Preparing World Class Résumés and Cover Letters
School of Nursing
This Is Your Ad For An INTERVIEW!
Make It Effective!
PleaseHire Me!
Good Resumes Market you to a targeted reader.
Show Skills You Are Developing
Show Your Current Skills
Matches Required Job Skills
The Job You Want
A resume is not…• Personal autobiography• An exhaustive list of experiences
(exclude irrelevant details)• Designed to be “read”… it is
scanned• A place for mistakes, unusual
formatting, poor grammar or rambling prose
A resume is …• Proof you can do the job• Evidence you love the work • Your value proposal• Basic chronology of related
experience• Powerful tool for shaping interview!
– Your interview “Cheat sheet”• Demonstration of your fit with the
employer’s culture/team
Ima Great Student800 North University Avenue #22220
Provo, Utah 84601801 555-5555 [email protected]
February 1, 2013
Jane Q. Recruiter, Employment ManagerAAA Clinic123 Broad StreetPleasant City, NY 10000-0001
Dear Jane (Ms. Recruiter):
Re: Nurse Practitioner Job Opening No. 1After meeting you at our recent Career Fair I have taken the opportunity to learn much more about AAA Clinic. I am delighted to accept your offer to consider me as a candidate for your nurse development program and have enclosed my resume for your review.
I believe I bring skills and experience that will benefit the clinic and add to its already successful record. Some of my specific abilities related to your job opening are:
Valuing teamwork synergy and leadership through practical experience and group projects.
Solving complex problems using applied analytical techniques and practices.
Thinking critically to determine needs in serious settings and thoroughly develop efficient recommendations, practical solutions, and effective procedures.
Please review my resume for more details about my experience and qualifications. For the past year I have worked at BBB Clinic and know the high regard given your organization at one of its major competitors. I look forward to discussing my background with your recruiting team when you come to interview this month. It is easiest to contact me via email or at the number listed above. I am in class Monday through Thursday from 10 am until 2 pm each day. If I am unable to answer please feel free to leave a message and I will return your call as quickly as possible.
Thank you for considering me for this opportunity at AAA Clinic. I will contact you early next week to determine how we should proceed.
Sincerely,
Ima Great Student
IntroductionWith Job Reference
DateContact InfoGreeting
What you offer them
What happens now/next
Close
Cover Letter SampleYour Contact Info
From: Ima Great Student [email protected] Sent: Friday, February 1, 2013 11:01 AMTo: Jane Recruiter [email protected]: Job Opening No 123 for Talented Graduate
Dear Jane (Ms. Recruiter):
After meeting you at our recent Career Fair I have taken the opportunity to learn much more about ASuper Employer. I am delighted to accept your offer to consider me as a candidate for your internship program and have enclosed my resume for your review.
I believe I bring skills and experience that will benefit the company and add to its already successful record. Some of my specific abilities related to your job opening are:
Valuing teamwork synergy and leadership through employment and class team projects.
Solving complex problems using applied analytical techniques and research.
Thinking critically to determine needs in ambiguous settings and thoroughly developing efficient recommendations and solutions.
Please review my resume for more details about my experience and qualifications. For the past year I have worked at ALess Super Employer and know the high regard given your organization by its major competition. I look forward to discussing my background with your recruiting team when you come to interview this month. It is easiest to contact me via email or at the number listed above. I am in class Monday through Friday from 10 am until 2 pm each day. If I am unable to answer please feel free to leave a message and I will return your call as quickly as possible.
Thank you for considering me for an internship at A Super Employer. I will contact you early next week to determine how we should proceed.
Sincerely,Ima Great Student800 North University Avenue #22220Provo, Utah 84601801 555-5555
Introduction
Contact Info and Date
Greeting
What you offer them
What happens now/next
Email Cover Letter Sample
Close and Your Contact Info
Avoid Canned LettersThey smell (sound) fishy!*$%#@
Brady’s RésuméGuides
Résumé Writing is an
Art not a Science
Provide a WOW Factor1
Focus On Results• Show them what you have achieved
– Results are far more impactful than responsibilities
– Use numbers and comparisons to provide context
• Demonstrate what sets you apart from other candidates
• Prove you have job passion – drive, creativity, and energy
Practice Exercise• Make this an A grade statement
– I scooped ice cream – C– Served ice cream to 200-250 customers
each shift and suggested method for reducing wait time by 50% - B
– Improved purchases 25% by up-selling products raising revenue $100 on shift, decreased wait time 50%, and developed the store’s highest loyal customer return rate - A
(E – used first person)
The Concise A+ Version• Increased shift revenue 25% by up-
selling products, shifted register positions decreasing customer wait time by 50%, and achieved store’s highest loyalty return rate.
