Resume Advise....Please

[BansheebabeRn]

Thank you all

[mtngrl, ASN, RN]

Your objective just needs to be the first sentence you wrote, short and sweet. The rest of the things you wrote in the objective should be put in your cover letter, not on the resume. Include if you were in any clubs in college. And under education put what degree you got. And on mine since I didn't have any other experience besides school, instead of writing "experience" I put something like "student nurse experience". Make sure it all fits on one page, if not shorten what you are saying.

[santhony44, MSN, RN, NP]

I recently read advice in a nursing paper that the objective should be omitted altogether. If you keep it, make it very general.

Definitely add education.

Add any organizations you were part of, especially things like service clubs.

Any honors or awards: Dean's List, Student Nurse of the Year, anything like that.

Any volunteer work you may have done.

Good luck!

[llg, PhD, RN]

I always prefer to see the student experiences taken out of the resume unless they are unique from what students typically do and/or relate directly to the job you are applying for. Anyone hiring a nurse already knows that you have done the typical student nurse things. Don't irritate the experienced resume reader by listing everything you did in school. Only list 1 or 2 things IF (and only if) they are special and/or particularly pertinent -- for example, if you did a preceptorship or extra project in an environmnet that gave you special preparation for the job you are seeking.

I recommend that you state your degree along with the date and school from which you obtained it. Then state something like: "A summary of student clinical experience can be found on the accompanying page" and make a separate page that briefly lists your ordinary school experiences. That way, they are there if the person wants to see them, but they don't clutter up your resume with "padding" that will irritate some readers.

What should you include? If you are young and this would be your first job, you could list a couple of highlights from high school -- but omit them if you graduated more than 5 years ago unless they are truly spectacular and/or relevant to the job (i.e. high school valedictorian, volunteer work in a health care setting, etc.)

List any and all past employment -- even if it was just a part time job or totally unrelated to health care or was providing child care for which you were paid. Your employment record should almost never be omitted. People want to know what kind of employee you are, what your job skills are, etc.

List all activities you participated in -- clubs, organizations, committees, etc. being sure to list any offices held or other leadership activities. Include non-professional activities if they are substantive and require some skill/judgment to do, such as serving on a committee for a church or other community group, teaching Sunday school, etc.

List any certifications or special training, such as CPR, etc. List any awards, scholarships, or honors you have received.

If you have none of the above-mentioned things to list, then you need to be realistic in your expectations for employment in your first job. You probably will not be chosen for a job which requires you to lead a team and/or supervise others. You'll probably need to get some "entry-level" experience first and then "move up the ladder" to being in a leadership position. That's not a bad thing. New grads usually need assistance in their first jobs, the help and support of people who can assist them in making that all-important transition from student to professional. Be sure that the jobs you apply for will provide you with that support and assistance so that you don't start your career off with a bad experience of being in over your head.

Good luck,

llg

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

i'm truly not being mean, but i'm used to reading resumes and, truthfully, i couldn't read anymore after just the first two lines written under experience. too wordy. too much information. a resume should be short and sweet. your objective should be nothing more than the job position you are seeking. experience only needs to be dates, job title and maybe the name of the company--that's all. education needs to be the degree you hold. you should also include another section for current licensure, certifications or special training that lists the type of nursing license you hold, the state, and the number. if you aren't licensed yet, include information on registration to take the nclex and when that is to occur. include your cpr certification there. yet another section would be added for professional memberships.

here are some links on writing resumes. i think there are links to view sample resumes as well among them.

https://allnurses.com/forums/f87/wondering-why-you-cant-get-hired-resume-hints-84387.html

http://www.collegeboard.com/student/plan/high-school/36957.html - "resume-writing 101". includes a set of links at the bottom of the article to the resume information at the major job seeker sites.

http://www.nurseweek.com/features/99-8/resume.html - "looking good on paper: professional advice for building powerful resumes" from nurseweek. a short article on the critical basics to incorporate into your resume.

http://www.wetfeet.com/article%20types/resumes.aspx - a listing of links to articles on writing up a resume as well as some information on cover letters from wetfeet.com

[MIA-RN1, RN]

My interpretation of how I"d reword it. You have the general idea but its pretty wordy.

Objective: I wish to obtain full time employment as a Registered Nurse in a Doctor's office or outpatient setting.

Qualifications:

Reliable, able to remain calm in a busy work environment.

Excellent interpersonal skills

BLS CPR etc

past related history such as phlebotomy, first aid training, experience working in an office etc

Work history:

List your former jobs, up to about five years ago unless they are relevant.

suchandsuch hosptial city, state

job description:

one liners, bulleted, with specific job duties such as ambulated patients, assisted with ekg's whatever whatever

Education

WVU-P Parkersburg Wv 2002 - 2005

degree obtained

gpa

any special academic awards

Interests:

clubs, associations you belong to, volunteer work, community service. Remember bulleted and short.

[BansheebabeRn]

Thank you soo much for your input ...your information was most helpful....

[BansheebabeRn]

na

[BansheebabeRn]

Resume has been deleted

[Euphrosyne7, MSN, RN]

Hi:

We just had a class about this, and I don't know if this is current practice or not but........

If you have just graduated, they are telling us to put down your educational information first. Also if your GPA is lower than 3.5, do not list it at all. But if you made Dean's list, etc., put that down.........

So an example of what we were instructed to do:

Objective: To obtain a graduate nurse position using my acquired skills, training, and experience.

Education:

XXX College, Providence, RI 2000 - 2006

Associate Science Degree

Dean's List

Experience:

Then list experience

References available upon request should be in 10 font as a footer in italics.

Hope this is some help; I would search the internet for several sample resumes. The main thing is to keep it short and neat while bulleting main points of interest so that an employer can just glance at it and see important info quickly. Don't forget to send a cover letter too. Also instead of writing BLS card holder, just put that under certifications and write BLS certified and the dates.

Carla

[Havin' A Party!, ASN, RN]

What LLG and Cooper said.

[capnnikkiRN]

My advice-go to Microsoft Office Online, they have a great nursing resume template that will spark the ideas you need to create a great resume.