chapter 14 | Your Nursing Careerr 219■Product knowledge
■Good communication and people skills
■Computer skills
■Self-managed learning skills
■Flexibility
Weaknesses
■Poor communication and people skills
■Inflexibility
■Lack of interest in further training
■Difficulty adapting to change
■Inability to see health care as a business
Opportunities
■Expanding markets in health care
■New applications of technology
■New products and diversification
■Increasing at-risk populations
■Nursing shortage
Threats
■Increased competition among health-care
facilities
■Changes in government regulation
Take some time to personalize the preceding
SWOT analysis. What are yourstrengths? What
are the things youare not so good at? What weak-
nesses do youneed to minimize, or what strengths
do youneed to develop as you begin your job
search? What opportunities and threats exist in the
health-care community youare considering? Doing
a SWOT analysis will help you make an initial
assessment of the job market. It can be used again
after you narrow your search for that first nursing
position.
In addition to completing a SWOT analysis,
there are several other tools that can help you
learn more about yourself. Two of the most
common are the Strong Interest Inventory (SII)
and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).
The SII compares the individual’s interests with
the interests of those who are successful in a
large number of occupational fields in the areas
of (1) work styles, (2) learning environment,
(3) leadership style, and (4) risk-taking/adventure.
Completing this inventory can help you discover
what work environment might be best suited to
your interests.
The MBTI is a widely used indicator of person-
ality patterns. This self-report inventory provides
information about individual psychological-type
preferences on four dimensions:1.Extroversion (E) or Introversion (I)
2.Sensing (S) or Intuition (N)
3.Thinking (T) or Feeling (F)
4.Judging ( J) or Perceiving (P)Although there are many factors that influence
behaviors and attitudes, the MBTI summarizes
underlying patterns and behaviors common to
most people. Both tools should be administered
and interpreted by a qualified practitioner. Most
university and career counseling centers are able to
administer them. If you are unsure of just where
you fit in the workplace, you might explore these
tests with your college or university or take it online
at http://www.myersbriggs.org/Beginning the Search
Even with a nationwide nursing shortage, hospital
mergers, emphasis on increased staff productivity,
budget crises, staffing shifts, and changes in job
market availability affect the numbers and types of
nurses employed in various facilities and agencies.
Instead of focusing on long-term job security, the
career-secure employee focuses on becoming a career
survivalist. A career survivalist focuses on the person,
not the position. Consider the following career sur-
vivalist strategies (Waymon & Baber, 1999):
■Be self-employed psychologically.Your career
belongs to you, not to the person who signs your
paycheck. Security and advancement on the job
are up to you. Security may be elusive, but
opportunities for nurses are growing every day.
■Learn for employability.Take personal respon-
sibility for your career success. Learn not only
for your current position but also for your next
position. Employability in health care today
means learning technology tools, job-specific
technical skills, and people skills such as the
ability to negotiate, coach, work in teams, and
make presentations.
■Plan for your financial future.Ask yourself,
“How can I spend less, earn more, and manage
better?” Often, people make job decisions based
on financial decisions, which makes them feel
trapped instead of secure.
■Develop multiple options.The career survival-
ist looks at multiple options constantly. Moving
up is only one option. Being aware of emerging