Executive & Professional Resume Writing Services

Nursing Resume Mistakes - Part #4

Not beginning the Resume with a powerful punch; instead, beginning with an outdated and noneffective Resume Objective

So, to pick up where we left off on nursing resumes, let us discuss the next very common mistake which is...using an old and non-marketing opening to head off the resume. Often, I find careerist have a very difficult time parting with the idea of listing an Objective as they have become so accustomed to including it. Yet know that focusing on developing a captivating and powerful Summary of Qualifications or Profile will better enhance your opportunity to interview for a higher paying nursing job.

For example, understand that when you write something as traditional as this...

Objective

To join a health care team and contribute my skills in nursing to a professional institution 

The following occurs:

1. The above offers nothing interesting to your new employer, so it is not strong. 

2. Everyone has written the same thing.

3.   It is not employer oriented and so will not capture interest.

For more information on this topic, visit a previous post on Objectives vs. Profiles. See here.

Rosa E. Vargas
Certified Resume Writer, NCRW, MRW

www.careersteering.com

Nursing Resume Mistakes - Part #3

Not focusing/ targeting your resume to the nursing role/specialty you are pursuing: If you are open to varied units/specialties, you must decide which specialty you will be targeting with which resume (yes, this does mean that you must have more than one resume if you are interested in more than one position/field).

Many nurses prepare one resume by listing experience, credentials, and education and they fail to prioritize, reweigh, focus, and promote their most qualifying information based on the specialty they are pursuing. This idea of targeting a resume could be a bit more confusing for nurses. After all, you are still pursuing a nursing career — so why target, right?

Allow me to clarify, if you’re an RN in a Cardio-Thoracic ICU and you would like to re-enter another specialty, you must write your resume to position yourself as a qualified candidate for this new specialty. Your resume must project you as a nurse in that particular specialty—yes, even in nursing! You must convince your perspective employer that you are ready to re-enter or transition into that particular medical field by using the right verbiage, promoting the right skills, and refocusing your resume.

As you know, all nurses follow some universal practices (nursing process, patient education, medication administration, charting etc.). However, you also know that each specialty is very different and specific in certain skills. A Psychiatric Nurse, L&D Nurse, ICU Nurse, Medical-Surgical, Telemetry Nurse, and a Home Health Nurse has different sets of skills, accountabilities, and patients; they all have different focuses and resume keywords (jargon) that separate them from each other—your resume must mention those differences and use these different skills as promotional points! Remember that your resume is a marketing tool and marketing must be geared to your target audience. Make a connection by speaking the right lingo and selling the right skill in the right manner!

Rosa E. Vargas

Certified Resume Writer

www.careersteering.com

 

 

 

Nursing Resume Mistakes - Part #2

Not Marketing Quality Patient Care or Personalizing Care Approach:

I write resume for nurses and I often ask them to tell me what qualifies them over other nurses so that I may “market” their professional value. What separates an everyday nurse (which is still an angel in my eyes) from a nurse who is exceptional (God like)? :- )

 

 

Differentiating personalized skills: Someone who demonstrates she / he cares, pays close attention to patient needs, and goes the extra mile to execute basic patient care (even when they are a more advanced critical care nurse) with genuine concern and diligence. Often, nurses I have worked with are focused on listing advanced certifications, complex and critical-care skills, naming all sorts of drips, clinical skills, etc. While listing credentials and trained skills is a must, what will set them apart from others who can list the same credentials is their patient focus and approach to the delivery of care plans / therapies.

 

Imagine just listing medications, certifications, job duties only! My response when a resume lacks that personal touch is, “ok, tell me about your patient rapport building and individualized patient care skills? What would your patients say about you? How about your basic nursing care skills?” Don’t think basic care is that important? Take a look at this post: http://www.impactednurse.com/?p=539.

 

Even when you are a more advanced nurse, basic patient care, bedside care, rapport building, team work, and how kind you are with your therapeutic communications, and attentiveness to patients individualized needs…still counts! It counts to your patients; it counts to the bottom-line goals of your unit, counts to your new employer and certainly counts to you! That is why you are a nurse in the first place, remember?

