Preparing your Application

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Preparing your Application

• For Nursing students
• August 2000

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Graduate Nurses Guide 2000

• Further information on what each health agency is
  seeking is available in the
• Graduate Nurses Guide.
• The Graduate Nurses Guide is available free to
  final year nursing students from the Careers
  Centre.

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Writing your CV/Resume

• Define the product
• Define who you are
• What you have to offer
• Review your life to develop an inventory of your
  skills, Experiences, achievements
• Situations where you have demonstrated these
  skills.

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Research the Employer

• Analyse their needs.
• Spend time researching the employer.
• This information can be worked into your letter
  to indicate your enthusiasm about obtaining a
  position in that organisation.

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Writing your CV/Resume

• Select the information that is relevant for the
  employer and prioritise it.
• Choose a Resume format
• Read it as an employer
• Obtain feedback.

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This is your life

• application is a Marketing document
• summarises your personal and professional skills
  and qualities as demonstrated through your
  educational qualifications, work experience (paid
  and voluntary), sporting, community and leisure
  interests.
• the goal is to obtain an interview.
• this entails presenting a balanced selection of
  key material about yourself, and honing it to the
  needs of the employer.

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Example....

• You will need to reflect on the significant
  events of your life. What have you learned from
  them? What makes them relevant to a potential
  employer?
• Reflect on your achievements - first your
  academic achievements at school and/or
  university.
• Think about other achievements, eg.
  responsibilities accepted in clubs,
  organisations, within your family, socially etc.
• Examine your employment history- what skills have
  you developed that would be useful to another
  employer ?

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Skills sought by employers

• Communication
• Time management/ Organisational skills
• Interpersonal
• Teamwork
• Clinical

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Qualities sought by Employers

• Adaptability
• Attention to detail
• Caring
• Motivation
• Common Sense
• Patience

• Empathy
• Initiative
• Proactive
• Tolerance
• Willingness to listen learn
• Relate to people from all walks of life

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Research

• Read the organisations pamphlets or brochures,
  inhouse newsletters or magazines, organisational
  files in the Careers Centre,
• Annual Reports
• talk informally with anyone you know in the
  organisations that interest you.
• Use the WWW

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Research...

• You may also choose to meet with people in the
  organisation to find out more about the company /
  roles / structure of the team etc, before you
  write your application.
• For example you can give examples of showing
  initiative and going the extra mile in your CV
  and Cover letter

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Resumes/CV- an overview

• essentially a summary of your background
• It is appropriate to write a separate application
  for every job, tailoring it specifically to the
  requirements of that position.
• written in simple language and be easy to follow.
  Embellishments should be avoided.
• pay attention to spelling and grammar.

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Presentation

• Use good quality plain A4 paper.
• Use a high quality printer.
• Staple pages at the top left hand corner.
• Do not use plastic folders or covers.
• Organise information into sections under
  headings.
• Leave space between sections.
• Use a layout that ensures information can be
  quickly and easily read.
• Avoid small print.

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Length

• length of a resume depends on the amount of
  information to be presented to the employer.
• in general, resumes tend to be about two-three
  pages long.
• the important thing to remember is that the
  information presented must be relevant.

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Structure

• Different individuals may have their own
  opinions as to what details should be included.
  However, the conventional resume tends to contain
  information which is usually grouped under
  headings such as
• Personal Details
• Education
• Career Objective
• Employment History
• Additional Skills
• Achievements
• Community and Leisure Interests
• Referees

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• It is not necessary to use all these headings.
• Some people may wish to omit certain headings.
• Others may wish to add more or create
  sub-headings. For example, Employment History
  could be divided into Casual Employment and
  Professional Work Experience.

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In summary

• Keep it short and punchy.
• Bullet point and highlight items-this is not an
  essay.
• Avoid I am or I have and remember that points can
  be read quickly down the page while text has to
  be read from side to side.
• Make it look attractive in terms of font, spacing
  and layout.
• Keep headings and sub headings consistent in
  style. Proof read carefully to ensure that it is
  error free.
• Ask yourself Can the employer get the
  information they want quickly and with little
  effort?
• Use action words to present your strengths-these
  are listed in your booklet.

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Personal Details

• Full name
• Address
• Contact details, and residential status.
• Alternative contacts if appropriate
• Factors relating to age, gender, marital status
  etc are not required
• Only offer information that can be to your
  advantage
• Career goals- think carefully

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Education

• Tertiary Education
• Name of Institution
• Period of Attendance or expected date of
  completion
• Title of qualification
• Any special achievements
• Practical placements/experiences
• Attach your academic transcript rather than
  listing all your subjects in the body of the
  Resume
• Your task is to present yourself in the best
  possible light.

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Career goal

• Optional
• Be creative
• Think carefully eg may need different goals for
  other organisations
• Think of how you can describe your goals
• Long term versus short term
• Shorter term view eg Employment Objective

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Categories of Information

• Secondary
• Any responsibilities held-Prefect, Mentor,
  School Council, Team Captain, Drama Productions,
  School Magazine (Editor or contributor), Sporting
  Involvement, any official positions, writing and
  maths competitions
• Other qualifications
• Any relevant courses-word processing, internet,
  first aid, mandatory reporting, conflict
  resolution etc.

