Preparing World
Class Résumés
and Cover
Letters
School of Nursing
This Is Your Ad
For An
INTERVIEW!
Make It
Effective!
Good Resumes Market
you to a targeted
The Job
reader.
You Want
Show Your
Current
Skills
Show Skills
You Are
Developing
Matches
Required
Job Skills
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
Cover Letter Sample
Ima Great Student
800 North University Avenue #22220
Provo, Utah 84601
801 555-5555 imgs@byu.edu
Your Contact Info
Date
Contact Info
Greeting
Introduction
With Job Reference
February 1, 2013
Jane Q. Recruiter, Employment Manager
AAA Clinic
123 Broad Street
Pleasant City, NY 10000-0001
Dear Jane (Ms. Recruiter):
Re: Nurse Practitioner Job Opening No. 1
After 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.
What you offer
them
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.
What happens
now/next
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.
Close
Sincerely,
Ima Great Student
Email Cover Letter Sample
Contact Info
and Date
Greeting
From: Ima Great Student imgs@byu.edu
Sent: Friday, February 1, 2013 11:01 AM
To: Jane Recruiter jqrecruiter@asupemp.com
Subject: 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.
Introduction
What you offer
them
What happens
now/next
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.
Close and Your
Contact Info
Sincerely,
Ima Great Student
800 North University Avenue #22220
Provo, Utah 84601
801 555-5555
Avoid Canned Letters
They smell (sound)
fishy!*$%#@
Provide a
WOW
Factor
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 (E – used first person)
– 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
The Concise A+ Version
• Increased shift revenue 25% by upselling 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 Words
Registered 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!!
Remember 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
Key
Needs!
Words
Key
Knowledge
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
XYZ Hospital
OR Shift Lead
Nursing
Supervisor
Responsibility
Action
Result
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
serious
Service 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
proposal
Presented plan to HR
management & hospital
directors
Successfully Implemented plan
Trained team
members and
developed
procedures
trained and led 12
nursing staff
Team hired and trained.
Reduced number of required
supervisor interventions
The Appearance
Attracts
The Content Holds
A Good Resume
• Has some white space
• Is readable (12-11 font size)
• Avoids unusual or exotic fonts
This is just too small to read.
(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 Resume
Anywhere, State 88888-8888 222-222-2222 me@topdog.com
Education
Format
Consistency
BYU School of Nursing
MS - Family Nurse Practitioner
BS - Nursing
• 4.0 major GPA/3.93 cumulative GPA
• Great Classes and Scholarships; Italian
• BAP, Finance Club
Apr 2013
Apr 2012
Experience
Style
Consistency
Abbreviation
Consistency
Super Employer Orem, UT RN
Jan 2012-Present
• Good stuff about this experience
• Major accomplishment One; Major accomplishment
Two; Major result
Super Employer Phoenix, AZ Clerk Sep 2009-Dec 2011
• More good stuff about the experience
• Skills gained from job
• $000,000 generated from special effort
Other
Mission, Italy Missionary
May 2006- Jan 2008
• Clinic volunteer, teacher, trainer
Ski, Volleyball, Read, Study Hard
My Resume
Anywhere, State 88888-8888 222-222-2222 me@topdog.com
Education
Education
Missionary
Experience
Format
Change
BYU
BYUSchool
SchoolofofNursing
Nursing
MS
MS- -Family
FamilyNurse
NursePractitioner
Practitioner
BS
BS- -Nursing
Nursing
•• 4.0
4.0major
majorGPA/3.93
GPA/3.93cumulative
cumulativeGPA
GPA
•• Great
GreatClasses
Classesand
andScholarships;
Scholarships;Italian
Italian
•• BAP,
BAP,Finance
FinanceClub
Club
Apr
Apr2013
2013
Apr
Apr2012
2012
Experience
Experience
Super
SuperEmployer
EmployerOrem,
Orem,UT
UT RN
RN
Jan
Jan2012-Present
2012-Present
•• Good
Goodstuff
stuffabout
aboutthis
thisexperience
experience
•• Major
Majoraccomplishment
accomplishmentOne;
One;Major
Majoraccomplishment
accomplishment
Two;
Two;Major
Majorresult
result
Super
SuperEmployer
EmployerPhoenix,
Phoenix,AZ
AZClerk
Clerk Sep
Sep2009-Dec
2009-Dec2011
2011
•• More
Moregood
goodstuff
stuffabout
aboutthe
theexperience
experience
•• Skills
Skillsgained
gainedfrom
fromjob
job
•• $000,000
$000,000generated
generatedfrom
fromspecial
specialeffort
effort
Mission, Italy Missionary
May 2006- Jan 2008
Other
• Clinic volunteer, teacher, trainer
Mission, Italy Missionary
May 2006- Jan 2008
• Clinic volunteer, teacher, trainer
Other
Ski,
Ski,Volleyball,
Volleyball,Read,
Read,Study
StudyHard
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
Bad Objective Example
Seeking a job that allows me to
utilize the knowledge gained in
my studies and pays well.
Who doesn’t? Tell me something I
don’t already know! Get specific!
You want to be a “fast match”,
not a “Jack of all trades.”
If You Use an Objective
Focus on the Employer’s Needs
Position 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
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.
• 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
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
Education 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
Education
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
Experience 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
Super Care Clinic, RN/Nursing Director 2010-2012
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
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
Use An Action Verb List
Accomplished
Expanded
Performed
Administered
Forecasted
Projected
Advanced
Generated
Quantified
Built
Hired
Resolved
Broadened
Implemented
Revised
Coached
Increased
Structured
Created
Launched
Simplified
Developed
Maintained
Trained
Directed
Negotiated
Updated
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”
No Formatting Option Is
Any Better Than Another
– Use the Best For the
Job
Remember Five C’s
Clean
Clear
Concise
Consistent
Conservative
(for business)
Jane Doe
Address
Education:
FNP BYU
BS
U of U
April 2013
June 2011
Experience:
Intermountain HC
RN
Sutter Medical
Nurse Intern
LDS Church
Missionary
Denny’s
Server
2010-2011
Summer 2009
2006-2008
2006
Skills: Many, Multi-talented
Technical Expertise:
Left
Aligned
Is
Easier
To
Read
The
Golden
Triangle
Use a golden
triangle to
guide the
reader down
the page.
Name Address
Education Practical Educational
Experience and On-campus work
Internships, Clubs, GPA
Employer One, job one, 201x-Pres.
•Accomplishment employer wants
•Big employer skill number one
•Special work award
Employer Two, job two, 200x-200x
•Important skill number two
•Accomplishment two
•Promotion
Other
•Mission, Special Skills
•Spare time hobbies
Experience In Reverse
Chronological Order Is
Preferred
Most Recent At Top
• IHC
• BYU Health Center
• LDS Mission
• Yellowstone Park
• Pizza Hut
Summer 2012
2010-2011 (parttime)
2008-2010
Summers 2007,
2008
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 TPYOS!!
No Spelling Errors
No Address Errors
Watch Your Graphics
One Page Is
GOOD!
Two Pages: Minimal Need
8 + 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
No Tag Lines
References Available
Upon Request
Not Necessary. Have
Them Ready
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