*disclaimer* please read this with a sense of lightheartedness. There's no finger pointing, name calling, baby nurse eating (eww..just..ew) ranting. I just need to exhale.
background info: New Grad RN, great grades, in my late 30's, two teenage girls (17 &18), second career, no real contacts in the nursing world...worked my hiney off as a restaurant manager so I could pay out of pocket for school and not be loaded with debt...(we've seen this a hundred thousand times before).
The meat of the story: I'm living off of savings, but I'm not in dire straits at the moment. I really do want to find a job (the sooner the better). So, I'm filling out applications, uploading my resume, writing individual cover letters, making some phone calls, doing some volunteer work....and keeping a spreadsheet of all the places I've contacted - so far so good. These things take time - I know (I'm patient).
The plot thickens: I review my resume every few days. It seems to be a constantly evolving work in progress. I have a couple other people eyeball it for me (for mistakes) and they tell me "looks good". GREAT! I'll start papering the entire county with my resume and maybe a few for the neighboring counties too. So I open up my resume to add something to it ans much to my dismay....ERRORS - teeny tiny ones, but they are there - plain as day . UGH! All those resumes are out there sullying my good name and I can't fix them. *sigh* How on earth am I going to convince anyone that I have WONDERFUL attention to detail if I cannot manage to hand in a resume with no typos. I hang my head in shame.
The aftermath: I have yet to feel the pain of rejection, but I know it's coming:uhoh21:. I have plenty of guinness in the fridgy just waiting for it. I'll have to re-work my resume, fire my current set of "extra eyes" and start all over.
**Note to self: fix resume...THEN drink the beer
In all honesty - I do take my future career very seriously, and I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight because of it. I will be looking into a professional resume service, or at least not ask a fellow graduate (aka: the competition) to look over my resume. Lesson learned. I hope other new grads out there can take a lesson from me. Get it right the first time.
If I have managed to hold your attention for this long, thank you. If you have any tips or advice that would be awesome. If you want to send me a nasty-gram (for whatever reason - or just cause) that's fine too. Just put nasty-gram in the subject line so I know to delete them without looking If you happen to be a hiring manager in Southern California, pay no attention to that missing letter in the name of your lovely magnet status hospital
Eye cain't spel wurf beanz, un aye gotz me uh jawb...
Seriously - don't beat yourself up over it. If it makes you feel warm & fuzzy to have a pro write you a resume, by all means do so - but, keep in mind that the sole purpose of a resume is to get you an interview, not a job. Also, as another habitant pointed out, resumes have life spans (back when I had the dubious honor of hiring people, the company'd run ads 4 times a year; made for fun times sifting through a 2 foot high stack of resumes looking for the half a dozen qualified candidates) - update it, wait several weeks & go back through your spreadsheet & toss 'em another copy.
Other than that - I've gotten jobs with mis-spelled words, split infinitives & the like in a resume, so it ain't the end of the world. And, if you run out of Guinness, there's a thread on here where they've got plenty of Sapporo...
You should write for a living, this posting was hilarious. Good luck with your job search. I'm sure something will come through soon.
Funny you should say that. I did tutor English in college. Mostly Essay writing for freshmen, because there's a huge gap between what they teach you in high school and what they expect you to know in college (huh...sounds like nursing school).
*disclaimer* please read this with a sense of lightheartedness. There's no finger pointing, name calling, baby nurse eating (eww..just..ew) ranting. I just need to exhale.
background info: New Grad RN, great grades, in my late 30's, two teenage girls (17 &18), second career, no real contacts in the nursing world...worked my hiney off as a restaurant manager so I could pay out of pocket for school and not be loaded with debt...(we've seen this a hundred thousand times before).
The meat of the story: I'm living off of savings, but I'm not in dire straits at the moment. I really do want to find a job (the sooner the better). So, I'm filling out applications, uploading my resume, writing individual cover letters, making some phone calls, doing some volunteer work....and keeping a spreadsheet of all the places I've contacted - so far so good. These things take time - I know (I'm patient).
The plot thickens: I review my resume every few days. It seems to be a constantly evolving work in progress. I have a couple other people eyeball it for me (for mistakes) and they tell me "looks good". GREAT! I'll start papering the entire county with my resume and maybe a few for the neighboring counties too. So I open up my resume to add something to it ans much to my dismay....ERRORS - teeny tiny ones, but they are there - plain as day . UGH! All those resumes are out there sullying my good name and I can't fix them. *sigh* How on earth am I going to convince anyone that I have WONDERFUL attention to detail if I cannot manage to hand in a resume with no typos. I hang my head in shame.
