A few questions...

[jillnurse2b]

Hi everyone! I am a senior nursing student. I will be graduating in May and would like a job in the Manhattan/Brooklyn area. I have a few questions about resume writing and job searching, any advice would be greatly appreciatated :)

1- When should I start sending my resume out? Is it too early to start within the next month or 2?

2- Is it better to mail out my resume and cover letter or email them? or both?

3- Is it true that you should not include personal interests on your resume?

4- What about including GPA or dean's list? and if yes to GPA, do I put my overall GPA or nursing GPA?

5- I heard that in addition to sending your resume to the nurse recruiter/human resources I should also send it to the nurse manager of the unit I want to work on. Is that true? How would I even find out who that is and get their information (email address/mailing address)?

I think that's all for now, thank you for any help/advice you can give!

[MIA-RN1, RN]

1. yes send out your stuff now. I got hired for my job six months before I graduated. Other people waitied and it got harder as the best jobs were grabbed up early.

2. I would first call the recruiter, express interest in working there, ask if s/he prefers email or regular mail, send it the way they want, and followup with a phone call in a couple days. "Hi its JillNurse. I hope you received my resume and I would love to set up a time that we could meet and discuss what opportunities your facility has for new grads" Thats pretty much what I did.

3. I include my personal interests such as my volunteer work, I don't include stuff like reading and cross stitch. Its not relevant.

4. I included my overall gpa. I was not on deans list since I was part-time student but I would have included that as well. I also included my anticipated graduation date. I also brought a copy of my transcript to my interview and gave it to the NM.

5. You can look on the facilitiy's web site. Again, that's what I did in one case. Otherwise, it all starts with the initial contact w/ the recruiter. There is nothing wrong with contacting the NM directly but if they don't have a website, you may have trouble finding the contact info. If you know what floor you want to work on, send it to that floor, attention nurse manager. Can't hurt and it shows initiative. Include at the end of your cover letter the cc note that you sent it to the recruiter as well.

Good luck! :)