Don't Let Nursing Job Resumes Intimidate You

Do you want your resume to be on top of the pile? There are a few tips listed here that hopefully will help you in creating the best resume you can. Remember to keep it to two pages, neatly typed, and not too wordy. Don't get overwhelmed and take it step by step.

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Don't Let Nursing Job Resumes Intimidate You

Your resume is like a snapshot; the person reading it will form an opinion from what they see. It is your first opportunity to impress a potential boss, so it should be taken seriously. It is my hope that this article will give you constructive pointers to help make the best resume.

As I mentioned in the article, "Capture Your Hearts Desire: Finding the Job You Want," my family and I moved from Florida to Tennessee in May of this year. The first thing I did was initiate a resume before I began looking into facilities. Many people are frightened of creating their resume, not knowing where to begin or what to write. There are several formats free on the web or in Word, so select one that is simple and fits you, or use the one I give you.

Keeping things easy to read and condensed is the key to a successful resume. Grammar and spelling are important to show you took the time and effort to make first rate resume. The following list goes through the usual headings found on resumes followed by tips I hope you find helpful in creating your resume. Remember to put your name on all pages of the resume, and contact information in the bottom corner of the first page.

Objective (optional)

This is asking what type of job you are looking for. A single sentence/statement will do.

ex: Looking for a job in Medical/Surgical Nursing.

Qualifications

This is where you tell about your previous experience, not time-lines, but skills and job duties you have performed.

ex: Have worked in Endoscopy assisting doctors during Esophagogastroduodenoscopies, Colonoscopies, Bronchoscopies, and ERCPs. Proficient in conscious sedation, ECGs, and IVs. (Fill in as much as it takes to describe your abilities but not too wordy)

Work History

Under this heading, list your relevant work history starting with the most recent. Be prepared to explain gaps in work history, it will be noticed.

Education

Under this heading, list education with dates and colleges including high school.

References

List names, titles and contact information of your references here. These should be present or very recent managers, doctors you work with, etc.

Interests/Hobbies (optional)

In a few sentences, tell a little bit about what you like to do in your free time. This is a section that can be omitted if desired, but it can be fun to share something about yourself.

Volunteer Experience (optional)

This is another area that can be omitted. However, if you do volunteer, tell about it and share your well rounded, selfless side.

Computer Skills

Our life is centered around computers as are hospitals and doctors offices. List the computer programs you have worked with.

Licenses and Certifications

Make a list of any work-related certifications. Ex. CPR, ACLS, CGRN

That is it! Keep your resume under two pages, as managers do not have a lot of time for pleasure reading. Keep it easy to read, concise, and neat.

Please feel free to add any hints you have in making a resume painless. Good luck in your job search!

 

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Brenda F. Johnson

About Brenda F. Johnson, MSN

Gastrointestinal Columnist

Brenda F. Johnson, BSN, RN Specialty: 25 years of experience in Gastrointestinal Nursing

60 Articles   326 Posts

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Great article, thank you so much for your post!

I have a question, should a new graduate list their nursing school clinical experience by speciatly under education or is it not necessary since clinical experience tends to be standardized?

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Specializes in Gastrointestinal Nursing.

Good question! I don't believe you would need to list clinical experience from nursing school because it is understood that you are exposed to many different areas and specialties. As you said, it is standardized. However if you have skills from previous jobs, nursing related or not, make sure you list those.

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Specializes in L&D, infusion, urology.
Great article, thank you so much for your post!

I have a question, should a new graduate list their nursing school clinical experience by speciatly under education or is it not necessary since clinical experience tends to be standardized?

I think it's good to show where you did the clinicals, at least. Also, some rotations will be different than others, and while there is SOME standardization, that's not always the case. For example, we had no SNF rotation, our peds rotations were out of the hospital, as there is no peds unit nearby (we were in preschools, home health, schools, etc.), for psych we were all over the place, but not in inpatient, and our community health rotations varied widely. Don't necessarily get into what you did at each, because that's kind of a given, but putting that you were at a major university hospital's PICU versus at a preschool would make a difference, especially if you were applying for ED, ICU or peds. Maybe not a huge difference, but it would change what you were exposed to and what you could speak to in an interview.

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Good question! I don't believe you would need to list clinical experience from nursing school because it is understood that you are exposed to many different areas and specialties. As you said, it is standardized. However if you have skills from previous jobs, nursing related or not, make sure you list those.

I'm a new grad and at my interview they were extremely impressed with where I did my clinicals and the specialties of those units. I interviewed at a suburban hospital but did my clinicals in major city university hospitals. The other candidates had only been to other small suburban hospitals.

The interviewers knew I was exposed to more challenges at the city hospitals.

I got the job.

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Specializes in Gastrointestinal Nursing.
I'm a new grad and at my interview they were extremely impressed with where I did my clinicals and the specialties of those units. I interviewed at a suburban hospital but did my clinicals in major city university hospitals. The other candidates had only been to other small suburban hospitals.

The interviewers knew I was exposed to more challenges at the city hospitals.

I got the job.

Thank you for your input, appreciate it! And congratulations!

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