I'll be serving whine at my pity party

[jadedjane]

*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

[andy3k]

I receive emails from nurses across my state every day. I assure you that spelling and grammar are not at the top of anyone's list, at least in an everyday setting. *grin* Yes, mistakes in a resume are not the best demonstration of excellence. On the other hand, you are not applying to work as a publicist or grant writer ... your medical skills are of utmost importance. Maybe the people who got your incorrect resume will see past it.

[heartNICU]

I loved your post.. you are hilarious!

And don't worry, after reading my cover letter literally HUNDREDS of times, I've recently discovered how "detail-orientated" I am. (I did have a phone interview last week, so there is definitely hope!)

P.S. I'm also a beer snob!

[jadedjane, ASN, RN]

Good job on snagging the phone interview!. LOL at the beer snob comment. I honestly don't remember the last time I had a domestic beer (and it's NOT because I drank too much). :cheers: I'm just picky. (Guinness, Spaten Munich, Oberdorfer, Singha, and an occasional red stripe)

[jadedjane, ASN, RN]

Typo Girl. COOL! I can wear a cape and leotards that says Typo Grli on the front :)

[JenLPN001]

Have to say I love the sense of humor you have about the entire situation. That'll take you far in nursing!! As far as typos... you show me one person who swears they've never sent out a document with any mistakes... well... never say never. I'm constantly being asked to proof stuff where I work and I think it's hilarious.... they ask the person with dyslexia to proof read!! Doesn't say much for where I work, does it? Seriously though, keep your chin up, keep on plugging away and remember, it sometimes takes a while to go through a huge stack of resumes.

[nursel56]

I HATE it when that happens!! I have an off the wall suggestion....put it in front of your kids. Specially whichever one may be good at their English class. They have to (if like my 18 yo) write and re-write papers, have taken the state test thing to graduate, college apps are requiring at least 2 essays, etc. etc. so they happen to be a bit of "experts" on the art of writing--fresh in their mold-able brains...I would even go so far as to say to them.....how would YOU write my resume? My cover letter, and let them have at it then. (and if your house is anything like mine, enjoy that cold Guiness and thank heaven that you have an hour or so of no eye rolling, sighing, or fresh mouth. ). Wishing you all the best!!

Ha! I concur with this! When I was writing my resume years ago to re-enter nursing (we just filled out paper applications in the old days) my then young-teenage daughter asked me "why aren't you using bullet points? You don't know how to make bullet points???

. . . "Give me that thing . . ." In such a case I was perfectly happy to overlook the sigh/rolleyes and pass the baton. :)

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

i haven't seen your resume, but your sense of humor is obviously right for nursing. if you weren't on the wrong coast, i'd tell you to come work with me . . . . you sound like you'd be fun to work with!

[elprup, BSN, RN]

I have SO been guilty of this too! Nothing like writing a specific cover letter and then forgetting to change the employer name from the previous cover letter I was copy and pasting!!!!!Just reapply to all those places in a few weeks and switch up your cover letter a bit. And since you have a record of where you have applied it will not be too much of a problem. HR is getting hundreds of applications a day. Try not to worry that they will remember you. Many applications get weeded out by a computer these days anyway. I am in a similar position, in that I worked my butt off raising two children alone, left an abusive husband, and overcame a chronic pain problem to obtain my BSN with no previous medical/nursing experience. Thank goodness I made very good financial decisions in my past and present, because I am only know getting a coveted RN position with RN pay (I am so hoping to start May 7). And I graduated May 2008!!! Many of my peers are experiencing the same thing. There is NOT a nursing shortage. Good luck my friend.

[elprup, BSN, RN]

California IS wicked tough. I moved 300 miles for one job and 50 miles for the other! One did not work out and the other, after getting to the second interview for a coveted Versant Program disqualified me because I had 3 months of experience from first job! Just wanted to let you know about that. So, I was not qualified for a staff RN position, but I was also not considered a new grad anymore. Talk about a double standard? I REFUSE to move my teenagers again.

[WildcatFanRN, BSN, RN]

You know, I like your sense of humor. I also like your idea of keeping of spreadsheet of where you have applied. I'm gearing up to re-start my job search after having to take a break to take care of my mom. I'm almost done with my RN to BSN program (which unfortunately does not start you back at new, new grad status), so my job search should go better this time around even in an area oversaturated with RN grads. But, once I graduate I will finally be able to apply to the VA. So, definately try the VA hospital in your area if there is one.

[jadedjane, ASN, RN]

There are a few jobs opening up on the west coast. Sharps in San Diego has a good residency program, UCI and CHOC both have a lot, but they typically hire straight out of the UCI nursing school pool. I'm going to keep on top of the job search, keep my resume squeaky clean, and volunteer wherever I can in the meantime. I'm looking into some useful certs that I can get (without needing to have so many hours on the floor). I'm getting my ACLS done and I'll probably go for PALS as soon as I can afford it. I don't want to delve too far in to specialty certifications until I figure out which way my nursing compass is pointing.

[rn/writer, RN]

As a fellow writer, I feel your pain. It's like coming home from an interview and finding a ketchup stain on your shirt. Not only do you feel like a Neanderthal, you've let them know you're not even a gourmet Neanderthal. Forget about beer snob. Arrggghhh!

I would suggest changing your work to a different font, one that's different enough that you have to put some effort into reading it. Your eyes should be moving more slowly and should catch those annoying little mistakes they've just been sliding over. Try changing the color, too. Anything to wake up your brain and make it pay attention.

Read everything aloud and ask at least one other person to read it out loud to you as well.

I hope a real person somewhere reads your stuff and has enough sense to appreciate your humor and down-to-earth attitude. And I really hope that appreciation lands you an interview and, eventually, a job.

I'd cross my fingers for you, but it's too hard to type that way.