21 Tips To Find The Best Nurse Practitioner Jobs Near Me
Written By:
Donna Reese
Donna Reese MSN, RN, CSN
Donna Reese is a freelance nurse health content writer with 37 years nursing experience. She has worked as a Family Nurse Practitioner in her local community clinic and as an RN in home health, rehabilitation, hospital, and school nursing. She utilizes her personal experiences to write from the heart to apply to her writing for various health publications, including BLOGS, newsletters, and educational materials and videos. Read Full Bio »» MSN, RN, CSN
Although there is a great demand for nurse practitioners, finding a job in this field that is nearby can be more challenging than expected. Floundering in your quest for an NP position can be quite discouraging. Nothing is more demoralizing than sending dozens of resumes and applications into a void where you never get a response.
For NPs about to begin searching for a local position, throwing a broad net may not always be the best strategy. However, knowing how to secure a quality job can make this daunting task much easier.
In case you are wondering, “How to find the best nurse practitioner jobs near me?”, I have answers to help lead you in the right direction. You can learn from the wisdom of other NPs who have gone before you and avoid the pitfall of randomly applying to hundreds of positions. This article, “21 tips to find the best nurse practitioner jobs near me”, can serve as a valuable guide to succinctly show you the next steps to securing
Is It Easy to Find the Best Nurse Practitioner Jobs Near Me?
The job
outlook for NPs is excellent in every state. However, small towns and rural areas may have limited opportunities for nurse practitioners. I know of an NP from a midwestern area who had to drive over an hour daily to work due to a lack of suitable jobs in her tiny community. Two hours a day on the road was wearing her down, and she was concerned about missing so much time with her young family.
Additionally, it may be more challenging for new grad NPs to find work than those with experience. Thus, the reports of difficulty finding jobs as an NP are real despite a healthy job market. Granted, some NPs easily find work, but there are many instances where those in our profession struggle to land a job that is close to home.
Top 3 Benefits of Finding the Best Nurse Practitioner Jobs Near Me
BENEFIT #1: Does Not Necessitate a Move
One of the main reasons you may say you want to find “nurse practitioner jobs near me” is to avoid moving. For those with a family, having to disrupt school and lives is typically enough to want to keep your job search local. Securing a position close to home will keep you in your home, school, and beloved community.
BENEFIT #2: Community
Everyone knows that a competent provider is vital to the community. As NPs, we, too, can reap much from helping others in our communities. This arrangement is mutually satisfying and beneficial.
Nothing is more rewarding than serving your community as a provider. I loved being an integral part of the health community in my town. Knowing the area, its people, and the local health system created a comfortable work environment for me as an NP.
Working in your community gives you a further sense of belonging while helping those you care for most.
BENEFIT #3: Avoid Long Commute
Driving long distances to and from work daily is an inconvenience for most. Wasting hours in the car can drain your physical and personal life, especially for those with a family. Eventually, most people conclude that the commute is just not worth it.
Additionally, commuting can be expensive due to the cost of gas and wear and tear on your vehicle.
How to Find the Best Nurse Practitioner Jobs Near Me?
(The following are the 21 tips to find the best nurse practitioner jobs near you.)
TIP #1: Keep Your Search Local
About the Tip:
Are you sure that you want to stay local for a job? Once you have determined that working in your community is your goal, then stick to this train of thought during your job search. Although the NP opportunities that you may come across in different locales can look enticing, in reality, if moving for a job is not in your plans, then keep your search local. This first tip in answering the question of how to find nurse practitioner jobs near me is essential to keep you on track in your quest for a local job.
With an array of NP job opportunities, it is easy to get confused and overwhelmed. Knowing exactly what type of work you want and in what location will help narrow your search. Refining your career direction and goals will make your job search easier. Are you certain that you want to stay near home for your search, or are you willing to relocate or travel daily? Throwing out NP search attempts that are too broad of an area can be an exercise in frustration.
Recently, a new grad FNP contacted me for advice on her job search. She was shocked that after graduation, she had no idea where to turn next. This young lady sadly said she felt unprepared to work as an NP. This admission was not due to inadequate training in her field but more due to a lack of direction regarding her future plans. She felt that there were so many options for an NP to choose from that she was overwhelmed with choices.
