Student Resources
Applying for jobs
Where to look for jobs?
When looking for a Trainee Dental Nurse jobs, you should do two things:
1. Apply online for any vacancies available in your area
Below you will find a list of some of the websites where you can search for jobs.
Please check out all the links and apply for as many jobs as possible. Please do not limit your search to these websites, though – these are just examples.
Please ensure you are applying for ‘trainee dental nurse’ or ‘student dental nurse’ positions and not for ‘qualified’ or ‘GDC registered’ dental nurse positions. Also, do not apply for ‘apprenticeships’ since you are already in college.
- SmileWisdom Job Board
- Google search results for: ‘trainee dental nurse job London’ (change location to where you live!)
- Indeed
- Simply Hired
- Colosseum Dental
- Dental Talent
- Temp Dent
- Total Jobs
- Glass Door
- Gumtree
When applying for jobs, never use ‘sir/madam’, ‘dear manager’ or ‘to whom it may concern’ – always research and find the name of the practice manager/principal dentist/owner and address your application to one of these people. You can usually find the names on the practice website under the tab ‘Meet Our Team’ or ‘About Us’. If not, you can search for the practice name and get the name of registered manager here: https://www.cqc.org.uk/what-we-do/services-we-regulate/find-dentist This might sound like a lot of work but your effforts will pay off!
2. Contact ALL dentists in your local area and leave them all your CV.
We recommend you use this search: CQC Dental Practice Search (change ‘Location’ to your town or postcode) to find ALL dental practices in your area and start contacting them, one by one – regardless of whether they are currently advertising vacancies or not.
Why is it a good idea to proactively contact dentists if you are not sure they are hiring? This is because many practices will be looking for staff but they will not be advertising anything on job sites; they might be looking internally, through agencies, recommendations etc.
Call, email or walk in. Wherever possible, visit the practice in person to deliver your CV. This will give you the opportunity to meet some of the staff and buid a friendly rapport with them, it will also ensure your CV will be looked at (think about how many times you have not read an email you received!)
Make sure you have your CV + cover letter printed and that the cover letter/envelope is addressed to someone at the practice. When you walk in, smile, explain who you are and that you are looking for work, and say that you would love to leave your CV with them just in case they have any trainee nurse vacancies now or in the near future. In other words, be super friendly and polite but don’t ask if you CAN leave your CV, or if they HAVE any vacancies – just hand it to the receptionist with a smile on your face. Do not ask for the manager/owner – make friends with the receptionist or whomever you encounter first – you don’t want the person you speak with feel that they are not important enough to accept your CV.
Applying via email
It’s important for your email application to be spelling error-free, relatively short and informative in order to attract attention. Download our template to create professional email applications.
Remember, it is important to address your email to someone who works at the practice rather than to ‘sir/madam’ or ‘Hiring Manager’ etc… Addressing it to someone ‘real’ will significantly increase the chances of your application being read.
Oh! And don’t forget to always attach your CV and any supporting documents like your cover letter and the course enrolment confirmation.
Please keep track of all your applications/practices you send your CVs to, so that you can follow them up. You should follow up with each and every practice that you do not hearback from around 1-2 weeks from the date you initially approached them. Keeping a clear record will make your job hunt less overwhelming and you will feel more in control.
If you contact our Team for job hunt assistance (e.g. you have sent many applications but are not getting an interview) we would always ask you to send us a summary of all your applications sent to date (name of practice + how & when you applied + email address if you applied via email).
Attending our live Q&A webinars
Until you find a job, you are invited to join our job hunt Q&A webinars ‘Find a Job Club’ run by Zsoka Ralik every Wednesday between 12.00pm and 12.30pm on Zoom. During these webinars we discuss any job search-related matters and you will get some helpful tips and answers to your job hunt-related questions.
You will get a reminder every week on Tuesday (one day before) and also on Wednesday 15min before the webinar starts, but I am sending you the link below, too:
JOIN FIND A JOB CLUB on Zoom every Wednesday at 12.00pm
Meeting ID: 872 0098 9464
Passcode: 435429
