Top 30 Skills For A Nurse Resume
When the HR manager is going through your resume, theyre looking to see if you have the right skills for the job.
Imagine this: youre the best nurse in the world and your resume is impeccable. BUT, you still get rejected, because you didnt mention that you know the exact procedures or techniques that the health centre needs.
Not sure which skills to pick?
Here are some of the most common nurse skills:
Templates For New Nursing Grad Resumes
Using a template for your nursing resume as a new grad can set you up for success when it comes to your job applications. When you write your nursing resume, opt for a reverse-chronological format that allows you to highlight your notable achievements as they relate to the job you’re applying for. Here are a few templates to consider when writing a nursing resume as a new grad:
Should You Add Projects Interests Or Hobbies To Your Nursing 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:
- Work experience bullets
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.
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Case Manager Resume Template
As you see from our nursing resume templates, case manager resumes should have increased emphasis on administration, organizational, and planning abilities. One of the biggest responsibilities that case managers have is handling the long-term care of patients. You need to possess critical thinking, evaluation, and analysis skills to review patients’ status and treatments to make predictions for their future needs. Do not forget to include all the skills and professional qualities that general nursing positions require as well. The best way to think about this is for you to shift focus from general skills to administrative abilities. You should still include both in your resume, but change the priority of the document.
Nurse Resume Education Example
Some occupations don’t put too much emphasis on formal credentials but the medical and other healthcare professions absolutely do. Not only is high-caliber training a vital requirement for nurses, but it could have a bearing on your resume. If you’re applying for a nurse job in the U.S., the education section has a HIGHER- than-usual priority in your nurse resume.
The American Nurses Credentialing Center has developed recommendations regarding the order of your formal credentials and where they are placed in relation to other sections.
- If you’re an experienced nursing professional, the education section can go either above or below your employment history. This can be at your discretion, or according to local standards or employer preference.
- If you’re a new nursing graduatewith no work experience, place your education section first, right below the summary.
Are you using the resume.io builder to create your nurse resume? It’s easy to list your licenses or similar credentials in the “school” field of the education section. Just as you would normally identify the college or other learning institutions, indicate the jurisdiction/organization that issued your nursing licenses or designations.
Where does the information go, and in what order? The ANCC recommends the following priority for listing credentials nurse resumes:
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What Are The Elements Of A Nurse Resume
Different nurse resumes contain different elements depending on their target recipient. Even so, most of them contain major elements including a persons objectives and professional summary. Resumes generally begin with your name and address. These templates also contain educational background that is often related to training in nursing. You can also see Doctor Resume Templates.
This is followed by your clinical experience, which identifies the places that you have worked in before. They also contain your other relevant experience. Some templates include ones community involvement, volunteer experience, honors, and awards. These tend to prove your interest in your profession. Often, creative resumes end with a list of referees who could be called upon to provide some information about you.
What Is A Resume
The resume-reading robot is actually a program known as Applicant Tracking Software .
It is highly technical and individualized, but not nearly as smart as a human. It does what it has been programmed to do.
An employer may enter in specific keywords for the ATS to scan for. They may choose to enter knockout questions to quickly eliminate unqualified candidates. Such as, Do you have an active Washington State Nursing License?
They could even choose to include disqualifying statements to automatically screen candidates out. For example, if an ATS is programmed to screen out all resumes lacking a Bachelors Degree, anyone with an Associates Degree will automatically be rejected. If you have both, consider listing only your BSN.
Recruiters may also configure the ATS to deliver only resumes that include exact keywords.
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How To Make A Nurse Resume Template In Word
Nursing professionals play a vital role in medical facilities. And as the population rises and access to healthcare services expand, demand for nurses continues to grow. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there will be a 12 percent growth in the employment of registered nurses from 2018 to 2028. You might be thinking, “I don’t have to worry about applying and providing a well-written resume since employers are clamoring to hire me.” Well, you’re wrong. The demand for nurses might be high, but keep in mind that hundreds of registered nurses are also added every year. To get noticed, follow the guide below on how to come up with a strong resume in Word.
Implement Relevant Action Verbs
Finally, using action verbs throughout your entry-level nurse resume is another great tactic to impress and grab the hiring managers attention.
Action verbs convey initiative and show leadership skills, whereas phrases such as responsible for or duties include are vague and not particularly impressive to read.
Prospective nurses will want to use action verbs such as provided, assessed and evaluated to better display their nursing abilities.
Heres an example of great action verbs to use on your entry-level nurse resume:
| Administered |
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Other Resume Sections You Can Include
At this point, youre probably ready to wrap up your resume and call it a day.
After all, weve covered all the essential sections, right?
Well, not exactly. See, the #1 goal of your resume is to stand out.
And if your resume looks exactly the same as everyone elses, thats where you fail.
If youre already a good match for the job in terms of skills and experiences, these sections could end up being the deciding factor that gets you hired .
Include A Section Showing The Professional Organizations You Belong To
If youre worried you still dont have enough qualifications on your resume, consider adding an additional section for your honors or any of your professional affiliations.
There are numerous professional organizations for nurses, and listing them on your resume is a good way to make yourself look more accomplished and possibly get an immediate in with the hiring manager .
Some examples of popular nursing affiliations include:
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Choosing The Best Resume Format For Nurses
In most instances, the most suitable format for structuring a nurse resume will be reverse chronological. This generally works well for job seekers in any occupation whose work history follows a linear path in a series of employee positions.In that resume section, progressive job experience and accomplishments are organized by employer / workplace in reverse order from most recent to earliest dates.
