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NURSE RÉSUMÉ WRITING GUIDE

The Secret to Creating A Winning Résumé:

Expert techniques & strategies.

Expert Strategies: Quick and easy to follow.

Identify Résumé Keywords: Learn how to locate and use them.

Action Verbs: Use our favorite nursing-relevant verbs.

Excellent Résumé Examples: Study our samples and use as a guide.

Create an electronic/plain text/ASCII resume for online submission.

$14.95 USD

Interview-Winning

Writing Techniques



WHAT IS THE SECRET TO WRITING A GREAT RÉSUMÉ?

Résumés need to be written with marketing power to showcase your ability to meet the needs of your future

employer. You will succeed in creating an effective résumé by fulfilling your prospective employers’ desire to hire the

best and by helping them hire a person (you) that will produce the results they seek. So what do hiring managers

want from nurses?

The ideal nurse demonstrates superior efficiency, focus on quality, and delivering excellence:

Follows safety procedures with a sense of urgency and outmost importance.

Competently prioritizes patient care based on acuity and alignment with the facility’s standards of care.

Understands the nursing process to improve patient outcomes.

Builds family and patient rapport with patience, earning trust and promoting wellness.

Works well with other members of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary care teams.

Serves as an hospital ambassador, strengthening the reputation of the facility so families continue to bring

their loved ones to that facility.

Then why are most nursing résumés written as if they were job descriptions and nothing more?

Your résumé must do much more than list information about your clinical skills, where you went to school, and where

you have worked. This information alone is not enough! Your résumé is a vital part of your own personal marketing

campaign: You are using it to sell your talents and abilities, providing tangible information as to why you are a

superior candidate over others who are also vying for the position.

“On average there are more than 300 applicants for every one position

You MUST standout”

Hiring managers have many nursing applicants to pick from, so you must immediately capture their attention in a

way that answers their most burning questions: Why they should hire you? Therefore, presenting a well-written and

beautifully-designed résumé that captures and keeps your reader’s attention will open doors to great interviews.

The following will assist you in preparing a résumé that will inspire action by the hiring authority, jolting them out of

their chairs and straight to their phones—to call YOU!

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH MOST NURSING RÉSUMÉS?

I will tell you! Student nurses all craft very similar, cookie cutter résumés. This creates a situation where hiring managers

cannot distinguish one new nurse candidate from the next. Therefore:

You must indicate why you and not another student nurse from your graduating class.

You must treat your clinical performance as relevant experience and highlight the ways you stood out from

the rest group.

You must leverage your school activities, leadership, volunteerism, and any letters of

recommendations your preceptors gave you.

You must write your résumé with persuasive language so that it speaks to the reader and inspires them to call

you—it really is marketing!

Experienced Nurses often repeat the same job description over and over. It is not the best marketing tactic to stick to

listing the same information under each title. I understand that perhaps you have been on the medical surgical floor

with five different employers during the past ten years, but what different experiences did you have at the various

hospitals you worked at? Tell this story and how it shaped you into becoming a better nurse.

You must make your résumé inviting to hiring managers by making your résumé interesting and concise.

Streamline the writing and try not to be repetitive under each job title.

You must come across as 100% competent so as to guarantee they won’t make a mistake by hiring you!



The RN is a registered professional nurse who is responsible for providing and supervising direct and indirect total

nursing care responsibilities to identified age specific groups. Utilizing the nursing process (assessing, planning,

implementing and evaluating) in achieving the goals of the nursing department. Actively participates in

outstanding customer service and accepts responsibility in maintaining relationships that are equally respectful to

all.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS REQUIRED:

American Heart Association (AHA) Basic Life Support (BLS) certification. Advanced life support certification (ACLS,

PALS, NRP) per specialty/unit requirements For Labor and Delivery, and PHRU units - Basic/Intermediate/Advance

Fetal Monitoring.

PREPARING TO WRITE

Your résumé is a marketing tool, “selling” your unique services to a new employer, so you must promote your

notable skills in order to win interviews over other qualified competitors. BUT (this is huge!), what makes you different

as a nurse? What beyond your academic preparation, your clinical skills, and your experience can you promote to

make you stand out from other nurses on paper?

Answer the following questions on a separate piece of paper as you will use these answers to write your resume’s

Profile and to keep you focused through the writing process.

Analyzing Your Distinction:

Why did you become a nurse?

What do other people say about you that would convince your new employer you are right for their

facility?

