How to Write Your First Nursing Career Cover Letter

Trying to make the transition from nursing student to professional nurse can be a whirlwind experience for many hoping to land that perfect “first job out of college” career. Sadly, trying to grab that perfect job can be rather frustrating, especially when employers want you to have experience before getting hired, but you know you can’t get the experience you need until you get hired somewhere.

This is common in nearly every field of work, and nursing is no exception. Fortunately, with a solid nursing education from a reputable school and a well-structured resume accompanied by an attention-grabbing cover letter, finding your first nursing job doesn’t have to be a hopeless process.

No Boring Cover Letters

When you’re first entering the workforce, your resume might appear a little bare. However, a strategically written cover letter can prove to be the icing on the cake that helps get you noticed by a potential employer amidst a smorgasbord of other applicants. If you want to write a convincing, powerful cover letter to complement your resume, here are a few must-haves to consider:

1. Purpose- Your cover letter should introduce you to the hiring manager of a specific company. This front page is meant to showcase who you are, why you are interested in working for this specific medical care provider, and why you are the best fit for the nursing job. Why will you be an asset to their medical staff? What elements of your educational and past experiences have equipped you for the position you’re applying for? This is your chance to brag about yourself.
2. Do your research- Hiring managers can tell if your resume is a template that you’ve cut and pasted onto multiple job applications. Check out a potential job’s website and social media outlets, and be sure to talk with employees you might know or be connected to. Include unique elements that are related to that specific company and write about why that matters to you.
3. Be professional- You are a well-educated, nursing school graduate. Your cover letter should reflect that. Double check your spelling, grammar and content to ensure you’re putting your best foot forward, right from the start. Check dates, contact information and employer details to make sure your cover letter is up-to-date and relevant to this single company. You don’t want a hiring manager to think your cover letter is two-year-old and addressed to someone else. Employers won’t hire you if the first thing they receive from you is filled with simple errors that could be easily corrected. Remember, your cover letter is supposed to reflect you. What message do you want to send?
4. Don’t be afraid to name drop- How did you hear about the job? Do you know a current or former employee or nursing friend that recommended you for the job? Say so here. Did you hear about the nursing job through their website? Communicate what you’ve learned through visiting their site. Did you see a job advertisement through an online job search site? Be sure to communicate this information in your cover letter.
5. Don’t think that nursing experience can only come from a nursing job- If you’re applying for your first nursing job after graduation, you probably don’t have much professional nursing experience to document in a resume. However, if you’ve received a quality education, you gained significant hands-on experience through your training to adequately prepare you for your first nursing job. If you’ve had any other past work, volunteer or service experiences, you’ve probably developed many other skills that are related to nursing that would be valuable once you enter the nursing field professionally. Use your cover letter to highlight these strengths and other skills that would be valuable resources to any employer.

Too often, the tendency for job seekers is to put more time and energy into crafting a resume and the cover letter becomes an afterthought to the application process. If you need help writing a cover letter, you can do a quick Google search and find countless templates for cover letters. Those examples are fine tools to use, but attaching an eye-catching, strategically written cover letter to your nursing applications will be the key that helps you stand out from the crowd.

Athena Career Academy is committed to providing quality educational experiences to all their students that will leave them competent and ready to enter the workforce after graduation. If you’re interested in learning more about our various nursing programs available, contact us today for more information.