Resume Critique please??

Nurses Job Hunt

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  1. If you care not to write a detailed critique...

    • 0
      It looks Great! Change Nothing!
    • 0
      A few minor things (not spacing type stuff)
    • 2
      This needs a bit more work to be usable but its not bad.
    • 0
      Needing an overhaul would be putting it nicely.
    • 1
      Please find the nearest trashcan, discard, then start over!

3 members have participated

Specializes in High Acuity / Emergency / Trauma.

ok, background first.

i am a second career nurse. i was in the leadership ranks in the field of manufacturing and warehousing before the switch (just too many layoffs). to that end i have a strong leadership background and did not want to throw away that experience by not listing it. that being said i know that i will not go into nursing with my first job being a leader.

now that that is out of the way, i recently finished my bsn (i did a little nursing at the cc but transferred to a bsn program before completion). my present status is a bsn graduate awaiting to schedule and take my nclex-rn.

i have posted a stripped down version of my resume but it is pretty close (at least for contents sake), some of the spacing got thrown off when i removed personal information. i am not so worried about that. since the forum was messing up the formatting i am attaching it as a word doc.

sidebar note for anyone that cares to review - i have placed in parentheses "pending" in 3 places since these things (ana, masters program and rn license) are all awaiting my license issuance.

please let me know what you think, it took a while to build.

also...if you take the poll and voted for any of the 3 bottom options, i would greatly appriciate your feedback either in forum or pm if you choose.

Joe Resume 0512-critique.docx

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Specializes in Telemetry, OB, NICU.

"professional affiliations

pending rn licensure

august 2009 - may 2012 "

something looks awkward here to me. it looks like rn licensure has been pending for the past 3 years. a more experienced nurse may better evaluate this. may be you should leave that "pending rn l." statement out.

your resume isn't bad. but in my opinion, it is a bit overwhelming for a new grad. a full 2 page, small font, a lot of statements.. hiring manager knows and expects that a new grad nurse doesn't have all that experience to fill a 2 pages of resume. so, he/she may not be interested in reading your whole career life summary. remember, resume is something you want to put highlights and particular things that will help you get that job you're applying for. you don't have to put all your work and school history throughout your entire career life. for example, journalism has nothing to do with nursing care. and your experience about being a supervisor should be kept short enough to prove you have good supervisory skills. that's it; don't make a big list of what you did on your previous jobs. your position as a volunteer firefighter/ emt..; did you do any hands on care? anything that a nurse can also do? like inserting iv's, wound care type of skills? you can elaborate some of what you did in that position.

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Specializes in school nursing; pediatrics.

I agree - the resume is a bit overwhelming.

I am also an "second career new grad." Because you want an interviewer to see all of your skills and education, it is very difficult to limit to a one page resume. My resume is one and a half pages and I am still grappling with it!

In order to save space on your resume and to lighten it up, I would recommend:

1. Deleting the objective - it's very broad and doesn't really do anything for you.

2. Deleting the seminars - if you were not a presenter or did not receive some kind of certification and just attended the seminars, basically who cares!

3. Consolidating the clinical experience - I attended a new grad conference and we were told that hospitals don't want you to list every rotation since it is expected that we will all have gone through those rotations. In other words, it's a given. Just list something that made you stand out with regards to a rotation or just list your preceptorship experience.

I would also move your skills set up to the beginning (to replace Objective) and I would change the heading to "Qualification Summary."

Good luck to you!

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It needs alot of work. If you private message me i can help and show you another link to a great resume. it will give you alot of tips. and a cover letter... hold on let me find the link....It's too bunched up, and you have to really organize everything and prioritize it... It's not good at al , and I'm being honest it doesn't even catch my attention at all...

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Specializes in Geriatric Psychiatric.

Yeah I agree - lose the seminars. Lose the certifications, etc that aren't related to nursing/healthcare. Lose the jobs that aren't related to healthcare... in your cover letter, you can pump up your experience as a team leader, etc., which is very valuable. I know you're proud of your accomplishments but you need to clear out some of the clutter....

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The resume needs to be one page only. Human Resource recruiters are very busy and skim over a resume in less than one minute so it is important to make sure what you put out there is quality not clutter. It can be difficult to trim what we feel is important but one page fills quickly so make it count.

--I'm assuming your name will be at the top?

--Get rid of the objective--it's something many resume books have in it but it's clutter. HR knows what your objective is. The cover letter is the place to discuss the actual position you are seeking and a place to expand on your skills and why you would be a good fit.

--I'd also lose the Masters. If you are not even enrolled or close to graduation, it is clutter.

--Get rid of the clinical experience. You graduated nursing school. HR has a general understanding of your clinical background. However, since you are a new grad, you are competing with many other new grads. Externships or your preceptorship is good to keep around but I would put those under work experience and list them first.

--The actual look is fine but order of headings needs tweaked. Education and then work experience. They are the most important and should be at the top. I would get rid of professional development and affiliations and make your next heading Certifications: pending RN licensure, BLS, ACLS, etc. Then a heading for Memberships/Volunteer work: In your case, your volunteer work is pertinent, keep it! List it first, then your Student Nurses Association membership.

--Skills summary needs to be redone. Clear, concise, and short phrasing. Such as, critical thinking abilities, detail oriented, computer literate, leadership abilites.

Expand your margins to 1/2 inch all the way around. The bullet listing under each heading is good but they are aligned too close to the center. You will fit more on the page if you adjust their position so you can fit more in one line.

Remember, keep it one page and clutter free.

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