Help with cover letter for new grad w/no medical experience!

[newestlilnurse2b]

I am searching around for some sample RN cover letters, but I am not having much luck. I graduated and passed my boards, but feel my resume and cover letter may be hurting me when compared with others desiring a position. I graduated at 23, and all my jobs were in retail before I entered nursing school. I have absolutely no medical background, and would appreciate if I could get a turn in the right direction regarding how to fix up my resume and cover letter despite this. Thanks for any advice!

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

i apologize ahead of time if any of these links are no longer active.

cover letters:

• http://content.monster.com/articles/3475/16536/1/home.aspx - healthcare cover letter dos and don'ts
  
• http://content.monster.com/articles/3475/17043/1/home.aspx - cover letter etiquette
  
• http://content.monster.com/articles/3475/17164/1/home.aspx - ten cover letter don'ts
  
• http://content.monster.com/articles/3475/17414/1/home.aspx - avoid these 7 killer cover letter mistakes
  
• http://www.vault.com/nr/ht_list.jsp?ht_type=9 - sample cover letters
  
• http://www.vault.com/nr/main_article_detail.jsp?article_id=20934&cat_id=0&ht_type=9 - a step-by-step guide of what goes on a cover letter done in the format of how the letter should appear.
  
• http://www.worktree.com/tb/cl_cover.cfm - "covering cover letters". includes a summary of what a cover letter should contain.
  
• http://www.vault.com/nr/main_article_detail.jsp?article_id=4151742&cat_id=0&ht_type=9 - "letters from the Job Search - what to avoid"
  
• http://www.worktree.com/tb/cl_tips.cfm - "tips for writing cover letters"
  
• http://www.worktree.com/tb/cl_more.cfm - "cover letters: more helpful hints". nice article with a lot of helpful information.

resume:

• http://content.monster.com/articles/3475/18394/1/home.aspx - resume advice for new healthcare graduates
  
• http://content.monster.com/articles/3476/18765/1/home.aspx - sample resume for an entry-level rn
  
• http://content.monster.com/articles/3475/17719/1/home.aspx - create a winning nursing resume

[nurz2be]

I am searching around for some sample RN cover letters, but I am not having much luck. I graduated and passed my boards, but feel my resume and cover letter may be hurting me when compared with others desiring a position. I graduated at 23, and all my jobs were in retail before I entered nursing school. I have absolutely no medical background, and would appreciate if I could get a turn in the right direction regarding how to fix up my resume and cover letter despite this. Thanks for any advice!

Well, I do beg to differ with you about you saying you have "no medical experience." You have how many ever months or years in the skills setting in your program along with the experience you had doing your clinicals. You can ethically state that you have ___ amount of months or years of medical experience. You can list the hospitals, ltc facilities or wherever you did your clinical time as experience. There are A LOT of new nurses who have had a change in careers. Just because someone had experience as an aid or other area in the medical field does not automatically make them the better or more suitable candidate. Congratulations on passing your exams and your graduation.