Help please! Newcomer in Canada, recent grad back home, looking for work

[squirtle]

Hi everyone, I just moved here in Ontario 2 months ago. I've finished a degree in Nursing back home and my papers are being processed at the College of Nurses of Ontario. In the meantime, while waiting for my nursing assessment, I'm trying to look for ANY job since I cannot practice nursing here yet, considering that most health professions here are regulated. My problem is I have no work experience at all since I'm a new graduate (2010). Only the experience I have is my student nurse rotations and experiences in patient care. So for example I want to be a sales associate, there is no relevant experience in that field that I can put which then makes my resume look really short (like half of a standard size paper). Any advice on how to write an effective resume or jobs that are related to my education/experience? Thank you very much.

 

[Canadian Career Coach]

You're definitely in a tough spot. But here are some thoughts:

Have you called/investigated an organization called " Meals on Wheels". If you drive, this often involves taking food to seniors, or people who are housebound. I would 'think' having a nursing diploma might be an asset. I would also contact some not-for-profit organizations like the United Way, or Salvation Army as they do alot of outreach to the community and again they 'may' look at you because of your nursing qualifications.

Re Sales jobs. Many pharmaceutical sales positions will look at people from different positions in the health care field. As these roles frequently involve dealing directly with Family Doctors, having a nursing background and understanding the medical jargon is a huge asset. You need to structure a 'functional' style resume and initially think what key competencies eg) a Pharma company would need to see on a resume. This could be "people management or relationship management skills", or "persuasion and negotiating skills" etc. Then you have to think back to your nursing rotations and pull out relevant 'skills' you've learned and developed that may fit under these types of major categories. See this resume example for ideas on functional resume styles.

http://careego.com/ResumesLetters/ResumeDevelopment/ResumeStylesSamples/tabid/110/language/en-CA/Default.aspx#

http://www.careego.com/Portals/0/PDFs/Functional%20Resumes%202010.pdf

Hope that gives you some more ideas.

 

[Resumeshop]

Hello,

Even with little or no experience, I can help you write a resume targeted to the type of field in which you would like to work.

For example: If you are a nurse, you are surely a people person. This is a very desirable quality for a sales associate! On you resume, talk about how many people you helped each day on your rotation, the feedback you received from your patients and from your supervisors. Give some examples on your resume of your accomplishments on your rotations and about how quickly you learned new things, and how flexible you are. If you can give doses of medication, you are probably good with numbers. Mention that, too!

In terms of companies, think about medical equipment and prosthetic suppliers as well as pharmaceutical companies. Think about medical transcription, private health insurance companies or even something like PR for private clinics.

If you are interested in a professionally written resume or cover letter, feel free to email me at resume.shop1 at gmail dot com.

Good luck!