When you apply to travel nursing assignments, you’ll want to ensure your resume is updated and informs potential employers of your skillset and experience. You may be writing your resume for the first time or reviewing it for the hundredth time, but you should always make sure the information is up to date and clearly structured.
To give you an idea of a solid travel nurse checklist, we drafted a short checklist to help guide you through the process. Here’s the top do’s and don’ts when crafting or re-evaluating your travel nurse resume.
Do: List your licenses
The first thing a facility will want to see, other than your years of experience, is your licenses and certifications. Nurses with a certification in stroke care will likely appeal more to intensive care or neuroscience assignments, so it’s important to have this information upfront if you want to catch the attention of hiring managers. Many certifications work with different travel nurse assignments because it shows not only your skillset but also your enthusiasm to grow. Make sure to include all pertinent information and not just the highlights.
Don’t: Use images or other visuals
Keep it simple, hiring managers don’t like clutter. Some resumes showcase a professional photo, but this is not necessary and doesn’t add much value. Remember the key reason for resumes: to showcase your skills. Don’t imbed visuals that would distract from your summary, license, and experience.
Do: Note previous hospital details
Mentioning previous facility details is a good way to show a potential assignment that you’re more than capable of working within the bounds of their technology and amenities. Mention the number of beds or patients you oversaw daily, or which charting system you mastered. Facilities will want to know that, if they select you, they are getting someone who will suit the requirements of the assignment and the facility.
Don’t: Constrain yourself to one page
The day of single-page resumes is long gone. Instead, provide a full overview of your skills, capabilities, and work experience. For an experienced nurse, trying to work your experience into a single page, especially considering the need to include licenses and hospital details, will cause your resume to appear cramped and disorganized.
Allowing your resume to extend past the first page is fine—the key is to include all pertinent information and omit any fluff. Relaying years of experience often results in a longer resume, and hiring managers get that. So many people compress their knowledgeable background into simple summaries to reduce length and end up lowering their skill-rich value. Try to be concise, but if your resume reaches the second page, don’t cut off important information.
Do: Mention preferred schedules
If you prefer to work days, nights, or specific times, you should certainly mention it within your resume summary. Facilities understand that you have other responsibilities outside of work, which is why we work to ensure that your schedule is set for the temporary assignment. In fact, many facilities will have opportunities to specify your desired schedule, but many will also be flexible. Note your schedule, and your agency or prospective employer will work with you to find an assignment that best fits your calendar or daily routine.
Don’t: Skip proofreading
Once your resume is done, you may be eager to start sending it out, but we advise caution. Grammatical errors in your resume can make you stand out for the wrong reasons. There are great tools online to help with this, Microsoft Word has a built-in review feature and Grammarly can identify further errors, so fix those commas and turn those passive sentences into active sentences.
If you need any help or have any questions, feel free to contact us online. If you have already begun your process with Nurse First, your assigned Traveler Advocate can also assist you or answer any questions you may have.
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