Let’s face it, regardless of what we’ve heard about a nursing shortage, it is still very competitive to get a great nursing job. So whether you are a new nurse grad or a seasoned nurse practitioner with years of experience, you need to position yourself as the nurse hospitals and clinics need to hire. Writing the best nurse resume will give you leverage to secure the highest paying position with the best benefits. You are looking for a job, after all.
If you’re interested in a more in-depth of finding a job as a new nurse, resume writing, cover letter writing, and interviewing tips, then please download our free writing guide for medical professionals. We also offer a wide variety of professional nurse resume templates that are easy-to-use in Word, Apple Pages, or Google Docs.
Look no further than this professional nursing resume template to make an outstanding resume that will set you apart from other nursing job applicants.
Unlike other resume templates, this one is designed specifically for nurses and RNs.
In this article, go over why you should always choose a nursing resume template over writing your own, our recommendation for the best nurse resume template, and how to optimize it to finally get your dream nursing job!
Nursing Resume Template VS Writing Your Own
When you want to create a resume, you essentially have two options.
- First, you could slog your way through Microsoft Word by starting from scratch. This first option is how most of us have been making our resumes. It is time-consuming, frustrating, and a poor waste of your time.
- Second, you could download an easy-to-use resume template that is designed specifically for nurses and other medical professionals. This method frees up many hours you would have otherwise spent formatting and getting those pesky margins just right.
When you choose the second option – the nurse resume template – you free up precious resume writing time. And when you have more writing time, you have the energy to focus on highlighting your nursing skills, illustrating your years of experience, and crafting a resume summary statement that speaks to who you are and what you can offer.
Therefore, it is always a good idea to opt for a nursing resume template instead of creating your own because it saves you time and energy.
What Nurse Resume Template Should I Choose?
Now that we’ve gone over why you should always choose a resume template over building your own, what resume template should you choose? And to be honest, there are a lot of resume template options out there.
However, we recommend this nurse resume template that is designed specifically for RNs.
We affectionately call this template, The Tina Turquoise. With a sleek and modern design that highlights your name and contact information and includes all the sections any nursing professional would need, we have seen many nurses get their dream nursing jobs within a few weeks of sending!
When you download this resume template bundle, you will receive:
- Microsoft Word files
- Mac Pages files
- Google Docs files
- 1, 2, and 3 Page Resume Templates
- Reference Page and Cover Letter Template
- US Letter & A4 sized files
- 100+ Resume Icons Package
- Free Fonts
- Easy to read instructions
- Resume Writing Guidebook
So, you are getting so much more than just a resume template. If you use this digital download correctly, you’ll never have to format another resume ever again!
Resume Format
If you’d like a more in-depth look at resume writing for nurses, please see our career blog.
With the Tina Turquoise nurse resume template, your resume format is already built out for you. Let’s go over the most important elements of our resume template format and how to incorporate your nursing skills, work history, and achievements.
Resume Summary (aka Objective Summary, aka Resume Objective)
Whatever you may call it, the resume summary section is a quick 2-3 sentence summary of who you are, your history, and most importantly, why you are perfect for the job. In essence, the resume summary is a concise elevator pitch of yourself.
We recommend that when you write this section, you take a careful look at the job description for the nursing position you are applying for. Make sure that you use the same language as the job description because this will help you stand out to ATS.
We go over what ATS is in our article about resume writing tips, just scroll down to the #4 tip.
Essentially, ATS is short for Applicant Tracking System, which is used across almost all industries, but especially in healthcare. ATS is a system for tracking and ranking potential employees based on the keywords that those applicants use throughout their application documents – cover letters and resumes. Using this system helps hiring managers filter qualified candidates from unqualified candidates.
Please keep ATS in mind when writing all of your resume sections, including the resume summary.
Bullet Points
The bullet points under your work history section are important to quickly tell the hiring manager your accomplishments, day-to-day duties, and work load. Also, since you are applying for a nursing job, it’s important to mention specifics about patient care like patient load and how you worked with patients.
In the bullet points in our resume template, we offer writing tips and examples of how you could write your bullet points out:
| WORK EXPERIENCE Director of Nursing, North San Frandiego Medical Center San Frandiego, HI | 09/1989 – Present – Manage the operations of 3000+ nursing staff and oversees patient relations – Manage business development and strategic planning of five hospitals across the West Coast – Collaborate with medical staff leaders to coordinate daily hospital activities Work with all departments to ensure they are working within budget Health Services Manager, UC San Frandisco Department of Biochemistry San Frandisco, NV | 09/1989 – 09/1989 – Add your achievements that matter the most to you and best highlight your skills – Make sure that your resume is visually clear and consistent – Use easy-to-read fonts that you use consistently throughout Registered Nurse, UC San Frandisco Department of Radiology San Frandisco, NV | 09/1989 – 09/1989 – Write a customized resume for every job opening – Carefully read the job description and tailor your resume to illustrate how you are the ideal candidate based on matching skills and experience – Double-check the dates, job titles, and names of advisors and previous employers |
Also, take the time to incorporate powerful resume action verbs in your bullet points to give depth to your skills and experiences.
White Space
Although some may believe that white space in a resume format is a waste of precious space, this couldn’t be farther from the truth. White space, also known as ‘negative space,’ in design and formatting does a few important things:
- Emphasizes certain elements
- Improves readability
- Clarifies hierarchies
- Creates a feeling of elegance
In our Tina Turquoise resume template, we made sure to incorporate enough white space so that you have control over how you present your history. We recommend that you don’t change the margins too much to reduce the amount of white space!
Nursing Skills Section
Although the nursing skills section technically should go under resume format, we find this section so important for nursing job seekers that we decided to dedicate an entire section for it. In the nursing skills section of your resume, you need to take care to incorporate important keywords from the skills required in the job description. The is really important because in order to be seen by an actual human and land a job interview, you will have to know how to play nice with ATS. So again, scan the job description for important keywords that you can incorporate into your skills section.
Soft Skills VS Hard Skills
Nursing is a very dynamic profession. Therefore, it is important to highlight both your soft skills and hard skills in your nursing resume. Although being a nurse can be highly technical, there are a lot of soft skills to provide great patient care.
Soft skills refer to skills that cannot be easily taught or quantified. Here are the top nursing soft skills for any nursing position:
- Communication
- Positive attitude
- Critical thinking
- Creative problem solving
- Empathy
- Conflict resolution
- Time management
In contrast, hard skills refer to the skills that can be easily measured and taught. Here are the top nursing hard skills you could use in your resume if they apply to you.
- Taking patient vitals
- Using specific technology
- Checking and monitoring patient vitals
- Administering medication
- Anything you learned through specialized training
- Basic urgent care and emergency care skills
Read through the job description to see what soft skills or hard skills are required for the job and incorporate those skills into your skills section.
Key Takeaways
Here are the key takeaways from this article.
- Always use a resume template because it saves you time and energy
- The best nurse resume template is this one
- Resume Formatting is important, especially these elements:
- Resume Summary
- Bullet points
- White Space
- Nursing skills section is essential. Make sure to incorporate both soft skills and hard skills
If you are an ambitious nursing professional who is looking to learn more about advancing your career, then please download our free writing guide for medical professionals. We also offer a wide variety of professional nurse resume templates that are easy-to-use in Word, Apple Pages, or Google Docs.
Good luck!