What is your Nursing Philosophy?

Why should a hiring manager hire you? What do you promise they (hint: or their patients) will receive

if they hire you?

If you are a student, how did you perform in your clinical rotations? (Come up with an example for each

rotation that would demonstrate you are ready to become a nurse. You will use the answer under each of

your clinical rotations).

If you are a highly experienced nurse: How have you impacted the organizations you have worked for or the

families you provided care to? What is unique about your nursing career thus far? Global exposure? Different

specialties? Long tenure in a specialization?

The answer to the above should be included in your résumé’s Profile/Summary section and supported throughout

your the rest of your résumé and in the cover letter. This is what will help distinguish you beyond your credentials.

KEYWORDS

Locate job announcements for the specific position you are pursuing and pull keywords (terminology, buzzwords,

and noun phrases) to blend into your resume. *See below snippet of a job ad for an RN position with keywords

highlighted. You would find your own job posting and include in your résumé all the keywords that will help you

survive online sorting (résumé’s are sorted by computers and placed in the view pile if a match is made.

Note: Some keywords are specialty specific. Please be careful when choosing them.



LET’S STUDY A FEW RÉSUMÉ SAMPLES BEFORE YOU START WRITING

Take a look at the following two resume samples and notice how we adapted all of what we shared with you so far.

Note to student nurses: Remember that you should consider your clinical rotations as experience. So, you would list

each of your clinical rotations with one or two bullets under each that describes how you excelled and, if possible,

provides examples.



Below is the second example:



SET UP YOUR DOCUMENT

You can use the following list in one of two ways: (1) you can use it as a guide as you develop your résumé to

ensure that you are building an effective self-marketing document or (2) you can use it as a guide for your existing

résumé and check off this list as you confirm you have covered these key areas.

I recommend that you read through it at least once before you start checking off your list; this way you can

strategize your approach before you begin to write or you can decide if it might be easier to rebuild your existing

résumé from scratch. Ok! Let’s get started.

Margins for your résumé should be set at no less than 0.7 all around to ensure any printer can easily

capture all content.

Select common font styles for the entire résumé such as Arial, Book Antigua, Bookman, Century Gothic,

Garamond, Georgia, Tahoma, Times New Roman, Palatino, or Verdana.

Choose a font size of 10.5 to 11 point for the entire résumé with the exception of the header (header

should be larger, about 14 to 18 point).

HEADER: An attractive header that includes all your contact information is vital. Make it bold, strong, accurate,

and informative!

List your full name on a separate line or if on the same line, make sure you have enough white space around it

before you list your contact information.

Phone number and cell number (Your primary phone number should be listed first).

Email address without the link active (please use a professional email address. If you must, create a

separate email specifically for job searching via Gmail.com).

List credentials such as BSN, RN listed next to your name.

Website/Web Portfolio/LinkedIn or any other social media should be included. Please list address.

Format name in a font size between 14 and 18 points (The rest of your résumé should be 10.5 to 11

points).

PROFILE/SUMMARY Vs. OBJECTIVE: Profiles are more powerful than Objective statements. Objective statements,

unless written very skillfully, are most often catered to the jobseeker’s desire (See Objective below).

A Profile will better allow you to promote yourself in an employer-oriented manner rather than just having an

Objective statement. Your profile should be no longer than seven sentences, but should be at least four

sentences long to be considered a Profile. This is where you would bring in your answers from your distinction

analysis.

In addition to drawing from the answers you provided in the exercise covering your distinction, you can use

some of the following and incorporate in your Profile:

Years of experience. E.g. 10+ Years as a Nurse Practitioner

The type of patient population(s) you have provided care for.

The areas of nursing that you have experience in (i.e., Medical Surgical, Pediatrics, etc.)

Name the unit and or job title you are seeking (e.g. Pediatric Nurse providing intensive care in a PICU).

Include years of experience (Do not promote employment tenure if it is less than five years).

Add keywords (Industry terms, skills, nouns, noun phrases, and computer skills associated with this new

job. See bullet #2).

Promote the benefits the new employer will reap by hiring you (i.e. improved patient care, organization,

patient case load prioritization, patient-centered care).

Market your leadership skills by mentioning you have supervised other nurses, other students, and have a

background in leadership roles.



Discuss communication skills and/or relationship building.

List all foreign languages you are fluent in.

