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Write a Killer Nursing Professional Career Summary With REAL Examples
Episode 196 • 5th November 2024 • High Performance Nursing | Nursing Careers & Nurse Entreprenuership • Liam Caswell
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Write a Killer Nursing Professional Career Summary With REAL Examples

Welcome back to HPN! Today, we're cutting through the fluff to get to the core of writing a career summary that truly wows. No more generic statements or missed opportunities—this episode is about making sure your career summary stands out and speaks directly to who you are as a healthcare professional. We’ll cover the essentials of an unforgettable career summary:

  • Highlighting what makes you unique: Show off your skills, strengths, and experiences that matter most.
  • Crafting a summary that speaks their language: Tips on tailoring your summary to catch the eye of hiring managers and recruiters in healthcare.
  • Avoiding the common pitfalls: Simple ways to ensure your summary stays focused and powerful.
  • Real-life examples: How to present your skills and background in a way that feels authentic and true to you.

Whether you're refreshing your resume or gearing up for a new role, this episode will leave you with the tools to make sure your career summary says it all.

Keywords: Killer Career Summary, Stand Out in Nursing, HPN Career Tips, Healthcare Resume Essentials, Nursing Career Summary

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Transcripts

Speaker:

Hello, welcome back to the podcast.

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Hello! Welcome back to the podcast.

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I hope you're well. This is Liam. I've just become American for the day.

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Hello. Okay, let's dive in. Today,

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Now, I want to do two things with today. One,

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how to write the professional career summary in a way that really self

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sells and markets your skill set to the panel without being bland and generic,

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clearly show you how you should respond to why do you want to work

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The professional career summary becomes your response,

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if done well, to your, into your first interview question,

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give you the framework, and give you three examples.

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and then one at a clinical nurse consultant level.

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And I want you to take from those what you can, and use them

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And then I want you to listen to them when I read them out

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that first interview question, which most people absolutely car crash

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It's your moment to show them why they should pick you.

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So let me dive in, without further ado,

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and get into the meat and bones of this. So, let me introduce you

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This is a framework that I have been finessing and honing and teaching,

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uh, with great results, over 500 nurses,

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and many more, because not only do the people that are working with me

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which you can purchase from the show notes, by the way, those are DIY,

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and also my online Nurse Career Course,

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But today, I'm gonna teach you it, and I'm gonna give you it,

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So when we talk career summary, I'm talking about the top section of your

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and you think, oh my goodness, I need to write a cover letter, and

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and they will pay attention to that, and see if it's,

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if you're actually aligned with what they're looking for in the organization.

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So we want to make sure that we pack a punch there,

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knowing that we only have 7.4 seconds,

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probably even less, in this day and age, to be able to make a

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Now, notice I haven't talked about a professional objective,

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or professional aspiration. It should be a career summary.

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We should be very high level, giving them a snapshot of what you've done,

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where you are now, where you want to be,

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and why they should pick you. At a very,

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But many of you, one,

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moving to the present. What are you doing right now,

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and why is that relevant? Three, is future aspirat- as- aspirations?

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Aspirations! Future aspirations, wear your hat.

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is number four. Okay, so what makes you unique and special?

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And number five, that sounds creepy,

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And then throughout all of that, there is this sprinkling of topical industry

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related buzzwords and job specific buzzwords.

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number one of the story arc framework is starting with your past.

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Where have you been? So we want to give them a beautiful high-level overview

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of where you've been. We summarise your background in a succinct way

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that focuses on the relevant key achievements and experiences specific

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This is where most people trip up is they go too broad or they'll

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So emphasising the duration and the different specialties or areas that you've worked

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and thinking about how we could frame and sell and market your unique experiences

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from your past where you've been and what you've done. So an example of

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acute care nursing and hands-on experience in emergency care dot,

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Now, most of you start with I'm really excited to apply.

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We are not cookie cutter generic. Like we just all do the same thing.

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If you want to stand out, you have to colour outside the lines,

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scattering in some buzzwords and some specific tailored words relevant to the job,

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highlighting recent accomplishments or achievements,

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accolades that you might have that are relevant.

