What is a Nursing Job Application and When do You Need One?

With the world changing to the electronic age, it is becoming less likely that you will fill out an actual nursing job application and more likely that you will send in a resume. Depending on the hospital or facility in which you get your job, it might be standard practice for them to have you fill out a nursing job application after you are hired to place in your file, but typically, this is after employment has been offered. An exception to this may be if you are applying for a nursing position in a rural community, they may require the nursing job application.

Your Resume - Your Application

While the field of nursing is expected to increase over 20 percent through the year 2018, this does not mean you do not need a professional resume. In fact, those nurses that do have a professional resume have a greater chance of getting the initial interview than those that do not, which ultimately means that the nursing employment opportunities can be greater by simply having a professional resume.



Keep in mind that a resume is not your life story, nor does it need to include your work history from 30 years ago. Rather, keep your work history no longer than 15 years and if you graduated from college or nursing school longer than 10 years ago, do not include the age. It is important not to reveal your age in your resume. Why? Because, it is no one's business and even the employer on a job applicant can no longer ask your age, because age discrimination is against the law. Unfortunately, it does not mean that age discrimination does not take place, because it does, therefore, leaving your age off the resume improves your chances to land nursing employment.

The nursing job resume should be very well developed with a cover letter that sells you. Remember, the resume is a marketing document and therefore, you need to take a fresh approach to the nursing job resume by making sure it includes the following:

• Is the resume selling your abilities and skills, or does it read like you are unsure of your skill level?
• Include a summary or profile at the beginning of your resume that addresses what you are doing, what you have done, and what your goals are
• Make sure there are absolutely no spelling or grammar problems in your resume, as this is a complete turn-off to the reader
• Your job history should show your position, years at the company, what the company did and your most notable achievements should be in bullet points
• East on the bolding in your resume and never use a colored font

The cover letter is very important to the nursing job resume because it serves as an introduction to you and why you are the best candidate for the position.

What Your Cover Letter Needs to Include:

• Allow your personality to shine through in the cover letter, but remember, the cover letter is a formal document, so do not try to be funny or a jokester since that might not come across very well.
• Let the reader know you are detail oriented by setting up your cover page with zero grammatical or spelling errors
• Highlight your strongest assets
• Allows the reader to see you have excellent writing communications

Many people assume that resumes are not important when it comes to nursing careers, but this is not the case at all, in fact, they hold even more weight because you are assumed to be a professional when applying for open nursing jobs. Finally, if you are unsure how to construct your resume, you might want to hire someone to write it for you because applying for nursing jobs and getting call backs is vital when you are looking to advance your career.

Final Thoughts and Where to Find Job Listings

If you are ready to take your nursing career to the next level, then you must visit NursingCrossing.com. You will find literally thousands of nursing job listings available just for you! Moreover, as a special bonus, sign up for a FREE trial today and find your dream job!