Use Key Words• Especially when resume is scanned
or electronically read• Today’s systems are sophisticated
weave words throughout the resume
• Sample: Nursing Key WordsRegistered Nurse (RN), long-term care, managed care, healthcare, case management, prognosis, admissions and discharge, treatment plans, care plan, clinical intervention, MDS, RAI, diagnostic models, problem solving, rehabilitation, life support monitoring
Provide Enough Detail, But …
This is the way to present far too much and to over load the recruiter with more than needed in the resume. Long paragraphs and lengthy information discussions will over whelm the reader’s ability to absorb all that the writer wants to convey. As the reader attempts to understand everything that is written, discouragement sets in and the reader tires and quits reading. The details tend to become a negative and the reader, in trying to interpret the underlying message, assumes that there is a certain irresponsibility in that the writer is unable to write concise and brief descriptions of performed activities. The more likely direct answer or quick provision of information is diluted by the failure to be precise and exacting in the presentation. Further the reader is confused by the pontification involved and might assume that the writer is less talented and more prone to puffery than to directing with simple and easy to understand language. The ultimate result is that the candidate is not looked at with more than a quickly assumed and potentially incorrect assumption of incompetence. This is of course not the impression that any good writer wishes to convey. Eventually there will be considerable frustration and the result will be that neither the writer or reader will achieve what they are seeking, primarily that another interview takes place or ultimately that there will be a job offer extended. We hope that the lesson learned here is that too much writing and too many details will interrupt the legitimate job seeker and may reflect poorly on the other graduates of the Marriott School. We want to avoid this potential disaster by having you all write more easily and precisely to the point without overly exhausting the recruiter or the HR staff with the enormous detail that you would like them to know. Save it for the twenty interviews you will get from a well written resume and for the technical assessment that may come. It is then that you will have to produce the details that you feel are so important to write about, but that are just exercises in jargon and excess verbiage. If you do not follow this wise advice you may never get a chance to tell all of these things because the interviewer and resume reviewer have already discarded your wonderful treatise. When you feel that you just need to get something off your chest use it to impress your professors and hope that they grade by volume and not by content. Excess in almost anything is very annoying and will again possibly result in a negative reaction. Save yourself some grief and considerable pain by making a smart and short duty of writing for the points in your resume. There is even very little opportunity to be verbose in scanned and computer written resumes. While having more key words in the resume is an attempt to have the scanner read something that it is searching, at some point someone will have to read the resume and the end result will likely be the same disappointed turndown and rejection. Write well.
Don’t Language Bloat!!
2Remember the Reader
You Must Get Attention In 15 - 30 Seconds
(Try the friend test. See what is read in 20 seconds.)
Recruiter Eye ScanName
Current Employer
Current Title
Past Employer
Past Titles
Dates
Education
(BusinessInsider.com April 9, 2012)
What Makes The Reader Want To See
More?
Target Reader’s Needs! Key
Words
Key Knowledg
e
Key Skills
Lead With What Appeals To Them
• Write From the Employer’s Perspective– Reflect the job posting
• Show Experience Benefits for Them
• Help Them Want Your Brand
Build Your Resume Help Matrix
Position Responsibility Action Result
XYZ Hospital OR Shift Lead
Patient & physician satisfaction
Developed system to monitor patient progress and satisfaction; gave provider assistance and diagnostics including discharge plans
Anxious patients helped before complications became seriousService quality increased two fold as measured in satisfaction surveys.Physicians focus preserved for.specialty actions
Hired 20 new RN and LPN staff
Sourced, screened, interviewed, and hired critical staff
Prepared 20 page recruiting proposalPresented plan to HR management & hospital directorsSuccessfully Implemented plan
Nursing Supervisor
Trained team members and developed procedures
trained and led 12 nursing staff
Team hired and trained.Reduced number of required supervisor interventions
3The Appearance Attracts
The Content Holds
A Good Resume• Has some white space• Is readable (12-11 font size) This is just too small to
read.
• Avoids unusual or exotic fonts (use standard font)
• Targets the reader• Communicates Concisely &
Clearly
Three Things to Remember
• Be consistent– Same abbreviations, same formatting
• Exercise restraint– Avoid multiple fonts, heavy italics, all
capital letters, bright colored paper– Use high-quality wording more than
creative design. Great design is still important!
