{"id":4692,"date":"2022-11-26T18:10:36","date_gmt":"2022-11-26T18:10:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/?p=4692"},"modified":"2023-06-27T18:05:11","modified_gmt":"2023-06-27T18:05:11","slug":"get-hired-with-an-amazing-new-grad-nurse-resume","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/career-resources\/get-hired-with-an-amazing-new-grad-nurse-resume\/","title":{"rendered":"Get Hired with an Amazing New Grad Nurse Resume"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Getting the nursing job you really want hinges on standing out among all the other applicants with an amazing new grad nurse resume. Snagging a hiring manager\u2019s attention can be doubly difficult for new graduates just entering the nursing field. When you\u2019re a new grad without any work experience seeking your first <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/nursing\/new-graduate\/salary\/\">new grad nursing job<\/a>, play to your strengths.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s vital to list your education, clinical experience and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/certifications\/\">professional certifications<\/a> in a way that gets you noticed. Optionally, you can also list your professional affiliations, awards and honors, volunteer activities and work experience if you have relevant entries. A well-crafted resume with all the key elements impacts overall effectiveness and can help you land an interview that could lead to your first nursing job.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Follow Standard Resume Rules<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019ve just started your career or you\u2019ve been working for years, a resume incorporates standard rules you should follow to create a professional, concise document that gets the nurse manager&#8217;s attention. Sloppy, hard-to-read resumes often land in the rejection pile without being read. Start by using a clear, easy-to-read font, such as Arial, Calibri or Times New Roman. The regular text should be a 10-point to 12-point font while section titles and headers should be between a 14-point and 16-point font. Only use one font throughout your entire resume and utilize bold font or italics for variation sparingly. However, avoid underlining as it can make text difficult to read. Other standard resume rules that help ensure your resume looks amazing include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Keep it to a single page by highlighting your best qualifications. This is a classic approach but modern resumes are often longer &#8211; just make sure you keep it relevant.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use action verbs and remove first-person pronouns to enhance professionalism<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ensure past roles are in past tense and currently active roles are in present tense<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Quantify facts as much as possible by tying in specific numbers or measurable results<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Avoid spelling and grammar errors that make resumes look sloppy<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Keep it organized and visually appealing to maximize the approximately six seconds hiring managers\/nurse managers spend on each resume<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You have two options for saving your resume, and both have benefits and drawbacks. Saving it as a PDF ensures the formatting isn\u2019t altered when it\u2019s opened on other computers. However, saving it as a Word document makes it easier for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to parse your information and get better results. Always adhere to any instructions in the job posting regarding file type. If it\u2019s not mentioned, it\u2019s generally best to assume facilities use an ATS and send your resume as a Word document to get the best results.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Choose the Right Content\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Uncertainty over being underqualified and having no experience leaves many new nurses worrying about which details to include on their resumes. No matter where you are in your nursing career, four basic types of content are applicable to all resumes. These include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Hard Skills:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Things learned in nursing school, from books or on the job, which are often quantifiable<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Soft Skills:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Commonly referred to as interpersonal skills, defined by how a person interacts with others, and are subjective and not measurable<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Duties:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Describes what a person did, which often utilizes hard and soft skills and may only cover clinical rotation duties for new nurses<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Accomplishments:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Describes how well a person performed a duty, often quantifiable, and can involve awards and honors related to an accomplishment<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Conquer the Layout for New Grad Nurse Resumes<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-7051\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2021\/11\/New-Grad-Nurse-Resume-Resized-scaled-e1687839506975.jpg\" alt=\"New Grad nurse resume\" width=\"600\" height=\"315\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How you lay out a new grad nurse&#8217;s resume differs from an experienced nurse\u2019s resume. The most-used format for resumes is contact information, work experience, skills and education. However, this isn\u2019t ideal for new nursing school grads with little to no work experience. Instead, resumes for new nurses should include contact information, an objective summary, licenses and certifications, education and clinical rotations. Optional sections based on relevance include affiliations, volunteer activities, honors and awards, and work history.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>Contact Information<\/b><\/h4>\n<ul style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Full name<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">City and state<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Professional-sounding email address<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Professional social media, such as LinkedIn (optional)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Phone number<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><b>Objective Summary<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This area is great for explaining why there isn\u2019t much experience on your resume when you\u2019re a new nurse and details what type of entry-level nursing position you\u2019re seeking. Objectives should only be two to three sentences at most and provide measurable goals. Briefly explain what you want from the specific nursing job you\u2019re applying for and what you feel you bring to the table that makes you ideal for the job.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>Licenses and Certifications<\/b><\/h4>\n<ul style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Full name of license or certification followed by the parenthetical abbreviation (for applicant screening software)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Full name of the issuing body<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Expiration date, if applicable<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">State and license number, if applicable<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When listing your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/salary\/\">state nursing license<\/a>, be sure to indicate whether it\u2019s a multistate license, also known as a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/guides\/what-are-nurse-licensure-compact-states\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">nursing compact license<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>Education<\/b><\/h4>\n<ul style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Full name of the educational institution<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">City and state<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dates attended<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Degrees earned<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Grade point average, if good<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Include all education relevant to nursing. Omit your high school diploma but include your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/certifications\/bsn\/\">Bachelor of Science in Nursing<\/a>, followed by the parenthetical abbreviation (BSN). Nursing education that leads to certification, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/certifications\/bls\/\">Basic Life Support<\/a> courses through the American Heart Association and results in certification should be listed on certifications, not education.