How to create a job-winning Registered Nurse resume

When I started writing resumes, when I would get a Registered Nurse as a client, the nursing clients would say:

Everyone knows what a nurse does.

Resumes were primitive compared to today but even then that was the wrong attitude. Crafting a resume to showcase your talents and capabilities means talking about what makes you different!

Why should the hospital or clinic or nursing home hire you instead of the other 210 applicants? Ah, that gave you pause, huh? Yes, there really could be 210 applicants for one nursing position. If all you say is that I am a staff nurse, you probably will never get a phone call.

What differentiates you in your Registered Nurse resume?

I can tell you that the Registered Nurses I worked with who won the job didn’t use a who what when approach to their resume. Instead, we analyzed what they brought to the table and what made them different.

One Registered Nurse resume client had 5 job offers, most after she had already achieved her goal. Here’s a few of the bullet points that positioned her as unique:

• Adaptable expert with practice dealing with patients with aggressive, physical behaviors as well as multiple other diagnoses or conditions.
• Educated family members on strategies for optimizing the patients’ homes for continually rehab as well as providing community resources for continuity of care.
• On the Ortho/Neuro Unit, continue providing patient care within the specialties of orthopedic and neurology, working with patients with multiple diagnoses ranging from head trauma, CVA, as well as bone fractures and repair.

Gaps in Employment due to family care

Another Registered Nurse’s challenge was the fact that she had left her last job to care for an elderly relative. But think about that – if you had a family member who needed specific care, you would hire someone or use services to meet their medical needs.

How is it different than this Registered Nurse giving care to a family member? After I helped the client see this, we were able to craft a resume to showcase the skills she used in this role and not try to cover it up:

• Evaluated diet and implemented nutritional changes for assigned individual, who suffered from morbid obesity, resulting in 100-pound weight loss. Registered Nurse | Caregiver
• Scheduled and performed daily cardiac assessments to monitor diagnosis of patient’s congestive heart failure.

See how that made it visible that she was still performing nursing duties while giving care? This client sent this email:

I just wanted to tell you that I sent out my resume to one company and I was offered a job, which I accepted. This is a dream job for me!

If you are a Registered Nurse struggling to find your next position, what makes you different? What do you bring to the table that makes you valuable to your target job?

Image courtesy of alexisdc at FreeDigitalPhotos.net