After much discussion, we were able to boil down what she really wanted to do with her career. She wanted to begin a family and hoped that her career would revolve around this desire. We discussed the steps to get to that goal which included seeking work close to home. We closed our conversation with a solid plan guiding her to achieve her dream as an NP that would keep her in the community. She now could begin her local job search based on our analysis of how to achieve her goal.
Why This Tip is Important:
By taking inventory of what your goals are for your career, you may avoid floundering and stagnation in your job search. As illustrated, this young FNP could not begin her job search as she had no idea where to begin. A first solid step towards taking a job starts with self-examining your desires and intentions for the future. Once you are sure that you want to work close to home, you can concentrate on keeping your search local.
TIP #2: Hand Out Your Resume
About the Tip:
Keeping a resume on hand to pass out personally is one of the most effective avenues to find local NP work. A top-notch resume is one of the first steps to move forward in your local job search. When thinking about looking for “nurse practitioner jobs near me”, don’t get ahead of yourself. By first taking the time to prepare a standout resume, you are formulating a fundamental element from which all job opportunities develop.
Use professional resume writing tips to help display all your impressive qualities and entice the reader to extend an interview. Remember, numerous applicants may be vying for the same position, so an amazing resume that you personally deliver may be your only shot to get your foot in the door.
Why This Tip is Important:
As you are preparing your resume, you are mentally preparing yourself for the job search ahead. Your personalized
objective statement will help you to narrow down your search and help you to dial in on the exact type of position you seek in your community.
Personally offering a professional and outstanding resume may be all that differentiates you from the competition. This fact is especially important for a new grad NP where experience may be lacking.
Once you have a superb resume, be generous with handing out copies throughout the community. Keep some on hand at all times and pass out at any plausible opportunity. You never know where your resume may land.
TIP #3: Stay Where You Are
About the Tip:
Don’t overlook the fact that you may already have NP job opportunities at your current place of employment. Local positions that are close at hand may exist in your work system.
For example, if you are a new grad NP, look into provider opportunities where you work as an RN. Your reputation as a nurse should be enough to propel you to the next level as a provider.
For seasoned nurse practitioners in a hospital system, explore sister sites or different units or jobs for NPs where you can switch to a fresh position while staying employed by the organization.
If you are working as an NP but must travel to your job, you may still have options to keep your job and work closer to home. More and more healthcare employers are willing to accommodate providers who prefer to work from home or in a hybrid arrangement. Even if this option is not available, ask your employer to consider your proposal to work remotely. Perhaps they have not considered this type of work arrangement. It may be worthwhile for you to try and sell them on the benefits of your working from home or hybrid.
Why This Tip is Important:
Transitioning within an organization is the simplest way to land “nurse practitioner jobs near me”. Using a little ingenuity and the willingness to look for options within your organization can pay off in a big way for NPs wanting to stay within their organization. You don’t have to go through the hassle of finding a new employer and your workplace gets to keep a valuable employee.
TIP #4: Take Inventory of Local Opportunities
About the Tip:
It may be helpful to begin searching locally when looking for nurse practitioner jobs near you. You can branch out to widen your search after first investigating what may be right under your nose.
Start by assessing the job market in your locale. Do you live in a big city with many large hospital systems or a small town with only one community clinic? Are there urgent care facilities? What about private practices in your specialty?
What types of NP jobs are available on your local health systems database? Once you know what opportunities might be available locally, you may want to begin your job search with these nearby establishments.
Why This Tip is Important:
When you have a basic idea of what kind of local job opportunities may be available, you can start to plan your job search strategy. If you have lived and worked as a nurse in the area for a while, this step should be practically second nature.
However, the opportunities for an NP are obviously quite different than for a nurse. Nurses typically have many job choices for inpatient positions, while NP jobs tend to be needed more in outpatient and private practice.
This difference in job environment threw me a bit when I first began my job search. I was used to finding nursing jobs easily in any local hospital. I needed to look at job opportunities with new eyes for my fledgling career as an NP. After taking inventory of my city, I realized that my best opportunities were in our local clinics or private practice.
As a new FNP, I felt most comfortable working with children due to my RN experience in pediatrics. However, I needed to sharpen my adult practice skills as an NP, so I gravitated towards a community clinic where I could still see children but also treat adults. I wanted to be a generalist and was not overly interested in seeing specific populations only, such as in a pediatric office.
