S2E19: Tips for New Grad Nurses on Resumes, Applications, and Interviews

This podcast is available on iTunes, iHeartRadio, Spotify, and Google Play

Who You’ll Hear

Kati Kleber, MSN RN – Nurse educator, former cardiac med-surg/stepdown and neurocritical care nurse, author, and speaker.

Melissa Stafford, BSN RN CCRN SCRN – highly experienced and currently practicing nationally certified neurocritical care nurse.

Elizabeth Mills, BSN RN CCRN – highly experienced neurocritical care nurse, current Stroke Navigator for a Primary Stroke Center.

What You’ll Learn

• Resumes
• Applications
• Interviews

Resumes

• Perfect, no typographical errors
• Don’t put all of your clinical experience
  • Put things that are relevant to this job
• Put people other than your clinical instructors; nurses on the unit, MD’s, manager
  • Get a team of cheerleaders – people who will vouch for you
• Networking begins in nursing school
  • Make a good impression EVERYWHERE
• Don’t think only clinical people can write resumes
  • Volunteers, administrators, administrative assistants, leadership

Applications

• Don’t wait until graduation to apply
  • Do this way before graduation
  • Look at the websites of prospective facilities
• HR departments are slow
  • Give it a few weeks before calling about the status of an application
  • Many won’t even let you call them; they just update online portals
• Video interview tips
  • Don’t look at the floor
  • Look at what’s behind you – remember they are seeing that!
  • Don’t wait until the last day

Interviews

• First impression begins with scheduling the interview
  • Don’t be difficult to schedule because it looks bad
• Look up information on the facility, work into the conversation
• Questions beforehand
  • Go over them at home, with others – even if it looks silly!
• Strike the balance between confident and cocky
• Handwritten thank you note post-interview – looks awesome
• Make sure you’re speaking positively about yourself and not negatively about others to make yourself to look good
• Dress appropriately for the interview. Check out What to Wear to a Nursing Interview (2022 Guide) for tips

More resources

• Your Last Nursing Class: How to Land Your First Nursing Job by Beth Hawks, MSN RN-BC
• Nursing Interview Questions and Answers – FreshRN blog
• Uncensored Thoughts of a Nurse Interviewer: From Inside the Interview Room – Nurse Code blog
• When you Don’t Land Your Dream Job