The aftermath: I have yet to feel the pain of rejection, but I know it's coming:uhoh21:. I have plenty of guinness in the fridgy just waiting for it. I'll have to re-work my resume, fire my current set of "extra eyes" and start all over.
**Note to self: fix resume...THEN drink the beer
In all honesty - I do take my future career very seriously, and I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight because of it. I will be looking into a professional resume service, or at least not ask a fellow graduate (aka: the competition) to look over my resume. Lesson learned. I hope other new grads out there can take a lesson from me. Get it right the first time.
If I have managed to hold your attention for this long, thank you. If you have any tips or advice that would be awesome. If you want to send me a nasty-gram (for whatever reason - or just cause) that's fine too. Just put nasty-gram in the subject line so I know to delete them without looking If you happen to be a hiring manager in Southern California, pay no attention to that missing letter in the name of your lovely magnet status hospital
Great sense of humor? Check
Likes Guiness? Check
So far you are the perfect woman
I am in Florida but my intel on S Cali and Cali in general says finding a job is brutal. Is leaving the state an option?
Eye cain't spel wurf beanz, un aye gotz me uh jawb...
Seriously - don't beat yourself up over it. If it makes you feel warm & fuzzy to have a pro write you a resume, by all means do so - but, keep in mind that the sole purpose of a resume is to get you an interview, not a job. Also, as another habitant pointed out, resumes have life spans (back when I had the dubious honor of hiring people, the company'd run ads 4 times a year; made for fun times sifting through a 2 foot high stack of resumes looking for the half a dozen qualified candidates) - update it, wait several weeks & go back through your spreadsheet & toss 'em another copy.
Other than that - I've gotten jobs with mis-spelled words, split infinitives & the like in a resume, so it ain't the end of the world. And, if you run out of Guinness, there's a thread on here where they've got plenty of Sapporo...
----- Dave, fomite-in-waiting
AHHHH a gentleman of great taste and refinement!!! SAPPORO!!!!
It could be. I'm hesitant right now because I have one daughter still in high school, and my husband has a job (a good one, with stock options, insurance, and weeks upon weeks of paid vacation) I do have roots in Colorado, Texas, and Arkansas. I know the market is brutal everywhere though.
Sapporo is good. Have you tried Singha (Thai beer)? It's a little deeper flavor but still crisp, and it takes me with just one bottle (cheap date - lol)
Resend ones that you have sent out in the last 2 months. Indicate that there was an update (could be that your other resume went in File 13). or say that you applied several months ago and you didnt know if they received it. So you have another foot in the door! Good luck!
We are so short staffed at my hospital, I live in upstate NY. I work in Sayre, PA my hospital is magnet and a great teaching hospital, Robert Packer Hospital. I work on a cardiac floor, currently we are short 11 RN's, just on my floor. If you want a job you might have to move, bottom line, here on the east coast they need nurses very bad. We have so many travelers it's ridiculous. Good luck in your journey. I worked as a restaurant manager and a waitress for over 20 years. You sound like you'd be an asset, don't be so down on yourself, there just aren't a lot of jobs for GN's where you live. I'm sure it's not you, it's the surplus of new grads coming out of school and getting the very few GN positions that are available. Keep us posted, i love your sense of humor you are going to need it to be a nurse.
You are very charismatic! I say don't just stick with the resume. Call to discuss it. Send a thank you card afterward (spell checked of course lol). And if that doesn't work, wait 6 months and try again at all of these same places with a cleaner resume. If they really are getting that many apps in Cali, they'll probably forget you were typo girl, and you can let your personality shine.
. UGH! All those resumes are out there sullying my good name and I can't fix them. *sigh* How on earth am I going to convince anyone that I have WONDERFUL attention to detail if I cannot manage to hand in a resume with no typos. I hang my head in shame.
If you happen to be a hiring manager in Southern California, pay no attention to that missing letter in the name of your lovely magnet status hospital 
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Been there,done that, ASN, RN
7,241 Posts
Agree with Gonzo.. you have a great sense of humor and that is much needed in this profession.
I also sent out resumes with the word psychiatric misspelled!
It happens, stop beating yourself up... you would be suprised how many HR managers didn't even catch your errors.
I gave up and spent $200 for a professional resume, best 200 I ever spent!
(except maybe for the money I spend on Guiness)
Good luck, I will hoist a pint for ya.