Although the demand for nurses is growing, getting a job in the nursing industry isn’t easy, especially if you’re making a start or submitting a letter of resignation at your current position.
How are you supposed to know how to write a stunning resume so employers will immediately want to hire you and create a cover letter detailing your accomplishments?
Getting into the nursing field is tough, so we analyzed dozens of nursing resumes to learn what works and what doesn’t to help you get a great nursing job.
No matter your specialty or where you are in your nursing career, we’ve got 33 nursing resume samples to help you make a resume online from scratch or update your current resume to get you your next nursing job in 2024!
Hiring managers typically receive a torrent of resumes whenever there’s an open position, so if you prepare your nursing resume haphazardly, you are more likely to get the boot than the job. To avoid that sad scenario, you need to make your nursing resume readable, logical, and pleasing to the eye. It should showcase your skills and experience while being ATS-compliant, and it should show off a bit of your personality, too.
It make sound like an impossible task, but before your get overwhelmed, start by taking it one step at a time. First, choose your formatting style: reverse-chronological, functional, or hybrid.
A well-structured resume is essential for your job search. Even if your resume has perfect content, if your resume isn’t easy to skim at a glance, it’s unlikely you’ll be called for an interview. Your content matters, but so does how you present that content. Therefore, proper resume formatting is a salient feature you don’t want to get wrong.
There are three popular formatting options for designing your resume in 2024: reverse-chronological, functional, and hybrid.
The best bet for a nursing resume would be the reverse-chronological format. This helps the recruiter see your upward career progression. If you started as an intern in a given health organization, and then moved up the career ladder to become a full-fledged nurse, your potential employer will be able to track your progression and assess your qualifications faster.
It’s important to include the relevant contact header information in the right order. If you’re a nurse, your contact header should have the following:
The contact header should be, you guessed it, at the top of the page. Good font choices are Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri, all at 12 point size. When it comes to color, remain conservative with black and white. Some resume templates can format your resume to strikingly display your contact information, just like this header:
Optimizing your resume for the Application Tracking System (ATS) increases your chances of being called for an interview. The ATS is a tool that many companies use to quickly scan resumes and weed out applicants without relying on someone to read through them first.
Most resumes aren’t designed to beat ATS, and end up being filtered out before they ever reach the recruiter. However, if you know how to properly format your resume, you’ll pass the ATS scan and make your way to a person. Here’s what you should know about the role of fonts, font size, margins, header names, logical order, skills, and page length, as far as ATS-friendly resumes are concerned:
Putting together an effective nursing resume may seem overwhelming and not worth your effort. However, putting in the extra effort now will pay off when you get an interview. And remember, you’re not doing this alone. We’re dedicated to helping you write an amazing resume by providing advice on common frustrating decisions like this:
When crafting your nursing resume, you have the option to use career objectives and summaries.
When to include a career objective in your resume:
When a summary is right for your resume:
Don’t forget to indicate relevant experience in your resume. While we wouldn’t recommend including every job you’ve had since you were 16, you can get away with adding work experience from different fields if you’re an entry-level candidate.
However, if you’re applying for a senior position, you’ll need to include at least three nursing positions on your resume, especially if you’re applying for a managerial or specialty position. For instance, a director of care management requires nine years of experience, four of which must be managerial.
Conversely, a registered nurse position may require one year of direct patient care. The responsibilities, in this case, are not very demanding. If you lack experience overall, you can include any academic projects and volunteer work that is relevant to the nursing job description.
Three examples of poor job experience bullet points for nurses:
Three examples of good job experience bullet points for nurses:
When preparing your resume, remember that no employer wants to waste time reading vague statements about your performance. Instead, they want to see supporting details. So, whenever you can, you should quantify your impact and achievements.
For instance, if you say you “served many patients daily,” a potential employer might wonder about the exact number because ‘many’ is a relative term.
Examples of how to quantify metrics:
Suppose the nursing job description asks for a training specialist who can train other nurses. In that case, you can indicate the number of training sessions you conducted per day in your previous employment.
Some of the health facilities labor under tremendous pressure. The number of patients you serve per day can help potential employers gauge whether you will cope well under pressure. So, it’s lucrative to include the number of patients you served per a specific amount of time.
It’s helpful to understand the differences between hard and soft skills to list in your resume skills section. Keep the number of skills you list in between six and 10 to avoid overwhelming the reader.
Hard skills are those tools you use to do the job, aka technical abilities that require training.
Examples of hard skills:
On the other hand, soft skills are abilities that are harder to quantify and are more personality-based.
Examples of soft skills:
When preparing your nursing resume, include all the elements that will increase your chances of getting the job. You need to indicate the following:
On the topic of licenses, you need to share your area of specialization. Specialists include registered nurses (RNs), certified registered nurse anesthetists, and clinical nurse specialists. Including your area(s) of expertise helps potential employers determine whether you’re the right candidate for the job.
Besides, including this information is easy to do and shouldn’t take up much space! Simply place certifications and licenses in a short section toward the bottom of your resume:
Most of the time, you don’t need to include projects or interests/hobbies on your resume. However, you may be able to add them depending on your level of experience and the type of role you’re seeking.
If you’re an experienced nurse, you’ve likely gained tangible experience that’s more important than undergraduate projects you’ve completed. Instead, you should highlight your key areas of experience and show your new employer how you’ll impact their business.
In the same vein, you may not need to indicate your hobbies or interests unless it’s encouraged. However, you can gain an advantage over the competition if you have strong qualifications and hobbies that match the company culture.
To help you determine whether or not to include hobbies, visit the company’s website and read the “About Us” section to gauge whether they have a unique cultural fit.
If you’re an entry-level candidate or a recent graduate, listing hobbies and projects can help you fill space and showcase your personality. However, it’s always good to review the job description to ensure these additions are relevant. Either way, keep the project and hobbies lists short and at the bottom of your resume.
Examples of hobbies/interests:
Examples of projects:
Remember to customize your resume when applying for a new job. Even if you’re only applying for specific roles, like LPN jobs, that doesn’t mean every job description for that title requires the same qualifications. There’s usually something unique to each position. Thus, for every application, make sure you tailor the following sections:
To recap, each job description comes with different skill requisites. Furthermore, remember to note keywords you can use within the body of your resume and cover letter.
As a nurse, you need to show the hiring manager that you’re observant and have an eye for detail. Remember, you’ll be working with patients and should demonstrate accuracy and precision. To ensure a flawless resume, run your document through a resume checker and have your colleagues proofread it. Don’t let typos cost you a job!
Many job seekers languish in the job market, especially considering the number of nursing graduates produced by universities each year and the fierce competition. So, you must be creative and savvy to survive the market. Happily, you’ve already taken the first steps by reading this guide, so congratulations!
We know you’ve worked hard to get this far, and we wish you all the best as you write a power-packed nursing resume and get ready for interviews in 2024!
