Nursing Resume Tips
Our website provides nurses with step-by-step guidance, expert tips, and customizable templates to create a standout resume that highlights their skills, experience, and achievements in the healthcare field.
Creating a professional resume is crucial for advancing your nursing career. Follow this comprehensive, step-by-step guide to build a standout nursing resume:
Open Microsoft Word or Google Docs and start with a blank document.
Contact Information: At the top, center your name in a larger font. Below your name, align left and list your contact information:
Phone number
Professional email address
LinkedIn profile (optional)
City and State
Professional Summary: Below your contact info, title this section "Professional Summary" and provide a brief 2-3 sentence statement about your nursing qualifications and career goals. This summary should highlight your key strengths and what you aim to achieve in your nursing career.
Licenses and Certifications: Title the next section "Licenses and Certifications". List your nursing license details, including the state of issuance and license number, as well as any additional relevant certifications (e.g., BLS, ACLS, PALS).
Education: Title this section "Education". List your nursing degree(s) along with the school name, city, state, and graduation date. Include any honors or relevant coursework that enhances your qualifications.
Clinical Experience: Title the next section "Clinical Experience". For each role, include:
The job title
Employer name
Dates of employment
Bullet points describing duties, accomplishments, and skills demonstrated. Focus on quantifiable achievements and specific responsibilities to showcase your experience and impact.
Skills: Title this section "Skills". List skills relevant to nursing, including any technical skills (e.g., EMR systems, patient care technology) and soft skills (e.g., communication, teamwork, critical thinking). Be specific and include a mix of both to show your well-rounded capabilities.
Professional Affiliations: Lastly, title this section "Professional Affiliations". List any nursing organizations you are a member of, such as the American Nurses Association (ANA) or specialty nursing associations, and describe your role or involvement within them.
Formatting Tips:
Keep the formatting clean and consistent. Use bullet points for easy readability, and ensure there is enough white space to avoid a cluttered look.
Stick to traditional fonts like Times New Roman or Arial in 11 or 12-point size.
Use bold or italic fonts sparingly to highlight sections or key information.
Final Steps:
Once you've created the resume in Word, save it as both a Word document (.docx) and a PDF to ensure formatting remains intact when submitting electronically.
Review and proofread your resume to ensure there are no errors or inconsistencies.
Consider asking a mentor or colleague to review your resume and provide feedback.
By following these steps, you can create a polished and professional nursing resume that effectively highlights your qualifications and experiences, helping you stand out in the competitive healthcare job market.