A nursing resume should emphasize your education, licenses, skills and personality traits in a way that sparks the interest in the hiring manager. Both nursing students and experienced registered nurses are sought by employers, but if your resume lags behind, you can easily be overlooked. To help you get noticed and shortlisted, we have prepared resume tips that will help improve your document and enhance your job prospects in no time.
To give your resume a quality boost, consider professional nursing resume writing services. Many nurses contact resume consultants with a “write my resume” request, as it saves time and you will get a quality document that effectively presents your experience to the reader. A nurse resume writer focuses on the best qualifications that matter to an employer and tailors your resume for a specific job if necessary.
10 resume tips from a nurse resume writer
Use the appropriate resume length
Career experts recommend writing a one-page resume if you are a recent graduate with limited experience. Nurses with 5+ years of experience should use a two-page resume to describe their background and skills effectively. If you apply for an academic position or university, it is acceptable to write a CV instead and describe your career history and education in full. Read the job posting carefully to find out what type of document the employer expects.
Choose the effective format
A chronological resume format assumes listing your jobs and degrees in chronological order. A functional resume, on the other hand, focuses on skills and competencies in the first place. Choose the format that works best for you using the table below.
| Chronological resume | Functional resume |
| ü Lists your job in a chronological orderü Jobs are listed starting with the current oneü Shows your career history in detailü Best for experienced candidates with career progressionü Good for students with internships and rotations | ü Lists skills and competenciesü Work history is described brieflyü Emphasizes skills and training over employmentü Best for career switchersü Good for candidates with employment gaps |
List your clinical rotations
Nursing students can take advantage of their rotations in a resume. Describe your rotations, internships, and volunteering as real jobs. Include your position, responsibilities, and the results of your work. If you’ve had multiple rotations, only include those relevant to your target positions.
Describe your work experience effectively
When describing your professional history, it is not enough to list your daily duties and call it a day. Also, avoid copying the job descriptions from the internet. It is best to use the so-called PAR (Problem-Action-Results) statements. Describe the problem, the action you’ve taken and the outcomes of your work. Employers expect to see results and accomplishments in a resume in the first place, and by adding them, you’ll boost your interview chances. Keep the job descriptions brief – 6-7 bullets for each role will be enough.
List specific nursing skills
Listing skills, especially those mentioned in the job posting, will help you pass the ATS check. For this reason, it is better to put them before the Professional Experience section. List both soft and hard skills. Here are some good examples you can add to your resume:
ü Patient assessment
ü Basic life support
ü Telemetry
ü EHR proficiency
ü Administering medications
ü Patient education
ü Communication and cultural sensitivity
ü Medical team collaboration
ü Critical thinking
ü Blood pressure monitoring
Make sure to describe how you used these skills in the Experience section.
Indicate computer proficiency
Nurses today are expected to be familiar with certain software and tools. In particular, you need to list experience with Electronic Health Records (EHR), Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and billing systems if you have such experience. Be sure to indicate any MS Office experience, or knowledge of any other office software.
Mention the facility type
Employers can better access your experience if they know the type of facility you worked in (medical office, hospital, birth center, etc.) and unit. You can also specify the number of patients in the unit, and the number of nursing staff you supervised. These details help better communicate your specialization and experience.
Include keywords
To pass the applicant tracking software, it is essential to use keywords from the job posting. Read it carefully to find the required skills, qualifications, and requirements. Use them as keywords in your resume. Do not just copy and paste – use these words naturally in your resume. When writing a resume, focus on the experience that can be helpful for this particular company and role. Also, make sure that the resume has an ATS-friendly format: has no graphic elements, or tables, and uses a PDF/DOCX format.
List certifications and training
Sometimes hospitals seek nurses with specific certifications or licenses. So, it is essential to include all of them on a resume after your work experience. The most popular nursing certifications include:
ü Basic life support (BLS)
ü Advanced cardiac life support (ACLS)
ü Pediatric nursing certification (PED-BC)
ü Informatics nursing certification (RN-BC)
Also, you will need to specify the details of your nursing license (number, state, expiration date, etc.).
Proofread before sending
The nursing profession requires attention to detail, and this should be reflected in your resume. Employers don’t like mistakes, typos and overall sloppiness in resumes. Avoid typos, misspelled words, and grammar issues. You can use an online spell checker to spot some writing issues, but after that, you need to proofread the text manually.
If you want to be confident that your resume is written well, consider showing it to a resume consultant. A resume expert can proofread the resume and give some recommendations for improving it.
