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, but it's in a different hospital...sorry i forgot to mention that. But I'll try ur other suggestions about asking for a tour/shadowing a nurse. I am going to make sure i learn everything i can about the hospital so that i can mention it in email or if i get to meet up with her. Thanks again. :)
For the new grads out there - when you listed your clinical hours did you itemize the time spent in each part of the department? For example, let's say I did 50 OB hours. Would I list it like that or put OR-20, PACU-10, NICU-20 or just all under OB without being so specific?
Many resumes that I see are finctional in format. They state the job and job resonsibilities but do not include accomplishments. Always include your achievements in the workplace. Include the metrics to support them. Numbers, percentages, timing reductions, etc. are very important.
Format is ver important. You would not believe the number of executive resumes I receive that are poorly structured and lack the detail to show what a person has achieved. Below are a few examples of what I am referring to.
oRestructured Preoperative Services to enhance accountability, productivity, efficiency, and customer satisfaction
oDeveloped marketing strategies that enhance volumes, staff retention, and increased surgeon's
referral sources.
oReduced inventory by $800,000.00
oDeveloped and implemented a Case Cart system
oIncreased patient readiness 12 hours prior to procedure from 20% to 80% (goal 100%)
oIncreased first case on time start from 22% to 85%
oCompleted Phase II of the Perioperative electronic clinical documentations
oImplemented a Perpetual Inventory system which achieved a cost savings of $240,000 in the OR
oRestructured Anesthesiology to increase revenue by $3 Million per annum
oDeveloped and implemented processes to increase procedures by 47% above FY07 procedures
oDecreased room turnover from 1 hour to 30 minutes to our goal 20 minutes
oDeveloped and implemented Service Line Team Leaders, which has increased the depth of the organization
oDeveloped and implemented a Collaborative Practice committee with Surgeons and nursing
Take the time and put forth the effort to create a resume that will yield results.
Any nurse recruiters/human resources willing to look over my resume and critique? Very much appreciated...Please let me know and I will forward it to you?
After hearing so many folks who are surprised at the difficulty getting a job, I thought I'd post a bit on my history.
I worked at my hospital as a CNA for .. about 18 years. Got into a scholarship program affiliated with the hospital (not funded BY it), which put me through RN, and then BSN. Got the RN in 08 and took boards that Fall. So as of Oct 2008 I'm "a nurse". Did they hire me? No.
Just about the same time, 1-the hospital became unionized (nursing union) and 2-the economy hit the toilet. Long story short, all the former intermittant nurses were scrambling for anything open, and since they were union - pretty much no one who wasn't was being hired. After about a year of applying in house, I started looking for "anything", so I ended up getting 2 weekend only jobs at 2 LTC places (oddly enough both were dementia units) even while I continued to apply at the hospital.
Then they d/c'ed CNA positions, as they wanted to switch to medical assistants in the clinics (I was a clinic float at the time). I couldn't get certified because I had the "wrong credientials", couldn't keep my job, and breifly transferred to Poison Control, where, well, it was a poor fit. I was within a week of losing my position at the hospital (and the rest of the scholarship) when miraculously I was accepted into Psych in Nov 09 (a little over a year, and 32 internal applications later). Oddly enough the fact that I had dementia experience had been a plus.
My take home? Apply. Don't give up. Get experience ANYWHERE even the places "I would never want to work" because any step is a good step. At any point in my months and apps I could have walked away, and I would have missed out on working in psych, and getting so excited about it that this is my specialty of choice as I pursue my NP doctorate.
During my RN education program, my instructors told me that it was OK to bring notes to your interview! It's better to be prepared than to spend 5 minutes thinking of an answer!
When writing a cover letter, how do you know who the recipient is? The HR staff member that contacted me for my interview is not the person who will be interviewing me. I only know the name and not the title? Any suggestions on generic recipients?
When writing a cover letter, how do you know who the recipient is? The HR staff member that contacted me for my interview is not the person who will be interviewing me. I only know the name and not the title? Any suggestions on generic recipients?
I would make a point of calling the HR staff member who initially contacted you and ask them who you should address the cover letter to and if they don't give you an answer then I would put "Nurse Recruiter" but only do that if they do not give you a specific addressee or if they request you to address the cover letter with that title.
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iamRN09
37 Posts
Thanks, but it's in a different hospital...sorry i forgot to mention that. But I'll try ur other suggestions about asking for a tour/shadowing a nurse. I am going to make sure i learn everything i can about the hospital so that i can mention it in email or if i get to meet up with her. Thanks again. :)