Fortunately, I was hired at our inner-city community clinic soon after graduation from my MSN program, where I floated between adult medicine, urgent care, and the pediatric clinic.
TIP #5: Get Involved in Your Community
About the Tip:
If you want to work close to home, immersing yourself in your community will open doors for you as an NP. Neighbors, politicians, other providers, and business professionals have much to offer when you rub noses with them in the community. Even more so, they KNOW OTHER PEOPLE. These friends of friends may be able to connect you to job leads, offer advice, or even offer you a position.
Why This Tip is Important:
Besides opening doors for employment with your community connections, your involvement will look good on your resume. Even if you do not find a community member to help you land a job, a potential employer may be interested or familiar with an aspect of your resume's “community service” section. This common thread may be all you need to open the door to a position.
Volunteering can also help make you more marketable by learning new skills, working with teams and diverse populations, and polishing your communication skills.
TIP #6: Look on Job Sites
About the Tip:
Probably the most common place to look for nurse practitioner jobs near you is to hop on the internet and go to employment sites such as Indeed.com and ZipRecruiter. There are literally dozens of employment online sites to pick from. Many also offer “quick apply” options and tips for interviewing and resumes.
There are also employment sites just for nurses and NPs, such as
NPjobs.com. For each site, you have the option to add zip codes so that you can keep your job search local.
Why This Tip is Important:
Searching on job sites is easy, convenient, and can produce excellent results. You can perform a quick search for jobs or an intense investigation, depending on how much time you have available. Typically, this form of job search has no commitment or fee and is the most popular avenue for researching job opportunities.
TIP #7: Join Professional Organizations
About the Tip:
Joining
professional organizations not only may help you land a job but also provides advice and support throughout your career.
There are many professional organizations that nurse practitioners can join, such as:
• The American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) - the largest professional NP organization
• The National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health
• The American Academy of Emergency Nurse Practitioners
Once you join, become an active member on the chat boards, attend meetings, and attend conferences. Conferences provide a healthy medium for
networking that can lead to job opportunities.
Why This Tip is Important:
Connecting with like-minded peers is bound to give you ideas and leads about jobs. By joining local organizations such as your state NP association, you will likely find answers to your dilemma of how to find “nurse practitioner jobs near me”. New grads may even meet a seasoned NP, and a mentoring relationship can develop.
Additionally, displaying your professional organizations on your resume will boost your marketability.
TIP #8: Cold Visiting
About the Tip:
You may think it is crazy to print off your amazing resume, dress for success, and then just walk into a prospective employer without a scheduled interview. However, timing can be everything when searching for an NP job. And this type of “drop-in” happens more than you think. Typically, it is done under the guise of leaving your resume (with the hope of talking to someone who can hire you).
This tactic typically works best in a smaller organization, such as a private practice, where you may have a chance to talk with the lead physician instead of just an HR department secretary.
Why This Tip is Important:
Cold visits may be discouraging as there is a good chance that you do not get to talk to a prospective employer. But in reality, this job search method can prove quite effective.
If you get your foot in the door to speak to someone, be prepared to sell yourself efficiently. Remember, this is not a full interview, and you do not want to waste an employer’s precious time. However, you do want to make a positive impression and hopefully leave with a scheduled meeting time in the near future to discuss your qualifications more fully.
This avenue of job search is especially successful for those who are gifted communicators. Your sparkling personality may be all that is needed to get an interview. A flat emailed resume cannot compare to a live and dynamic potential provider.
TIP #9: LinkedIn
About the Tip:
If you are like me, you may have no idea what a powerful job-finding tool LinkedIn (LI) can be. Once I tapped into this networking gem, my job leads increased substantially.
At the onset of my LI research, I was unsure how to tap into this platform's full job-finding potential. Fortunately, LinkedIn knows that many of us are not all that savvy with their site, so they provide numerous “how to” articles and videos to help familiarize you with their functions. Simply ask your question in the LI help section, and the useful instructions will likely pop up.
After reading the LI job search
tutorial, I was able to pursue and apply for jobs on this platform easily. You can find jobs within your area by queuing in a zip code or city during a job search. Better yet, employers find you simply by searching for NPs in your locale.