• Limit the length– One page most of the time
My ResumeAnywhere, State 88888-8888 222-222-2222 [email protected]
EducationBYU School of NursingMS - Family Nurse Practitioner Apr 2013BS - Nursing Apr 2012• 4.0 major GPA/3.93 cumulative GPA• Great Classes and Scholarships; Italian• BAP, Finance Club
ExperienceSuper Employer Orem, UT RN Jan 2012-Present• Good stuff about this experience• Major accomplishment One; Major accomplishment
Two; Major resultSuper Employer Phoenix, AZ Clerk Sep 2009-Dec 2011• More good stuff about the experience• Skills gained from job• $000,000 generated from special effort
OtherMission, Italy Missionary May 2006- Jan 2008• Clinic volunteer, teacher, trainerSki, Volleyball, Read, Study Hard
Format Consistency
Style Consistency
Abbreviation Consistency
Missionary ExperienceFormatChange
My ResumeAnywhere, State 88888-8888 222-222-2222 [email protected]
EducationBYU School of NursingMS - Family Nurse Practitioner Apr 2013BS - Nursing Apr 2012• 4.0 major GPA/3.93 cumulative GPA• Great Classes and Scholarships; Italian• BAP, Finance Club
ExperienceSuper Employer Orem, UT RN Jan 2012-Present• Good stuff about this experience• Major accomplishment One; Major accomplishment
Two; Major resultSuper Employer Phoenix, AZ Clerk Sep 2009-Dec 2011• More good stuff about the experience• Skills gained from job• $000,000 generated from special effort
OtherMission, Italy Missionary May 2006- Jan 2008• Clinic volunteer, teacher, trainerSki, Volleyball, Read, Study Hard
EducationBYU School of NursingMS - Family Nurse Practitioner Apr 2013BS - Nursing Apr 2012• 4.0 major GPA/3.93 cumulative GPA• Great Classes and Scholarships; Italian• BAP, Finance Club
ExperienceSuper Employer Orem, UT RN Jan 2012-Present• Good stuff about this experience• Major accomplishment One; Major accomplishment
Two; Major resultSuper Employer Phoenix, AZ Clerk Sep 2009-Dec 2011• More good stuff about the experience• Skills gained from job• $000,000 generated from special effortMission, Italy Missionary May 2006- Jan 2008• Clinic volunteer, teacher, trainer
OtherSki, Volleyball, Read, Study Hard
Success Characteristics You Want to Demonstrate
• Working in a Diverse Environment• Managing Time and Priorities• Acquiring Knowledge• Thinking Critically• Communicating Effectively• Solving Problems
• Contributing to a Team• Navigating Across
Boundaries• Performing with
Integrity• Developing Professional
Competencies• Balancing Work and
Life• Embracing Change
MSU 2010 Employer Survey
Objectives are Objectionable
Without Meaning4
Seeking a job that allows me to utilize the knowledge gained in
my studies and pays well.
Objective Example
Who doesn’t? Tell me something I don’t already know! Get specific!
Bad
You want to be a “fast match”, not a “Jack of all trades.”
If You Use an ObjectiveFocus on the Employer’s
NeedsPosition on the surgical support team where my knowledge of advanced Perioperative Nursing practices in planning, intervention, and evaluation can improve patient care and surgery outcome success.
Use your cover letter to present a better objective.
Use Summaries Wisely
• The summary better sizzle• For low experience candidates, keep
short• May be better to link experience and
skills together. Include soft skills with the rest of your employment history.
• Technical skills may be grouped
Skills Summary• Able to work small miracles applying education and experience to problems. • Understand the value of effective and efficient therapy applications. • Can motivate teams and build strong patient rapport. • Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. • More powerful than an Intel Itanium 9000 processor. • Faster than a SR71 Blackbird.
