Ok. Go to your resume and read your qualifications summary. Would it grab a potential employer’s attention and make them read on? Or would they drop it in the pile of all the resumes that say “Have critical thinking abilities”? (which isn’t a bad thing to have, of course — I hope all new nurses have it — but it’s so general and uninteresting.)

You want your qualifications summary to really describe you, your accomplishments, and how they would fit with the organization. Qualification summaries require time for you to really think about yourself. How would other people describe you? What are some common statements you’ve received from clinical instructors or an employer? Make sure to take this time to write down your unique attributes, your prior accomplishments, your transferable skills, and relevant work or clinical experiences.

Once you have a good list of what to include, condense it down to 5-10 lines, which can be formatted in paragraph form or in bullets. It should be strong, specific, and not redundant with the rest of your resume. Use action verbs to make your summary interesting – “Achieved”, “Developed”, “Collaborated”

One last thing to keep in mind — hiring managers are scanning resumes for key words that match the job descriptions. Be sure to use relevant key words for the job you are applying for. This means that you may need to tweak your qualification summary from application to application.

We’d love to help you improve your qualification summary. Write it in the comment section below and we’ll make suggestions.

If you’re currently working, do you think your qualification summary helped in any way to get an interview? If so, spill your secret!