What stinks about new grad resumes

Nurses New Nurse

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Why does resume writing make me feel so inadequate? Never felt badly about my skills, the fact that I've been a SAHM and student for the last 2-3 years, employment gap, employer references are all promoted out of my former employer. All of a sudden I am sweating bullets over what to include in an online app.

Okay, so this is a second career for me. I've always wanted to be a nurse, but ended up in a career that is not at all healthcare related. Some of the skills are transferrable, esp. as I was management, so training, delegating, analyzing etc. are all relatable. I'm making it work, but I feel like an imposter without any healthcare experience. I see some resume examples include clinical rotation experience; other people say it's stretching it to include it- I was a student, just know that nurse recruiters/ HR is aware of that lack of experience/ it's expected to see a lot of white space on my resume?

Plus I don't want to lie, so can't say yes, I graduated, when I don't until December, but I can't say no either right? I'm sure this is all very simple, but right now I am feeling like I did when I was 15 and trying to get my first summer job.

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Specializes in Ante-Intra-Postpartum, Post Gyne.

You do not put anything. Or you put "graduating December 2010" ect.

What did you do when you were in school? Did you do any volunteer work? Write a good cover letter, this is what explains what your resume can't.

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Areas where I can answer in a sentence are ok- but boxes where you check yes or no are what get me. Some apps have a place to explain, others don't.

My cover letter is fine. I am happy with it. And I have a friend who used to be in HR and he critiqued my resume, and said it was good. I have lots of volunteer experience and that is all included in my resume and v. briefly referenced in my cover letter. My current hang-up is selling myself. I usually have no problem with it; my past career had a speedy trajectory upwards, but now...... I feel unmarketable, inadequate and like I will rapidly be tossed on the discard pile. My ASN all of a sudden feels like a joke (I am in the same new grad pool as many BSN programs, some of them affiliated with #1 hospitals in the country), and my 3.5 GPA makes me worry I will not get a second glance.

I am great at putting on a game face, and have no doubt that on the phone or face to face I will be excellent at selling myself, but I am fearful of even getting the chance for an interview.

And I dislike online apps. Do you really want my last four jobs? Four jobs ago I was 19 and worked at a coffee shop. This is where I get stymied. All of a sudden I can't figure out the simplest requests for information as I worry every thing I say or do is going to be judged in such a way that I will disqualify myself.

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Specializes in Pediatric Pulmonology and Allergy.

I share your woes. Online apps are the worst because you are limited in the information you can give. If there's a name or email address to send a letter, or the option to upload a cover letter/recommendations/transcripts, great, but sometimes there's not even that.

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Oh i hate online apps too. But I just answered completely honestly. I answered the gaps honestly too. In nursing school, preceptorship, studying for NCLEX, obtaining additional certifications, continuous job searching. That was my almost 2 yr gap from my last job. But I put it. One wanted all jobs for last 10 yrs so I included my little job working in the dorm. I honestly dislike seeing others exaggerate experiences and often wonder how HR/recruiters don't see past it. Highlight your responsibilities at your jobs. Assessing, evaluating, delegating, use key nursing words to describe what you did.

And keep active. I was asked point-blank "what have you done since you graduated?" at my last interview. I was glad I had plenty of things to say.

But again, I totally get you on the online apps. I'd much rather be able to just make an appt with a recruiter/manager and talk face to face for a few minutes.

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Hi, I'm not sure where to post this?:confused: But, did anyone attend Kettering college of medical arts for their ADN? If so please, share your experience. If this is in the wrong place, please help me get it to the right spot.:hug:

Thanks, Angela

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I stopped working in Aug 2006, but I had been at that job since May '99. I was in the military, and when I got out, I did prereq's about 1 1/2 yrs, had another baby and then went to 2 yrs of nursing school. I never looked at it as a true gap, I just put it. Sure, I had other jobs before it, but they were things like lifeguarding and tutoring, and at 33 yrs old, my high school jobs just didn't seem relevant. I made sure to highlight things about my time in the Marine Corps that were skills that would transfer over, even though it had nothing to do with healthcare (similar to the list you made in your OP) and help to make me an asset- things/ experiences that set me apart from other new grads. I went on 2 interviews (I only applied at 3 places total) and got 2 job offers, and neither place questioned the time in between working then and working now. I had clinicals listed on my resume but in no way did I highlight that part (other than the 200+ hours in my internship), because, in reality, it's not what sets me apart from other new grads- that's the part we have in common.

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Go to the Region tab and find the state in which the college you are referencing is in. Post it there. HTH.

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