Sample Summary StatementProfessional Summary• Nursing experience including clinical rotations in episodic
areas: maternal and newborn, pediatrics, medical/surgical, psychiatric, community health
• Extensive experience with children and adolescents as school teacher and youth group leader
• Managerial experience including small business ownership specializing in customer service
5Education is What You are Selling
EDUCATION• Normally highest degree first• Bachelor of . . . (no “s”)• Show graduation date, April 2013,
don’t need to say “anticipated,” “projected,” “expected” or “planned”
“hoped,” “maybe,” “if I’m
lucky”
Education SampleEducation
Brigham Young University School of Nursing Master of Science, Family Nurse Practitioner April 2013
• GPA 4.0 Magna Cum Laude• Nursing Partner’s Scholarship – full academic costs• Student Nursing Association – President
Bachelor of Science, Nursing April 2012• GPA 3.85 Dean’s List 2009-2012• President, RN Achievers Association
Kennedy International Center January – April 2010• Three Month Study Abroad – Kiev, Ukraine
6Experience Sells You
Your Experience Advantage:
Who You Worked For What You Accomplished
Let Big Brands Speak for You
What Was Your Position?• Intern• Staff• Case Mgr• Educator• Director/CEO
• Specialist• Practitioner• Cert. Midwife• Clinical Dtr• CNO
Largest area medical center supporting 55 doctors in 10 practice offices including Family Medicine, OB/GYN, Cardiology, Endocrinology, Oncology, Urology, Laboratory, and Sports Medicine• Developed unique web tool for consolidating nursing staff
schedules to accommodate absences and PTO• Awarded Top Staff award over each of past three years• Promoted to Nurses Supervisor, supervising activities and
needs of 20 nurses and assistants after six months• Assessed cost factors and identified $80,000 annual
saving through inventory process reorganization
Super Care Clinic, RN/Nursing Director 2010-2012
7 Focus On Accomplishments, Results, and Impact
Does the information support
your candidacy?If not, eliminate
it!
They Should Say,
How did you do that?
Not, So What?
Use Action to get ACTION
AccomplishedAdministeredAdvancedBuiltBroadenedCoachedCreatedDevelopedDirected
ExpandedForecastedGeneratedHiredImplementedIncreasedLaunchedMaintainedNegotiated
PerformedProjectedQuantifiedResolvedRevisedStructuredSimplifiedTrainedUpdated
Use An Action Verb List
Avoid weak verbs: assisted, helped, participated
Avoid “Responsible For”It’s Your Resume and
Responsibility Is Assumed
Avoid Declarative Sentences
I developed. . .I led. . .
leave out the “I, Me & My”
8 No Formatting Option Is Any Better Than Another – Use the Best For the Job
Remember Five C’sClean
ClearConcise
Consistent Conservativ
e (for business)
Left Aligned Is Easier To Read
Jane Doe Address
Education:FNP BYU April 2013BS U of U June 2011
Experience:Intermountain HC 2010-2011RNSutter Medical Summer 2009 Nurse InternLDS Church 2006-2008MissionaryDenny’s 2006Server
Skills: Many, Multi-talented Technical Expertise:
The Golden TriangleUse a golden triangle to guide the reader down the page.
Name AddressEducation Practical Educational Experience and On-campus work Internships, Clubs, GPAEmployer One, job one, 201x-Pres.• Accomplishment employer wants• Big employer skill number one• Special work awardEmployer Two, job two, 200x-200x• Important skill number two• Accomplishment two• PromotionOther• Mission, Special Skills• Spare time hobbies
Experience In Reverse Chronological Order Is
Preferred
Most Recent At Top• IHC Summer 2012• BYU Health Center 2010-2011 (part-
time) • LDS Mission 2008-2010• Yellowstone Park Summers 2007,
2008• Pizza Hut 2005 - 2006
Bullets Are Helpful Read Easily Target Points Complete Thoughts Not
Sentences Most Important to Reader First Use Standard Bullet Style $
Use Present Tense For Current Experience, Past Tense For Past
ExperienceMixed Tense Is Ok!
No Spelling ErrorsNo Address Errors
NO TPYOS!!
Watch Your Graphics
9One Page Is GOOD!
Two Pages: Minimal Need8 + years work experience
Technical field needing more space to list and prove
knowledgeTwo Page Rule
• If you have two pages the writing should cover at least half of the second page.
• You need more than a few lines on the second page.
FNP Sample Two-Page Resume
References Available Upon Request
Not Necessary. Have Them Ready
No Tag Lines
Some Actual Resume Errors• Proven ability to track down and correct erors.• My ruthlessness terrorized the competition and
can sometimes offend.• Skills: Proofreadning• Received a plague for Salesperson of the Year.• Bi-lingual in three languages.• I often use a laptap.• Perfectionist and rarely if if ever miss details.• Please call after 5:30, I am self-employed and
my employer does not know I am looking for another job.
Actual Resume Errors• Here are my qualifications for you to overlook.• Seeking to expose myself to business leaders.• Exposure to German for two years, but many
words are not appropriate for business.• Responsibilities included checking customers out• Service for old man to check they are alive or not.• Applicant for nursing position noted, “don’t like
dealing with blood or needles.”• Seeking a party-time position with potential for
advancement
Write Well