An alternative resume format may be appropriate for nurses who are new to the workforce or changing careers. Those with a more varied occupational background or especially impressive education might also look at the alternative functional resume format. Its also an option for some self-employed professionals with an assignment or contract-based background.
Write An Engaging Professional Summary
A professional summary comes right after the header and introduces your qualifications to your potential employer. Its a short paragraph with three to four sentences but must be impactful and engaging to encourage the recruiter to read the rest of the resume. Highlight your top accomplishments, experience, and skills that set you apart.
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Labor And Delivery Nurse
Assisted the physician/midwife with all aspects of pregnancy and childbirth. Monitored fetal heartbeat and the length and strength of contractions, as well as administered medication, coaching the mother and assisting with any complications that arise.
- Performed tests on the newborn and guide the mother on all aspects of recovery and infant care.
- Provided family support and teaching to expectant mothers regarding childbirth during prenatal classes.
What Are The Shortcomings Of Ats
The problem is that ATS does not read a resume as a human would – it simply collects data. It doesnt care about aesthetics either. It is programmed by an employer to search for the right keywords, in the right order, on the right part of the resume.
Most ATS systems are programmed to score resumes according to keywords. However, they can be configured to search and score resumes based on various other criteria.
Also, the system can get confused pretty easily. For example, if the font is too fancy or if it encounters unrecognizable symbols, it may score the resume as unqualified and moves on to the next resume. It does what it is configured to do, nothing more and nothing less.
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Top Skills For Your Nursing Resume
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:
Get noticed! Look for keywords within a job description:
- Many companies use ATS to scan resumes for keywords from the job description, so it’s in your best interest to include the right keywords.
- Include keywords in both your nursing cover letter and resume.
- Choosing keywords from the job description helps you customize your resume and thus, makes you more appealing to the hiring manager.
- Employing the right keywords makes your resume relevant and noticeable, giving you an edge over the competition.
Confidently Land Your Next Nursing Gig
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 2022!
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Detail Your Professional Background In The Experience Section
Nursing jobs are different and may not have the same requirements. However, most hiring managers take some time on this section of your resume to see what youve previously done. Use our resume examples to get some ideas on what you should add to this section.
Structure your work history properly to make it easy for the recruiter to read. Highlight two to three previous jobs and describe your primary job duties. Add the name of the workplace, your job title, and the employment dates at each workplace.
List three to five job duties but dont leave it at that. Competition for jobs in the nursing field is stiff, and your goal should always be to stand out. Quantify your achievements at the workplace with figures and facts that show the recruiter the value youll bring to the new position.
If youre writing a nursing student resume, you may not have much experience. Detail your internships and volunteer work and highlight the transferable skills that will be useful in the nursing position.
How To Format A Nurse Resume
The first step to creating your nurse resume is to decide on a format.
Just like any other career, hiring managers want specific information to jump out at them when reviewing resumes. So nurses need to make sure their resumes are formatted properly.
In 2022, the most common resume format remains the reverse-chronological format. So this is your best bet.
Of course, there are other resume formats you can try
- Functional Resume– This format is a lot more about your skills as opposed to professional experience. Its good if you dont have a lot of experience, are transferring to a new industry, or have gaps in your employment history.
- Combination Resume – As the name suggests, a combination resume is a mix between Functional and Reverse-Chronological. Meaning, it focuses both on skills AND work experience. You can use a combination resume if you have a lot of work experience or changing industries.
Once youve decided on the format, you need to get your resume layout right.
Heres what we recommend
- – One-inch margins on all sides
- Font – Pick a font that stands out, but not too much. Do: Ubuntu, Roboto, etc. Dont: Comic Sans
- Font Size – Use a font size of 11-12pt for normal text and 14-16pt for headers
- Line Spacing – Use 1.0 or 1.15 line spacing
- Resume Length – Dont go over the 1-page limit. Having trouble fitting everything into one page? Check out these one-page resume templates.
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Nursing Resume Examples That Worked In 2022
Nurses are the foundation of our healthcare system. They work day in and day out to care for their patients, and often, they spend more time with their charges than the doctor. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses are a vital part of the healthcare industry.
But although the demand for nurses is growing, getting a job in the nursing industry isn’t easy, especially if you’re just starting.
How are you supposed to write a resume that makes employers immediately want to hire you, not to mention an amazing nursing cover letter that details your accomplishments?
We understand that getting into the nursing field is tough, and we’re here to help! We’ve 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’re at in your nursing career, we have a nursing resume example to help you build or update your resume. These 14 nursing resume samples can inspire and guide you to write a stunning resume that gets you your next nursing job in 2022!
Why this resume works
Resume Templates For New Nursing Grads
The Indeed Editorial Team comprises a diverse and talented team of writers, researchers and subject matter experts equipped with Indeed’s data and insights to deliver useful tips to help guide your career journey.
As a newly graduated nursing student, it’s important to create a resume that highlights your academic achievements and clinical experience. Knowing what to include and how to properly format your resume as a new nursing grad can help you stand out to hiring managers and make them want to hire you over other candidates. In this article, we explain the importance of a new grad nursing resume template, list what to include, provide you with three templates and list tips to help you create a strong nursing grad resume.
Related:How to Write a New Grad Nursing Resume
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How To Align Your Resume With The Job Description
While the need for nurses is expected to grow, hiring managers may still sort through dozens of resumes to find the best fit. The right mix of skills and experience is critical when hiring, so its important to make sure your resume reflects the most important requirements for each potential job.
The best way to tailor your resume for each job posting is by including the skills and experiences that are most important to a prospective employer. How do you tell which requirements are the most important? In general, the information posted first is the most critical, along with any information that might be repeated. To make sure you locate the right skills and use the best keywords, compare your resume to the job posting.