Just passed my boards, need advice on my resume.

Double-Helix, BSN, RN · Jun 29, 2012

1. Please remove the objective. Everyone reading your resume knows that they have your resume because you want a job. Objectives are dated, take up space, and do nothing to set you apart from the crowd.

2. A lot of your work experience is redundant, and it's not nearly specific enough to give a good indication of what you did. "Resident safety"? What does that even mean? "Dietary assistance"? That could be anything from taking orders, to serving food, to feeding residents, to cleaning the kitchen and stocking supplies. See what I mean? By reading those bullets, the recruiter doesn't have a good picture of what sort of experience you have.

Instead, make very specific, concrete and measurable statements. Explain the duties of your job, rather than listing short bullets. Highlight your accomplishments and leadership ability. You mention you worked as charge nurse, but then you don't explain anything about what that entailed. Charge nurse is a great opportunity to show that you have leadership abilities.

I can replace all of your bullet points with a much more descriptive and intriguing paragraph.

Yours:

Licensed Practical Nurse – Charge Nurse

Medication administration
Assessments, treatments, and documentation
Total patient care, interpersonal communication skills, and patient advocacy/safety
Worked on assisted living and memory care floors

Mine:

Licensed Practical Nurse- Charge Nurse

Assisted Living and Memory Care Units

Functioned as charge nurse in a 75-bed facility. Provided high-quality care to up to 25 patients at a time. Duties included PO, subcutaneous, nebulized and GTT medication administration, ostomy maintenance, wound care, enteral feedings, assistance with ADL's, and foley catheter insertion and care. Charge nurse duties included acting as a supervisor and resource for 3-4 RNs/LPNs and 6-8 CNAs, delegation of assignments, participating in MD rounds, coordinating outpatient appointments, and communicating changes in the plan of care with residents, doctors and family.

Try to make each section unique. Avoid repeating phrases. If you participated on any committees or helped influence any policy changes or did anything at all unique to your position, make sure to include that.

3. Education should be listed from most recent to least recent. Your last two degrees are in the wrong order.

4. "Capstone Project" is not a good thing to list under accomplishments. Again, it says nothing about what you actually did. If you want to include this, be specific about your project, what you did, and what difference it made. Also include certifications that you may have like BLS, IV certification, or special classes you have attended.

trolloc6340 · Jun 30, 2012

I like your changes. But a few things first: I don't want my resume to turn into a book, so not sure how much description I should add to each job. Also I will have to guestimate the size of each facility I worked at, because I do not remember the exact bed count. But I do like your descriptions for job duties. I would say that most of these duties I had, minus doctor rounds. But each facility was a little different. Should I be using abbreviations on my resume? For example PO?

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Jul 2, 2012

I think your bullets are too long and, as Ashley said, redundant. It is assumed that if you worked as a nurse, you administered medications and documented on patients. I would only include specific skills that make you stand out. If your Capstone project was impressive enough to include on your resume, include it... but tell us what it is and why it's important enough to include. Simply saying "Capstone project" means nothing.

blinky, ASN, RN · Jul 6, 2012

i went to a job palcement specialist at my community college, and he gave me the opposite advice on bullet points vs paragraphs, in that bullet points are better. As with bullets you dont "talk about yourself as much" and " no one is going to write anything bad down"

also he said to put a objective, as the job code/reference # or exact position you are looking for as stated in the application..

I keep getting/reading such different advice

also he stated its "associate degree" not "associates degree" any difference? i mean assocaite is how it is on my hard copy degree...