1. What is the best way to organize the information in your resume?

1. Chronologically
2. Functionally
3. Any easily understood format

2. When preparing a cover letter and resume for a specific job, you write a —

1. Customized letter and customized resume.
2. General letter and general resume.
3. Customized letter and general resume.

3. What is the major advantage of a chronological format?

1. Easy to fit onto one page
2. Acceptable to all employers
3. Focuses on skills and accomplishments

4. As you’re about to mail your resume, you notice a spelling mistake. You decide to —

1. Ignore the mistake and mail the resume anyway.
2. Correct the mistake with a black ink pen.
3. Reprint a corrected copy.

5. Before you write your resume, you must first determine your —

1. Accomplishments.
2. Prospective employer’s needs.
3. Clinical strengths and weaknesses.

6. Who might consider organizing their resumes using a functional format?

1. Nurses who want to highlight volunteer experience
2. Students seeking their first nursing position after graduation
3. Nurses with more than 25 years of experience

7. Because you can’t fit your resume onto a single page, you decide to —

1. Be more concise.
2. Use narrower margins.
3. Print it with smaller type.

8. To stand out and make a good first impression for a position in pediatrics, you print your resume on —

1. Pale blue paper.
2. White paper with a high cotton content.
3. Tan paper with teddy bears on the top corners.

9. When describing your accomplishments, begin each bullet point with a —

1. Noun.
2. Date.
3. Verb.

10. Where do you record the jobs you had before becoming a nurse?

1. Don’t include them
2. It depends on the kind of job
3. Chronologically in the experience section

Answers and Comments

1. c. Prospective employers expect your resume to be clear, accurate, and easy to understand. But they don’t demand that all resumes look alike. Your resume could be formatted in many ways, as long as it’s instantly understandable. The functional format groups information by functional areas, such as research, teaching, or clinical experience. In a chronological format, you still use categories (e.g., employment, education). But within each category, the most recent information goes first.

2. a. Tailor your cover letter and resume to suit specific jobs, especially for positions that require unique management or clinical skills. Your cover letter and resume must showcase the strengths you bring to a position.

3. b. Every employer accepts and understands a resume organized chronologically. The candidate’s most recent experience is at the top of the section, while the oldest experience drops to the bottom. Each job has a separate listing with its corresponding dates given as years only or month and years. But the chronological method quickly spotlights job hoppers, as well as nurses stuck in the same job for years without developing their career. Some prospective employers view functional resumes with a jaundiced eye, because they assume that the candidate has something to hide that would be quickly revealed by the traditional chronological method.

4. c. Always reprint your cover letter or resume when you find a mistake in spelling, punctuation, or accuracy. Proofread carefully by reading word by word; then ask a friend to proofread it.

5. b. Although your resume describes you, it really focuses on your prospective employer’s needs and how you will meet them. To tailor your cover letter and resume to a specific job, first investigate your prospective employer through the Internet, annual reports, newsletters, and by talking with your professional colleagues.

6. a. Although anyone could use a functional format, it works particularly well for nurses who want to highlight their volunteer and life experiences. These aspects of experience may be difficult to fit into traditional categories used with a chronological format. Some nurses use volunteer positions as a way to gain clinical experience in a new area.

7. a. Always try to be as concise as possible, but don’t worry if your resume runs longer than one page. Keep standard margins, separate sections by an extra blank line, and use bullet points as often as possible. Use the across-the-room test to see if your resume is well organized. When seen from a distance, can you still see where each section starts, even when you can’t read the words? If not, use more white space to divide each section.

8. b. Stick to high-quality, white paper with little texture and a high cotton content. Remember, you’re a professional. Avoid paper better suited to wedding invitations or birthday cards. Always use the same kind of kind of paper for the cover letter, resume, and envelope.

9. c. Bullet points are a great way to save space and make your resume easier to read. Begin each point with a verb, such as “managed,” “supervised,” “planned,” or “organized.” Strong verbs add vigor and zest to your work experiences. But, you don’t need to refer to yourself as “I.” The reader understands that your resume describes your exclusive accomplishments.

10. b. It depends on the job’s significance and duration. Don’t worry about temporary jobs you held during nursing school; they don’t need to be included. But, if you switched careers and have meaningful experience in another field, make sure to include it in your resume. If you use a chronological format, you can summarize your accomplishments in a single section or job by job.