you know, if you're a pediatric nurse pals at eight ACLs BLS, they may want you to have electronic medical record experience. So we look at your experience and see if first of all, it will qualify to facilitate an interview with that client. And secondly, we want to look at where you want to be, right. So we talked about location, etc, a number of points ago, and we want to make sure that your experience will translate to where you want to be, do we have positions in that location that will be open to accepting your experience. And we'll talk to you about that, right. So if you need to do some continuing education modules in order to qualify, we'll guide you in the right direction. But truly, it is making that match, right. So we look at what you present to us, which is why your resume is really important and kind of Nesrine like a had mentioned this, like putting all of your quality attributes first, in first, front and center, excuse me, so that your recruiter can quickly evaluate where you will qualify for and help guide you in that direction. One of the things that I think is very important that is you remain open to opportunities that match your experience. And if there are things that you need to do to make your resume or your application more compelling to clients, then your recruiter will guide you in that direction as well. 

Okay, thank you Deirdre. That's a really good inside look for everybody who's watching and wondering how do I get placed where how am I going to get interviewed where so thank you for that insight. So as Deirdre was answering that question, I was looking at some of the questions that we have in the chat. And I see there are a couple of questions about experience about degrees. So I want to bring up that graphic one more time on how to make yourself stand out how to make your application stand out. And I think it also goes for how to make your interview standout. So that first key points pass the NCLEX that is going to be your golden ticket to move to the next round. Your specialty so as Deirdre said, consider what specialty you are in, are you in high demand, if you're not, that's okay, we can still place you it just may take a little bit longer your current work experience in an acute care setting. Are you currently working in an acute care setting?

That's definitely something that you can highlight. That's something that a lot of employers in the US are looking for the type of qualification or degree, so we accept all of these diploma associate bachelors and masters. But of course if you have a higher degree that also might be something that is more attractive to a US employer years of experience type of hospital experience. That is another way that you can market yourself just like Nesrine. If you have no 19 years of experience, that's something you're going to want to really point out in your interview. That's something that can really help make your application stand out. And English language pass. So this is one that I think everybody can kind of do. Especially while we are in this period of waiting of retrogression, we're not going to be talking about retrogression on this show, we have an immigration show that we talk about retrogression on. But you can take that time to pass the English exam, that's definitely something employers are going to look for they're going to want and it's something you're going to need before coming to the US. So all good things to consider. 

So Dan, I want to turn to you. Can you tell us about that moment, when you got your job offer from the hospital in Maryland, how did it feel? 

Oh, I was so happy at that time, because I never thought that I didn't know that I'd be accepted with the Adventist Health Care Hospital. So at first, I was like, very nervous, because I'm waiting for the result of my interview. So I was on hold and that time, because they will provide the result immediately. So when they told me that I, that they want to hire me, I was so happy at that time. And immediately, when they sent me the sign, the signing offer, I sign it immediately so that you're not gonna miss it. So I chose that hospital because they provided a good offer. Because that is one factor that I'm looking for the offer as well as the location of the of the state of the hospital, if it's like a safe, safe place, because there's a lot of places that have a high crime rate. And if there's like, 

because this place is quiet, so I prefer this place. So the moment I signed the offer, I told my friend that I signed this offer. So some of my friends signed up one as well, the because most of us had interview with that hospital, they sign the sign that offer then we were here right now for enjoying. We're like having a small community here. So that teachers I was invited the Senate hearing in the in the Maryland because they want to talk about the process of how to get a license here in in Maryland. And they found they found out that it's difficult to have a license here. That's why we pass one bill at that time. 

Wow, that's very impressive, Dan. And that must have been an amazing experience going to a Senate hearing to advocate for international nurses and making the licensing requirements easier. That is pretty amazing very, very interesting story, and very cool picture. Thank you for sharing your experience that I can imagine that moment when you get that offer and you sign it right away because it's the one you wanted. That must have been such an exciting moment. What about you, Nesrine? Do you remember the moment you got your offer? How did you feel? 

Yeah, I was not a direct appointed a nurse. So I got a lot of offers through AMN. And I was able to choose the offer that I like the most. And when I was interviewing with the hospital that I'm working in now, I was so happy, I was so excited. And when I got the offer, I looked at it and I sign it happily and it was a great moment for me. And when I moved here, I realized that it was the right choice for me to share something very dear to my heart when I was interviewing with a manager. 

