Having a professional resume is a must if you are a freshly graduated nursing student, or already a nurse that is looking for new work. What are the best nursing resume tips to make your application stand out to recruiters?
Write a compelling objective.
An objective shold be short and to the point. Don’t write more than two to three sentences. Include what you want to specialize in and what you excel at.
Research the company to personalize your resume.
It’s important that applicants tailor their resume and cover letter specifically for job they are applying for.
When looking on the companies website, you will likely find an about page with a mission statement, or a page listing the companies values and goals. Mirror the language used on the companies websites and social media in your resume and cover letter.
You don’t need to make a new resume from scratch each time. It’s helpful to have resume made up that can act as a template, that you can tweak for each new application.
Put your nursing skills first.
The skills that separate you from the rest should be at the top of your resume. Weather in the objective paragraph, or in a section of your own.
Sought out nursing skills to include would be:
- Technical proficiency and the ability to operate medical equitment
- Written communication and experience writing and drafting medical paperwork
- Legal knowledge including healthcare laws and regulations
List awards, accreditations, or volunteer work.
It’s important that recruiters know the strides you have made in your education and career. Highlighting your awards doesn’t just tell, but shows your future employers that you have what it takes. Volunteer work also shows that you were busy outside of regular class or work hours in a relevant or complimentary field.
Nursing Accreditations to earn and highlight would be:
- Nursing Times Awards: Celebrates the best nurses in the UK.
- Daisy Award for Extraordinary Nurses
- American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet Recognition Program: Awards multiple candidates for outstanding nurses and exceptional patient care.
Prepare for ATS systems
Applicant Tracking Software (ATS) is used by employers to search a candidates resume and cover letter for key words and phrases. Before a human hiring manager even looks at your resume, it’s possible you can be disqualified based on what the software finds (or doesn’t find).
Frustrating? A little. How can you optimize your application to get by the ATS?
- Use keywords from the job posting in your resume.
- You may have too many accreditations or accomplishments to keep your resume short (1-2 pages). See which are listed on the job opening or that seem most relevant to the jobs and cut it down to only those.
- The ATS is trained to look for certain phrases like “masters degree” if it detects only “bachelors degree” you will be disqualified.
Not all companies use ATS, but in a digital world it is becoming more common. Remember, the ATS doesn’t “read” your resume and cover letter, it only scans them to collect data. Knowing how Applicant Tracking Software works will help you understand how to optimize your chances of getting by it.
Applying to Jobs
For further nursing resume tips you can read more on the Nursematcher Resume Guides hub.
Once you’ve done your research, written your cover letter, and touched up your resume, you are now ready to apply for a nursing job.
Follow the link below for nursing jobs in your area.
