Career Center UW1 161 (425) 352-3706 careers@uwb uwb/careers

1. Nursing Resumes Career Center UW1 161(425) 352-3706careers@uwb.eduwww.uwb.edu/careers

2. Resume Overview • The purpose of a resume is to get an interview • Be interesting; make whoever reads your resume view you as valuable to their cause • A resume is a marketing piece • Highlight your strong points • Skills & Accomplishments • Education • Professional or Relevant experience • Customize each resume to the job for which you are applying • Read the job descriptions carefully to insert keywords & identify the skills they are targeting • Know your audience – use nursing specific terminology

3. Demonstrate Value Employers have in mind: • “How can you be valuable to us?” • “Value” = skills, accomplishments, education and experience • Successful job seekers understand their unique combination of skills, education and experience and articulate their value to employers. It takes on average 10 – 30 seconds to review a resume the first time Most significant part of the resume is the top half of page – must give evidence of a good “match” to the position

4. Resume Components • Contact Information • Summary of Qualifications • Education/Training and Credentials/Licensing • Honors and Awards • Professional Experience • Research/Internship Experience • Professional Association Memberships • Leadership and/or Community Service Experience • Languages and International Travel

5. Name and Contact Information • Email & phone number are important, address optional • LinkedIn profile address or eportfolio link • Contact information can go all on one line to save space and on each page as a header or footer • Use a professional looking email (i.e. not bigsexy@hotmail.com) Jane Smith 345 Grebhorn Lane. Lookout, WA 98165 | C: 123-543-2121 | E: jsmith@u.washington.edu

6. Summary of Qualifications • Highlight skills and experience specific to the job description • Try not to use skills that everybody has, or that are generally expected (ex: Hard worker, proficiency in Microsoft Word) • Skilled LPN offering expertise in pediatric, geriatric, rehabilitative and post-operative care. Consistently earned praise from patients, family members and supervising clinical directors for delivering excellent nursing care. • Dedicated registered nurse (RN) with specialty experience in psychiatric/mental health nursing. Developed strong psychiatric-evaluation and treatment-planning skills through recent internship at Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. Knowledge of psychotropic medication administration, management and training. • Reliable, ethical healthcare provider with ability to stay calm and intervene during crises, facilitate groups and educational seminars, and collaborate on multidisciplinary teams. Proven ability to build positive relationships with patients, family members, physicians and other medical professionals.

7. Education, Licensing & Certifications • Your degree and expected graduation date • GPA if above 3.5 or if required by company • Relevant coursework, projects, awards, deans list, scholarships • Describe in relative detail the process by which you learned a skill • Group projects, research and presentations are good to use here, they can show your demonstrated ability CURRENT LICENSE AND CERTIFICATION Registered Nurse, Washington Board of Nursing (License No. XXXXX) 2012 Education and Credentials Bachelor of Nursing, University of Washington, Bothell Washington Expected Graduation June, 2013 • Certified Public Health Nurse (PHN) • Pediatric Advanced Life Support Provider (PALS) • Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support Provider (ACLS) • Trauma Nurse Core Course Provider (TNCC) • Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE)

8. Skills to focus on in coursework No matter what you major in, you need excellent writing skills and eloquent speaking skills. The Association of American Colleges and Universities recently asked employers who hire at least 25% of their workforce from two- or four-year colleges what they want institutions to teach. The answers did not suggest a narrow focus. Instead: • 89%  said they wanted more emphasis on “the ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing” • 81% asked for better “critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills” • 70% were looking for “the ability to innovate and be creative” From Zernike, Making College`Relevant’, The New York Times, 2009

9. Professional Experience • Relevant (Work) Experience • Internships, volunteer, or professional experience applicable to this position • Be specific; “worked at a hospital” doesn’t tell anyone anything useful • Use action verbs • Quantify wherever possible; • number of patients served or co-workers managed • how often you made a status report • % of improved efficiency

