Preparing World Class Résumés and Cover Letters

Preparing World Class Résumés and Cover Letters

School of Nursing

This Is Your Ad For An INTERVIEW!

Make It Effective!

Pleas

eHire

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 imgs@byu.edu

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

Date

Contact InfoGreeting

What you offer them

What happens now/next

Close

Cover Letter Sample

Your Contact Info

From: Ima Great Student imgs@byu.edu Sent: Friday, February 1, 2013 11:01 AMTo: Jane Recruiter jqrecruiter@asupemp.comSubject: 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 Letters

They smell (sound) fishy!*$%#@

Brady’s RésuméGuides

Résumé Writing is an

Art not a Science

Provide a WOW Factor

1

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 Scan

Name

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

AttractsThe 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 me@topdog.com

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 me@topdog.com

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 Meaning

4

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 Statement

Professional 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 Sample

EducationBrigham 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

Accomplished

Administered

Advanced

Built

Broadened

Coached

Created

Developed

Directed

Expanded

Forecasted

Generated

Hired

Implemented

Increased

Launched

Maintained

Negotiated

Performed

Projected

Quantified

Resolved

Revised

Structured

Simplified

Trained

Updated

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”

8No Formatting

Option Is Any Better Than Another – Use the Best For the Job

Remember Five C’s

Clean

Clear

Concise

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 Triangle

The Golden Triangle

Use 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

Experience

Mixed Tense Is Ok!

No Spelling Errors

No 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

knowledge

Two 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