New grad with a few resume questions and my resume anyway

[barcode120x, RN, NP]

Been browsing through some of the new grad resumes here and I had a few questions:

-Is a cover letter required even though I'm employed at the hospital I'm hoping to work at?

-this would probably tie into the first question, where would indicate that I am a new grad other than my education where it indicates I got a nursing degree (I would assume the cover letter as I have seen in a couple other posts)

-I've been seeing quite a bit of new grad resumes here that list their clinical experience/sites, but is that necessary? A few posters I read said that all new grads will have clinical sites on the resume, so it might be unnecessary to add those but maybe have that on file when I would actually go to the interview. If I did, I would think my resume would be well over 1 page.

-I've also been seeing new grad posts with "Clinical Skill Highlights". I'm guessing that's basically listing all the skills that I performed during my clinical experience, and as mentioned in the question above, is this necessary to add on my resume?

Here's my resume so far. This fits almost 1 page so far, but I'm kind of stumped on what to add that would make me unique. The formatting on this website is weird so bear with me

barcode120x

Some Address

Some phone number

Some email

Objective

Enthusiastic, positive, and team-focused worker seeking to provide high quality patient care and to grow in experience at SOME HOSPITAL.

Hospital Experience

Lift Technician, Rehabilitation Services

Some hospital, Some city, Some state May 2012 – Present

· Reposition patients every 2 hours and as needed in assigned units throughout the hospital.

· Assist RN with patient mobility, including patient transfers from bed to chair and vice versa, patient ambulation in the units, and patient discharge to their vehicles.

Work Experience

Student Assistant, Disabled Student Programs & Services (DSPS)

Some college, some city, some state August 2011 – January 2013

· Tutored students with disabilities in their college studies, such as pre-algebra and english.

· Guided students with disabilities in using computer related special programs.

· Performed additional office filing, deliveries, and janitorial work.

Education

Associate's Degree in Nursing, Some college, some city, some state December 2014

California Nursing Student Association (CNSA)

o CNSA member since February 2013; Secretary since August 2014.

o Outline meeting agendas and document details of meeting discussions.

o Volunteered at on-campus nursing events, such as teaching young kids proper hand hygiene techniques and staffing the nursing booth.

Associate's Degree in Natural Sciences, Some college, some city, some state August 2011

Certifications and Skills

· Basic Life Support (BLS) and dysrhythmia certified.

· Excellent listening and communication skills with patients, their families, nurses, and other medical staff.

· Quick to learn and adapt to changing environments.

· Competent in the use of computers and technology.

o Proficient in Microsoft Windows OS, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft PowerPoint.

o Typing speed of 70 wpm and ten-key by touch.

[SimoneB]

1. A cover letter is absolutely necessary; it is just as important as the resume I think because you have a chance to communicate your uniqueness (which as you observed, is hard to do in the resume)

2. You do not need to say you are a new grad in your resume

3. Yes you should have name of rotation, specific units, and number of hours for each rotation as a minimum. So for example " Critical Care, 120 hrs, MICU and CVICU". I put my clinical sites as I wanted to show that I had experience at many different hospitals but some people don't. In terms of descriptions of your experiences, I think it makes sense to use descriptions for the rotations that are pertinent to the specialty or specialties you are applying for. For instance, if you want to do ICU, write descriptions for your ICU rotation and any other rotations that are critical care related i.e. ED, step-down, etc.

In terms of 1 or 2 pages, everyone has a different opinion. I am of the opinion that you cannot meaningfully describe yourself in one page.

4. I would integrate clinical skills into the descriptions of your rotations. Don't list all really obvious things that everyone has such as foley insertion, list some foundational skills and then stuff that not everyone might have (drips, chest tubes, central lines, etc). Also skills don't just have to be clinical (experience with admissions and discharges, communicating with physicians, giving report during rounds).

I would make the work, volunteer, and other stuff more concise and add your clinical rotations. Also don't put the volunteer stuff under education, it should be its own category or you can do what I did which is one category called "Health Care Related Work & Volunteer Experience". Also education should be after your objective, then clinicals, then work.

Good luck in your job hunt!

[barcode120x, RN, NP]

Thank you very much! You answered most, if not all of my questions! I'll get to it right away. I would appreciate any other input anyone else has to offer and thanks again/in advance! So glad I didn't submit my resume as is, I still have a lot of work to do.