Personal Info in Cover Letter?

CapeCodMermaid, RN · Sep 12, 2011

Leave the personal information out of the cover letter. It's not relevant. I had open heart surgery but it doesn't make me any more qualified to work on a cardiac unit than someone who doesn't have personal knowledge of it. Tell them why you want to work there and what strengths you can bring.

linearthinker, DNP, RN · Sep 12, 2011

^^^Agree.

OCNRN63, RN · Sep 12, 2011

And keep it brief.

Jolie, BSN · Sep 12, 2011

I am astounded at the personal info people reveal in the hiring process. At times, I want to cover my ears and pretend I haven't heard it.

It is improper for an interviewer to ask about your marital status, whether or not you have children, are responsible for elderly parents, have any illnesses or disabilites. Yet if you bring up the subject, it becomes fair game for questioning about how you will be able to get to work, whether your attendance will be affected, whether you may be likely to get emergency phone calls at work, whether you will have to leave work on short notice for emergencies, whether you will request FMLA, etc.

Just don't go there.

caliotter3 · Sep 12, 2011

And sometimes it can work against you, instead of for you. "We don't consider people with ------experience, because we feel it would cause undue conflict of interest in our ----------organization." I had this happen to me in an interview when I thought I was doing myself a favor by mentioning my personal experience with a certain aspect of nursing. Came right out and told me that I would not be considered for just that reason.

picurn1972, RN · Sep 12, 2011

I think it depends. In my pursuit to work at one of the best peds facilities in the country I did use some personal and it was then that I got 3 interviews. That little cover letter is all the manager saw from a stack of similar resumes sent from HR. I'm not saying give details, but I mentioned personal experience with their facility and my goal and passion to work there because of these experiences, I think it can help set you apart in certain circumstances. Good Luck, the kids world likes it, family centered care and all Its wonderful and yes I did acute adult prior.

MrChicagoRN, RN · Sep 12, 2011

Actually, it is relevant because you have family experience dealing with this segment of the patient population.

"Direct care experience with an autistic child within the home." It shows you have had exposure & understand some of the issues involved with this type of child.

Maybe repost this in the psychiatric nursing section; see what the consensus is over there.

This Jenn RN · Sep 12, 2011

I too have a son on the spectrum. When I was fresh out of nursing school, I didnt have any experience in the medical field. However, I did have a son with a disability and I did provide in home hospice care for my dying mother. My school encouraged me to put my "life experience" in my cover letter. It landed me a job fairly quickly too. And in my initial interview, although they told me they were looking for experienced nurses, they felt my life experiences were valuable.

Purple_Scrubs, BSN, RN · Sep 12, 2011

Actually, it is relevant because you have family experience dealing with this segment of the patient population.
"Direct care experience with an autistic child within the home." It shows you have had exposure & understand some of the issues involved with this type of child.
Maybe repost this in the psychiatric nursing section; see what the consensus is over there.

I like this approach. You could even broaden it to say "Non-paid direct care experience with an autistic child in a home setting". This does not give away any personal details...the experience could just as easily have been volunteer.

Or, list the above on the resume under something like "Additional Experience" and leave it off the cover letter.

Jules A, MSN · Sep 13, 2011

For some reason in psych (and maybe in all the other specialities also) there are some that are attracted to it based on "life experiences". In most cases it isn't a plus imvho.