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• You may need sub headings such as
  professional experience, casual work, voluntary
  work, practical placements, vacation work.
• Include Dates of employment, Name of employer,
  position , duties or skills
• To describe duties look for tasks that involve
  transferable skills (eg, the skills involved in
  customer service or teamwork may be a useful
  starting point for dealing with community
  agencies, nursing).
• eg Did you do any staff training and
  supervision (however informal)?, Did you have to
  work in a team situation? Did you have to work to
  deadlines?

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Additional Skills

• These may include courses eg Manual Handling,
  Language skills, Computer literacy, familiarity
  with certain packages, word processing skills,
  desktop publishing, Drivers licence and type.
• You may also include teamwork skills, customer
  service skills, leadership ability and so on,
  that have been derived from within and outside of
  university.
• Achievements
• Outstanding academic results, awards, sporting
  achievements

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Other areas

• Community and leisure Interests
• Memberships of clubs and /or professional
  associations.
• Community and sporting involvement- in these
  roles have you held any administrative or
  leadership positions (captain, president,
  secretary, treasurer)?
• What did you do and what was achieved? Have
  you held any coaching positions or do you have a
  coaching certificate?
• Hobbies, leisure, self development activities.

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Referees

• These are people who can give you a positive
  evaluation
• Give their name, position, contact details
  (phone, fax, email etc)
• Ensure that you have their permission, give
  them a copy of your CV/applications, and keep
  them informed about your placement search
• graduates often need three referees-they may
  use a combination of nursing (important!!!!!),
  academic and work referees.
• they should be up to date.

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Formats

• Chronological Resume
• education/work experience is shown in
  chronological order
• can use reverse chronological order showing the
  most recent data first

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• Functional Resume
• resume focuses on skills achievements rather
  than job titles and biographical data
• skills listed will correspond as closely as
  possible to those required of the position
• in many cases the format may be modified so that
  it incorporates the best features of a
  chronological and functional resume

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• Targeted Resume
• designed for a specific job vacancy or as a
  marketing tool for a particular type of job
• includes only data that supports your case for
  the position.
• Examples are in the Preparing your Application
  booklet.

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Letter of Application

• Represents the employer's first impression of
  you. It therefore needs to be impressive
• Keep it brief and no longer than one page.
• Use simple language, and avoid long words and
  phrases
• Demonstrate that you have found out some
  information about the employer and done some self
  analysis as to why you could make a contribution
• Find out the name of the person you should
  address the letter to. Ensure that you have the
  correct spelling of their name.

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General points

• Cite experience across a range of areas and
  situations (degree studies, employment, voluntary
  work, involvement in associations etc)
• Be specific, mention subjects, or relevant
  duties, or specific equipment/procedures that you
  have used.
• It may be useful to prove that you are familiar
  with the knowledge or discipline by outlining key
  points of what you know or have learned

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More...

• My involvement/participation on the ABC
  University Committee has enabled me to develop
  effective business meeting skills, the ability to
  confidently express views, work effectively with
  committee members to achieve (cite outcomes).
• Production of a report on (topic) involved
  extensive community consultation, liaison with
  local council and (relevant agencies. The
  project culminated with a presentation to the
  Community in which research results were
  presented, questions addressed, and ...

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More...

• As President of the (Name ) Organisation, I
  have developed high level communication and
  leadership activities through activities such as
  ....
• My experience as a orderly at Z Hospital has
  enabled me to develop effective team
  communication skills, and an empathic manner with
  patients.

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Application forms

• Read it first before you start writing
• Photocopy the form and do a draft
• Write or type neatly- what the employer requests-
  employers do look at writing quality
• Ensure you provide exactly the information
  requested
• Make sure your response is relevant
• Make sure you sign it if required

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Telephone

• Answerphone/alter contact
• Using the telephone is a skill
• Be prepared..paper, pen
• Voice makes up 82 message..warmth, crispness and
  enthusiasm
• Use approp. language
• Alert others in your household

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Remember...

• Keep in mind the impact at the potential
  employers end (in other words Whats in it for
  me?).
• You are involved in marketing yourself, selling
  yourself, and you want the receiver to buy what
  you are offering.

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Remember

• Research the hospital or organisations and the
  GNP program.
• Present information concisely yet allow enough
  detail to show the organisation what you have to
  offer. Only include what is relevant.
• State your relevant and strongest attributes from
  your academic study, employment history and
  other aspects of your life.

• Make sure that the resume is laid out clearly and
  is easy to read.
• Address the letter to the correct person. Check
  spelling and the correct title of the person to
  whom you are sending the letter. If you do not
  know who the correct person is find out.
• Tailor your application to the needs of the
  organisation. All organisations are different.
• Send only the documents requested. Employers do
  not want to be over burdened with paper.

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Whats next..........

• Make it easy for the employer to contact you
• Come to a Drop in at the Careers Centre to have
  your CV and/or letter checked.
• Nurses Careers Fair held on campus in August

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Careers Centre

• Third floor Student Centre (adjacent to the
  Sports Centre)
• Email careers_at_flinders.edu.au
• Telephone [phone]
• www adminwww.flinders.edu.au/careers/home.html