Wondering why you can't get hired or promoted? Resume + Interview hints!
I've been reviewing resumes for open positions in my department and can't believe the resumes I've received: misspelling, words crossed off, no cover letter, including personal information about family life.
Look at your resume! Please don't send a resume if you have none of the job qualifications, unless your cover letter has explanation. eg. enrolled in education program etc.
I was taught in LPN and BSN program how to prepare a resume. Is this a lost art being skipped??
Also agree with our BB members that calling facility and finding out who is department manager, then forwarding your resume to them along with hr is great idea.
I work in smaller organization than hospital but has taken me over two months to get open positions advertised and three weeks to get resumes sent to me...those that sent to me directly have interview same week.
Questions during the job interview should be related to the job you are inquiring about. The following questions is illegal to ask during a job interview here in the U.S.:
Your personal life (married, divorced, children)
Pregnancy
Provision for child care
Religion
Club Memberships
Dependents
Ethnic background
Native Language
Physical Problems
Psychiatric Problems
Spouse's Employment
Credit Rating
Home Ownership
Questions You Should Ask (From Hospital Soup)
How long is the orientation phase and what can I expect?
If for any reason it seems that orientation is just not going well for me what will happen and who should I talk to about it?
Will I work with one preceptor throughout or will I have several different preceptors?
Who will be precepting me? Can you tell me something about them? Will I always have the same preceptor or will there be more than one?
What kind of professional advancement is available to nurses here?
What are some of the attributes of working for your hospital?
If I were to get a job offer from another hospital, why would I want to work for this one?
What is the criterion you will use to select the person you are looking for?
What kind of support can I expect from the nursing educators and preceptors?
What unique challenges has this unit faced over the last year? (I.e. successes, failures, etc.)
How much independence do nurses have in being creative problem-solvers?
Resigning From A Position
Check your facilities policy and procedures--most require that you give notice equal to amount of vacation provided, often 2-3 weeks; long term employed RNs can be 4-5 weeks.
Managers often need 1-3 months notice to be eligible for rehire --don't burn your bridges.
Thanks so much for the kind words and advice, both of you. I seriously never heard of putting a GPA on a resume until I looked at some of the samples linked to in the original thread. I've been doing some googling, and it does seem fairly common practice, at least in certain professions. I always thought my grades were just a point of personal pride -- cool that they *may* help me get a job!
I was wondering if anyone knew where I could find examples of resumes of current nursing students who also work as CNAs. I have a BS in psych and I've had various non-nursing related jobs, so I just want to know how I would arrange that in my resume. Thanks.
Ok I'm beginning to think it is something with me. I have applied for probably 20-30 jobs here and have had 4 interviews. Nothing became of any of the interviews. All the response 'm getting on these applications is that don't have the experience they are looking for, there are more qualified applicants, application gets forwarded to manager but never hear back, or I just don't get a response at all. The interviews went very well and they said they were impressed with me/my answers. I don't know where to go from here. There is a hospital that I am applying for that makes you agree not to call for "status checks".
I know there are the jobs out there that I have applied for that I am not considered for because i do not have a full year of experience, but it seems even a lot of the floor positions "require 1 year experience" now.
You've replied to my post "need feedbacks on resume" a few days ago. I have sent you an email using my personal email because I'm a new member and not allowed to send private msgs on here. Just wondering if you received my email?
Ok, here's my situation, in as short a form as possible. I graduated in May 2008, took boards and was licensed in October 2008. Lost what I was hoping to be a dream job in October 2008 after 4 weeks of orientation as an RNA. Gave up apply for job in my home state in Jan 2009. Applied for and was interviewed for several positions in NC in Feb 2009. Was actually offered a job and was excited and started said job in NC on a intermediate unit in June 2009. 9 weeks into orientation I wasn't progressing and after some soul searching on my own, I decided to talk to my nurse manager about it. We both decided that it would be to my best interest to transfer to a less acute floor as my transition from being an LPN to an RN was much harder than I expected. The nurse retention manager was contacted and I started working with her in August. By October 31st all options to find me a new position was exhausted as all the new grad RN positions were gone and there were no openings anywhere on the general medicine units. I am now officially unemployed...again. Hubby and I are moving back home at the end of this month since my job prospects where we are a slim and we have a baby on the way.
