Tag: resume

How to Get Your Résumé Ready for the New Year

If your New Year’s Resolution includes finding a new job, here are the three most important things you can do to get your résumé ready for your 2021 job search.

If your New Year’s Resolution includes finding a new job—a resolution that landed on a list of the most popular resolutions for 2021—now is the time to get your résumé in prime shape. While hiring was obviously impacted in many ways over the course of 2020, traditionally, hiring ramps big time once the calendar rolls over into January. If you are seeking a change for the year ahead, here are the three most important things you can do to get your résumé ready for your 2021 job search.

New Year, New Look

The New Year, for many, is often time for a bold change, and your résumé should be no exception. Start out by updating the look and feel of your résumé. Your goal should be to have a résumé that is easy to follow and one that instantly reflects who you are and what you can do. Some quick tips for giving your résumé a makeover include:

  • Start with an easy-to-follow, modern template that has clearly defined sections of information. Some great examples of résumés like these can be found here, here, and here.
  • Identify and use a tagline for yourself. You aren’t just a nurse or a doctor. “NICU RN-BSN, BLS and ACLS Certified” or “Board Certified Internal Medicine Physician” tucked beneath your name at the top of your résumé affords the reader insight into your qualifications before they even really begin to dig into your document.
  • Update your contact information to current standards. Listing your mailing address is less important these days than linking to your online social profiles. Include, at a minimum, a URL for your LinkedIn account, and any other professionally acceptable social accounts you may hold. Also, be sure to include your email address, but only if it’s one that can be taken seriously, and not something like GlitterSparkleButterfly@whatever.com.
  • Throw out the old objective section in favor of a short, professional summary, and stock it with your most impressive qualifications and accomplishments, which you should then expand upon in your experience and education sections.

Take Stock of 2020

Now that your résumé has a new look for the new year, the content will need updating, as well. With 2020 firmly in the rearview, take time to reflect on all that happened over the course of the year. What did you accomplish? What new skills did you learn? Did you gain any new certifications or degrees? Did you receive any special recognition? Did you take on any new responsibilities?

Also, and probably most importantly, take the time to reflect on what you truly want out of 2021 and beyond. If 2020 taught us anything, it is that time is precious. You should spend your time doing what you love, and your résumé should position you to find a job that fits into that—not just a job that you fit into.

Look back on where the previous year has taken you, and then update the appropriate sections of your résumé to reflect any worthwhile highlights. You will also want to trim the fat, so to speak, from previous years, if there is anything listed that is no longer relevant or has become less impressive over time.

Lastly, take note of keywords that are frequently used in the job postings you have been browsing and make sure you include as many of them as possible in the text of your résumé. Doing so will increase your odds of being labeled as a match for the jobs to which you plan to apply.

Get Online

If you are like the bulk of the population, you will likely be applying to jobs online in 2021, be it on our site or elsewhere, making the online version of your résumé just as important as the paper copy you will bring with you when you go in to interview for said jobs. Make sure you upload your updated résumé to our site and any others you may be using to browse for jobs, and also take the time to revamp your LinkedIn profile to match your reworked résumé, and update any other social accounts you plan to disclose to potential employers (or lock down the ones you don’t plan to share via privacy preferences).

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.

Healthcare Resume: 4 Steps to a Standout Professional Summary

Your professional summary is one of the most important aspects of your resume. Here’s how to get it right.

By Andrew Fennell

Your professional summary is one of the most important aspects of your resume and, therefore, you need to spend some time getting it right – at least, if you hope to secure yourself an interview.

While it can feel daunting—after all, you have just a few sentences to impress the recruiter—there are some simple steps you can follow to make writing your professional statement a bit easier.

What Is a Professional Summary and Why Do I Need One?

Your professional summary is an introductory statement that lets the recruiter know who you are. This is found at the top of your resume and should be no longer than three to five snappy sentences.

It allows the recruiter to quickly decide whether you’re a potential fit for the role, without having to read your resume in its entirety. For this reason, it needs to grab their attention right away and encourage them to keep reading.

Here is how to do it.

1. Always Start with Thorough Research

Before you begin writing your summary, you need to do your research. This will help you to tailor your statement to the specific role and company you’re applying to.

There are several resources available to help you conduct your research. Firstly, you can use the job advert to highlight the key skills and requirements that the employer is looking for.

You can also use the company’s website or run an internet search to find out more about the company and the industry as a whole.

2. Begin by Summarizing Your Experience

You should open your professional summary with an attention-grabbing sentence which outlines your job title, any standout experience or qualifications, and how many years’ experience you have.

This aims to grab the recruiter’s attention right away, highlighting why you’d be qualified for the role.

For example: I am an attentive Nurse Practitioner at {hospital name}, with three years’ experience diagnosing patients and managing their treatments.

3. Showcase Your Relevant Core Skills and Strengths

Next, you should highlight some of your core skills. At this stage, it’s a good idea to refer back to the job advert to find out which skills are most desirable to the employer.

These could be a number of soft and hard skills; for example, a nurse might want to include some of the following:

  • Clinical nursing skills (these should be tailored closely to the role you’re applying for)
  • Communication
  • Strong diagnostic skills
  • Empathy
  • Problem-solving
  • Ability to work under pressure
  • Analytical skills

4. Add in a Standout Achievement or Result

Now you want to demonstrate to the recruiter how you can add real value to the business, so you need to share one or two of your key achievements from previous positions.

An example of this might be: In my current role I frequently receive personal requests and thank you notes from my patients, as a result, patient retention rates to the practice have increased by 20% this year.