 

 

 

Rosa E. Vargas

Certified Resume Writer

 

 

Nursing Resume Mistakes- Part #1

Nurses are in great demand. But, does that mean you can casually put your information together in chronological order and the best interview invitations will be flooding your inbox? Absolutely not!

As a certified professional resume writer specializing in nursing resumes, I offer to save you from making some of the worst nursing resume mistakes.

#1- Boring, boring, and boring! Your resume is a marketing tool and it must capture attention. Why on earth would a recruiter prefer to read pages of non interesting information? Your resume is not the only one, you know. : -)  How can you spice it up? I thought you’d never ask.

Don’t document the same work history over and over again under each employment. Be selective and omit some of the obvious information; instead, write something fresh and different about each one of your employments. True, sometimes your work is the same, but must you write it the same for each employment?

Write energetically by using a few adjectives, verbs, and adverbs here and there such as competently, efficiently, successfully, and quickly! You can be friendly and compassionate, or how about a passionate nurse? You can chart, assess, document, and monitor...right?

Change the layout to a more modern look. Add a bit of color, or a shading, or fancy bullets, maybe a logo (not all together). I know you can do it! If done tastefully, it will be well received in the medical community. Market yourself! You are not charting your patients’ information, you are creating your career marketing tool.

Follow this post as I will continue to list the top mistakes nurses make when creating their resume.

By Rosa E. Vargas

Certified Resume Writer

www.careersteering.com

Resume Objective Vs. Resume Profile

 

Nursing Objectives versus Profiles

There used to be an age when nursing resumes only needed to list where you have been a nurse, how long you have been a nurse, and what your objective was…This is no longer as effective! Times have changed, resumes have changed, and your nursing job search tactics must also change.

If you are going to use an Objective, please be sure it targets your specialty. If you are going to use a Profile, you must strategically create it so that your specialty target is clear. How do you begin? Is it better to begin with the Objective or the Profile statement? Let us see…

Objective:

First, I must stress that an Objective statement is only necessary if you are a new nurse. If you are a nurse with two years or more experience, then a Profile would be a more effective approach. There are very few instances when an Objective would be a better choice for a seasoned nurse (e.g. career transitions or an unusual title for a position). However, for most nurses with experience, a Profile / Career Summary / Qualifications Summary will better market the necessary skills! If you must write an Objective, the Objective should clearly state what the resume’s intention is. Now, keep in mind that the way to write an Objective statement  has changed-- in the past, you would write an Objective like this:

To contribute to an organization needing my expertise in pediatric care.

Now, that Objective must be competitive, computer-friendly, and employer-oriented! Take a look at this:

To contribute as a Registered Nurse and enhance the quality of patient care through competent bedside care, skilled nursing diagnosis, and exceptional disease prevention.

Notice there was no mention of “my,” or a cliche like “for growth” or “to your organization.” The above Objective is completely employer-oriented with keywords that will serve a dual purpose: (1) demonstrate that you have actual skills and knowledge in the industry and (2) survive a  keyword scan (computerized sorting of qualified candidates) with keywords (nursing jargon) placed in a very significant position on your resume (the very top).

Know that the keywords I have highlighted in red only serve you best in a particular nursing specialty; for example, if you are a psychiatric nurse, you would be promoting different keywords and skills! Remember that the first sentence is extremely important as this sentence will determine if the rest of your resume is read at all.

 

Profiles:

Profiles are summaries of your best qualifications. What kind of information would you include?  Your years of experience, the specialty you are targeting, the specialties you have experience in, keywords related to your new nursing specialty, degrees, personality traits, clinical skills, and anything else that makes you a better nurse than other qualified nurses (no hobbies, please).

When skillfully written, Profiles sum up your entire resume, allowing your reader to immediately recognize you are qualified and convincing them to read the rest of your resume. Please keep in mind that your Profile statement must be succinct, energetic, full of keywords, and everything you claim in your Profile must be substantiated somewhere else on your resume (preferably under your job titles). Whether you use an Objective or a Profile statement, never use both concurrently.

Embrace the change that has occurred with the new computer age and a population that is constantly bombarded with advertisements. Advertise your qualifications and you will see how many more quality responses you will receive!

Please post or contact me if you have any questions or comments.

Rosa Vargas, NCRW, MRW

www.careersteering.com