spotty employment history, best experience was 15 years ago! what to do?

[AQEELSMOM]

lets just say i took a long time to "find myself". i am in my mid thirties and have worked in multiple industries (tech, hospitality, fashion, entertainment). prior to going back to school for nursing, i worked as a therapeutic massage therapist for a year after completing a 2 year college program. prior to that, i goofed off in the uk for a year with nothing good to put on my resume (i worked as a coat check girl in a high end celeb nightclub while going to astrology school - something that i am leaving off my resume because i know people look at any kind of occult knowledge with judgement and suspicion). i was a self employed makeup artist/server for 3 years before that. prior to THAT (this is now going back 15 years) i worked in the tech industry as an executive assistant/office manager, and also ran my own management agency for artists for two years. that was 15 years ago though.

so i'm kind of at a loss. as i mentioned, i'm in my mid thirties, but i look like im in my early/mid twenties, and everyone assumes so and treats me accordingly, until i casually slip in my age. i actually have a huge base of knowledge and experience/skills spanning from computers/technology to administration to sales to dealing with all kind of people of all walks of life, but i'm not sure how to frame this on my resume without looking like a total kook who just jumped around (which i am, and i did).

i dont want to submit a resume that only covers the past 3 years (nursing school and massage), because potential employers will assume that i'm in my early twenties, but going back 15 years doesnt make sense either.

i'm not sure how to approach this?

[LoveMyBugs, BSN, CNA, RN]

Unless they ask for 10 yr employment history, I wouldn't worry about it.

They are going to want to see what experiences you have now and if you are a new grad then you have no experience.

Now all your life experience dose help, and you can talk about that during your interview how you can work with others...ect Being a waitress and years of customer service helps...because healthcare is turning into a customer service field, but if it isn't healthcare related I wouldn't worry to much about it

But 2-3 yrs before nursing school and then your school experience is what they will want to see.

[AQEELSMOM]

ok great thank you, i wasn't sure what would be expected on a new grad resume, so i will go with your suggestion. i have another question if you don't mind - i'm on a visa in the US and am barred from working, and all the hospitals in my area will not permit me to volunteer without an SSN... so my volunteer experience is pretty thin, other than a few small activities i did during community healthcare. i went on a medical mission with an NGO over the holidays to a developing nation... i just want my resume to be competitive but i am worried... thoughts?

[Psychcns]

Stay with 2-3 years experience and your clinicals during nursing school

They want to make sure you can do the job you are applying for. Your NGO experience may be ok-it shows interest.

There used to be a site "NP career coach" where there were sample resumes. There may be other sites like this.

[AQEELSMOM]

thank you, i will look.

[Psychcns]

I use the NP career coach format starting with

-summary of qualifications: 3 sentences. Here you could put your 10 years in hospitality industry or whatever

-then you could put education emphasizing clinicals

-recent work experience

-licenses

I like using the summary of qualifications.

Be prepared to talk about how your previous work experience prepared you for this particular job.

Customize your résumé for each job. There are a lot of postings on allnurses and the internet about how to prepare resumes, how to get your foot in the door, and how to interview. Looking for a job is a job.

Best wishes.