How to Put Together an Effective Nursing Resume
So what is most important for you, as a nurse, to convey? First and foremost – your license, be it LVN, RN, CNA etc. and in what states, countries you are licensed. To save the interviewer time you should always include your license numbers. Then certificates should be listed, which includes all the specialties that you have spent hours studying for and getting proficient in, such as Psychiatric Nursing, Clinical Assessment, Public Health and so on. Following the Certification, Education should come next. An employer looking to hire a competent nurse usually looks at these three most important aspects of a nurses qualifications. In Education the school is usually listed first and under it goes the degree acquired and any special recognitions, such as cum laude or having been on the Dean’s list. Under Education you can list additional education that usually has to do with certifications or special courses you have acquired through personal interest or job related requirements.
The old thirty second rule applies to nurses as well as everyone else. Employers like to be able to tell if you qualify for their position within thirty seconds, so having your essential information up front allows them to do just that.
After all the essential requirements of your profession are dealt with, it’s also a good idea to tell them what special talents and qualities you have to offer. This section I call, Qualifications. How many years of experience you have as a Nurse is a good place to start, that way the employer doesn’t have to go through your background and add them up. Then, it would be appropriate to put down what your strongest talents, skills, attributes are. Asking yourself the right questions to fill in this section can be a daunting task, because we all have a tendency to want to be humble. The trick is to tell the truth. If you really do have a passion for communicating with your patients, then why not put it down. Knowledge of specialized areas, could only help you and any experience in supervisory positions, training of personnel, even being highly organized and able to handle problems are pluses, why not mention them? For example:
> Over 10 years of professional nursing experience in Med-Surg, Psychiatric, Urology, Geriatrics.
> Diplomatic – relate well with patients, medical personnel.
> Organized, detail-oriented, with the ability to work efficiently in high pressure environments.
> Knowledgeable in forensic medicine, case management, public health nursing.
Enlisting the help of an objective third party is often helpful, be it a service or a friend. They may ask you the important questions, or see things in you that you don’t see in yourself.
Next is Employment. Here is where all those hours, weeks and years of hands on experience is rendered down to the essentials. It is true that employers will know the basics of what nurses do, but what did YOU do? What special duties did you perform, or are performing and the areas in which you do them, particularly if you are a specialist. Let’s say you are a Public Health Nurse, you might describe your job like this:
Responsible for working in the community with families and individuals in crises intervention and stabilization of acute psychotic episodes. Managed cases, followed clients in home settings to determine functional status, medication education, injection and individual/family counseling needs. Worked with significant others to set and maintain ongoing contact with client and other service providers. Made referrals to social or medical services for necessary placement. Educated consumers in disease process and appropriate interventions or resources. Mentored, supported and supervised problems directly influencing a clients progress.
The description can be done either in the narrative as the example shows or in a point by point , such as:
Charge Nurse
> Performed as Charge Nurse in the Oncology Unit with hospice at home and follow-up care.
> Oversaw 3-4 nurses in a 17 bed facility, ensuring compliance with state regulations and ensured a safe environment.
> Maintained all I.V.s, inserted Picc lines for chemotherapy.
> Completed admissions and discharges.
Accomplishments should be highlighted and put under the job descriptions. These are usually quantifiable things that you have done that made a difference in the organization you work or have worked for. They could be special recognitions by management, cost savings or even special projects that you worked on that had positive results. They can include:
> Resolved biological, psychological, educational and environmental needs of patients.
> Received recognition for the development of effective procedures within the unit.
> Developed training curriculum for new employees.
Accomplishments should stand out from the rest of the description, either by bullet or bolding. Using the point by point description method is not as conducive to highlighting accomplishments since all tasks are bulleted.
Following the job descriptions and accomplishments would be Memberships, where you list all pertinent, job related organizations you belong to. Try to avoid religious or ethnic related groups. While discrimination is against the law, you don’t want to risk any inadvertent reasons for them to not consider your resume.
If you have presentations and or awards and they don’t fit under your job descriptions, you can put them in a separate category.
Let’s talk a little about resume length. I know that a lot of people have been told to keep their resume to one page. Also that a ten year history is suitable. If you have had two or three jobs over the past ten years, then a one page resume should be sufficient, however, if you have had numerous jobs over that period, and you have experience that is vital to getting across your skills and experience that dates back farther than ten years, go to a second page. If you don’t the only person losing is you.
To review the road to an effective Nursing resume:
> First and foremost are licenses and certifications. Following the 30 second rule, making sure the employer knows you are qualified in 30 seconds. This includes education and additional qualifications, specialities, talents, etc.
> Job Descriptions that really sing and talk about the unique things you have done on the job, not the standard nursing duties which everyone is aware of.
> Accomplishments, it is very important to let an employer know that you stand out from the rest of the candidates. Knowing you have accomplished things in the past indicates you can do the same for the new employer as well.
> Memberships, presentations, awards – all things that ad respectability and experience.
To many, creating a resume is like going to the dentists or doing taxes. But it doesn’t have to be. There are services that specialize in creating resumes, or if you do it yourself, let another professional co-worker or a friend you know in the profession, review your work and tell you if what you have done is direct, to the point, and effective.
The demand for nurses is high, but the demand for great nurses is higher. Which do you want to be considered. A dynamite resume is the key.
