Cover letter - how do I?

Nurses General Nursing

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TI was given the name of a specific person to send my resume to. I went to the facilities website to make sure I had her title correct and this is how her name is listed "Jane Doe, RN, MPA, Senior Vice President and Compliance Officer"

All of the sample resume cover letters I am finding have the "To" header something like this:

Jane Doe, Nurse Recruiter

XYZ Hospital

5 My Street

Town, state zip

This persons name and title is on the long side, how would you suggest listing it? On two lines?

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Jane Snuffleufagus-Johnson

Nurse Recruiter and All Around Position Filler

XYZ Hospital

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I should clarify - I was not clear

TI was given the name of a specific person to send my resume to. I went to the facilities website to make sure I had her title correct and this is how her name is listed "Jane Doe, RN, MPA, Senior Vice President and Compliance Officer"

After reviewing sample resume cover letters, it seems like I should do something like this, but it just seems to be too long to have it all on one line:

Jane Doe, RN, MPA, Senior Vice President and Compliance Officer

XYZ Hospital

5 My Street

Town, state zip

This persons name and title is on the long side, how would you suggest listing it? On two lines?

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Specializes in ICU.

I would split it up, listing credentials after his/her name in the first line and specific position/department in the second line.

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thanks for the help! i swear i am having more trouble with the cover letter than i did with the resume! thanks for help with the header, can anyone offer some advice on how to improve my cover letter i would be forever grateful!

one part in particular i am struggling with is finding a good way to word is the part i highlighted. i am trying to incorporate that 1.) i attached a copy of my resume 2.) the name of the school i attended - it is very respected 3.)the fact i will be able to start working very soon

this is because technically i took my final exam and the dean has sent the final grades to the registrar - but the actual graduation is not until the very end of the month - the school has already finalized transcripts so i can technically take the nclex-rn as soon as i get the email back with my authorization to test code.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

may 14, 2010

name

title

hospital name

street address

city/state/zip

dear ms. doe:

a member of the hospital board of directors, xxx xxxxxx, suggested i contact you to express my interest in serving as a registered nurse at xyz hospital.

as indicated in my attached resume, i will graduate this month with a degree from nursing college. through my clinical rotations, i acquired skills in patient assessment and gained a solid foundation in providing holistic care that focuses on all aspects of a person's health: emotional, physical, spiritual, and psychosocial. in addition, i have developed strong interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to work effectively as a member of a healthcare team. i am passionate about nursing and i realize that critical patient care requires a solid foundation in nursing skills and techniques, prioritization of care, and communication skills. these skills, coupled with my compassion, patience, and patient advocacy, are what i offer as a new graduate nurse.

i welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss the possible employment opportunities available at xyz hospital. i look forward to hearing from you.

thank you for your time and consideration.

sincerely,

new grad

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Specializes in multispecialty ICU, SICU including CV.

Your cover letter is awfully general. If you want anyone to look at that for more than two seconds, I would personalize it a little more. At least, talk about what practice areas you are interested in so someone has some idea of where to place you or who to interview with. I would use some buzz-words too, those tend to stick out on a page. If you are BSN prepared, say "BSN prepared" somewhere in there in a sentence. Highlight what skills you might already have a little bit (either from your clinical or other work experience), or say something about what you enjoyed about your clinical experiences and why you might want to work in those areas. You have to have more to offer than a "passion for nursing" - that doesn't help a recruiter with anything.

And always capitalize Registered Nurse. Now and forever.

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Thanks for the input. I have the degree I will be earning in the cover letter in the sentence where I state the college I attended (I took it out when I posted it on here). I prefer not to list the areas I want to work in, their is only one person that hires nurses at this community hospital so I will interview with the same person no matter what area I want to work in. Plus I feel like I would be lying if I said I knew the area I want to work in - no passion for maternity or psych ,etc here - just a passion for helping people. Plus I am afraid of limiting myself with the job market being how it is in my area- if I say my passion is OR and they only have psych maybe they wouldn't offer me the job b/c they don't think I would be in it for the long haul. I have liked every area I had a rotation in and feel that any experience will be one I could learn from. I am not set on any one area I want to work in and at this point I have never held a nursing job and haven't held any job while in school. I will try to add in something about my passion to help people in general and something about a memorable clinical experience maybe. I was told to keep the cover letter short and not to repeat what was on my resume. I will try to personalize it more though, thanks again.

Your cover letter is awfully general. If you want anyone to look at that for more than two seconds, I would personalize it a little more. At least, talk about what practice areas you are interested in so someone has some idea of where to place you or who to interview with. I would use some buzz-words too, those tend to stick out on a page. If you are BSN prepared, say "BSN prepared" somewhere in there in a sentence. Highlight what skills you might already have a little bit (either from your clinical or other work experience), or say something about what you enjoyed about your clinical experiences and why you might want to work in those areas. You have to have more to offer than a "passion for nursing" - that doesn't help a recruiter with anything.

And always capitalize Registered Nurse. Now and forever.

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This thread helped me to understand the function of a cover letter and improve my resume. It an old thread, but each link was relevant, current, and thorough, thanks to the Staff who contributed them.

Writing a Resume/CV - Nursing for Nurses

Even without specifying the department for which you would like to work, you could personalize your strengths to the organization itself. Great opportunity to highlight the aspects of the hospital you are most drawn to (and delving into the "personality" of the facility gets research done for your future interview).

As to the line which concerns you, could be a great opportunity to include the type of strong language Cardillo suggests,

"Following my May graduation from X University, I would like to join XYZ Medical Center's reputable team." I don't think highlighting you have attached a resume is necessary, your formatting in the footnote is enough. Consider that cover letters are followed by resumes on almost every occasion. Good luck to you!

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Thank you very much!

This thread helped me to understand the function of a cover letter and improve my resume. It an old thread, but each link was relevant, current, and thorough, thanks to the Staff who contributed them.

Writing a Resume/CV - Nursing for Nurses

Even without specifying the department for which you would like to work, you could personalize your strengths to the organization itself. Great opportunity to highlight the aspects of the hospital you are most drawn to (and delving into the "personality" of the facility gets research done for your future interview).

As to the line which concerns you, could be a great opportunity to include the type of strong language Cardillo suggests,

"Following my May graduation from X University, I would like to join XYZ Medical Center's reputable team." I don't think highlighting you have attached a resume is necessary, your formatting in the footnote is enough. Consider that cover letters are followed by resumes on almost every occasion. Good luck to you!

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I could be wrong here, but I'm not sure I would mention someone else name and that they suggested you contact this person in your cover letter. Maybe in the interview, when asked why you want to work at this hospital, you could then mention that so-and-so is a friend of the family (or however you know this person) and told you about how great the hospital and who to contact.

I just wanted to add another option as far as formatting the sentence you highlighted. You could put that sentence in the first paragraph since it is part of your introduction to this person. Then have the second paragraph start with "Through my clinical rotations..."

I also agree that it is a little more generic. I'm sure you are a great student with a lot to offer. Grab their attention. You want to stand out in the crowd... sell yourself! :)

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Thanks for the advice everyone, it really helps!

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