Why This Tip is Important:
One interesting aspect about LI is that the more you use it, the more valuable it becomes. As you expand your network of contacts, ideas for jobs and leads seem to develop in places where you would not expect them. By connecting with other NPs, healthcare organizations, and nursing leaders on LinkedIn, you learn and get ideas from other people's posts and answers.
I try to sign onto LI for a few minutes daily and almost always come away with an “aha” thought or idea.
Although you may be on LI to search for jobs, you are also bound to come across valuable tips on interviewing, professionalism, and current issues in healthcare.
Don’t forget to join professional groups such as those for advanced practice nurses on LI to further your job search potential.
TIP #10: Contact Previous Jobs
About the Tip:
If you left a job in the past with a good track record and friendly connections, your chances of finding a job with a previous employer are good. Even if you were not an NP at the time, a good work ethic in another profession should be enough to get your foot in the door as a provider.
By contacting the HR department and other providers, you may learn of open jobs or possibilities of upcoming opportunities.
Why This Tip is Important:
Having a personal connection to a potential employer is one of the best ways to be hired. Previous employers who know your stellar qualities may be more than happy to try to fit you in with their team. They may even create a job just for you!
TIP #11: NP Career and Job Centers
About the Tip:
Nurse practitioner career and job sites are geared specifically towards helping NPs find employment. The ANA
Career Center and AANP
Job Center are ideal places to begin your local job search. When utilizing these sites, you can give specifics as to your optimum locale. You are typically asked for a zip code where you want to find a job so you can indicate how close you want to work from your home.
It may also behoove you to check into other NP career sites such as:
• Your state nursing and NP site
• ENP Network
• National Practitioner Database
Don’t forget to check out Federal and government job sites such as
USAJOBS,
Department of Veterans Affairs, and your state government employment pages.
Nurse practitioners are in demand at federally qualified health centers. Simply google federally qualified health centers and your state to see availability. Once on the site, locate the recruiter and contact them personally to tell them your goal to find “nurse practitioner jobs near me”. A recruiter would be more than happy to see if they can fit you with a federal job if available in your locale.
Why This Tip is Important:
You may be pleasantly surprised to find that there are nurse practitioner jobs near you when you research government employment. There is often a shortage of physicians in this area of medicine, and NPs are needed to fill gaps in government provider jobs.
TIP #12: Check with Clinical Sites
About the Tip:
One of the best avenues to find nurse practitioner jobs near you is to tap into your NP school clinical training sites. If you feel that you did an excellent job as a student, your chances of transitioning a clinical site into a future place of employment are good.
I enjoyed all of my NP clinical rotations. Working for any of them would have made me happy. Although I did not pursue this avenue in my job search, I received an offer to work with a pediatrician I respected as an NP student. In the long run, I did not accept the job offer, but it made me feel great to know that I was employable when I was about to graduate!
Why This Tip is Important:
At your on-the-job training locales, you are familiar with the site and employees, and they also know you. You should be able to discern easily if this prospective employer is a compatible fit. In turn, the employer already knows you are competent and could be an integral part of their team. It is a win-win situation.
TIP #13: Reach Out to Your Professors and Alumni
About the Tip:
As a new graduate, your professors may have tips and leads for employment. Don’t think you are a bother by tapping into their expertise and connections in your job search. My professors were all more than willing to offer their guidance after graduation.
Additionally, reaching out to
alumni is a tried-and-true method of finding employment. One great avenue to locate alums is on LinkedIn. By doing a search on LI for your university, you will find others who have attended your alma mater.
You never know who may know someone (who knows someone) who can be a vital connection to a future job. The surprising results of a LinkedIn
survey reveal that 85% of jobs were found by networking. That is a substantial finding and, indeed, an excellent tip for landing your next job! So, make full use of your connections to try and “shake the bushes” to find leads on potential job opportunities.
Extra Tip:
Don’t forget to keep in contact with your classmates too to find out how their job search is going. They may have leads on jobs that they have turned down or know of more open positions where they work.
Why This Tip is Important:
People tend to feel a sense of camaraderie with those who attended the same university. Use this tip to your advantage and reach out with queries for work in your community.
