Please Critique my Resume (New Grad, RN) Thank You!

Student Mom to Three · Jan 26, 2013

No advice here...I am just shocked at your clinical hours. According to your resume you put in 48 clinical hours per week Nov 2011 through March 2012. Did I read that correctly? WOW.

mlaineRN · Jan 26, 2013

Well, 48hrs/week honestly doesn't describe the number of hours we put in during our community health nursing (from Nov-Jan). We were actually immersed in the community with which our university was affiliated (~2 hours away from the university). We lived with foster parents from Tuesday-Saturdays during which we worked with the local government and healthcare workers. :)

Oh, and for next couple of months (Jan- March), we worked on 8 hour-shifts so I guess, that's about right? It's what was written in my records, at least. :yes:

Uhm, aside from that, do you have any feedback about my resume? Also, thank you for taking the time to read my post!

KyleRoth · Jan 26, 2013

Were you completely independent when you were providing care for up to 8 patients?

Can you truly respond to to a pleural effusion of hypertensive crisis on your own?

Are you able to function on your own without supervision in an ICU?

Did you really facilitate staff meetings and work as a supervisor when you were a student?

I would say your answer to these questions would be: no. Your resume portrays the contrary.

You need to be careful with wording in your resumes. They should be impressive, but also honest. A new nurse isn't expected to perform all those things, btw. Most hiring managers know what your school's curriculum is. As long as you pass the NCLEX, you will be part of the same new-hire cohort as everyone else. If you liked a part of your clinicals in particular, you can request to work in a certain department. You may just get placed where there is a need, however.

I would recommend taking out all the fluff, bunching your clinical experience together with less false details into a 1800 hour summation. Include your volunteer work, any organizations you're a part of on campus or in the community. It shows that you're a caring person, and that's what nursing is about, right?

Most applications you're going to see these days will be online, fill in the blank stuff. So having a good resume, while important, isn't what it used to be.

Good luck!

mlaineRN · Jan 26, 2013

Were you completely independent when you were providing care for up to 8 patients?
Can you truly respond to to a pleural effusion of hypertensive crisis on your own?
Are you able to function on your own without supervision in an ICU?
Did you really facilitate staff meetings and work as a supervisor when you were a student?
I would say your answer to these questions would be: no. Your resume portrays the contrary.
You need to be careful with wording in your resumes. They should be impressive, but also honest. A new nurse isn't expected to perform all those things, btw. Most hiring managers know what your school's curriculum is. As long as you pass the NCLEX, you will be part of the same new-hire cohort as everyone else. If you liked a part of your clinicals in particular, you can request to work in a certain department. You may just get placed where there is a need, however.
I would recommend taking out all the fluff, bunching your clinical experience together with less false details into a 1800 hour summation. Include your volunteer work, any organizations you're a part of on campus or in the community. It shows that you're a caring person, and that's what nursing is about, right?
Most applications you're going to see these days will be online, fill in the blank stuff. So having a good resume, while important, isn't what it used to be.
Good luck!

Thank you for your honest response! I see your point. Would it be better if I stated "Provided safe and quality care for up to 8 patients under the supervision of a staff and charge nurse". During our last year in college, we were basically assigned patients and are the ones who provide care for these patients although we were still told to report to our staff nurses because we didn't have licences yet. I just wanted to show that I have the ability to handle caring for multiple patients. :unsure:

Wouldn't titrating IV meds for a hypertensive crisis and reporting to the staff nurse/ physician about the pleural effusion be classified as responding, too? If not, please tell me so I could delete that part. :unsure:

Yes, we did facilitate a staff development meeting and we did supervise nursing personnel in the community when we were students (for example, we ensured that their BP taking techniques and weight monitoring were up to par).

Also, uhm, what else do you consider as fluff? Thank you!

I would really appreciate your response, Kyleroth! Thank you so much! :yes: