Resume boosters

I wasn't a member of any clubs and I had no medical experience as a new graduate. What I always got comments about from people involved in the hiring process was my very stable work history. It gave them the impression that I might actually stick around for a while if they hired me. A lot of new graduates move on from their first job(s) rather quickly.

Honestly? I compared resumes with a few in my nursing class, and there really seems to be no "magic recipe" for resumes. Like Sour Lemon, my stable job history was the "focus" of my resume: mine is a 'minimalist' chronological resume - just a clean list of jobs/education/clinical experience/certifications/extracurriculars with times and dates. Others in my class had in-depth descriptions of responsibilities and objective statements....this is known as a "functional" resume, and focuses on skills over job history. I would say that if your resume is more skills-based, do your research: if they mention something in the job description to which you are applying, or on their "who we are" or "our mission" section of their website - make sure you include that language in your resume.

I reserved flowery writing for my cover letter, in which I "told my story": what inspired me, why I thought I was a good fit for the position, etc. To me, the resume was a boring but functional document that proved my basic qualifications - easy to read at a glance. The cover letter was my chance to make a connection and entice. I had several potential employers mention being impressed with my cover letter in the interviews, and ask questions based on it - so it was a fantastic way to have some measure of steering the interview to MY strengths.

Basically, I would say to relax- there's no magic words or formula. Decide what type of resume will make you look the best on paper - chronological, functional, combination, or targeted - and make a clean, easy-to-read document.