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Discussion

20 applications no response...help

(name and address)

San Diego, CA

August 29, 2017

(San diego location)

To Whom It May Concern:

I am currently seeking a Registered Nurse position in your Med/Surg Unit that will allow me to utilize my education, skills, and abilities within (hospitals name). I am a BSN nursing graduate from Indiana University School of Nursing. My experience aligns well with the qualifications you are seeking and I am certain I would make a valuable addition to your organization.

I have acquired recent NICU nurse experience at Indiana University Methodist Hospital where I have attained a well-rounded nursing skill set caring for patients. Along with on-the-job experience, I have participated in clinical settings that have given me the readiness to care for the population at UC San Diego Health. These clinical setting include:

Eskenazi Health Medical Surgical unit

Indianapolis VA Medical Surgical/Oncology unit

Riley Children's hospital Medical Surgical unit

Capstone: IU Health Methodist and University ICU resource pool

My previous NICU experience and education has allowed me to gain knowledge to know what it takes to be a successful registered nurse. I can work in high stress environments, have prompt time management, have interpersonal communication skills, and I am always looking for ways to better my patient care.

I am very interested in working within UC San Diego Health. I am available for an interview at your earliest convenience. If you have any questions or would like to set a time to meet, you can contact me at (317) xxx-xxxx. Thank you very much and I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

(my name)

My name my address San Diego, CA(zip code)

Phone: (317) xxx-xxxxE-Mail: [email protected]

[h=1]Objective[/h]

Registered Nurse seeking the opportunity to care to patients in need by continuing my commitment to provide compassionate healthcare services while utilizing my education, skills, and previous experiences.

[h=1]Highlights of Qualification[/h]

  • Completion of Neonatal Intensive care new registered nurse residency and orientation

  • Demonstrates compassionate patient care and communication skills that have been recognized by other health care professionals

  • Dedicated and motivated learner with excellent critical thinking and problem solving skills

  • Exceptional skills in time management, organization, and resource management

  • Work effectively in interdisciplinary teams to provide complete patient care

Education

[h=2]Indiana University- Purdue University of IndianaGraduated: December 2016[/h]Indiana University School of Nursing

Bachelor of Science: Nursing

Certifications and Licenses: Registered Nurse State of California

NRP Certified

Period of purple crying Certified

BSL American Heart Association CPR/AED

Applicable Clinical Experience: Capstone: IU Health ICU Resource Pool

Eskenazi Health Medical Surgical unit

Indianapolis VA Medical Surgical/Oncology unit

Riley Children's hospital Medical Surgical unit

Experience

[h=2]Registered Nurse, Indiana University Methodist Hospital[/h][h=2]NICU, Level IIIJanuary 2017-June 2017[/h]

  • Provided complex care including PICC/UAC/UVC, promoted developmental care and kangaroo care

  • Experience caring for newborns in need of respiratory support including nasal cannula, CPAP, SiPAP, Ventilator

  • Provided support, comfort and education to families, building solid and trusting relationships by fostering one-on-one communication

  • Collaborates with all members of the health care team to ensure effective and efficient patient care.

  • Trained and experienced in attending high-risk labors and providing resuscitation of newborn infants

  • Complete admissions into the NICU after deliveries

  • Specialize in caring for Neonatal abstinence syndrome newborns

[h=2]Patient Care Intern, Indiana University Methodist Hospital[/h][h=2]Operating RoomAugust 2015 – December 2017[/h]

  • Provide patient care under supervision of a register nurse

  • Execute skills that make up a circulating roll

  • Able to scrub and assist during surgery

  • Perform sterile technique

  • Complete preoperative assessments

  • Establish and sustain therapeutic relationship throughout surgical care

[h=2]Child Care Provider, Beginning Steps Daycare[/h][h=2]Infant, preschool, elementaryAugust 2010- August 2015[/h]

  • Positively interact with children ranging from newborn to elementary age

  • Promote newborn and infant development with proper knowledge of developmental milestones

  • Develop professional relationships with parents and caregivers

  • Direct children in eating, resting, cleanliness, and age appropriate activities

  • Create weekly classroom lesson plans and provide a structured atmosphere

[h=1]Volunteer[/h]

  • Dayspring Homeless Shelter, 2012

  • Phi Mu Affiliation 2013-2015: Jagathon Riley Hospital Fundraising Event, Relay for Life, Teeter-totter-a-thon, Miracle Breakfast

  • Lake Dalecarelia Volunteer Fire Department

  • Quote

    • Featured Replies

    The issue is probably that you have only 6 months experience and you are applying to a specialty area in a part of the country where there is a surplus of EXPERIENCED RNs. You simply need more experience.

  • Quote
    • Admin
    The issue is probably that you have only 6 months experience and you are applying to a specialty area in a part of the country where there is a surplus of EXPERIENCED RNs. You simply need more experience.