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but you're the, you know, the basketball volunteer cheerleader,

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patient observation assessment skills, amazing.

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Let's talk about that there. This is often where people get tripped up is

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I think there's 8 billion, 9 billion. So just be kind to yourself,

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allow yourself to regulate, and stop your brain from telling you you haven't done

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Otherwise, you wouldn't have the pull and the desire to apply for the role.

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So once we've highlighted our recent accomplishments and our leadership,

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but they might be looking for something specific to graduate level roles,

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we must acknowledge that in our summary and show them why we're perfect.

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and so an example here would be something along the lines of currently I'm

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where I deliver high-level, safe,

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quality, uhm, policy and procedure-guided,

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evidence-based nursing care to emergency patients.

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Now, did you notice in there, there was so many buzzwords?

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I know. We're not just buzzwords stuffing our professional summary like

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we're not writing a story. You can always write what I call a shitty

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Allow yourself to have an SFD. If you're struggling with this,

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but just get it on the page. Now number three is future aspirations.

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Where are you headed? Start stating or talking

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that you are not, you know, trying to get a job as a clinical

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You don't have to do this in a kiss-ass way, you can just be

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oh, I'm a nurse, like, they just need nurses, you know, they'll take anybody

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I know it happens, I've sat on those panels, but you don't want to

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ego or mental health and wellbeing. Sure,

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You want to be hired in a job where they really want you and

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So we want to show them and do the research,

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that we've done our research ahead of time, and we show them how we

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their department is headed. You can do this by looking at things like the

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reviewing the strategic plan, you can even throw it through chatGPT and say review

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You can do lots of things. There's no excuse to not go in and

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present a professional summary that is very specifically targeted and tailored to

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actually quite clear and kind for the panel,

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because they're trying to map out, like,

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can they see you there? So if you can see yourself there and you

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allow yourself to regulate and then hear your brain saying,

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For example, for me, when I applied for jobs,

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I would talk about having international nursing experience.

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That gives me perspective. That gives me great levels of awareness and insight

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Australia, a couple of states here and Fiji.

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That's a unique selling point compared to somebody that's just like,

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oh, I've worked in the same organisation my whole life. That's not a problem,

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but notice the difference. We are competing whether you like it or not.

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this is usually your professional experience prior to nursing.

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So many of you, regardless of whether you've come straight out of school into

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and you're bringing your diverse wisdom and life skills to the industry,

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it's all relevant. It's what makes you unique and special.

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And I'll give you some examples of what that looks like.

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But in the past, we've had people that have worked in Burger King or

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or Aldi, or Woolies or Kohl's. And their unique selling point is that they're

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experts in customer service.

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So they're able to leverage what they thought was not that significant as a

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and you choose to leave them off your professional summary.

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relevant degrees. So I've worked with people in the past that did pharmacy in

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And they've chosen to leave that out. I'm like, why would you leave that

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But not only that, like, it shows your diverse skills and knowledge in medication

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and the medications that we use and the pathophysiology.

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any nursing role. Yeah? So we want to mention that.

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That is a unique selling point. You've seen the ins and outs of the

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You've spent more time in it than probably most nurses have spent in it

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with a sick or a sick loved one. And now you're coming to the

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So you absolutely need to give yourself permission to find your unique selling point

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okay? We all have something that we can offer. Now,

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for some of you, you might be coming in as a second career nurse.

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I've had people in the past that have come from creative fashion industries.

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What the hell? That's amazing. Like, we love this.

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We love people coming into nursing. But it's like, okay,

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well, what can we bring from creative fashion industries?

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Well, . As we dove into it, you know,

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she had worked in real high-stress environments with very complex,

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challenging, creative individuals.

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And she had developed that skill set of managing and leading complex

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high budget spends, right?

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And she was able to operate and lead a creative project.

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That is relevant to nursing because every day we see adversity.

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patients, families and staff. And leaders and managers.

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And so, therefore, she brings that skill set to the workforce.

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Not only that, she's creative. She can bring her creative problem-solving skills.

