Chart Out your Cover Letter to Stand Out

To include a cover letter or not to include one? Some say no if it’s not asked for, citing it’s a waste of time. Why would you think a hiring manager or recruiter would look at a cover letter if they only spend six seconds on average looking at a resume?

However, having a cover letter that actually makes it easy for a recruiter to see if you meet the qualifications for the position could help you stand out in a way that gets you an interview. The key is:

1. Do you meet all the qualifications for the position?
2. If you do, then chart it out for them.

For example, let’s just take the requirements from a posting that came up when we did a search for “Registered Nurse” on Indeed:

Education:

• Graduate of an accredited School of Nursing.
• Current appropriate state licensure
• Must meet the practice requirements in the state in which he of she is employed.

Experience and Required Skills:

• Minimum of one-year medical-surgical nursing experience preferred.
• Hemodialysis experience preferred.
• ICU experience prefferred.
• Successfully complete a training course in the theory and practice of hemodialysis.
• Successfully complete CPR Certicication.
• Employees have to meet the necessary requirements of Ishihara’s Color Blindness test as a
• condition of employment.
• Provide coverage at any or all area facilities as required by management.
• Icd-9 Training.
• Nurses Technical Training
• Must meet appropriate state requirements(if any)

 

A cover letter should have a chart that looks like this:

Your Requirements	My Qualifications
Graduate of an accredited School of Nursing	BSN of Nursing from University X, 2000
Current appropriate state licensure	Alabama State License number XXXXX
Minimum of on-year medical-surgical nursing experience preferred	Three years experience as a medical surgical nurse at XYZ hospital
Hemodialysis experience preferred	2 years experience at XYZ hospital performing hemodialysis
You get the picture- keep filling the chart in….	You get the picture- keep filling the chart in….

This only works if you meet the requirements for the opening. So just like on a resume , experience matters, whether we like it or not.

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