6 Ways to Make Your Resume Stand Out in the Pile
If you’re like most people, you didn’t have much formal guidance on resume writing in nursing school. In my final semester of nursing school (at the tail-end of my leadership course mind you) we had to submit a resume for our instructor to give us notes on
….and that was about it.
Luckily for me, prior to nursing school, I used to work with a non-profit that helped unemployed and underemployed people find work. I’ve helped write a ton of resumes since then for family and friends and am happy to say that there are a few solid tips for resume writing—particularly for nursing—that can help your resume stand out in a pile.
If you want to snag my perfect nursing resume system complete with resume (and cover letter templates) and a ton more, you can find it here.
Now on to the tips!
1. Start with the right format
Think clean, concise, and easy to read
First impressions apply to everything—including resumes. At first glance, you want your resume to be appear well-formatted and clean. Think line spacing, 1-inch margins, and clearly defined headings.
Skip the crazy fonts
Font choice is another key detail. You’ll want to avoid difficult-to-read fonts like Brush Script MT or fonts that appear unprofessional like Comic Sans. You can showcase how unique you are when you get called in for an interview.
Skip the references section
You don’t see this too much on resumes anymore, but it pops up every now and then. You might see towards the bottom of a resume, it will say something to the effect of ‘references available upon request.’
Please do not include this on your resume.
It is pretty well understood that if an employer wants to proceed with you as a candidate, they will most definitely request your references. It’s not necessary to include on your resume.
If you’re lacking for details to add onto your resume to fill up the page, you can expand on your past work experiences or dive deeper into your certifications and professional/academic organization affiliations.
2. Tailor your professional summary
A professional summary really helps your resume to stand out and it can be tailored to each organization to which you apply.
Your professional summary can also tie a nice, neat bow around where you see yourself headed in your career and why this specific job opportunity is in-line with your goals. It doesn’t have to be a novel by any means. Just a sentence or two can do the trick.
3. Tailor your background to the job you’re applying for
You want to make it abundantly clear that you’re the perfect candidate for this position. It may seem obvious to you that your skills from a past position would translate effectively to this new one. But there are a few things that can get in the way of landing you an interview:
Getting through the dreaded HR filter
Nowadays it’s widely known that many employers have an HR resume filter-type system that will scan your resume for certain keywords and then based on a percentage match, the recruiter will then review and select candidates for interviews.
Obviously, the good news about this system is that it makes prescreening a lot faster. But the downside is that a resume that doesn’t match up within a certain percentage, may not be selected to move on in the selection process.
How to beat the system:
You need to tailor your professional history to match the position you’re applying for.
So, to do this, you should start by first reviewing the job description for the position.
Then identify which responsibilities you have already performed in a past role. Word these responsibilities similarly within your resume, maintaining the appropriate keywords like ‘delegate,’ ‘monitor,’ and ‘assess,’ etc.
Now you will show up on the HR filter as a strong match for the position and are one step closer to being contacted for the interview.
Tailoring your resume also has two purposes.
This first is, of course, to make the HR filter happy.
The second is because you may have to spoon-feed the HR rep reviewing your resume that you’re the perfect candidate. They may not know nursing as well as you do—and may not particularly understand how one skill might translate really well to a different position or setting.
Remember, you need to make this abundantly clear why you’re the obvious choice.
4. Make good use of categories, and don’t be afraid to remove categories that don’t apply to you
If you’re using a resume template—and FYI, there is seriously no need to ever buy a resume template (you can have my template that I used to get my 6-figure nursing position here)—just be sure to customize it to your background.
For example, if the template has a dozen different sections for things like volunteer work and awards but you those sections don’t apply to you, delete them.
This might sound obvious to some, but you would be surprised.
Instead, if you’re finding that you have a lot more blank space on your resume than you would like, there are a couple things you can do:
Expand more on your past responsibilities
Include some past achievements obtained during your previous work/volunteer experiences
5. Showcase your involvement in associations, committees, and organizations
Interesting people are interested in things.
If you’re a member on any associations, organizations, or honor societies, include those on your resume. Even if you’re a member (or officer) of your unit-based council at work or the falls committee—include that too!
Nurses have a bad habit of not tooting their own horns. This is your time to brag about all of the cool stuff you’ve been a part of.
Additionally, it can be a really neat talking point during your interview. There have been many times when my interviews have veered from the standard line of questioning to what my unit-based council was working on or that the hiring manager is also a member of Sigma Theta Tau International.
6. The dreaded cover letter
Okay, okay, don’t throw tomatoes at me. I know that most everyone loathes writing a cover letter. But it really isn’t as frustrating—or as difficult—as it seems.
Cover letters follow a very predictable format: brief introduction with expressed interest, a quick summary of your past experiences and why you’re the ideal candidate, detail how your goals align with the company, and a closing that wraps up the letter in a nice, pretty bow.
You can also use a cover letter to address any gaps of employment, employment in multiple different states over the years, or other things within your resume that may strike the hiring manager as unexpected.
For example, my first nursing job was actually not at the bedside. I was able to briefly address that in my cover letter and it also gave me a concise soundbite when I was ultimately called back for an interview.
I know this may sound like a lot, but this is something that a lot of people aren’t going to do, and it will make you stand out like a gold star in a pile of plain-Jane resumes.
Just think of your resume as your ticket to the interview. Once you have a strong resume that’s personalized for the position your applying for, you’ll have your pick of positions to choose from.
If you want to snag my resume and cover letter template for free, you can find it here. And if you have any other helpful resume tips, share below 😊