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This is an exciting time for nurses! The U.S. Department of Labor reports that employment of nurses is expected to grow 23% over 10 years. The fastest employment growth is projected in physicians' offices, home well being care facilities, and outpatient care centers. Moreover, the U.S. Department of Wellness and Human Services expects that 800,000 nursing positions will go unfilled by 2020!
With such encouraging projections, nurses face both rewards and challenges in the job search marketplace. Undoubtedly, job openings are not scarce, but competition remains high for promotions and the finest positions with top employers.
Your résumé is the important component of your job search arsenal. A focused, keyword-wealthy résumé can open doors, but a common, poorly written résumé can close them. Producing a nursing résumé is challenging, notably for the reason that there are no rules. There are expectations and guidelines, but the specifics included and the format chosen to emphasize your top qualifications will depend entirely on your individual background.
A number of nurses choose to enlist the services of a professional resume writer. Skilled resume writers who specialize in working with nurses and other healthcare professionals supply skills that would take the average job seeker years to master. This expertise can give you an edge over the competition.
Developing a nursing résumé is complicated, but if you make a decision to take on this challenge without having the support of a professional résumé writer, follow these ideas to make your nursing résumé stand out:
1. Comprehend the differences between nursing résumés and common enterprise résumés.
Nursing is a extremely specialized career field and an appropriate résumé may not follow conventional guidelines. When applying for most jobs, you would contain all of your past function encounter, regardless of no matter if it is relevant to your present career objectives. Nonetheless, a nursing résumé will need to have a strong focus on nursing-related qualifications and experiences only. It could be proper to include other experiences, but this will depend entirely on your background.
Further, it can be proper to include even more data on volunteer and educational achievements on a nursing résumé, whilst this is regularly not recommended for general small business résumés. Educational achievements, rotations for the duration of college, nursing honor societies, and scholarships may perhaps also contribute to the effectiveness of your résumé.
2. Do your homework.
In addition to researching employers and job opportunities, it is critical to maintain up with hiring trends and present resume approaches. The preferences of nurse recruiters and hiring managers alter as the job search landscape adjustments. For example, for several years, an objective statement appeared at the leading of just about every nursing résumé. This is no longer recommended. Moreover, the one-page résumé myth continues to circulate, regardless of repeated findings that many nurse recruiters prefer a far more detailed two-page résumé. Regardless of whether your résumé should be 1 or two pages depends entirely on your individual background and career goals.
3. Do not use a résumé template.
Microsoft Word and other word processing applications offer cost-free résumé templates. Do not use them! Résumé templates are created to fit the "average" job seeker. This "one size fits all" approach does not function with nursing résumés. Not only are these templates designed for common enterprise job seekers, but your résumé should be tailored to showcase your greatest skills and qualifications.
four. Start out with a powerful profile or summary of qualifications.
An powerful nursing résumé begins with a strong Profile or Summary of Qualifications that incorporates nursing-specific keywords, important credentials, and achievements. An objective is not suggested. Depending on your background and goals, it may possibly be appropriate to contain a title immediately preceding your Profile or Summary of Qualifications. This serves to "frame" your résumé by right away telling the employer who you are.
When creating your Profile or Summary of Qualifications, keep these suggestions in mind: (1) start with accurate, proper, and intriguing modifiers, (two) supply a glimpse into the scope of your encounter and qualifications, (three) use employer-centric language, and (4) stay concise.
five. Detail your nursing experience.
Although it could be tempting to simply copy and paste your job description into your résumé, prospective employers know what nurses do on a day-to-day basis. Rather than give a general description of what nurses are responsible for in your organization, focus on what sets you apart and the value you provide your subsequent employer. Possible employers are not interested in what you were "responsible for" in your past positions they want to know what you accomplished!
6. Use key phrases
Key phrases are a important, but often overlooked, component of writing an helpful résumé. With employers receiving hundreds of résumés in response to a single job opening, most significant and medium-sized organizations now use résumé databases where they can search for certain keywords to obtain the suitable candidate. Keywords are standardized, descriptive words related with certain disciplines or industries. Keywords can make or break your job search, but it is tough to know what keywords will need to be employed. Ultimately, if you apply for a job with an organization that searches résumé databases for key phrases, and your résumé does not have the suitable key phrases, your job search with that organization is over.
7. Proofread, proofread, proofread!
Grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors can turn an useful résumé into a liability. The significance of proofreading can not be understated. If you approach the résumé casually, hiring managers and recruiters may make assumptions about your job performance. A sloppy document with errors will not project the suitable image.
Copyright 2008 CareerBuildingResumes.com