She was so friendly she was so welcoming. The smile didn't leave her face. So that made me more confident and more comfortable. The place that are moving to I research about it and that made me do this decision. And I'm totally convinced that this is the right for me. 

Yeah well that must be a good feeling knowing that you are in the right place for yourself. I think that's the feeling everybody wants to have and everybody wants to feel. So Deirdre I had mentioned when we brought up the how to market yourself the specialties and looking at your you know, what are the hot specialties? I see we have a question from Mars who said what are the demanding specialties, so what are the most popular you know, hot specialties right now.  

So the it changes periodically. But you know, the typical specialties that, you know that we could place you in are going to be if you are a medical surgical nurse, emergency room operating room and intensive care. So what I would say to you is really just if you are not currently working in an acute care setting bedside, I would highly, highly encourage you to do so. So that when you do submit your application, you do have that current experience, that's going to be very, very important as you transition to the US. But specialties in demand vary all the time. Our expert recruitment team is up to date on what our clients are looking for on a daily basis. So once you submit your application and you are connected with a recruiter, they will talk through all of the options that are available to you and help you make the right decision to ensure that when you arrive here to the US, it is the right location for you, you are in the right specialty, and you thrive. So hope that helps you. 

Thank you Deirdre and Mars hopefully that helps you and anybody who is watching, and is thinking, now might be a good time, our recruitment team will help you figure out what's going to be the right match for you, where it's going to be the right placement for you. But as we've been saying, on the show, do come prepared, do your research beforehand, make sure you are ready to interview. So we're almost at time, I want to give everybody 30 seconds to give your final pieces of advice to nurses who are watching how to market themselves best for a job in the US. So just maybe one piece of advice each. So Deirdre, we're gonna start with you.  

All right be open, be open to the opportunities, be yourself. And I repeat myself when I said earlier, put your best foot forward really focus on what you can bring to a nursing position here in the US talk about that I would keep your resume to professional experience and you're in your nursing career and your education achievements, and use the interview time to bring your personality, what you'd like to do outside of work, etc. They want to get to know you. But your resume should be focused on what you have achieved professionally, in your career and in your education. 

Great advice from Deirdre our Senior Director of Recruitment, the insider scoop from her so thank you Deirdre. Nesrine final pieces of advice. 

Be yourself and be prepared that some sometimes you will be facing some difficult situations, but know that you can bypass this time with your preparation and you are self confident.  

I love that I think with everything in life, confidence is everything right? So thank you for sharing that Nesrine. Definitely put your best foot forward, be positive, be confident, Dan. 

For those nurses who wanted to pursue their American dreams, you know your word, you should start now, don't hesitate to apply. Because once you start the process, it will go through. I think that's the piece of advice that I can share to you that that if you started now, it will continue. I swear, you will never regret your decision. 

Well, that's very encouraging words, Dan, I think all of our nurses can appreciate that and I think that's very true. Now is the right time to start. Now's the time to get your place in line, start the process, put your best foot forward. And I love seeing the pictures of both you and Nazarene in the United States. It makes me so happy, flourishing traveling around looks like you are both having a good time. So I love that. I see we had quite a couple of questions in the chat about retrogression about immigration, about moving to the United States and your immigration options AMN Healthcare International, we have free guide books for you. So if you want to learn more about the EB three process, you can download your free guide book. We're going to drop the link at the chat and you can go ahead and download that free guide book so it takes you through some tips and some tricks to learn all about that immigration process. We also have our upcoming shows.  

So we have our upcoming shows for the next couple of months, which are at 7am. Pacific for Onwards and Upwards on February 16. We're going to have our Immigration Q&A so we have our experts who will come on, take your questions. Talk about all of the updates that are happening right now. March 1, we have career day career days and exciting ones is your opportunity to learn about employers that are interviewing in the US now, march 22. Another career or sorry, another Immigration Q&A so another immigration update, and on February 12, our Lefora Talk Show we're going to be talking about working with physicians. We also have our AMN Academy, which is every Monday at 5am pacific standard time with our partners, IPass, Swoosh, 9.0 Niner, and Aspire RN. So those are free classes for you. So take advantage of those free classes. And to leave off today we have a lovely video of all of our new arrivals in the United States. If you were inspired by Nesrine and Dan today and you're thinking now is the time for me to start my processing. Please go ahead and apply at AMN Healthcare.com/International and we are ready and excited and waiting to help you through this process. So thank you to my guests for being on today. I appreciate the insights. I'm sure our nurses appreciate the insights and now let's turn to our short slideshow of arrivals.