Everything is written in the first person perspective (although you must exclude personal pronouns, you

must still right in the first person narrative).

Exclude pronouns in the résumé (I, me, she, he, etc.).

Make the Profile employer-oriented by not discussing anything you wish to gain (e.g. “Seeking an RN

position in a teaching hospital so I can grow.” NOT Good).

OBJECTIVE: If you decided to use an Objective instead of a Profile, be sure it is employer-oriented and offers value to

your new employer as opposed to just informing them as to what you wish to utilize or gain. Do not include any

pronouns. Confirm that the Objective is direct and to the point, concise and no more than two sentences. You can

use the following example, replacing the bolded keywords (nouns, skills, noun phrases, and terms associated with

your desired job role.

Objective Example # 1 for a seasoned professional:

Nurse Manager Position, offering 10 years’ experience in Staff Training & Development, Customer Service, and

Organizational Planning.

(Replace those underlined keywords with the ones you found on job postings)

Objective Example #2 for an emerging professional:

Eager to make positive contributions as a Medical Surgical Nurse and implement active listening skills, therapeutic

communications, and patient rapport building to uphold excellence in nursing care delivery.

“Replace underlined keyword with the ones you found on job postings”

Objective Example #3, which is simple and to the point:

Emergency Room RN position.

“When in doubt, write it this way and you would have at least included the job title as a keyword—simple is better

than wrong!”

COMPUTER EXPERTISE

A computer literate professional is highly marketable in any industry. If your computer skills are healthcare relevant

(EMR, Epic, MEDITECH, etc.) include the list in your Profile statement or somewhere on the first page.

Spell out all the software programs (no abbreviations or acronyms).

Specify the programs (e.g. MS Word, Excel, and so on instead of MS Office Suite; MEDITECH).

Do not list old and outdated software programs or non-relevant computer skills .

Exclude Instant Messaging and Internet surfing as computer skills.

Office related skills like MS Office don’t need to be called out on the first pate.



PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT

As you check off each point, think about your career path mindset (i.e., are you seeking a job in a medical surgical

unit? In the ER?). You must be selective about what you will reveal and strategic about what you will exclude.

Provide an overview of your past employment - not a detailed history report.

You should have created two separate sections for this employment area: 1. to describe your job accountabilities

(what you were hired to perform, i.e., deliver patient care) and 2. the other to list your achievements/impact, and

contributions.

Job Description: Summarize but do not generalize—be specific. Omit non-relevant information. Do not bullet this

section. List it in paragraph form (save bullets for achievements).

List the job title.

Mention the unit and number of beds.

Name a select few types of patient conditions to provide a snapshot of your experience and the type of

patients the facility cares for. Some facilities might take care of more advanced conditions than typical

for that unit.

List dates in the same format, 07/07 (do not list months if tenure was short or if your employment history

has gaps).

Use an en dash in between dates and not a hyphen (e.g. 1999–2007 and not 1999-1997).

Summarize your job description succinctly in no more than 6 lines; focusing on the most important and

impressive activities, not the boring details of your daily routine.

Incorporate buzzwords (keywords) to demonstrate your industry knowledge.

Achievements: Bullet your achievements and include them under your job description in the employment section. In

this section, you will focus on listing accomplishments that will set you apart from others (i.e., how you exceed

expectations of patients, family members, physicians, and/ or nurse managers). I recommend no more than five

bullets listed in past tense. List them in past tense even if you are still currently employed (Remember that an

achievement and/or accomplishment has already occurred; has been proven!).

Begin each sentence with an action verb (e.g. accomplished, achieved, and netted). The achievement

(subject/result) must be clearly identified and relevant to your new role. Substantiate the achievement with an

example, quantifiable data (numbers), or by describing the method of accomplishment.

The achievement is succinct, to the point, and no more than two sentences. Example:

Demonstrated excellent decision-making and the ability to remain logical under pressure. Managed RNs, LPNs, social

workers, chaplains, and home health aides through crucial periods, serving as mentor, trainer, expert, and leader.

Cultivated relationships with external leaders and multidisciplinary professionals. Solidified company’s reputable

brand as the #1 choice for cardiac care in the Chicago area.



EDUCATION

If you are a recent graduate (within last two years), you would move this section to the forefront and list it before your

Professional Employment section. Keep in mind that here, too, you must list what is absolutely necessary, valuable,

and relevant! Courses that have nothing to do with this résumé’s job target do not belong here.

List the school name.

