Writing a nursing resume is something I have not done in a very long time but I decided to sit down and take a look at an old resume I did 13 years ago just to see how many mistakes I’ve made.
Why am I doing this?
I wanted to gain some experience in writing resumes so I could help other nurses who may also be struggling with this task.
My resume is not looking so good. It wouldn’t pass if someone in HR were reading this today. It’s very wordy at times and doesn’t highlight my strong points or exceptional skills I have to offer.
I need to do some re writing of this old resume.
10 Do Not when writing your nursing resume
1. Don’t be wordy, get to the point and leave out unnecessary words.
2. Don’t be genetic. Use action words to describe you experience and skills.
3. Do not put your age or marital status on your resume. This is protected by law, the employer does not need to know you are married or how old you are and you don’t need to answer these questions if asked.
4. Don’t go all the way back to listing your high school or work experience from 30 years ago. Concentrate on the here and now.
5. Don’t list salary information you are expecting or what you make now. It is not needed at this time. It can be discussed at the interview, not on your resume.
6. Don’t write “References upon request” on the bottom of your resume. This is understood, if an employer wants references they will ask for them.
7. Don’t repeat yourself – If you worked as a staff nurse at two different places try to vary the wording for each job.
8. Don’t put all of your information at the top of each page, if you’re using a second of third page. Just put your name (in bold) at the top of each page along with the page number.
9. Don’t use general or vague language in your job description. Just like being wordy you can hurt yourself by not using more specific terms to describe what you did in a previous (or present) nursing job.
10. Don’t put the job you are applying for in your objective or summary area of your nursing resume. This should be in your cover letter. Also you won’t be able to use this resume for your next job interview because you may be applying for a different position. Instead use powerful or bold sentences that represent the best you have to offer.
So I’m off to re write my nursing resume, how about you, does your resume need some updating?
You never know when opportunity will knock and you want to be ready when it does.
Tina 🙂