Completing your studies in college successfully and preparing to join the workforce as a nurse is an exciting phase in life. From applying to various job posts, going for interviews, and landing your first job, there are a lot of things that you have to do to land your dream job. One of the things that you’ll have to do is write a resume. While it might seem like a simple task, writing a document that helps you stand out and makes an impression is not an easy task. If you don’t know how to go about it, you’ll have a hard time writing a resume that showcases the skills that you possess and positions you as the best person for the job. In this post, we are going to discuss a few important tips that will help you write a perfect entry-level resume to make the hiring managers call you immediately after the job interview.
1. Figure Out The Nursing Role That You Want
In the nursing world, there are different career options available to you. You can become a patient educator, public health nurse, travel nurse, or specialty outpatient clinic nurse to name a few. There are endless options available to nursing graduates. Before sitting down and writing your resume, you need to figure out the nursing role that you want to specialize in and the environment that you enjoy working in. As a nursing student, you probably had lots of opportunities to explore different roles. Now is the time to reflect on the experiences that you had and find out which posting resonates with your talents and skills. If you are confused, you should consider speaking to your instructors, mentors, and other nurses to get some insight into the career paths available to you. After discovering the roles that interest you, ensure that you include them in your resume. Being interested in a particular nursing specialty will help you stand out from the crowd and increase your chances of getting hired.
2. Highlight Your Experiences As A Student
The second step to ensure that your entry-level resume stands out is by highlighting the experiences that you had as a student relevant to the role that you are interested in. This could be volunteer work, clinical experience, or membership in an organization. You need to focus on experiences that closely relate to the job that you want. As you do this, you should avoid stuffing your document with every experience that you had. Focus on the most important ones only. If you don’t have experience on the job, you should consider including the clinical training and internships that you’ve done that are relevant to the nursing job. Including soft skills such as professionalism, communication and teamwork are important.
3. Use A Template
If you don’t know where to start, it can be stressful to force yourself to write a great resume. Instead of hoping for inspiration, you should consider using a nursing resume template. All you have to do is find a document that you like and use it to create your resume. After doing this, tailor it to the position that you are applying for by highlighting the qualifications that apply for every role. Go through the descriptions of the roles that excite you and underline the keywords such as nursing experience, competencies, and education. Use the keywords as much as possible to ensure that your document stands out. There are a lot of nursing resume templates that you can find online. If you need extra help, you should consider getting help from nursing resume writing services immediately.
3. Build A Presence Online
In our modern world, you shouldn’t be surprised that nurses have to build an online presence to land their dream jobs. Creating a well-written profile on social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Facebook will help you get noticed by recruiters easily. Your profile functions as your online resume that potential recruiters can look at whenever they want. Therefore, it’s important to update it regularly and keep it relevant. If you don’t know how to create a compelling profile on LinkedIn, you should consider having a professional do it for you. You should also clean up other social media accounts you have or set them private. Once you send in your application, chances are the employer will search for you online. In the US, 67 percent of employers screen potential hires using social media platforms. And nearly 55 percent get rejected based on their profiles. You need to present yourself as a respectable and dignified individual both in and out of the workplace.
4. Make The Most Of The Automated Screening Process
Most organizations streamline their hiring processes using a screening tool. Hiring managers usually upload resumes into the system that scans for specific keywords for the role that you are applying for. If your document has the keywords, you will move to the next level. On the other hand, if it doesn’t, it gets filtered out. The process can also filter resumes based on whether individuals have the required certifications or not. If you want your resume to be read by the hiring manager, you have to include the required keywords. If you have no idea what keywords you should include, you should consider getting help from a professional.
5. Write A Cover Letter
After writing your resume, you need to submit it together with a cover letter. A cover letter helps you expand on things that you have to summarize on your resume. Since most employers think that they need more than a resume to make a hiring decision, you should consider including a cover letter every time you send your resume. Writing a cover letter is not as difficult as you might think.
Conclusion
These are some of the important tips that you need to keep in mind as you work on your entry-level nurse resume. Whenever you have a hard time, don’t hesitate to seek help from the experts.