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It seems it's a universal problem. You want to get a new job because you*re desperate to get away from the old one*whether it's because you want better pay, better conditions or just a change of scene. The trouble is that your present job keeps you so busy you don*t have time to look for a new one.

This is true in all types of career, but especially so in the field of nursing. With the dedication that many nurses carry out their jobs, especially when the work involves night work and weekend work, using those few precious hours of time off to go trawling through the recruitment newspapers and magazines seems like just too much work.

There is an answer, though, to this seemingly insolvable catch-22 situation. It's one that is used by many of those looking for a change to their professional career, and it is now making more and more of a mark in the field of nursing*the use of a recruitment agency.

Here's why:

A nursing recruitment agency usually has a wide range of jobs from which a prospective nursing candidate can choose. This means that there is far more chance that the nurse will be able to find exactly the right type of job to suit his or her skill set

Recruitment agencies can analyze the nurses skill set to make sure that the nurse is not applying for a job for which she is under-qualified*or even over-qualified for that matter. This means that the nurse has much more chance of being successful with the job application and finding a position which dovetails nicely with her skill set. It also means the new position is much more likely to give the nurse a chance of advancing her career.

Nursing recruitment agencies can often carry out initial interviews with the candidate, which means the nurse doesn*t have to waste time going for interviews, perhaps even traveling hundreds of miles only to then not be chosen for the second round of interviews. If the recruitment agency does the initial interview then it means the nurse can travel to a secondary interview in the knowledge that she has already got over the first hurdle.

Agencies can identify gaps in the skill set and give advice on what training should be undertaken. This can be a great help. Sometimes a candidate can be applying for jobs and being rejected without knowing why. Identifying the gaps in the skill set means remedial action*training*can be taken before wasting time on applying for positions for which the nurse is not qualified.

Agencies will contact the nurse when a new suitable vacancy becomes available, which means in effect the job offer is coming to the nurse. The agency will only put forward those jobs which fit the nurses skill profile, and so the nurse knows it is a job worth looking at. Try getting a magazine to do that!

As you can see, there are many benefits to using a recruitment agency when looking for your next nursing job. They can advise on training, cut down on the need to travel to initial interviews, and most of all, using a nursing recruitment agency cuts down on the amount of hard work needed to find a new position*and that's something that any hard-working nurse should be glad of.