Year of graduation (if the graduation date was last decade or prior, no need to list dates).

Include the degree and the acronym for the degree (e.g. Bachelor of Science Degree, B.S.).

Note city and state (do not list if the name of the school includes the city/state).

Promote GPA that is 3.8 or above and if it is recent (within the last two years).

Detail courses and clinical rotations (this is only important if you are a recent graduate).

OTHER AREAS TO BE DEVELOPED

You can include the following if it will improve your candidacy—if it is relevant to your career goal and if it will not

force you to another page unnecessarily. Be sure not to create too many sections on your résumé. If you will be

developing many of the following, you can group them together under “Professional Development.”

Associations and Memberships (only list active memberships).

Certifications spelled out and acronym included.

In-house Training.

Seminars Attended.

Publications.

Presentations.

Volunteer Activities.

Independently Shadowed Other Nurses.

OVERALL TIPS FOR PRO-WRITING

The following tips will help you ensure quality in the entire résumé document.

Spell out acronyms in parenthesis the first time you mention them so they are recognized when you

repeat them.

Do not develop the résumé beyond two pages unless you are an Executive (even then, be sure there is

interesting and valuable information on page three).

Do not develop more than 15 years of experience. You can affirm that you have more than 15 years of

experience in your Profile or Cover letter, but no need to develop the employment. You may list your

older employment without developing a job description.

Write beyond the first page and so page 2 is more than half completed; include your name, phone

number, and email with “Page 2” noted at the top of the page.

Author a two-sentence hospital/facility summary under each company name in the Professional

Employment section. Include the number of beds, staff size, and type of services provided.

Do not include personal information (i.e. marital status, hobbies, nor a photo).

Review the entire résumé, delete redundant words and check that every skill and all non-relevant

information has been excluded.

Make sure you do not repeat an achievement or task. (If you have already listed an activity under a

previous job description, skip it, spin it, or revamp it!).



Limit or exclude the use of articles (i.e., a, an, the).

No “orphans” (a word on a second or third line by itself); rewrite to maximize space.

Spell-check the entire document many times! (Have someone else look it over or leave it alone for a few

days before you proofread again).

Verify that the résumé has been created with great visual appeal (distinctive style).

Do not bold more than one item in the same sentence (use bold sparingly).

Only capitalize titles when they are part of a name or of a header.

Use the serial comma consistently (i.e., checked, checked, and checked).

Spell out numbers below 11, unless they were at the beginning of a sentence.

Reweigh the information (i.e., what is most relevant to new job goal has been listed first).

Integrate modifiers such as adjectives, adverbs, clauses or phrases acting adjectives or adverbs to add

information to the sentence; in order to elevate skills and create energetic writing (e.g., strategically

aligned staff competence with assignments to meet company objectives).

Use non-exaggerated adjectives sparingly (adjectives add energy to your writing and a distinct quality,

helping emphasize your contributions; but if overdone, it can hurt you).

Write qualifications to the future, projecting yourself as an ideal candidate and not someone who is

trying to be an ideal candidate. You will accomplish this by focusing on who you are becoming as a

professional and the capacity/ability you bring to the new position—yet, be careful not to exaggerate.

Print on quality paper such as Crane’s or Southworth Résumé Paper.

Do not write “references available upon request.” That is an outdated practice. Nowadays you must

bring your list of references to the interview.

ACTION VERBS

Your sentences should begin with industry-relevant action verbs. Here are a few that you can implement into your

résumé development.

Acquired

Addressed

Administered

Advanced

Advocated

Alleviated

Analyzed

Applied

Assessed

Assigned

Assimilated

Assisted

Calculated

Cared

Centralized

Managed

Monitored

Nursed

Obtained

Ordered

Organized

Charted

Clarified

Collaborated

Collected

Combined

Communicated

Compiled

Contributed

Concluded

Coordinated

Counseled

Defined

Delivered

Demonstrated

Determined

Planned

Practiced

Prepared

Prioritized

Provided

Responded

Developed

Diagnosed

Discovered

Dispensed

Documented

Earned

Educated

Evaluated

Examined

Explained

Formulated

Guided

Identified

Implemented

Intervened

Saved

Solved

Simplified

Translated

Supported

Volunteered



How To Prepare An Electronic Resume/Plain Text Resume/ASCII

Step By Easy Step!

