Resume

[*Mom*CNA*RN*]

I'm brand new here and not sure if I'm in the right topic, but I'm looking for advice about my resume. I've been a stay at home mom for almost 10 years. Before that I did mostly receptionist work as well as some software training, both of which were in a medical facility. Next week I will have completed a CNA course and I am looking for a job in that field. My resume is geared towards an office position because that's the only experience I have. My actual question is... instead of pin-pointing my office skills (computer experience, typing proficiency, etc) is there a way to highlight the skills that would make me look better suited as a CNA (i.e. compassionate, people skills, personality) without looking cheesey?

[llg, PhD, RN]

The way to do it without looking/sounding cheesey is to list the actual people skills you learned and used in those other jobs (instead of catch phrases). For example, some of these might apply:

1. Greeted customers and patients

2. Taking phone messages

3. Scheduling appointments

4. Collecting information about ....

5. Processing information about ...

6. Teaching ....

etc.

You might also list some of those skills under a heading of "Customer service skills" if you want to organize your resume that way. Some people simply list their formal education and their jobs very briefly and list their skills in another section. You could have headings for "Patient care skills" "Custormer service skills" "Clerical skills" etc.

Good luck!

llg

[EricJRN, MSN, RN]

Good suggestions from llg! Here's a link to a monster.com article that deals with this issue:

http://resume.monster.com/articles/weakness_grad/

[*Mom*CNA*RN*]

Thank you very much! Your suggestions are very good and very much appreciated! Both of you helped a lot!!