    Agree. Your first job is listed as only 6 months. What have you been doing since June 2017 when your employment ended? Someone who only held a position for 6 months with no other nursing experience is not going to be one that makes the short stack of applications to review in an area where there are numerous nurses searching for jobs. You also have an end date of December 2017 for your patient care assistant job- that's going to raise some eyebrows as well- first, the date in the future, plus the fact that it makes it appear as though as a nurse you are working in the capacity of a PCA.

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    • Author

    Thank you for the reply! I will have to change that! Do you think applying to a medsurg floor/not specialty area is the better option? And if so, is my resume fit for that area?

  • Quote
    • Admin

    If the employment environment in your area is like several other of the more populated CA areas, you're going to need to expand your search beyond just acute care. Any job is better than no job- especially as a nurse still in the first year of licensure with a short employment history.

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    • Columnist

    There are LOTs of ways to improve your cover letter and resume. You must grab the recruiter's attention in 6-10 seconds. As a hiring manager- it is not compelling (sorry!)

    • Overall, too wordy "I have participated in clinical settings that have given me the readiness to care for the population"
    • Multiple (meaningless) cliches: "dedicated and motivated"
    • Has grammatical/spelling/syntax errors (resumes must be error-free)
    • Sequencing and bundling of topics confusing-could be improved for impact
    • Listing too many experiences not relevant to MedSurg: "Specialize in caring for Neonatal abstinence syndrome newborns"

    To give it punch and for examples of resumes/cover letters, check out my book below/ it's written for nurses just like you, with minimal experience and challenges (gap in employment).

    Best wishes,

  • Quote
    • Author

    Okay thank you! I will get to editing that right away and check out your book!

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    • Experts

    I agree with Nurse Beth. You have a very long resume considering you have only six months of RN experience. I'd leave off the clinical experiences during nursing school; they are generally not considered relevant. Go ahead and list your experience prior to becoming a nurse. At this point they are still relevant, but skip the adjectives and stick to verbs.

    Your cover letter needs to skip the embellishments and cut to the chase. Why are you seeking new employment after completing a six-month internship? If you are relocating due to spousal transfer or other such reason you need to state it. Otherwise they will think you are a job-hopper.

    Your resume and cover letter will stand out if HR's eyeballs can land on the pertinent info without having to wade through a bunch of verbiage. Good luck.

  • Quote

    Once you have paid RN experience, your clinical experiences from school are irrelevant. Also once you have worked as an RN, your experience belongs before your education on your resume. I'd get rid of the objective statement. It's wordy and unnatural. Everyone knows your objective is to get a job.

  • Quote

    "BSL American Heart Association CPR/AED "

    Probably a typo, but that should be fixed.

  • Quote

    If you don't want to be identifiable here, you need to take a LOT more detail out of this.

  • Quote
    • Guides

    Your cover letter is very weak. It should be precise and should be tailored to echo the verbiage of the position posted that you are applying for. You want your resume to hit the key words that have been set by the digital software that scans for qualified resumes. Otherwise it never even gets looked at. I don't see any specifics in that cover letter. There is nothing in it that actually describes your nursing practice, your passion, that you understand what they are looking for and that you have specifics on how you meet those needs.

    Your resume needs an overhaul to match modern day style, with bullet points that draw attention and make it clear via a quick scan that you seem to meet up the basics of what the employer is looking for. Again, you will want to tailor this to match what they are seeking in the job ad. Looking for work is a full time job in and of itself and largely it is because of the need to hand tailor most applications rather than sending in a generic cover letter and resume.

    Hope this helps and best of luck!

  • Quote

    This isn't related specifically to your resume, but it might shed some light on the situation. You have a lot of things working against you; even with the most well-written resume and cover letter in the world, you might still have a very hard time finding a job at this point.

    As a new grad with only 6 months of experience, you have the unique setback of no longer qualifying for 'new grad RN' positions, yet you don't yet have enough experience to qualify for 'experienced RN' positions. There are tons of posts on AN about how challenging that can be.

    All of your post-grad nursing experience appears to come from NICU. If you apply to NICUs, they are obviously ridiculously competitive. If you apply to positions outside of the NICU, managers may feel that your NICU experience is entirely irrelevant as 'prior experience.'

    CA has a ridiculously saturated nursing market, which is exponentially worse for new grads. There are tons of posts on AN about how challenging finding employment in California can be (most are along the lines of "100+ applications and no job") Half the time, the advice those nurses get is move somewhere else to get a few years of experience before moving back to CA.

    Did you already quit your old job and move? If not, I would highly recommend that you stick it out at your current position for at least a year, and not move to San Diego until you have a job in hand.

    If you have already moved, I'd plan on applying not only to hospital positions, but also to SNFs/LTCs, clinics, or anything else you can find. Maybe you'll get lucky and land a hospital job. The one thing you have going for you is that if you apply to NICUs, they may appreciate that you've already had an extensive orientation to NICU; however, HR might automatically filter you out of the experienced RN pile since you have less than a year of experience.

    Definitely make sure that your cover letter and resume are top notch, but prepare yourself for a potential uphill battle.

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