Should I keep Hooters on Resume?

Nurses Career Support

Updated:   Published

Hi!

So I am fairly new to allnurses, but I figured this would be the place to go for help on deciding what to keep/throw away on my resume. I graduated in May with my BSN and have been working at my first nursing job at a hospital almost an hour away. Since starting almost six months ago, I have recently been looking into applying to places closer to home now that I have actual nursing experience under my belt. I worked at Hooters for about a year while in college, and have been debating whether to remove it from my work history or not. A few family members have mentioned that maybe that was part of the reason I didn't get many interviews after graduating, but I feel it's related to lack of RN experience. And honestly, if an employer really doesn't want to give me the chance to show how great of a nurse I am based on the fact that I was a waitress at Hooters, then maybe that's not the place for me anyway.

My work history consists of the following from newest to oldest:

RN (present job), Nurse Extern (for a few months), waitress (Hooters), and two associate positions at local shops.

Should I keep the RN and nurse Extern position only? Or keep Hooters as well since it really does show a great deal of customer service experience? I have had various opinions from friends and family so I figured ID get the opinions of actual nurses ? Thanks in advanced for any and all advice!

Newbie-RN

Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

Keep the nursing experience only. It is all that is relevant.

Healthcare is a fairly conservative profession (not in the political meaning). You don't need to list a college job that might disadvantage you in someone else's eyes against an equally qualified candidate.

Editorial Team / Admin

Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN

6 Articles; 11,658 Posts

Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
meanmaryjean said:
Keep the nursing experience only. It is all that is relevant.

Agree. None of those non-nursing jobs belong on anything other than the graduate nurse resume. The same with clinical experiences (and those only belong on the new grad resume if they are not part of a standard nursing education, such as a practicum in the specialty being applied for).

As for looking for a new job, I highly recommend staying at your job for at least a full year if not two. It takes about a year to become competent as a nurse- and starting over somewhere new is going to interfere with that progress.

CrunchRN, ADN, RN

4,530 Posts

Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

Only nursing experience matters.

Specializes in ICU.

Keep it off. Only list non Nursing Jobs that are professional. This mostly applies to those with previous degrees. Some jobs actually give you work exp credit if that was a job you got and used with a previous degree.

caliotter3

38,333 Posts

meanmaryjean said:
Keep the nursing experience only. It is all that is relevant.

Healthcare is a fairly conservative profession (not in the political meaning). You don't need to list a college job that might disadvantage you in someone else's eyes against an equally qualified candidate.

Agree with this. A conservative manager might look at the resume entry and think something like, "Why didn't she choose to work as a server at a Red Lobster versus Hooters"?

Mavrick, BSN, RN

1,578 Posts

Specializes in 15 years in ICU, 22 years in PACU.
Newbie-RN said:

Or keep Hooters as well since it really does show a great deal of customer service experience?

Since that lines up so well with the public's expectation of nurses. What nurse manager wouldn't be thrilled to have such a well rounded addition to her staff.

BedsideNurse

171 Posts

I don't think hiring managers would view Hooters as positive customer service experience. It is much more likely they will judge you in a less than positive way. Kind of like a stripper turned nurse translating that into the ability to work with (IV) poles; probably not helpful. Poking a little fun, but seriously, right or wrong, there is little chance you will be taken seriously with that on your resume so you should leave that off for sure. I agree with Rose_Queen and encourage you to try to stay at your first position for at least a year. It'll make for much easier job searches in the future.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN

102 Articles; 27,612 Posts

Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Newbie-RN said:
Since starting almost six months ago, I have recently been looking into applying to places closer to home now that I have actual nursing experience under my belt.

Just a word to the wise: many HR directors and nurse managers will not call applicants back who have a whopping six months of service with their current employers to schedule an interview.

People who do the hiring are looking for a good return on the company's investment. Thus, a new nurse who already seeks to switch jobs after having worked his/her current job for a few months is often viewed as a risky proposition to avoid.

Therefore, remain with your current employer for at least one year before applying for other positions. Otherwise, you will appear to be a job hopper. In the professional world, this is an unattractive quality that hiring managers try to avoid at all costs.

Ruby Vee, BSN

17 Articles; 14,030 Posts

Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
Newbie-RN said:
Hi!

I graduated in May with my BSN and have been working at my first nursing job at a hospital almost an hour away. Since starting almost six months ago, I have recently been looking into applying to places closer to home now that I have actual nursing experience under my belt.

Should I keep the RN and nurse Extern position only? Or keep Hooters as well since it really does show a great deal of customer service experience? I have had various opinions from friends and family so I figured ID get the opinions of actual nurses ? Thanks in advanced for any and all advice!

Newbie-RN

To answer your actual question, Hooters does not belong on your nursing resume and may indeed be the reason you didn't get many interviews when searching for your first position. Only nursing experience.

To answer the question you didn't ask but should have, you should be looking for a home closer to the job rather than a job closer to home. Or just bite the bullet. It takes approximately two years to become competent as a nurse, and changing jobs just delays the process. It is unfair to your employer and to your manager, preceptor and colleagues to take a nursing position, go through orientation and then leave after barely six months. No good manager is going to want to hire you as she'll be wondering whether you intend to do the same to her. The minimum you should stay -- the absolute minimum -- is a year. Two years is better so that the next place you go gets an experienced nurse rather than, say, someone with a license and a pulse but who lacks fully formed time management and critical thinking skills.

NurseLife88, ADN, RN

1 Article; 107 Posts

I did a ton of research when I completed my resume as a newbie(Still a newbie btw). I was told by many not to include any experience that wasn't nursing related or relevant to the position I applied for. I took off my first job in a nursing home because it had been many years and the work wasn't as relevant. However I included my work in residential care facilities as well as daycare because they were relevant to healthcare. Daycare was relevant as I was applying to peds. And residential care facilities allowed me loads of experience with ADL cares, meds, teamwork, and the politics of healthcare amongst other things. Now that you are a new nurse but still have some experience there really is no reason to include Hooters as it is not really relevant and may unfortunately place bias against you. Another thing that may be looked at poorly is leaving a job only six months in. It's expensive and time consuming to invest in the training of new nurses and most hospitals or anywhere really don't want to invest in you if they are unsure of your commitment and investment in them. Six months is not long and I agree with the more seasoned nurses to ride it out at least a year but in the end the decision is yours.

I have personal experience with this as I was a Hooter's waitress before I was a nurse also. I did not put it on my resume. The only difference is that I had frequently had multiple jobs, so there was no gap in work history. I would just include nursing experience and if it ever comes up say you waited tables. There were two other girls I worked with at Hooters who are nurses now also. It must be a thing! I have been a nurse for 10 years now and am currently in a Family Nurse Practitioner program. Just don't let anyone make you feel like the path that led you to where you are is wrong. Good luck with nursing!

+ Add a Comment