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>Clinical Rotations<\/b><\/h4>\n<ul style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Type of clinical experience<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Name of the hospital or institution<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Name of the unit or department, followed by the parenthetical abbreviation<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">City and state<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Start and end dates<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Total number of hours worked<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although not required, you can add other details like facility type, trauma designation, number of beds in the facility and number of beds on the unit you were assigned. You may also include the age range of the patients in your care, nurse-to-patient ratio, type of charting system used\/gained experience with and your grade if it was an A.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>Optional Sections<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re already a member of professional nursing organizations, include a section on affiliations. Include the organization\u2019s name, the date you joined, your designation and duties within the organization and conferences attended.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Volunteer activities that may take place at healthcare facilities or charities that demonstrate your compassion should have their own section. Include the organization\u2019s name, dates and how many hours you volunteered, description of duties, results if applicable and any awards or recognition you received.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Include honors and awards you\u2019ve received in a separate section or intersperse them throughout your resume where applicable. If listed together, include the name of the award, date received, issuing organization and reason received.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even new nurses have some hands-on nursing care that you may want to include in a work history section. However, if this experience only includes clinical rotations, don\u2019t duplicate the information. If your work history includes jobs not related to nursing, include them if you can convey how the experience relates to nursing. For example, the positions may have taught you transferable skills such as time management, communication or teamwork skills. Include the employer\u2019s name, job title, working dates and a brief description of duties.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The layout you use for your new grad nurse resume matters because a nurse manager likely isn\u2019t going to take the time to read what a sloppy, unappealing resume actually says. Consider utilizing a resume template that offers a sensible layout and aesthetic appeal that\u2019s relevant to new nursing applicants.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:\u00a0<\/strong><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/career-resources\/how-to-build-a-winning-resume\/\">How to Build a Winning Resume: A Webinar<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><b>Tips for Getting Past Applicant Tracking Systems<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-6928\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/11\/Vivian-Profile-Resized-scaled-e1685293967690.jpg\" alt=\"Vivian Profile\" width=\"600\" height=\"315\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While you\u2019re creating and polishing your resume, don\u2019t overlook the need to get past automated systems. Healthcare facilities often receive numerous applications, so many of them use software applications called Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). These programs weed out what they consider poor candidate matches for a specific position. An ATS typically allows employers to choose features they want to use to find applicants with the right criteria.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Knockout questions are common features that cover specific qualities applicants must have to even be considered. Typical knockout questions in the healthcare industry cover things like the amount of experience applicants have in a specific field.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, if an employer requires at least two years of recent experience working in an ICU, a quick way to eliminate candidates is to have the system ask them to answer a simple question. If the answer is no, the applicant is automatically eliminated and the system moves to the next candidate. Knockout questions are generally simple yes or no questions and there\u2019s no room for explanations. A wrong answer means you\u2019re done, no matter if you\u2019re an outstanding applicant otherwise.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An ATS may also look for keywords or entire phrases, which it uses to score your nursing resume. The system may eliminate resumes that don\u2019t meet a minimum score and\/or rank the resumes from highest to lowest score. Recruiters often start reviewing applicants with the highest scores and work their way down. However, they may not make it to the lowest-scoring candidates if they find suitable candidates before then. You can ensure your resume scores higher by including notable details such as those listed directly in the job description.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Matching Resumes to Job Postings<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a new nursing school graduate, you have limited details to put on your resume but the same resume won\u2019t fit all nursing jobs. Customizing your new grad nurse resume to a specific employer\u2019s desired content helps you get past the ATS and human reviewers alike. Unless the job descriptions are identical, it&#8217;s important to <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tailor your resume to each position<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Include content the employer wants to see and details that set you apart from other candidates and demonstrate how you would excel in the job.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Start by compiling a list of terms from the job posting. Although this list sounds straightforward, it can be tricky. It should include hard and soft skills, specific job requirements and non-acronym and acronym versions of organizations, certifications, licenses, diplomas and any other text possible. An ATS typically only looks for keywords and phrases. This list should help you figure out the appropriate keywords and phrases so you can include them in your resume and score higher.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a new nurse applicant, don\u2019t worry if your resume isn\u2019t exhaustive. Hiring managers don\u2019t need to see every detail about you. Highlight your most important qualities on your resume, which is usually accompanied by an extensive application. Update your resume periodically as you gain nursing experience and you\u2019ll soon have a more extensive resume to use when <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/career-help\/how-to-evaluate-a-new-healthcare-staff-job\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">looking for your next nursing position<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or seeking a promotion.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let Vivian Health help you <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/browse-jobs\/landing\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">find your first nursing job<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by creating a profile on our platform and unlocking 1,000s of positions and unbiased reviews of the best healthcare employers nationwide.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Follow our top resume tips and enter the workforce with your best foot forward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":7058,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[290,294,303,75,90],"class_list":["post-4692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-career-resources","tag-discipline","tag-employment","tag-permanent","tag-rn","tag-travel"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2021\/11\/Resume2-Resized-scaled-e1736958143424.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4692"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4692\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}