Your healthcare professional summary is your chance to impress the recruiter and convince them to continue reading the rest of your resume.

Be sure to follow the four steps above, taking time and care over crafting a persuasive professional statement that is sure to increase your chances of winning the role.

Andrew Fennell is the founder of CV writing advice website StandOut CV – he is a former recruitment consultant and contributes careers advice to websites like Business Insider, The Guardian and FastCompany.

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.

Write Your Best Healthcare Résumé Yet

Even if you’re not actively seeking, it’s always a good idea to have an impressive résumé at the ready, just in case an ideal job happens to pop up on your radar.

Hiring in healthcare is pretty much always booming, but it can be particularly active at the end and beginning of any given year. So, as October begins, it may be time to reevaluate your résumé. Even if you are not actively seeking a position, it is always a good idea to have an impressive résumé at the ready, just in case an ideal job happens to pop up on your radar. Follow the tips below to make sure your résumé is the best it can be.

Ditch the Old Format

Times change and things evolve, and résumés are no exception. The age-old format of an objective, a chronological list of experience, education, and then “references available upon request” slapped at the bottom is no longer going to impress anyone. It’s like whipping out a flip phone from the year 2000 in the middle of the Apple store on the release day of the new iPhone. Get with the times and restructure your résumé to the more current format of:

  • Name & Contact Info: Your full name, address, phone number, professional email address, and optional social links, right at that top and easy to locate.
  • Summary: A dynamic keyword-infused paragraph, that illustrates your experience, accomplishments, most desirable characteristics, and career goals.
  • Skills & Qualifications: A bulleted or otherwise easy-to-follow section containing your most valuable and important job-related abilities, including specialties, settings, and even the languages you speak.
  • Experience: Listed in clearly defined sections by position, in chronological order, with the most recent at the top, including impressive or noteworthy achievements and specialized skills, not just your day-to-day duties.
  • Education: Your scholastic accomplishments, including degrees, licensures, and/or certifications, and the dates they are valid through, if applicable, as well as when and where you obtained them from. If you are early on in your career, it is perfectly acceptable to swap the order of the Education and Experience sections.

Tailor Your Résumé for Each Application

It may take a bit more time and effort, but altering your résumé to match the description of the job you are applying for can make all the difference when it comes to standing out from the competition. Make sure the keywords in your résumé match the duties and requirements used in the job posting to demonstrate what a seamless match you would be. The more your résumé aligns with what the employer is looking for, the better your odds of making it to the next step in the hiring process.

Include a Cover Letter

A cover letter is the peanut butter to a résumé’s jelly. 22% of Hiring Managers consider it a red flag, if an applicant does not include a cover letter, and while that means 88% are unbothered by it, you have no way of knowing which type of Hiring Manager your résumé is being submitted to. Including a thoughtful cover letter, which is equally tailored to the job and hiring company as your résumé, is a best practice to follow. The body of your cover letter should be used to detail why you would be the right fit for the position and the company you are applying to, and done so in a way that the Hiring Manager will want to move on to your résumé and learn more about you and your qualifications.

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.

How to Rehab Your Therapy Résumé

Whether or not you are actively searching for a new therapy job, keeping your résumé current is always smart. Here are some tips to get yours in top shape.

Whether or not you are actively searching for a new therapy job—we have a lot of those, if you are, though—keeping your résumé current just in case is always a good idea. Here are some tips to make sure your therapy résumé is in top shape.

Start with the Basics

Just like your patients, you have to walk before you run. Start with a clean, modern layout that breaks your information into easily identifiable sections, so the hiring manager, recruiter, or other important person whose hands your résumé falls into can easy see your selling points—and this is about selling yourself.

Some great examples of templates we love can be found here, here, and here. Be sure to use clean, easy-to-read fonts (side note: it is never appropriate to use Comic Sans), and always save a copy of your résumé as a .PDF file to retain formatting.

Objective: Ditch the “Objective”

Since you are selling yourself, you need to identify your personal brand, and put that at the top of your résumé in a professional summary, instead of an outdated “objective”. Your objective is to get the job—that’s already clear.

Start with your personal brand statement—a good trick for this is: a few words describing your strengths + who you are + your experience + your unique expertise. For example: An empathetic, tech-savvy Doctor of Physical Therapy, who has served the pediatric population for five years, with a special focus on treating those with Autism spectrum disorder.

Follow your personal brand statement with a professional summary. Highlight your expertise level and education accomplishments, if they are impressive enough to include here—such as a high GPA or special honors, and use strong action words (pioneered, increased, managed, achieved, generated, conceptualized, collaborated, and so on) to further drive your value.

School Them On Your Schooling

Education is a big selling point for therapy professionals—and, obviously, for us, since we’re mentioning it again. Your education, continuing education, and other certifications are your core, and recruiters and hiring companies are interested in them. Any schooling and training you have completed and completed well should be placed in its own section, and, if formatting allows, placed above your clinical experience.

Focus on Your Accomplishments

Don’t just bullet point your responsibilities in your previous roles, focus on what you have accomplished—maybe even brag a little.

List your experience in reverse chronological order, meaning your most recent role at the top, and expand on the points you touched on in your professional summary. This is a good place to get in some keywords (which will help your résumé get through the automated process of screening candidates and into the hands of an actual human, mind you) and talk about populations you’ve treated, modalities you’ve used, EHR you’re familiar with, and so on.

You can even include volunteer experience here, if it bolsters your brand.

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.