Personal Info in Cover Letter?

Oh wise nurses of Allnurse.com I have a question for you all

There is a job I would like to apply for it is with a pedi psych facilicty. In the job ad it has 2 years prefered, I only have 1 year as a nurse with 5 months pedi HH and I just started a on-call peds LTC. I would like to only work in peds so I am applying to full time peds positions, so I can get out of the adult LTC that I also work at full time.

Anyhow this is a psych position dealing with a variety of kids with various different issues, one would be kids with autism. Now I don't have nursing expereince with kids, but I have personal experience as my youngest son is on the spectrum. I know generally you don't want to reveal too much personal info when applying and interviewing for a job. But could letting the possible employer know that I have experience in this type of population even though it is through personal experiecne, could that help or hurt me or would it not even really matter?
Leave the personal information out of the cover letter. It's not relevant. I had open heart surgery but it doesn't make me any more qualified to work on a cardiac unit than someone who doesn't have personal knowledge of it. Tell them why you want to work there and what strengths you can bring.

^^^Agree.

And keep it brief.

I am astounded at the personal info people reveal in the hiring process. At times, I want to cover my ears and pretend I haven't heard it.It is improper for an interviewer to ask about your marital status, whether or not you have children, are responsible for elderly parents, have any illnesses or disabilites. Yet if you bring up the subject, it becomes fair game for questioning about how you will be able to get to work, whether your attendance will be affected, whether you may be likely to get emergency phone calls at work, whether you will have to leave work on short notice for emergencies, whether you will request FMLA, etc.Just don't go there.

And sometimes it can work against you, instead of for you. "We don't consider people with

experience, because we feel it would cause undue conflict of interest in our

----organization." I had this happen to me in an interview when I thought I was doing myself a favor by mentioning my personal experience with a certain aspect of nursing. Came right out and told me that I would not be considered for just that reason.

I think it depends. In my pursuit to work at one of the best peds facilities in the country I did use some personal and it was then that I got 3 interviews. That little cover letter is all the manager saw from a stack of similar resumes sent from HR. I'm not saying give details, but I mentioned personal experience with their facility and my goal and passion to work there because of these experiences, I think it can help set you apart in certain circumstances. Good Luck, the kids world likes it, family centered care and all Its wonderful and yes I did acute adult prior.

Actually, it is relevant because you have family experience dealing with this segment of the patient population. "Direct care experience with an autistic child within the home." It shows you have had exposure & understand some of the issues involved with this type of child.Maybe repost this in the psychiatric nursing section; see what the consensus is over there.

I too have a son on the spectrum. When I was fresh out of nursing school, I didnt have any experience in the medical field. However, I did have a son with a disability and I did provide in home hospice care for my dying mother. My school encouraged me to put my "life experience" in my cover letter. It landed me a job fairly quickly too. And in my initial interview, although they told me they were looking for experienced nurses, they felt my life experiences were valuable.

Quote from MrChicagoRNActually, it is relevant because you have family experience dealing with this segment of the patient population. "Direct care experience with an autistic child within the home." It shows you have had exposure & understand some of the issues involved with this type of child.Maybe repost this in the psychiatric nursing section; see what the consensus is over there.

For some reason in psych (and maybe in all the other specialities also) there are some that are attracted to it based on "life experiences". In most cases it isn't a plus imvho.