Utilizing all of your connections to include your college network is an effective approach to employment that many business people employ. NPs can do the same with excellent results.
TIP #14: Consider Remote Work
About the Tip:
When deciding what nurse practitioner jobs are near me, you can’t find a closer NP position than one where you
work from home.
Working remotely as an NP is a perfect fit for those who want to stay close to home.
Why This Tip is Important:
Sometimes remote work just makes sense for an NP. Working at home due to family or work-life balance is more important than taking a job elsewhere.
Additionally, there may be instances where there are not ample or suitable opportunities for an NP in your community. Fortunately, now that remote NP jobs are more plentiful, you can consider this a viable option. Also, the
APRN compact allows NPs to cross state lines and work remotely in multiple states, boosting the work-from-home opportunities even further.
TIP #15: Create a Position
About the Tip:
Sometimes, a physician or other health organization may not have considered an NP in their practice. However, you know you can bring clients to the practice and perform well as a provider. Try selling yourself to local organizations that may not even be looking for an NP. Your holistic expertise may be just what they need.
Why This Tip is Important:
In some instances, NPs may still be a novel entity. Physicians are typically comfortable with physician assistants but may never have worked with an NP. Unlike your previous work as an RN, where hospitals practically beg you to work for them, NPs may need to be more creative and may have to sell their marketable abilities.
I found that promoting myself as an NP was foreign and a bit uncomfortable. Although I was proud and excited about my advanced credentials, I was unprepared for the job search. Nobody was knocking down my door to offer a choice position. I had to “get out there” and bring my A-game by investigating job possibilities and marketing myself.
As an NP, I felt like I was more of a commodity to sell than when I was an RN (where job offerings were at my fingertips). This thought process takes some getting used to!
TIP #16: Look Outside of Your Field
About the Tip:
There may be instances when you may need to be flexible to find an NP job in your community. Perhaps your specialty is limited, such as neonatal nurse practitioner, and there are few opportunities for your expertise. This scenario is more likely in small towns and locales where the population may not support the need for multiple specialists in particular fields. You may need to get more creative in your job search once you have exhausted more obvious opportunities.
Why This Tip is Important:
You may want to consider how you can pivot to expand your job search to positions where you can tap into a wider net of opportunities. For example, although an FNP is not a psych expert, you can tap into your expansive mental health training and background to competently work with patients with mental health issues.
Even if your credentials may not perfectly match the job description, you may still be a viable candidate if you sell yourself as a suitable practitioner.
Considering this, apply for jobs where your qualifications do not quite match what is advertised. You can learn and quickly adapt to new specialties. Sell a potential employer on your attributes that clearly show your willingness and ability to absorb and master new skills. Some employers in specialty fields actually prefer recent grads for this exact reason.
TIP #17: Find a Niche (and sell it)
About the Tip:
One of the more creative avenues to find nurse practitioner jobs near you is to make yourself more marketable than the competition. You can upgrade your skills by carving out a valuable
niche that is in demand in your community. Adding a unique side specialty instantly makes you a hot commodity in healthcare.
For example, if you are a psych NP, you can market yourself as an expert in ADHD or addiction. Your expertise can be from experience or by taking additional courses in your niche area.
Why This Tip is Important:
Adding a side specialty to your already valuable NP expertise is sure to elevate the demand for your services. A future employer will see dollar signs due to your salability for the practice. With your specialty niche, it is inevitable that your presence on the team will bring in new clients who seek your particular brand of expertise.
So, when creating your resume and
cover letter, highlight your niche area and how you can drive business to their practice.
TIP #18: Partner with a Recruiter
About the Tip:
If you are in a hurry to land an NP position or are having difficulty finding nurse practitioner jobs near you, you should consider hiring a recruiter. A recruiter will help ease your job search by assuming many duties necessary to gain employment. You basically feed the recruiter your resume and wants and needs, and they do the rest.
An effective recruiter will act as your partner to track down quality leads and prepare you to stand out as the best candidate.
Of course, you may pay for their service, but sometimes, your time and mental health are worth more than the fee to hire a professional recruiter. Fortunately, many recruiters are paid by the employer, so you may benefit from the expertise of a recruiter for free.
