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Guide to Writing a Successful Nursing Resume

The healthcare sector is thriving, and its growth forecast for the coming decades is spectacular. Within the next six years, healthcare spending in the United States is expected to increase to $4.1 trillion, accounting for over 20% of GDP. It’s a beautiful time to think about a career as a nurse, medical assistant, or healthcare worker because, as a happy byproduct of this prediction, the medical business will also produce over $3 million in new jobs by 2020.

The fact that anyone can get their hands on those numbers is a significant drawback. There are a lot of people joining the trend. Furthermore, specialized healthcare institutions are mushrooming everywhere, making it much simpler for the average person to earn a degree in the field. Accredited online schools have made earning a medical degree or nursing certification easy in recent years, making this route increasingly common for those interested in a healthcare vocation.

So, we’re left with an expanding medical sector staffed by an increasing number of people with a common educational background. And if you’re attempting to get work and are one of many applicants, you must somehow differentiate yourself. A solid resume is essential.

Healthcare careers demand specific academic preparation and a particular personality type. Your CV must appropriately show your capacity to relate with patients, families, and clinical colleagues and convey your professional potential. It ought to demonstrate your dedication and enthusiasm for health promotion and caregiving.

Competition is higher than usual because nurses account for the largest share of the healthcare workforce. There are already more than 3 million Registered Nurses (RNs) in the United States alone, and that doesn’t even account for the many different types of nursing professionals in the country.

If you go around the Internet, you can find many publications offering advice on how to write a nursing resume. Most of these pieces were too generalized to provide helpful information about employers’ thoughts. As a recruiter with years of experience working with hiring managers and a professional CV writer for a virtual medical school, I feel confident in offering the following advice to anyone looking for nursing jobs.

For nurses at every level of experience, here are five resume pointers:

Resume Advice for New Graduate Nurses

First, I propose this structure for your resume, working from the top down: Qualifications Summary, Introduction, Educational Background, Internships, and Work Experience. This is a straightforward format for a nurse’s first resume. An introductory paragraph or statement of purpose that provides a concise overview of your experience is recommended. After that, you get right into the education section, as this area concerns entry-level hiring managers. After that, you can elaborate on your internship experiences and, if applicable, your professional background. For instance, if you worked as a cashier, you might want to include that, but you wouldn’t need to go into detail about your duties. The final portion should be a bulleted summary of your experience. Communicating successfully with patients, families, and clinical colleagues is a broader skill that can be as specialized as needed. This is a very effective way to wrap up the resume, in my opinion.

2) If you are looking for an entry-level position, you should devote much time and energy to furthering your education and skills. Include the name of the institution(s), the dates of enrollment(s), and the degree(s) earned. Further, you can detail the classes you took to earn your degree or qualification. Completing the required coursework and including these strategically placed keywords in the context of your resume will impress potential employers.

Thirdly, explain your internship or preceptorship experiences in depth. You should describe the clinical facility you worked in, the dates you were there, and the daily tasks you were responsible for performing. Since you likely don’t have much relevant work experience to include in your career, don’t be afraid to make this section of your resume the most comprehensive. Describe the nurses you worked with and the extent of your encounters with patients. It is also appropriate to mention the use of any specialist medical equipment.

4) It is unnecessary to have references on a CV for a beginner position in nursing. The recommendations you provide will be requested by any firm, hospital, or hiring manager. Whether or not you are required to provide a list of references is typically communicated to you after several interviews.

Five, don’t get crazy. Writing a three-page novel and submitting it as a CV is something many people do, and it’s a massive no-no for someone looking for an entry-level position. My best advice is to be brief, to the point, and honest. After all, you wouldn’t want to scare off a potential employer by handing them, Tolstoy. Instead, like any good marketing tool, you should provide enough information to pique the reader’s interest without overwhelming them. When you get an interview, you make your best case.

Advice from a Professional Nurse for Your CV

1) If you are an experienced professional, your resume will seem a little different from that of a new graduate looking for a job in nursing. A “Summary of Qualifications” or “Areas of Expertise” section towards the top is an excellent place to start. A brief introduction or statement of purpose should lead into bullet points showcasing your most outstanding achievements in the field. Now is the time to jam some keywords that will make you stand out in human resources databases. Specific keywords from the job posting or broad ones like “Medical Terminology,” “Patient Relations,” etc., can help you get seen.

2) Don’t brag about your degree program or degree year if it’s stale. Include ALL your education and training, but only specifics if they are highly relevant and current. Make sure to highlight your recent phlebotomy training if you’re applying for a job in the field. However, companies care most about your clinical and practical experience, so it should be your primary focus.

Thirdly, highlight the extent to which you interact with patients. Since nurses tend to be very patient-focused, detailing your experience with different types of patients in various clinical settings is essential on your resume.

4) If you are a professional nurse, you are not required to list references on your CV. The recommendations you provide will be requested by any firm, hospital, or hiring manager. If and when you must submit a list of references, you will be notified later in the hiring process after completing several interviews.

Five, don’t get crazy. Many people make the mistake of trying to pass off a three-page novel as a résumé. My best advice is to be brief, to the point, and honest. After all, you wouldn’t want to scare off a potential employer by handing them, Tolstoy. Instead, like any good marketing tool, you should provide enough information to pique the reader’s interest without overwhelming them. When you get an interview, you make your best case.

JR Hindman owns Pro Healthcare Resumes and Pro Resume Builder and works as a freelance resume writer. He has worked in healthcare for many years and now provides reasonably priced resume services to nurses, medical assistants, technicians, and other professionals in the field.

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