10. Professional Experience Example Registered Nurse, Simmons In-Home Nursing Service, 2011 - 2012 • Wound Dressing & Care | Ventilator & Tracheostomy Suctioning/Care | G-Tube Feedings & Care | Respiratory Treatments & Assessments | IV Therapy | Patient Bathing & Hygiene Assistance | Glucose Checks & Blood Pressure Monitoring | Rehabilitation Therapy • Traveled throughout 40-mile territory to provide home-healthcare services to pediatric, adult and elderly patients diagnosed with chronic/terminal conditions, convalescing from surgical procedures or recovering from serious illnesses • Followed rehabilitation and treatment plans to accelerate patient recovery; minimize pain, discomfort, infections and complications; and optimize patient outcomes. • Assessed, monitored and documented patient progress, symptoms and vital signs on each visit • Educated clients and their families on the safe treatment of injuries, illnesses and conditions

11. Resume Format • First impressions are important • Use professional consistent styles, punctuation and fonts • Chronological, Functional and Combination resumes • Resume “real estate” and page layout -centering/lining up parts of the resume • Utilize bullets in order of importance • 1 –2 pages at most

12. Importance of Keywords • Skills keywords would be: • computer skills, management, bilingual/Spanish, multitasking, public speaking, teaching, organizational skills, leadership, training, and counseling. • Credentials/experience keywords: • RN, BSN, nurse practitioner, critical care, I.V. certified, CPR certified, pediatrics, quality improvement, ventilator management, chemotherapy administration, oncology, trauma, clinical research, case management, phlebotomy, managed care or project management. Cardillo, Donna, RN, Keywords are Key to Getting Your Online Resume Read, NurseLink

13. Getting Started • Personal data • Brief sentence or paragraph describing your skills* - Ask yourself: what is your caregiver or nurse practitioner philosophy? • Education, Certification and Licensure • Honors & Awards • Laundry list of professional experience and accomplishments • Use industry and job description keywords

14. Resume Checklist • Make your resume visually appealing, easy to read, and consistent in resume style and format. Don’t make the employer guess on your reasoning or your meaning. Example: If you put dates for one job, put them in for all. Don’t use acronyms unless you explain them first. • Maximize the space on your resume. Don’t waste an entire line on your page for one to three words. • Keep it to one page (two pages dependent on professional level relevant to the position). • Choose a resume style for your particular skill level/work history. For suggestions on what style to choose, view outlines and sample resumes on the UW Bothell Career Center website. • Spell and grammar check. Keep the correct verb tense. Use past tense for previous jobs and present tense for current jobs. Don’t use personal pronouns.

15. Resume Checklist continued… • Immediately impress the reader – be job specific, customize. • State up front in your objective and the job for which you are applying. • Include keywords from the job description. • In choosing what character traits, skills, accomplishments, academic knowledge and employment history you are going to highlight, focus on the employer’s needs and job requirements. • In your bullets, not only communicate your job responsibilities; but also make sure to include the abilities and skills that made you successful in performing those. Stress your productivity in terms of your potential for solving employer’s problems. Quantify whenever possible. Numbers help to draw the eye and stand out.

16. Sample Resumes • https://www.uwb.edu/getattachment/careers/job-search-tools/resumes/website-nursing.pdf • http://www.udel.edu/CSC/pdfs/NurseResumes.pdf

17. Cover Letters • Explain why you are sending a resume • Tell specifically how you learned about the position or the organization • Convince the reader to look at your resume. • Call attention to elements of your background relevant to the position. Be specific, use examples • Reflect your attitude and interest in the position • Provide or refer to any information specifically requested • Indicate what you will do to follow-up

18. References Choose the Right Reference • A good reference: A professor in whose class you earned a good grade or an employer who has commented positively about your work.  • A great reference: In addition to the above, they can comment on your personality and passions. • Academic Reference…. Consider any Professor: • who has seen your best academic work • that you engaged with in a quarter-long special topics or research project • Work Reference… Consider any Employer: • where you received promotions • where you completed any special projects • where you can qualify or quantify your contribution to the organization • that you left the organization on good terms • with whom you still communicate

19. Career Center UW1 161 (425) 352-3706 careers@uwb.edu Resumes