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And she might also look fabulous in scrubs every day because she's from the

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like, property management. Like,

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But again, it's relationship building, rapport building,

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right? all of these quote-unquote self-sacrifices. Self-skills that we never want to talk about.

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They're fundamental as nursing. Like, they're the basics that make you advanced.

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So, finding that unique selling point,

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and usually it comes from your, either your lived personal or your professional experience

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For some of you, it will be the fact that you've already done the

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But now you just want it permanently, or you want to be considered for

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Can you see how that's true? So I want you to give yourself permission

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to focus in on those things. And even if you really struggle,

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I've not done anything in my life up until this point. I haven't worked.

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Like, I've just, I've just come to nursing.

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It's so rare. I've never heard of this. You just come to nursing,

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and I've started my nursing career. Like, what is a specific skill that

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Like, it just comes so easy to you. or Raise your own levels of

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Like, I was chatting to a client this week,

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and she's realising that her ability to consume data

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and to advocate on behalf of patients, is her super skill.

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The clinical stuff, the clinical like manual dexterity stuff,

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not her thing, but the research research,

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the data, the leadership, the advocacy,

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or it lights her up. So find that thing,

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there's always something, and pop it in there.

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Okay, so 4 is highlighting your unique selling point.

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This will sell the panel on why they should pick you,

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and it will wake them up from the boring job of reading lots of

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I love this, how cool. And then the fifth and final thing we're going

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This is a non.

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If you don't tailor anything else, you must at least tailor the vision

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okay? So it can be just a simple one-liner,

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which I'm going to give you some examples of in a second,

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but we want to acknowledge that, and then be strategic with those words

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throughout the rest of your resume. Okay, so you're not gonna keep writing this

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you've already identified the vision and the values and some buzzwords,

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and you've already crafted a beautiful summary, so you've already one step ahead.

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This is why if you do your resume and your cover letter and your

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I wish more people knew this. People try to do it the other way

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That makes total sense. Of course you're going to doubt yourself when you go

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so I strongly encourage you to do this ahead of time.

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2, 3, 4, 5, we want to sprinkle as many buzzwords

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It's, this is again a non-negotiable.

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a, I always say you feel like a bit of a twat,

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and you'll feel a bit silly because you don't speak like this.

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In written form it's easier to write like this but when you start talking

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you can feel a little ox again. Okay,

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and here's what I want to tell you. If you feel awkward in the

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Now, just to give you the career story arc framework again,

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start with your past wherever you've been. Move to the present,

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future aspirations, highlight your unique selling points and connect with the organisational

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and buzzwords from the job ad and the job description and you call the

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you've showed them interest because no one else does that but you're a high-performance

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Now, let me give you some examples. So, I'm gonna start off with an

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Okay, so professional career summary for a graduate nurse.

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As a passionate and driven future graduate nurse,

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I'm committed to utilizing my unique skill set to ensure I excel in perioperative

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I've demonstrated my unwavering dedication.

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Armed with a prior bachelor of public health,

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I bring a holistic and multidisciplinary approach to my patient care,

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advocacy, and prevention-based healthcare, strategies to improve patient outcomes,

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psychologically safe rapport with my patients and their families.

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I aim to become an expert in perioperative nursing and eventually share my expertise

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My five years of experience working as a communication specialist in a professional insurance

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experience of my public health education enabled me to effectively contribute to diverse

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I am committed to building a sustainable long-term career as a nurse,

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dedicated to improving patient outcomes and advancing the nursing field,

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and I'm excited to embark on this chapter of my career within Better Health

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It sounds a lot, right? Can you see there?

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We followed the story arc, right? We have the five key pillars.

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We've beautifully told them about our past. We've told them about where we are

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our aspirations to be educator. We've talked about our unique selling point very heavily

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Us words as we can throughout that. Your version of this will sound different.

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That is just one example. I don't want you to copy that verbatim,

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but use it as inspiration as to what yours could sound like.

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How would you tell your story? I love that summary on a got great

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So transition to practice. Here we go. With one year of graduate nursing experience,

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primarily focused on emergency and surgical nursing and better health hospital,

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I'm eager to apply for the 0.8 FTE Thank you.

