Time to start working on your resume? The following is a step-by-step, resume tips and tricks guide on how to gather information for your resume, put it all together, and make it flow. Good luck!
Create a List of Past Job Experience
Make a list of any and every job you have ever worked, paid or not! Have you babysat? Tutored? Walked someone’s dog? Worked in fast food? Retail? Mentored someone? Sat in on a committee? Held a position on a committee? Volunteered, maybe at a foodbank? Were you ever involved in Girl Scouts? Have you joined a school club? I’ll bet you’ve done at least one of these and learned a good skill or two that can be useful on your resume!
Put Together a Timeline
Once you have a list of all your past jobs, make a timeline of the years you worked and put them in chronological order.
For example:
- Dog Walker from 2010 to 2014
- Retail Worker from 2013 to 2018
- Church Volunteer from 2015 to current
Create a List of Skills, Education, Certifications, etc
Skills:
Now’s a fun one, making a list of skills that will make you stand out in the job you are applying for. Reference back to your job experience section if you’re struggling with this.
Also check out 12 Popular New Grad Nurse Skills for Your Resume.
Education
- Where did you graduate from?
- What was your graduation date?
- Do you have an Associate degree? Bachelor’s degree? Or master’s degree?
- What was your overall GPA, this is especially important if applying to a new grad program?
- Did you make any special lists for academics, Provosts, Presidents, etc.?
Certifications
- Have you already taken and passed the NCLEX? Maybe you have a test date but haven’t taken it yet. This will be important to know for your interview, although you may not need to include it on your resume. If you haven’t taken the NCLEX yet, visit How to Pass the NCLEX in 75 Questions.
- Are you BLS or ACLS certified?
Weed Out What isn’t Necessary
Now that you have a nice long list of everything you’ve done thus far, you can go back and weed out what might not be necessary for a career specifically in nursing. For example, if you worked throughout college and were part of a club on campus, maybe we can get rid of the dog walking job you had when you were seven. Since you pretty much only gained experience on how to show up, put a leash on, walk a dog, and pick up after it.
Organize
Find a good template to use, one that is easy to glance over and not overwhelmingly filled with information. A good place to start is at the school you graduated from. Most universities have a Career Center which will be your best friend while creating a resume. You can either walk into their office, go online, or make an appointment and ask for help with your resume. Overall, you want to find the perfect template that showcases your best assets to a future employer.
You may want to also include a list of clinical experience if you are applying to a new grad position/internship. This should include the clinical sites you went to, the dates you were at these clinical sites, what unit you were on, and how many hours you spent in clinical per unit. This information can usually be found on your syllabus for each course as it is a university standard.
For example:
- White Hospital, Sept. 2016 – April 2016, Medical-Surgical Unit, 225 hours
Remember: You want to be as clear and concise as possible. Some studies have shown that your resume is actually only looked at for about six seconds! Crazy I know, but it is extremely important for employers to be able to quickly look at each resume to find the best interview candidates. So make yours good and easy to follow, pretty isn’t always best in this case.
Proofread
Always proofread! If you turn in a resume with an obvious typo, you can almost guarantee your resume is going to be tossed aside never to be looked at again. Be triple sure everything looks good! Have another set of eyes on it, whether that be your roommate, your mom, a teacher, or someone who professionally reviews resumes, you can never be too careful. Don’t let your resume be a poor example of who you are, ALWAYS PROOFREAD!
Apply!
Now that you’re all set, you can go ahead and apply to job listings with your resume ready to go. At this point you might want to set up a LinkedIn profile and upload your resume to it for potential employers to review. Check out my future post to see how your LinkedIn should be set up as well as what your LinkedIn profile should look like.
Also check out these posts for more helpful information:
- Where to Search for Jobs
- What to Wear and What to Bring to Your Interview
- How to Set Up Your LinkedIn for Success
- What to Expect in the First Year as a New Grad Nurse
I hope you enjoyed and learned something from my resume tips and tricks guide. Good luck!