What is an Electronic Resume: An electronic resume is a format to use online. An electronic resume

should be posted into an online job board (i.e. Indeed, Career Builder and Monster) or pasted into an email. This

format is also referred to as an E-resume; Plain Text; Text File or ASCII (American Standard Code for Information

Interchange).

How is an E-resume prepared for Microsoft Word?

A: Step #1

Create a well-written resume that will attract and impress the reader. If you need professional help, please hire our

professional resume writing service. Make sure you include Keywords.

Step #2

Once your resume is prepared – save it. If you have already saved it, please proceed to Step #3.

Step #3

Save it again in plain text under a different name (so you do not lose your original copy). For those who need a little

more visual help, please see below.

Everyone else who is familiar with saving documents in Microsoft Word, please proceed to Step #5. In order to view

your new file (once you have saved it in plain text) you must close the current file and open the new plain text file.

You must do this because this new file (plain text) will not open automatically.

A little visual help: To save in plain text, click on the MS Office Button than click Save As and then Other Formats.

When you click Other Formats a window will open that will allow you to choose where you would like your file saved.

Choose the location wisely. Make it easy to find. Name your file and change “Save As Type” to Plain Text.



Step #4

Now open your new file by clicking on the start button, than on Notepad and then find your new file and click to

open it.

Step#5

Because we have changed the font to plain text, your layout and graphics have changed. You must now go

through your entire resume and make some adjustments.

Adjustment A) Set your right margin to 2.0 so it is compatible with e-mail sizes. To do this----go to File then Page Setup.

Choose right margin 2.0. After setting the right margin to 2.0, you will find that everything has changed. This is great!

Adjustment B) Make sure your name, address, phone number and e-mail each appear on their own line. I repeat

one line each.

Adjustment C) Your sentences will be disorganized with extra spaces throughout the document. Make sure you flush

all text to the left and remove any unwanted spaces.

Adjustment D) Is everything in it’s place? Make sure your sentences have ended where you want them to.

In other words, go through your resume and reformat it.

Adjustment E) Make sure you have replaced bullets and graphics. Sometimes your bullets and special characters will

be converted into question marks or other symbols that have no relation to your original design.

You may use an * (asterisk) or CAPITALIZATION to attract attention to sentences.

Step #6

Spell check, spell check and more spell check……and then again, your eyes may have missed a change.

Step #7

Save your electronic resume again. Actually, I recommend saving it after every step. Just in case.

Step #8

Every time you need to use the electronic version of your resume, access it via your notepad software. Before you

get ready to use this resume, go ahead and open it via your notepad program and make sure it is formatted

correctly. Confirm that you have completed all the steps above via the Notepad view. Notepad comes with most

computer platforms and can be accessed via your start menu. If you cannot locate Notepad, then open it directly.



Try to avoid opening your electronic resume in Microsoft Word, unless you are willing to reformat. Now practice

emailing it to yourself.

It is true that electronic resumes are not as attractive as presentation (Microsoft Word) resumes but the electronic

resume is the best format for transmitting resumes via e-mail and posting to online job boards. You can always bring

the more attractive resume to your interview.

Remember that while you now have an electronic resume, it is very important that your resume also be well written.

Please know I have tried my best to provide information that will help any healthcare professional, working in all

patient care settings to develop the best résumé she/he can. Of course, the expert level will take years of

experience. Therefore, if you’d prefer to hire us to write this résumé for you, please visit

www.nurserésuméwritingservices.com for prices or email your résumé to rosa@nurserésuméwritingservices.com for a

quote. If you wind up making an investment in our resume writing services, we will discount the amount you paid for

this e-book.

Thank you. You may also call us at 321-704-7209

Good Luck!

Published by a division of Creating Prints

May not be reproduced for commercial purposes. All information must remain intact. For all other purposes,

permission must be requested in writing by emailing: rosa@nurserésuméwritingservice.com.

Written by Rosa Elizabeth Vargas,

Certified Résumé Writer NRW – Nationally Certified Résumé Writer

MRW – Master Résumé Writer ACRW – Academy Certified Résumé Writer

CERW – Certified Expert Résumé Writer

More than a dozen publications in résumé-writing books!

http://www.nurserésuméwritingservices.com/

mailto:rosa@nurserésuméwritingservices.com

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NURSE RÉSUMÉ WRITING GUIDE - Nurse Resume Servicenurseresumewritingservice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/new_nurs… · The Nurse Résumé Writing Guide ... indicate why you and