Why This Tip is Important:
There are times when all of your best efforts just do not produce the job results that you are expecting. Either the market is saturated, your search is too narrow, or there simply may not be any nurse practitioner jobs near you.
Although it may be difficult to consider, you may be the problem. Perhaps your
resume is not up to par, or your job-finding approach is ineffective. No matter the reason, a job recruiter will consider all areas to help mold you into a promising candidate, use their job-finding tricks of the trade, and then market you to quality employers that are near your home.
TIP #19: Talk with a Job Coach
About the Tip:
Sometimes, you may be unsure what you want to do with your career. I have encountered many NPs (especially new grads) who are basically confused about their next job steps. This uncertainty can lead to career stagnation as you don’t know what career direction to take.
A job coach will take you under their wing to determine your wants and needs for your future career. At your interview with a job coach, tell this expert that you want to work close to home. This professional will help sort through your confusion and options to help pinpoint your desires and provide a path to find an NP job you love in your community.
Why This Tip is Important:
An ever-expanding list of opportunities for nurse practitioners exists. The path to work for NPs is wide open and goes beyond the traditional roles that most are familiar with. Although ample alternatives for NPs are very exciting, they also can be overwhelming.
You may have questions such as should I work in a practice or try something more entrepreneurial? Do I gain experience with seasoned practitioners or try to go where I make the
most money? With so many options, it is easy to lose your direction for a job search.
There certainly are many options, and a job coach may be just what you need to help reign in your churning thoughts regarding employment. With their expert guidance, you can settle into a path to achieve your career goal to find local work.
TIP #20: Open Your Own Practice
About the Tip:
Opening your own practice as a nurse practitioner is a highly rewarding approach to creating nurse practitioner jobs near you. NPs in full practice authority states should be able to set shop without physician oversight, making this option straightforward.
Opening a clinic that is a solo practice is one of the most coveted goals of many nurse practitioners. Just be aware that owning a practice does take much planning and business sense, so this route may require more effort at times than working for an employer.
Why This Tip is Important:
What better way to have a career close to home than to set out a shingle in your chosen locale? NP-owned practices are on the rise as more and more states adopt full practice authority for nurse practitioners. NPs clinic owners enjoy the independence of being their own boss. Additionally, not having to punch an employer’s clock has huge advantages, especially for NPs with a family.
TIP #21: Open a Business
About the Tip:
The last tip for finding nurse practitioner jobs near you is to get creative and open a business. NP business owners have a proven success record due to their exemplary work ethic and nursing
soft skills such as effective communication and organization.
Business ideas for NP could be:
• Medical staffing agency
• Weight loss clinic
• Hormone clinic
• Medical software
• Public speaker/influencer
• Continuing education
• Nurse or NP mentorship agency
The list of potential business ideas for an NP is endless, and most can be accomplished online or in person, giving you even more freedom of choice.
Why This Tip is Important:
Besides being able to work from home or close by, owning a business gives an NP much flexibility. The ability to create your own schedule, work at a comfortable pace, and control your choice of employees can be highly satisfying for an owner. Besides, owning a business can be quite profitable, making this type of endeavor even more worthwhile.
My Final Thoughts
This more focused game plan for finding local NP jobs should help to solve the common dilemma of “how to find the best nurse practitioner jobs near me?”. This intentional approach that includes the option to expand to more creative, outside-of-the-box thinking is sure to help you find an NP job in your community with minimal frustration.
By networking locally and on social media, you are expanding your circle of job opportunities. By reaching out and letting your social, professional, and online network friends and colleagues know you are looking for a new opportunity as an NP, you are able to fully explore all leads for jobs in your community.
However, please don’t be too hard on yourself during your job search. Many NPs struggle to find work. Try to avoid comparing yourself with others who seem to land the perfect job with ease. That scenario is not the norm for many of us who looked long and hard for employment.
But rest assured, with the knowledge gained from reading “21 tips to find the best nurse practitioner jobs near me”, you will be ahead of the game and find the perfect position.
I wish you success in your job hunt.
Donna Reese MSN, RN, CSN
Donna Reese is a freelance nurse health content writer with 37 years nursing experience. She has worked as a Family Nurse Practitioner in her local community clinic and as an RN in home health, rehabilitation, hospital, and school nursing.