New Grad Resume, Please critique

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Hi, I'm a new grad, took the boards last week and passed, i'm ready for job hunting now.

i have no nursing experience except my clinical rotations which i have itemized in my resume. Please read through and tell me what you think, any advise or suggestion will be appreciated

I have it well outlined on a template, but it doesn't come out right when i copy & paste it to the site, i will try and make it as presentable as possible.....thanks in advance

My Name

My address plus contact info

REGISTERED NURSE - ENTRY LEVEL

Extremely detail-oriented and patient-focused registered nurse with excellent interpersonal skills. Established good relationship with various groups of individuals and strong ability to get along with others with a view to achieving set goals. Well disposed to the ethics and norms of the nursing profession which emphasizes holistic patient care. Developed strong ability to create, implement and document efficient and effective methods of operations.

EDUCATION

Associate Degree in Nursing - My School Name, my city , my state Spring 2010

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science - My School Name, my city , my state Fall 2000

CLINICAL EXPERIENCE

Fall 2008Hospital name, my city, my state240 Hours

Medical Surgical

Administered PO and Sub Q meds

Performed head to toe assessments

Monitored and documented input and output

Spring 2009Hospital name, my city , my state240 Hours

Medical-Surgical

Changed dressings, administered PO, IM, Sub Q and NG tube meds

Inserted and discontinued Foley catheters,

Discontinued peripheral IV's

Performed complete head to toe assessment and documentation

Prioritized patient care and developed care plans

Maternity

Performed postpartum and newborn assessments

Educated new parents on self care and newborn care

Assisted nurses during birthing procedures

Evaluated and observed diagnosed procedures during labor and delivery

Implemented preoperative and postoperative care measures for cesarean birth

Hospital name, my city , my state

Pediatric Unit

Administered newborn immunization as prescribed

Performed head to toe assessment on pediatric clients

Fall 2009Hospital name , my city , my state240 Hours

Medical Surgical, Spinal Cord Injury & Gerontology

Administered IV piggy back meds

Performed central line dressing change

Assisted the nurse with wound vac changes

Provided care for clients with spinal cord injury

Prioritized patient care and developed care plans

Hospital name , my city , my state

Psychiatry unit

Interacted with broad range of impatient psychiatric clients to complete assessments and care plans

Spring 2010Hospital name , my city , my state272 Hours

Medical Surgical

Administered IV push and IV piggy back meds

Discontinued central lines

Provided care for clients on chest tube

Provided care for ventilator-dependent clients

Observed and assisted RN in radiation clinic, emergency department and intensive care unit

RELATED EMPLOYMENT

Caregiver

Company Name , my city , my state2005 - 2007

Assisted clients with personal care such as bathing, dressing, grooming and hygiene

Assisted clients with transfers to and from bed to chair, sofa, commode

Medication reminder

Meal preparation including special diets.

OTHER EMPLOYMENT

Sales Associate: Company name , my city , my state2003 - 2004

Provided a friendly environment for customers and assisted them with their needs

Assisted in replenishing merchandise and monitoring floor stock

Customer Service Representative: Company name , my city , my state2001 - 2003

Coordinated daily schedule of maintenance and installation work

Provided prompt response to all incoming calls and attended to customer's complaints in a timely manner

Certifications and Skills

RN license #

Basic Life Support CPR Certification

Bilingual

HONORS

Spring 2007Dean's ListMy School name

2005-2006Dean's ListMy School name

VOLUNTEER/AFFILIATIONS

2008-Present Member and Student Ambassador, My Association name

Spring 2010Committee member, Pinning Ceremony, My School name

1995-Present Volunteer, Kid's World, My Church name

EXCELLENT REFERENCES/LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATIONS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST

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well, this is the best i could do, i don't know how to copy the template onto the website, i have the hospital names and clinical rotations in bold letters and underlined.

I included the number of clinical hours because one new grad program i applied for some months ago, did ask for # of clinical hrs, so thats why i have it there, don't know if i should delete them.

Please i need advise, suggestions, critiques.....

tnx

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Specializes in new to NICU.

It looks like a fairly long resume. Is it more than 1 page? I would try to fit it all on one page. Maybe condense your clinical experience but don't eliminate it. And I would also highlight the fact that you are bilingual. It's hidden in the middle of all your info. There is a book from McGraw-Hill that is specifically for RN resumes and cover letters. My school library was able to get it for me. You might want to ask your library or career center if they can get it or another book just for nurses. It helped me a lot when I was writing my resume.

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Thanks for your response, birdcage, my resume is about 2 pages long, the bulk of it is my clinical rotation. Are you suggesting I condense all my clinical experience into one huge paragraph so as to reduce the length?

As per the McGraw-Hill book, I will look in my local library to see if they have it. Thanks for the suggestion.

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A couple small things:

  • You should list experience in reverse chronological order, so the most recent clinical you had should go first if you are going to list them individually.
  • Also, you might try listing your clinical locations followed by a skills summary with a short bullet list of the higher level skills you have experience with to get your resume down to one page.

