Preparing a New grad resume and would like help critique and making it better.

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Hi. I am an RN-BSN nursing student that will be graduating this December and in need of figuring out how to make my resume look good so I can be hired for jobs and maybe a new grad residency program. Ive done a resume but I am not sure it stands out enough to interest any nurse recruiters out there. I would appreciate it if someone where to look at my resume and cover letters and give me any pointers. Or any places that can help me make it better. I will attach a sample of my resume and cover letter. Thank you very much.

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Professional Objective

Searching for an RN new graduate internship position on the Medical-Surgical Unit; obtain new nursing skills and increase competencies in current skills to expand level of competence from beginner to novice.

Skills

American Heart Association BLS- CPR Certification; exp. 10/2012

Fire Card Certification, exp. 04/2015

Highly motivated and capable of working as a team member.

Flexible, patient, organized and goal directed.

Able to have conversations in Tagalog.

Computer proficient. Basic skills in Microsoft Word/Excel/PowerPoint. Firefox/Internet explorer. 70 WPM. 10-Key.

Education

California State University, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA

Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree, expected graduation December 2011

Experience

File Clerk/Data EntryOct. 2008-present

Dentist-On-Call, Van Nuys, CA

Organizes documentation regarding patient care. Search files, compute data, verify insurance and other administrative work. Assist with billing of payments and retrieving dental appointments.

Customer Service Sales AssociateSept. 2007-Jan. 2008

Fry's Electronics, Burbank, CA

Responsible for serving customers, performing sales and handling inquiries and complaints. Apply knowledge of products sold. Demonstrate ability to handle money and other payments.

Organization Membership

National Student Nurses Association (NSNA); 2010-present.

Alpha Tau Delta (ATD); 2011.

Nightingale Society; 2009-present.

Community Service

CSULA Nursing fundraiser (March 2009-present)

Pinning Ceremony- Decoration committee (2011). Los Angeles.

March of Dimes (2011). Los Angeles.

Midnight Mission of Los Angeles Soup Kitchen. (2011). Los Angeles.

Clinical Care Extender (2007-2008). Valley Presbyterian Hospital, Van Nuys, CA

References: Available upon request.

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October 01, 2011

To Whom It May Concern,

I am responding to your recent job listing for University of California, Los Angeles offering the opportunity to be a part of the new grad residency program. I was particularly interested in the RN residency program because as a new graduate, I have the education to succeed being a nurse but require additional experience with patient care.

I am a nursing student who will be completing my Bachelors of Science in Nursing this upcoming December 2011. My experience and education have provided me with the knowledge to be able to practice patient care and relevant skills to be an effective team member. However, obtaining new nursing skills and increasing my level of competence is a goal I strive to achieve with the help of the residency program being offered by University of California, Los Angeles. I have had clinical rotations in various hospital units teaching me various skills that I can offer if accepted into the program.

It is well aware that the new grad residency programs is one of the best in integrating new nurses into the profession and can be quite difficult and stressful at times. If given the chance, I would gladly work with staff members and willingly gain the required skills for further experience from them. I assure you that the experience attained would be an asset and make a positive contribution to my position as a graduate nurse.

Enclosed is my resume for your review. I welcome the opportunity to discuss with you personally more about the opportunity and how I can best serve your hospital. Please call me on the above mentioned phone number or email address as to your convenience.

Thank you.

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1. Make the objective one simple sentence like "RN seeking a position on a medical surgical unit". Leave off "new grad" (they'll see that in the resume) and all the other cliches about competence and beginner/novice.

2. Skills and Certifications are two different things. List them separately.

3. Put information about your school clinical rotations in the same format as you would a regular job. Be more detailed about what you did on your med surg rotations if that's the kind of job you want.

4. The non-healthcare jobs you have only need one line each: company, location, your job title, and employment dates. No need for more, it's irrelevant to nursing.

5. Lose all the volunteer stuff except for the ones in healthcare.

6. Lose "references available upon request". It is assumed that everybody has references. Writing it is totally unnecessary.

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Keep the cover letter at 2 short paragraphs, no more. It should sum up the most important parts of your resume, which are who you are and why this facility should hire you for med surg. Don't talk about residency programs and the skills you want, you need to focus on what you can give THEM, not what they can give YOU.

Paragragph 1: A few short sentences about yourself.

Paragraph 2: What you can offer to the hospital (why they should hire you)

For example:

In December 2011 I will graduate with my BSN from X School of Nursing would like to apply for an RN position at UCLA Medical Center. I plan to take my NCLEX within a few weeks of graduation so that I can begin my career as a nurse as soon as possible.

As my resume indicates, I have pursued excellence in both my academics and clinical rotations. While I flourished in all of my clinical rotations, medical-surgical nursing interests me most. I believe that UCLA Medical Center, with your highly regarded new graduate residency program, would be an excellent place for me to develop as a graduate nurse and grow as a professional in the long term.

I look forward to hearing from you regarding the new graduate residency program in the next few months.

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Specializes in geriatrics.

Review your sentence structure and grammar. "It is well aware..." Sounds awkward. I used to hire and train people when I worked in hotel management. When your time is limited, the resumes that contain obvious grammatical errors are discarded.

Lose the references available on request.

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thank you guys very much. I have shown my resume to my instructor but she only made a few changes in it n it was still lookin plain to me. nothing like yours and getting other people opinion about it is very helpful. thank you again. :)

also for adding my clinical rotations. can u give me an example. i mean i dont have to put every single clinical i have had right but just the ones im aiming for or something.

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Clinical rotations are something all nursing graduates have. I feel that all it does it take up (lots of) space for something that makes you exactly the same as everyone else. I would, and did put a small blurb about each job I had making sure to use key phrases in describing the position such as delegating, prioritizing, teamwork, etc. For example, when I was a unit secretary, I delegated phone calls to appropriate personnel, prioritized tasks... When I was a dorm secretary or recruiter I maintained confidentiality, etc...

And as volunteering... if your resume is going over a page then yes just keep the relevant ones. I will say that when I recently interviewed for a transfer within my same hospital they did specifically ask me about any volunteering I am involved with outside of work.

Good luck with your job search :)

*edit* if you did a preceptorship, then that would be nice to add cuz i dont think all schools get one and it might be specific to where you want to work.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, & ED.

Don't narrow it to med surg , unless this is the only department you would like to do your RN residency .. Good luck!!!!! :)

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Clinical Rotation listed in "job" style:

Spring 2010: Medical-Surgical Nursing: UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA

Provided nursing care on a medical-surgical unit. This rotation*focused on the gaining experience with following skills: tracheostomy care, sterile dressing changes, insertion and care of a Foley catheter, NG tube maintenance, specimen collection, pain assessment, analgesic administration, and evaluation.

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There is a thread somewhere on here about "why am I not getting hired" or something like that. It was AWESOME and had links to many samples. I used it recently (graduated in May) and got the first job I interviewed for!

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

I think this is the link hmellish is referencing: https://allnurses.com/nursing-career-advice/wondering-why-you-84387.html

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