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I've been consistently recognized for my strong,

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critical thinking, rapid assessment skills and ability to provide patient-centered care in high-pressure

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to manage acute and complex cases, respond effectively in time-sensitive situations,

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and collaborate seamlessly with multidisciplinary teams to deliver optimal

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trusting relationships with both patients and their families,

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ensuring that they feel informed and supported throughout their healthcare journey.

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I'm proud to contribute to Better Health Hospital's commitment to excellent compassion and teamwork,

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values I embody in my own daily practice.

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I'm dedicated to ongoing professional development.

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Again, what's great here is we're positioning this individual,

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how it's aligned. and they are applying for an emergency visa.

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We've offered their unique selling point. Absolutely everything in there.

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If we could do one thing more there, it probably would be talk more

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but really for this individual, the value add here,

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and the reason why we didn't do that, is because they've already been an

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ED. And so it makes the panel's job easier because they've already been there.

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like transition from graduate program into a specialty example of a summary.

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And if you're aspiring for this, then this is how you smash it and

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with over 30 years of diverse healthcare,

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like even that, straight away, I'm like,

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oh, 30 years. Wow, that's amazing. Sorry,

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let me start over. With over 30 years of diverse healthcare and nursing clinical

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surgical care at patients and infectious disease management,

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I have been honoured with numerous accolades,

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including a HESTA nomination, for my excellent excellence in nursing,

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highlighting my contributions to the field and my commitment to personal and professional growth.

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As a leader, I've contributed to and cultivated continuous improvement,

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elevating the quality and safety of healthcare delivery across various complex teamwork environments

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and significantly enhancing patient outcomes,

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staff development and culture across Better Health Hospital.

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With exceptional interpersonal abilities, I effectively collaborate with multidisciplinary teams

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and connect with patients and families, creating a supportive,

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psychologically safe healthcare setting. I'm confident the unique combination of my

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contributing to a culture of excellence aligned with the core values of care,

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integrity, respect, excellence, and teamwork." Boom!

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That's a mic drop. That is, So friggin' good.

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I get excited about this shit, because that is just crystal clear.

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Sorry for shouting, I'm sorry if I got a fright.

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Can you see how we started with this individual's past and that already packed

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It's kind of like TikTok or social media, like, ooh, I want to read

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Okay, they're working in a clinical nurse position right now.

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And also, we're jumping ahead here to number four,

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but they highlighted their unique selling point. I've already done this.

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I've been in senior leadership levels before.

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summary. So that, my friend, is how you absolutely friggin' smash your

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period. It stops now. And as you can hopefully see,

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even in listening to me reading that out, can you imagine if the panel

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Perfect response to that. Let's say they ask you,

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Liam, working at Better Health Hospital is a real,

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you know, exciting opportunity for you to develop and grow your career,

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and our values of care, integrity, respect, excellence,

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and teamwork are really important to us. Can you tell us how you've embodied

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Okay? I hope you can see this. I'm just going to repeat the same

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I would probably just start off with, over my 30 year career,

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like type roles, and then I just not read it verbatim,

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like a newsreader, but I'm going to use the same response.

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Can you see how that's true? It doesn't matter what question they ask you

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for that icebreaker. It is just so important that

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and you repurpose the work you've already done.

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Don't make it Don't make it prepping for interview harder than it needs to

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I would love, love, love to hear your summaries.

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You can send me a screenshot on Instagram at highperformancenursing,

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I absolutely love seeing and hearing nurses being able to sell and market themselves

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in a way that's aligned, in a way that makes it easy for the

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You want to make it so easy for them that,

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hell yes, we need that person. Trust me,

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you will position yourself as a high quality hire,

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and you will make your job application process so much easier.

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Trust me. And if you love this and you want more of these resources,

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jump into the show notes, come and get our free nursing application guide.

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I step you through this and more, how to break down all of your

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But until next week, we've tackled your professional career summary,

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now you know how to sell yourself in the interview as well,

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episode. Stay safe and stay forever curious.

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