Professional Nurse Resume Writers

Nurse_ · Mar 7, 2013

There are two parts in a resume.

One is the one you hand over to your interviewer, attach in an application.

Another is something more like a CV, this is the one you copy and paste in online applications. D

I write resumes and have taught a lot of new grads how to tweak and make their resumes to stand out. I can do what I can to highlight skills but in the end, it's still based on the candidate's skill set. Most new grads have a set idea of what to put in their resume from what they've heard from others. Sadly, it's not the case. You have to highlight what makes YOU as an applicant unique.

Many asked about putting their clinical experience... I say it's a NO but others say go for it.

Why don't I like it? I have reviewed many of these candidates and if they, for example, had their preceptorship in XYX hospital. Why didn't they hire the nurse? It's easier to train someone who already knows the in's and out's of the hospital (Hoag Hospital in SoCal actually prefers their new grads to have had their clinicals in the hospital to be considered for new grad hire).

Your resume should be the best representation of yourself. And if you don't know who you are and what you want to do with nursing, your resume will become bland. A generic resume is just as bad.

What is a generic resume? It is a resume that looks and reads like every other candidate. It usually goes like

NAME

ADDRESS

TEL. NO.

OBJECTIVE

CLINICAL EXPERIENCE

SCHOOL

You have to think how to spruce up yours.

NAME, ADDRESS & OTHER INFO (You can't really do anything about that)

Objective (They know your objective is to land a job, instead... make it a personal summary. What kind of person are you and why would you be valuable to the hospital).

Clinical experience: Highlight things you've done (assisted with chest tube placement etc.)

School: Honors, awards, societies

Again, your resume can only highlight what you have.

Guest575949 · Aug 6, 2014

I wish someone had answered with some services they'd used. I think I'd like to try one

happyinmyheart · Aug 6, 2014

Same here

AllInRN, ASN, BSN · Aug 11, 2014

I used career services at the school I attended. They were very helpful. Maybe give that a try.

K_girl · Aug 12, 2014

I also thought about using a professional service. I chose not to (too expensive!). I recently rewrote my resume since starting working as a nurse. I wrote the resume on my own and was able to get calls for 2 interviews in departments that I have been desperately wanting to get into (ER and ICU). I scoured through numerous resumes and I wrote my own using the information that I gained from all the research.

AllInRN also made a good suggestion by using career services (if you are a student). I believe that you are able to write an effective resume without having to shell out the money for it! It just might take a little bit longer than you want

luvmypug · Aug 14, 2014

I understand your pain. I am having a very difficult time writing my resume as well. Recent RN grad, non-traditional student....read many of the suggestions, looked at examples given throughout many different websites. What happens when you do not have the experiences you need for your resume to stand out?

ceebeejay · Aug 18, 2014

I came to ask this question. It's disappointing that there are no recommendations other than how to do it for yourself. I have taken the advice and examples. Something is wrong. My friends with resumes that I would consider no much better than mine, get calls for interviews often. I have never received a call from a facility, ever. It makes me believe that my first impression must be bad or have no impression at all. I am considering using nursingresumepros, but I am unsure. Has anybody heard anything positive or negative about them?

scott5698 · Aug 19, 2014

I am in a similar boat. have a previous career and resume that has always gotten me callbacks. currently working med-surge. have (I thought) changed and adapted resume down to one page, focused on current skills while blending in my management background. not a single callback in the latest 100 applications. meanwhile, overwork from med-surge is slowly killing me and sapping my interest in nursing - I mean, who really wants a job where you work 12's, can't pee, never get lunch, and are behind from the moment you clock in? meanwhile, the patients constantly tell me they think Ive been working for years, refuse to have others for a nurse, and claim to tell mgt that I'm the best. I've even seen them tell the docs that I do great, they love me etc. though I feel like I never do enough. Any ideas about how to capture that and the associated skills would be most appreciated!

grudgrime · Sep 5, 2014

scott5698 ~ You have answered your own question highlight your incredible compassionate care and your interpersonal skills. :cat:

luvmypug · Sep 8, 2014

With regard to the nursing resume discussion, I did dig deeper, this is what I found.

"Resume Writer" available through the public library was a great source to compare before and after resumes. Inside this book there are sample resumes, many different professions. Concepts and explanations made sense. Simple read, not hard to apply.

One of the suggestions from this book was to have a simplified resume to upload on websites-Format does not always come out correctly. Save the eye pleasing more complex format as a hard copy to be presented at time of interview.

Also, each time you send out a resume for a specific position, save and rename under that job title...Med Surg Nurse, Pedi Nurse.

Follow up with a call to human resources, was your resume received?

The most useful information came from major Nursing School websites. Excellent resources for the RN graduate. Examples of different resumes- new grad to experienced nurse.

I would Bookmark the resources I found most helpful. Made a "resume" folder to keep it in one place. Edited my resume a little bit each time and then would reload an updated version to the career websites.

I do understand the whole process is a bit much while you are looking for a job. Most of my time was spent editing and re-editing my resume than networking to find a job. It was helpful for me to have someone I respected, (who was in the medical field) review and offer suggestions.

Remember to be positive, enthusiastic, confident and a team player. The resume gets you in the door. You have to pull it off with the interview, so remember to spend time on that as well. What do you have to offer that is unique and makes you different from the other candidates. Do your research and ask smart questions, not questions about benefits. Decide what it is you must have to be happy, keep it realistic. It does not have to be the perfect position, it's not forever. One condition most important to me was the work environment. A hostile work place would not work for me. What was I willing to give up to have a positive environment was something I needed to know before I began interviewing. Only you can decide what is most important, but do keep it in mind when you consider offers.

Using all the suggestions and info I gathered from books on resumes, interviewing techniques, website searches did make a difference. I noticed my interviews became more confident. On my third interview I was offered and accepted the position. I start in a week. So glad I'm not working on that resume!

Jackie012 · Nov 4, 2016

From my own experience, I know that employers usually spend up to 10 seconds scanning each resume. So it should be catchy and brief at the same time. If you are not sure you can deal with it for 100 % I would better recommend you to ask specialists like Supreme essay to help you. Those guys do a good job. They've helped me to get my desired job. So you can give them a try if you want.