Like:

CLINICAL EXPERIENCE

Spring 2010, rotation, hospital, city, state

Fall 2009, rotation, hospital name, city, state

Spring 2009, rotation, Hospital city , state

Fall 2008, rotation, Hospital name, city, state

Skills Summary:

- In a short bullet list, summarize the skills you obtained in school, focusing on the higher level skills versus "administered oral medications", or at least combine some of the similar skills into one bullet statement like,

Safely administered oral, subcutaneous, intramuscular and intravenous medications and evaluated outcomes

- Also, make sure you include some of the key words (sometimes hospitals use screening software to scan resumes for specific key words)

- A resume specialist that came to my school before graduation suggested including a skill from each step of the nursing process

  • I personally would take out the "Registered Nurse-entry level" and put "OBJECTIVE" I personally change at least the first line of my objective statement for each position I am applying and make it specific for the job "To obtain a position as a Registered Nurse in the XYZ department that will....." It only takes a minute and is a way to tie my resume and cover letter together.
  • Why is Deans list on 2 separate lines? Did you not make it one semester? If so, you could write "Dean's List, 3 semesters". Even better, you could add this bullet to your education section if you do not have any other honors to make the section more than one line.
  • You have several abbreviations "meds, PO, Sub Q make sure you write out all words.
  • Registered Nurse should be capitalized

I went to this site scribd.com and found a really useful book (full-text for free) called Real Resumes for Nursing jobs. If you are interested, check it out. It has tons of sample resumes and cover letters for new nurses, change of career, experienced nurses, etc.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
A couple small things:

  • You should list experience in reverse chronological order, so the most recent clinical you had should go first if you are going to list them individually.
  • Also, you might try listing your clinical locations followed by a skills summary with a short bullet list of the higher level skills you have experience with to get your resume down to one page.

Like:

CLINICAL EXPERIENCE

Spring 2010, rotation, hospital, city, state

Fall 2009, rotation, hospital name, city, state

Spring 2009, rotation, Hospital city , state

Fall 2008, rotation, Hospital name, city, state

Skills Summary:

- In a short bullet list, summarize the skills you obtained in school, focusing on the higher level skills versus "administered oral medications", or at least combine some of the similar skills into one bullet statement like,

Safely administered oral, subcutaneous, intramuscular and intravenous medications and evaluated outcomes

- Also, make sure you include some of the key words (sometimes hospitals use screening software to scan resumes for specific key words)

- A resume specialist that came to my school before graduation suggested including a skill from each step of the nursing process

  • I personally would take out the "Registered Nurse-entry level" and put "OBJECTIVE" I personally change at least the first line of my objective statement for each position I am applying and make it specific for the job "To obtain a position as a Registered Nurse in the XYZ department that will....." It only takes a minute and is a way to tie my resume and cover letter together.
  • Why is Deans list on 2 separate lines? Did you not make it one semester? If so, you could write "Dean's List, 3 semesters". Even better, you could add this bullet to your education section if you do not have any other honors to make the section more than one line.
  • You have several abbreviations "meds, PO, Sub Q make sure you write out all words.
  • Registered Nurse should be capitalized

I went to this site scribd.com and found a really useful book (full-text for free) called Real Resumes for Nursing jobs. If you are interested, check it out. It has tons of sample resumes and cover letters for new nurses, change of career, experienced nurses, etc.

.....great suggestions, I'm taking notes!

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Thanks Jojo, I appreciate your taking time to read thru and for your suggestions.

*What are the key words you are referring to? Could you be more specific?

*As per the abbreviations, I have changed them

*Dean's list was from different semesters and from 2 different schools, well, I can change it to 1 line and add it to the education section as you advised

*Thanks for the website, although I couldn't find the particular book you talked about

Thanks again for the feedback, Is it ok to pm you?

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Clinical experience section is too long. It's the equivalent of BS'ing and filling up space, most of it is implied especially if you're a new grad and most HR probably don't want to deal reading most of it anyways since they can recite the whole thing without looking.

The caregiver section is good, that's a highlight outside of school setting

bilingual .. english and .... what ....

most people take out the references available upon request ... it's implied also

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Thanks Jojo, I appreciate your taking time to read thru and for your suggestions.

*What are the key words you are referring to? Could you be more specific?

*As per the abbreviations, I have changed them

*Dean's list was from different semesters and from 2 different schools, well, I can change it to 1 line and add it to the education section as you advised

*Thanks for the website, although I couldn't find the particular book you talked about

Thanks again for the feedback, Is it ok to pm you?

No problem! Of course you can PM me :)

I attached the book as well as another resume packet and an interview one.

EDIT, I guess the upload failed for the book, the file is too big I think...hmmm

interview_guide.pdf

resume_guide.pdf

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Specializes in Hospice.

Definately shorten it down.....i hope this doesn't sound rude....but your skills experiences seem kind of 'light' during your clincals. Im sure you just left a few out for space but personally i would leave all of it out. and just list the clincal you had . My resume was short, simple and 1 page long... An advisor critiqued it and said if the previous job did not pertain to nursing or caregiving say very little about it. so my job as a cna got more space than my job as merchandiser (which got little to no description) ect.......... best of luck!!!

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Thanks for all your feedbacks/suggestions, i have revamped my resume, i redid my clinical experience, i did a complete delete and summarized just the pertinent information, will be sending my resume out shortly, wish me luck and you all have a blessed week

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Specializes in Med Surg, Ortho.

I don't understand why all the details in the clinical experience area.....I mean,

didn't we all have to do head to toe assessments, administered po meds, subq meds, monitor I&Os, etc......?

I think it's over kill. I'm sorry, but I don't really like the resume. I didn't list any of my clinicals, just my past work history, my school, honors, and affiliations. Just my 2 cents.

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