My resume is littered with short stay jobs, my RNA job and this one being the most recent. Also HUGE gaps between jobs. Should I even bother applying for jobs knowing my resume most likely won't make it past the recruiter? This last job has me only employed for 4 months, but it was actually less than that since the policy at this particular place states you can't work on the unit your trying to transfer from during the transfer process. How in the world do I make myself stand out to even get an interview? DO I put something in my cover letter? Also, should I even bothe applying for positions I've found back home since my baby is due at the end of January?
I've made many mistakes in my career, most of them while I was an LPN which I have to list on my resume. I am eligible for rehire at both this employer and the one previous to it. It's just my resume screams "don't bother".
Hi people am a foreign nurse and i just pass my nclex rn. Trying to look for a job and i have a question , i really don't have relevant work history and am a new grad and i don't know if am to write a resume and how should i write it? any advice will be appreciated. Thanks
I'm not in the application stage currently - but I will be. My situation is that I'm in school for my BSN, and what I'd like, long term, is to find a small community (maybe rural) in a place where NP's have prescriptive privliedges and see if in order to get me as a "local provider" and have me settle down there, would they pay for my NP training. I've heard it's theoretically possible, but I'm not sure how to go about it.
The first thing I would do would be to check out some area where they are despearate for nurses, such as Long Term Care - take a job like that knowing it's only for short term, and to put a "longer chunk" on your resume. Make it clear that you want to work, and are looking for any good fit.
Can anyone help me out with a question? Should I mention somewhere on my resume the continuing education contact hours I've received in nursing school? I meet the requirements for RN's in Florida (AIDS, medical errors, domestic violence), so should I put this on there or just leave it off? Thanks!
I was talking to a nurse recruiter who said there are no positions now for new grads but that she is interested in me and to keep in touch, i was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on what I could keep in touch with her about?
I'm participating in a residency program with no promise of a job, so I really want to keep in touch with this nurse recruiter. I'd appreciate any topic ideas that I can keep in touch with her about, i want to stay in her radar so that when i finish the residency I might get an interview and a chance at a job.
Do you work in the same hospital and will you have the oportunity to run into her (versus calling her)? I can think of a few things off the top of my head....you could stop in and say that you know she said they weren't hiring new grads but since you know this hospital is a perfect fit you would love to go on a tour or shadow a nurse. Mention in conversation some of the things that make the hospital where you want to work - everyone is always in a good mood, witness staff working collaboratively or going the extra mile for patients, etc. You could also approach the recruiter and ask if while you are waiting for a position to open up if there is anything you can do to ease the transition, maybe the hospital has training you could attend or certifications you could obtain. I would think that by doing this she will see that you are serious about wanting to work there and not just desperate for ANY job anywhere (even if we all might be...LOL)
Good Luck!
iamRN09 said:
I was talking to a nurse recruiter who said there are no positions now for new grads but that she is interested in me and to keep in touch, i was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on what I could keep in touch with her about?
I'm participating in a residency program with no promise of a job, so I really want to keep in touch with this nurse recruiter. I'd appreciate any topic ideas that I can keep in touch with her about, i want to stay in her radar so that when i finish the residency I might get an interview and a chance at a job.
dreavt, BSN, RN
73 Posts
Thanks so much for the kind words and advice, both of you. I seriously never heard of putting a GPA on a resume until I looked at some of the samples linked to in the original thread. I've been doing some googling, and it does seem fairly common practice, at least in certain professions. I always thought my grades were just a point of personal pride -- cool that they *may* help me get a job!
Thanks again!
Drea