Advice on Resumes

Please be careful about how you include your student clinicals on your resume. A lot of new graduates over-emphasize them in attempt to "dress up" their credentials and make themselves look bad as a result.

Make sure that those student experiences are clearly labeled as student experiences and that no one could accidentally mistake them for employment. If there is any doubt about that or if you make it look ambiguous, someone reading it could think that you were trying to exaggerate your experience. That would lead them to think that you are sneaky and trying to win the job through deceit. You wouldn't want that.

Remember that all students have similar clinical experiences and anyone who reads your resume will know that. They don't want to have to spend a lot of time or effort sifting through a recitation of all the things you did in school -- the same things that everybody else did in school. Don't waste their time and don't irritate them by going into detail on the school experiences that are just like everyone else's.

What you do want to do is to highlight those student experiences that were unique, that demonstrate a special interest in a particular specialty, or that particularly relate to the type of job for which you are applying. For example, did you work on any special projects or do a senior-year preceptorship in a related area?

You said you have worked in the insurance industry. You should be including that past work experience and perhaps featuring that prominently. Nurse managers are looking to hire good employees -- and if you have an employment history that shows that you stayed in the same job for a while ... or got a promotion ... or were at least considered a good, reliable employee ... that means a lot to someone looking for an employee. A good employment record and recommendation from your former employer is much more important than the fact that you did clincial rotations just like every other nursing student in the country has done.

If you feel you must list all of your school clinicals, then do so on a separate sheet of paper so that the reader doesn't get bogged down with it. Only put the "special stuff" on the main resume page itself. You are a new grad looking for a new grad job. That's nothing to be ashamed of.

llg

I'm finishing up my resume, and I thought it was appropriate to include clinical opportunities that not everyone in my program was able to do. For instance, I listed, under my education of course, that I assisted school nurses with wellness checks, and worked with nurses in the state health department. Would including that be a bad idea?

If they are particularly relevant to the job for which you are applying ... then I would include them, being sure that they are clearly labeled as student experiences. If they are not particularly relevant to the job, then I would recommend omitting them.

llg