Becoming a Nurse – How to Improve your Resume

Even with the current high demand for nurses, your nursing career may hit a speedbump if your CV or resume doesn’t showcase your skills to the best advantage. A CV or resume is the key to getting an interview – or getting you crossed off the employer’s list. Presentation is just as important as content.Employers don’t take the time to sift for relevant information through a muddle of poorly formatted text and grammatical errors. As a professional nurse, you are expected to articulate your skills clearly on paper.

Should You Write a CV or Resume

Either document highlights your professional and educational history to prove that you’re the best match for the desired job. A resume is a fairly concise synopsis and limits itself to your most relevant experiences. A CV, or curriculum vitae, is more detailed and contains lengthier explanations of your past accomplishments. Most nurses opt to write a resume.Nurses with advanced degrees or those working in an academic setting often write a CV. If in doubt, use a resume, as they are a little easier to write. Whether you offer a resume or a CV matters less to your employer than the quality and clarity of the document.

Brainstorming the Required Sections for Your Resume

Many nurses make the mistake of editing while writing. This is the best way to make writing your resume a real chore. Simplify your process by brainstorming first, writing next, and editing last. First, jot down all your professional activities and accomplishments for each of the below categories. If you can’t remember dates or other details, just mark the spot to look up later. At this point, forget about grammar, spelling and formatting.

• Professional Objective Education (year of graduation, granting institutions, city and state, major or area of concentration);
• Experience (dates of employment, job title, institution name, city and state);
• Licenses and certifications;
• Research Publications (your role, dates, financial support);
• Publications (journal articles, books or chapters, pamphlets or brochures, patient educational materials, patient care guidelines, lettersto editors);
• Presentations (lectures, workshops, group discussions, case presentations);
• Professional memberships, offices held, and committee appointments;
• Honors and awards (name of award, awarding organization, year);
• Community service References.

Now, look up any missing information. Never skip this step – it’s imperative that you get all your facts straight first. Once you have all your information, decide what to include or exclude. Finally, after you’ve finished writing your resume, use the do’s and don’ts checklist below.

Do’s and Don’ts to Make Each Section Shine

Professional Objective

DO: Make your objective specific, but not so specific that it excludes you from being considered for related job openings;

DON’T: Focus the statement on howthe job will benefit you; instead point out how your skills will benefit your employer.

Education

DO: Include both nursing and non-nursing degrees;

DON T: List any awards received while in school—put those in the Awards section.

Experience

DO: Include non-nursing positions that demonstrate relevant qualifications. For example, a human resources job shows you have strong communication skills;

DON’T: Use the word “I”, lengthy sentences and passive verbs;

License and Certifications

DO: Include the dates of your certifications;

DON’T: Exclude certifications that aren’t directly relevant – you want to come across as a well-rounded person;

Research Activities

DO: Include links to your research projects if they are available for online access;

DONT: Exclude research that is unrelated to the desired position – any type of research shows off your data collection skills;

Publications

DO: Include publications outside the nursing profession, as they show proof of your writing proficiency;

DON’T: Underline publication titles, despite what you may have been taught; always italicize;

Presentations

DO: Include any presentations on nursing topics that you gave to non-nursing audiences;

DONT: List every presentation that was part of a series; just list the name of the series once.

Professional Associations

DO: List any offices or committee positions you held;

DONT: Use acronyms in place of the association’s full name.

Honors and Awards

DO: Indicate the importance of the award if it’s particularly impressive;

DON’T: Include awards that aren’t relevant to the nursing field.

Community Service

DO: Include specific details that clarify howthe service prepared you for the desired position.

DON’T: Include this section if you have a lot of professional experience that shows similar skills and expertise.

References

DO: Prepare a separate references sheet with 3 or 4 names and contact information for each;

DON’T: List anyone as your reference without asking permission first.

Now that your resume contains only the most relevant information and doesn’t exclude anything that might give you an edge over the other applicants, you can be confident that your potential employer will see you in the best light. Your well-written and clearly presented resume doesn’t guarantee you a job offer, but it definitely improves your chances. Good luck!