RN Cover Letter Examples & Writing Tips
Showcase your qualifications and passion for helping others with the help of our nursing cover letter examples. Follow our advice and RN sample cover letters!
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Showcase your qualifications and passion for helping others with the help of our nursing cover letter examples. Follow our advice and RN sample cover letters!
Regardless of whether you are aiming at an entry-level or more experienced nurse position, the job market for nurses can be competitive. Along with your resume, a perfect cover letter will help you get noticed among other candidates. Use the RN cover letter example below as a base and edit it in our Cover Letter Builder!
Copy this free nursing cover letter template onto one of our professional cover letter templates and make it your own.
Build my cover letterUse these nursing cover letter tips to make a strong nursing cover letter:
Administrators and hiring managers want to know what makes you unique. Show them you have what it takes to be the best RN in their organization by leading your cover letter with your top strengths and qualifications.
Instead of repeating the same information that’s written on your resume, use your RN cover letter to talk about specific accomplishments you’ve achieved throughout your career that showcase your professionalism, qualifications and expertise. Most RN responsibilities overlap, so stand out by highlighting key achievements and credentials.
Registered nurses can work in different settings and specialties, so be sure to tailor your cover letter to the job. Whether you’re applying for a hospital, to work as an ambulatory care nurse, home health nurse or as a travel nurse, it’s important to customize your cover letter so it reflects the needs of that specific employer.
As a registered nurse, you’ll have under your belt an array ofhard skills and soft skills needed to perform your job. Feature a mixture of both in your RN cover letter to give the employer a better understanding of who you are as a nurse. Because yes, it’s important to know how to administer medications but it’s also important to have empathy and strong communication skills.
Nothing can tank your job application more than a typo or grammatical error. Read your RN cover letter a couple of times to make sure it doesn’t have a miswritten word and ask someone with fresh eyes to proofread it for you.
For standard cover letter format, contact information should be displayed at the top. It will come just before your professional greeting or salutation.
Contact information should include:
Do some research to address the letter to the person or group who will be in charge of hiring you instead of using a general salutation like “Dear Hiring Manager” or “To Whom It May Concern.”
In our registered nurse cover letter sample, Alice Brown discusses her years of experience in the health care industry and how they helped her become a better registered nurse. Your introduction should be strong, to the point and concise. It should show off your top qualifications to the hiring manager.
Dear Mr. Cooper,
I am excited to apply for a registered nurse position within the Oncology department at Roberts & Sloan Medical Center. I graduated from my nursing program four years ago. Since then, I have been looking for an oncology nursing job opportunity. Over the past three and a half years, I have worked in an RN position at a local community hospital. During this time, I have honed my nursing skills through a variety of tasks, including:
I believe that this experience has contributed to my development as a strong candidate for the nursing job at Roberts & Sloan.
Nursing jobs work with people who are physically and emotionally vulnerable. Hiring managers are looking for candidates who are kind, patient and reliable, in addition to possessing technical nursing skills. A cover letter allows you to be more personal than you can be in a resume format. Give the hiring manager a window into your motivation, such as when Alice says, “I believe that every patient deserves high-quality health care.”
Mention how your actions made an impact on patient care or why you were a valuable asset to your previous team. Highlighting achievements will help you stand out from the crowd.
During my time as a nursing student and as a practicing nurse, I have also volunteered for a local hospice foundation. I have gained a profound understanding of the importance of bedside manner in patient care. I was voted volunteer of the month for eight consecutive months in the past year. I value teamwork and go out of my way to help my coworkers, even if the tasks are not within my job description. I believe that every patient deserves high-quality health care and I’ve dedicated myself to obtaining the skill set to provide such care.
In the nursing cover letter example below, Alice closes by stating that she is looking forward to hearing from the hiring manager for an interview. A call to action will display your enthusiasm for the job and invite the hiring manager to contact you. This will enhance your chances of getting an interview because it will stand out in the mind of the reader.
Becoming a part of the Roberts & Sloan Medical Center team would be an honor for me. I believe that I have the skills, experience and attitude to perform the job. I appreciate your consideration, and I look forward to hearing from you soon regarding an interview.
Sincerely,
Alice Brown
For more tips, read our How to Write a Cover Letter article.
Here are some hard skills and soft skills you can consider featuring in nursing cover letters:
Update your professional cover letter and resume using our professional resources and tools.
Have questions? We’re here to help.
Here’s how to make a strong cover letter for any nursing position:
A simple registered nurse cover letter should be tailored to the job you’re applying for. Highlight your top strengths and qualifications, expressing interest in the position and organization. Use your cover letter to summarize your nursing experience and feature important achievements that are not in your resume. Keep it focused and to the point, as hiring managers typically spend less than a minute reviewing job applications.
The best way to sell yourself in a nursing cover letter is to highlight your unique qualifications, experiences and passion for patient care. Make sure your letter reflects the requirements listed in the job description and focus on talking about any specialized training or skills you have that will make you an asset to the organization.
The key to making a registered nurse resume that stands out is to tailor it to the nursing position. Use the job description as a guide to determine what skills, qualifications and achievements to highlight in your resume. The more you include these keywords, the higher the chances of making it through ATS and reaching a hiring manager’s hands.
During your job search for a registered nurse position, you will need to write a number of cover letters. Career experts recommend including a professional nursing resume and cover letter with each new job application. While your resume is the meat of your application. it can help you get noticed by the hiring manager and further elaborate on how you can benefit the organization you’re applying to. Tailor your cover letter to each job posting that you apply to by using keywords and skills.
Hiring managers do not have time to read long letters, so make sure yours is short and sweet. Keep the letter under a page. You can use ResumeHelp’s Cover Letter Builder for more cover letter tips and help with cover letter format.
If you do not have a lot of work experience, then stress your skills, training and any related experiences and accomplishments. If you have volunteer experience, then include that in your cover letter. You may have experience in health care even as a new grad. Your academic or internship experience can also help you present yourself in the best possible light. Create the perfect cover letter by relating your experiences to the job posting.
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