Questions on Resumes

EmeraldNYL, BSN, RN · Jul 13, 2003

You don't necessarily have to put an objective unless you know what you want to do. My objective said something like: "obtain a position as a graduate nurse on an adult critical care unit which will allow me to further develop my professional nursing skills." If you want to work in a specific area, definitely put that in your objective.

Tiki_Torch · Jul 13, 2003

hello newfloridarn,

at our local books-a-million bookstore, i found an absolutely wonderful book which i feel comfortable saying you'd most likely enjoy too. it covers the type of question you've asked and includes information for graduate nurses as well as old-timers like myself.

the book is your career in nursing: manage your future in the changing world of healthcare by annette t. vallano, m.s., r.n., c.s. (paperback; published by simon & schuster in january 2003; isbn# 0-7432-3521-5; retail price is $18.00).

there is a chapter devoted to resumes. like emerald said, an "objective" is not always necessary. i'll now quote from the book on pages 224 & 225:

"profile or summary of qualifications

use this in place of a job objective, which tends to limit and perhaps pigeonhole you. a job objective can be included in the cover letter that accompanies each resume you send out. guidelines for writing a cover letter are included at the end of this section.

"you might wait until your resume is completed to write the profile so that you have a better sense of what you want to include. a profile is a summary, not a complete repetition of your resume. it should highlight your best 'selling' features as well as the kind of characteristics that employers are looking for today.

profile examples

"here's an example of what a new graduate's profile might look like:

"resourceful registered nurse with healthcare experience as a certified emergency medical technician and a proven work history, ready to apply transferable skills, including first-aid and basic life support, and a lifelong interest in nursing. excels in settings requiring independent decision-making as well as team collaboration. excellent organizational and critical thinking skills.

"this is what a more experienced nurse might write:

"highly motivated and resourceful registered nurse with demonstrated effectiveness in the managed care environment as well as solid medical-surgical experience in acute care and community settings. proficient in communicating and facilitating the acceptance of controversial managed-care concepts. excels in advocating for patients within this cost-sensitive environment. capable of prioritizing multiple responsibilities in fast-paced environments."

the author also has 3 pages of action verbs in the chapter organized into 11 skill categories to help jog your memory and give you ideas of which ones could apply to your personal experience.

i can't recommend this book enough!

i hope my post has been helpful to you in some small way. i wish you only the best life can offer you in your nursing career!!

:nurse:

TinyNurse, RN · Jul 14, 2003

We had a speaker come in during our "trends" class.

he said not to put "new grad in search of an RN position"

he said to make it more specific like

"Full Time registered nurse position in the ER"

or whatever unit you want to work in.

anyways he said to make it specific as to what you want!!!!

I did it and I got it

still awaiting my att. ugg

xo

Jen

GalaMar · Aug 6, 2003

What if the only hospital experience you have is from clinicals?? I know that I'm supposed to concentrate on that for the Experience section, but does that mean I should have a few sentences describing what I did during each rotation, or do I just list the name of the hospital & what unit I worked on? I would appreciate any help.

llg, PhD, RN · Aug 6, 2003

I am not a new grad -- but rather someone who receives and reviews resumes for possible hires. Personally, I hate it when new grads "pad" their resumes by listing everything they did in nursing school. We all know the stuff that students usually do and all those details make it hard to find the stuff that distinguishes you from the other new grads. All that extra stuff doesn't impress an experienced reader. We want to quickly find the material that shows how this applicant is different from the next one in the pile.

My advice is to list your education (e.g. where and when you graduated) and then describe in greater detail only those things that are not the same for every student. For example, did you do any special projects or major projects as a student? Were your clinical rotations "slanted" towards your special interests? When you got to choose a topic about which to write a paper, what topics did you choose?

Remember, you are trying to tell the reader who YOU are -- not summarize the standard curriculum of your nursing school. If you only did the bare minimum at school and have nothing special to say about yourself ... then I would perhaps list the projects or rotations that relate to the job for which you are applying. For example, if you are applying for a job in an ICU, list the experiences you had as a student that particularly prepared you for an ICU role (e.g. clinicals done in an ICU, etc.) Just be sure to be clear in your statements that these were student rotations/assignments and not actual jobs.

llg

shelleybelle · Aug 6, 2003

I might be able to help... if you'd like to email me - much too long & detailed to put here. I use to do resumes for a living

GalaMar · Aug 13, 2003

Just wanted to thank llg & shelleybelle for responding to my question (as well as the others who have posted here). Your suggestions have helped me a great deal in preparing my resume.

shelleybelle · Aug 13, 2003

awww... thanks... hope it helped. Let me know how you do or if you need some more help!