When you are looking for that great nursing job keep in mind that competition is very tight. Most healthcare facilities have implemented hiring freezes because of the poor economy. Therefore, your application may be one in a pile of hundreds. So how do you get an employer to consider you for the job? If you can include an excellent nurse cover letter with your resume this is a great start.
A cover letter is like a sales page that is selling you to your prospective employer. Advertisers know if they want to make sales they need to talk to their target market. The same goes for cover letters. You will need a specialized cover letter for each facility you apply to. Your nursing cover letter should have the name and address of the facility at the top of the page under your name and address. Your RN cover letter must be addressed directly to the person who will be reading it. Therefore, you may have to call all facilities and ask who is in charge of hiring and address the letter to this person.
Since you are in competition with other nurses for the same job you are going to have to toot your own horn. When you are writing a cover letter, it is okay to talk about your accomplishments in nursing. Even though these things are mentioned in your resume, a nursing resume cover letter is there to reiterate and expand on the details of your accomplishments. This does not mean you are going to write a short novel detailing every wonderful thing you have accomplished. It simply means you need to summarize your strong points.
As you are writing your nursing cover letter, remember to be complimentary of the facility to which you are applying. Let them know how excited you will be to work at such an amazing healthcare facility. If you think they have the best cardiac program in your state say so in your nurse cover letter.
Remember to keep your focus of the nurse cover letter on the position you are applying for. Your prospective employer should be able to glance at a the RN cover letter and know right away which position you are interested in. This helps the human resource personnel or nurse manager sort out who he or she may consider for employment.
A great nurse cover letter will be short and to the point. Employers receive hundreds of applicants for the same position. They are not going to take the time to read a lengthy nurse cover letter. So you must dazzle them in as few words as possible. Try sitting down and listing your best nursing assets that pertain to the job you are applying for. Then take this list and write one or two short paragraphs that sells these assets.
Do you want an easy way to put your nursing cover letter above at least fifty percent of the other cover letters? Avoid clichés and overused expressions. How many RN cover letters do you think an employer reads each day that contain phrases such as “works well with others” or “ ability to multitask” or “team player.”
Listen, these phrases depict what nurses do everyday. If you were not able to be a team player and work well with others while you were multitasking you would never have made it through nursing school. So avoid these overused and useless expressions in your nurse cover letter.
Finally, one of the best ways to make your RN cover letter stand out from the others is to proofread. You would be surprised at how many people will slap together a cover letter that contains dozens of spelling and grammar errors and send that to prospective employers. If you can’t take the time and the effort to present a professional looking cover letter, your prospective employer will assume you will not make the effort to be a good employee. A poorly written cover letter and resume will most likely end up in the trash. It is a good idea to have a friend or family member read your nursing cover letter before you submit it. A fresh pair of eyes can find mistakes that you have overlooked.
An exceptional nurse cover letter could be the item that seals the deal when trying to get that great nursing job. Just remember, develop a new cover letter for each job you apply for. Be complimentary of your prospective employer and try to give them a short sales pitch highlighting your best nursing skills. Always proofread your nursing resume cover letter before submitting it.
