Nursing cover letters are a must for getting a nursing job.
In a nursing cover letter you have the chance to show your personality to your audience!

Nursing Cover Letters

Cover letter tip #1:

In order for your cover letter to be effective in your job search, it must be targeted to the employer(s) who are going to read it. A single "catch-all" nursing cover letter which you expect to use in looking for various types of jobs is much less effective than several well-focused cover letters which highlight pertinent elements in your experience. If, for example, you plan to apply to both hospital-based and community health center-based positions, you might be better served by having two cover letters, one summarizing your hospital experience, and the other on your community health background.

Always mention the position, the organization, how you learned about it, and your current status in your nursing cover letters. For example, you might write: "I was interested to read in the Philadelphia Inquirer that ABC Hospital is looking for a surgical intensive care unit nurse. I will receive my B.S.N. degree from the University of Pennsylvania in May and am eager to be considered for the position." or "Dr. Jane Jones, told me that ABC Practice will be hiring a pediatric nurse practitioner, and I am writing to express my interest in the position. I will be graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in August with an M.S.N. degree in the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Program."

Nursing cover letter tip #3 - What your experience/education offers

Refer the reader to your resume and highlight the special things in your background that make you the right candidate for the position. You do not need to repeat everything that is already on your resume. Just pick the aspects of your background that will be most interesting to the individual employer, and be direct about emphasizing your particular accomplishments. If, for example, an advertisement for a psychiatric nurse stresses supervisory ability, you might write: "As my enclosed resume indicates, I have had broad clinical experience as a psychiatric nurse. In addition, during the five years I was on the staff of XYZ Psychiatric Hospital I was promoted from Staff Nurse to Primary Nurse. As primary nurse it was my specific responsibility to train and supervise twelve psychiatric aides, all who have remained on staff and have been promoted to technician positions."

Nursing cover letter tip #4 - Why you are interested in the position and the organization, or, why you are a "good fit"

It is appropriate to say something about why you want a particular job and want to work for the particular employer. For example, if you are interested in a nursing position in a large, university affiliated hospital, you might say something like: "My clinical rotations at Presbyterian Hospital and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania have impressed upon me the value of practicing nursing in a teaching hospital. I am especially interested in becoming involved in ongoing research, and feel that teaching hospitals provide the best opportunities for such work." If you have enough specific information about the position and the organization to do so, it is a good idea to stress how and why your experience and interest meet the organization's needs, i.e., why this is a "good fit". This paragraph (or section of the previous paragraph) lets the reader know that you've done your homework, and that you are familiar with their organization.

Nursing cover letter tip #5 - What will happen next

This is your chance to structure what you hope the next steps will be. You can indicate interest in an interview, and prepare the reader for the fact that you may follow up your letter with a phone call to find out the status of your application. Basically you want to maintain as much control as possible. Ending a cover letter with "I look forward to hearing from you," while perfectly appropriate, requires that the employer take the next step. You are better off taking the initiative by calling the employer to schedule an interview, if you feel comfortable doing so.