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The Ultimate Guide to Nursing Resumes in 2024

How to write a nurse resume, nurse resume research, nursing resume readers & robots, choose a nurse resume format, nurse resume format & design, writing your nursing resume, common resume mistakes, nursing resume templates, nurse resume faqs.

Expert Reviewed by: Amanda Guarniere, NP, Founder of the Resume RX

In 2024, a vague, uninspiring nursing resume just won't cut it. Recent years have fostered growing competition for the best nursing jobs , creating a greater need for nurses to learn how to write exceptional nursing resumes. With vast opportunities and diverse requirements from various employers, every nurse must put their best foot forward to market themselves for the best positions. 

However, this ever-changing world of online applications and robotic resume readers makes it more complex for nurses to get to the first rounds of interviews. This article will help you tackle the daunting task of writing a nursing resume that stands out. We'll help you build a better nursing resume by giving you an inside look at how robotic resume readers work and providing tips on how to make your resume, things you should and shouldn't include, and provide examples and templates.

Think of your job search as your own personal marketing campaign. And the product is you! Your resume is an advertisement for your professional nursing brand. A brand is more than a logo - it’s the overall impression you give your audience. In this case, your audience is a potential employer. 

As with any advertisement, the goal of your nursing resume is to pique your audience’s interest in a limited amount of time. It’s commonly said that hiring managers will spend less than ten seconds reading your resume. And in many cases, it has to first be screened by a resume-reading robot before it reaches human hands.

So, you must carefully curate your brand for these employers. Captivate them with your professionalism, unique skillset, experience, and personality using your nursing resume. These tactics may help get your foot in the door for an interview, where you can close the deal by impressing them in person.

The first and most important step in any marketing campaign is the research phase. The more you learn about potential employers, the better you can tailor your registered nurse resume to their requirements.

Initial Employer Research for Nursing Resumes

Before you begin tailoring your resume for specific jobs, take some time to answer the following questions about each company:

• Who are they?
• What is their company culture?
• What do they struggle with as an organization?
• What qualities are they looking for in a potential candidate?
• Which of their desired qualities do you possess?

Researching Company Culture and Values

The internet has made it fairly easy to hop online and start your research right now from your mobile device. Employers' websites and social platforms will give you an inside glimpse at their culture and values.

Instead of simply reading a job posting, take a few extra steps to investigate the employer's online presence:

• Check out the company website - what does their mission statement say?
• See what they tweet about
• Investigate what photos they post on Instagram
• Learn about the articles they share on Facebook
• Check their LinkedIn - do you have any connections at the company?
• Look at their Google ratings

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Examine Required vs Preferred Nursing Qualifications

The research phase isn't just about investigating the company - you also need to understand the job description. Specifically, understanding the difference between "required" and "preferred" qualifications will help you build a tailored resume for each job:

Required Qualifications

These are just what they say - requirements. Those who do not possess these qualifications will not be considered. 

Preferred Qualifications

Skills that are desired but are not deal-breakers for the employer. You may still be considered even if you do not possess these. 

As you personalize your nursing resume to different opportunities, these qualifications will, in part, guide what you do and do not include. You should include any and all required qualifications if you want an employer to consider your candidacy. 

If you do not possess some or all of the preferred qualifications, you can apply anyway and still be in the running. However, including the ones you do possess on your tailored nursing resume is always the best practice.

Build a Master Resume

You may want a solid starting point from which you can use your research to build a dedicated resume for each position you apply for. Queue the "master resume," a comprehensive working document that highlights everything you've accomplished and every skill you've fostered as a nurse thus far. 

We recommend starting with a foundational nurse resume so that you can alter it for each role you apply to. This way, you won't be rewriting a new resume for every single position. But you'll also avoid submitting "cookie-cutter" resumes that employers won't bother looking at twice.

Use Research to Personalize Your Nursing Resume

Dale Carnegie once said that “A person’s name is, to that person, the sweetest and most important sound in any language.” Personalizing your RN resume matters, with both how you mention and address the future employer and how to include your specific qualifications that match what they are looking for.

Using your research and leveraging your professional brand and personality to target your nurse resume could lead to the interview of your dreams. Not targeting it, however, could lead you on the fast track to nowhere.

The internet revolution transformed the hiring process, impacting the entire labor market in a very short time. 15 years ago, printing your resume on off-white linen paper and hand-delivering it to employers was the status quo. But as little as five years later, doing so might only get you some perplexed looks and urges to apply online.

Technological advances will continue shaping the job market in 2024.  USC Annenberg reports that up to 55% of companies are making investments in AI recruiting measures. But even now, many employers screen online applicants using resume-reading robots. 

This section explores how these bots impact the hiring process and how to get your nursing resume past them and into a real person's hands.

What Is a Resume Reading Robot?

ATS systems are highly technical but can only do what their program says, unable to come close to human discretion. So, knowing how ATS systems work can help you write a resume that passes their screening.

Here's a brief overview of how employers use ATS software to screen nursing applicants:

1. Knockout Questions

Recruiters can use an ATS to scan for keywords or "knockout questions" like "Do you have an active Washington State Nursing License?" These functions help them swiftly eliminate unqualified candidates.

2. Disqualifying Statements

They may also configure the ATS to include “disqualifying statements.” An ATS searching for these statements will automatically reject nursing resumes with certain keywords or phrases. 

For example, an ATS screening for bachelor's-trained nurses might reject resumes that mention an associate's degree. If you have both, consider listing only your BSN.

3. Keyword Screening

Finally, recruiters may use the ATS to find resumes with exact keywords or phrases. These may include qualifications listed in the job description, degrees, or skills. They can program the ATS to reject any application that does not include their specified keywords.

How Does ATS Work?

Not all ATS systems are created equally. They vary greatly in their functionality and behavior. 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.

The results are imperfect. Some ATS systems can't differentiate between titles, such as Clinical Nurse II and Registered Nurse, or distinguish between the terms BLS and Basic Life Support. So how do you navigate these intricacies in your nursing resume?

Best Practice:   R ead the job description and use the exact wording for the qualifications listed that you possess.

If you use acronyms and abbreviations, make sure to spell out the entire word, followed by the shortened version. It would be disappointing to have all the requested qualifications but be filtered out by the ATS because you used only the acronyms when the robot was programmed for the full phrases spelled out.

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 doesn’t 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.  

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 move on to the next resume. It does what it is configured to do, nothing more and nothing less.

While ATS has streamlined the hiring process for employers, it’s also made job search extremely challenging for the job seeker. In fact, 94% of hiring professionals say that ATS has positively influenced their hiring goals, while 80% of job seekers say that their online job search is stressful.

What Other Hiring Technology Might I Encounter?

Recently, some employers have started to use artificial intelligence in a different way - during the interview process. Rather than having strict ATS filters, they offer more candidates the opportunity to interview, but there is a catch.

You don't interview with the employer but with a computer. In these one-way or “on-demand” interviews, you essentially get the opportunity to record your video response to interview questions. After you submit it, hiring managers or recruiters review the video responses before choosing the candidates for formal interviews.

Does Every Employer Use ATS?

While many employers use ATS, there are definitely employers who still rely on human resource professionals to screen resumes. In those instances, a human resources professional usually skims the resumes and invites the most qualified candidates in for an interview.

The problem here is that most employers will receive hundreds of resumes for a single opening. To get through the resumes quickly, the HR professional may resort to a simple scan of the resumes knowing that even qualified applicants may not make it. It’s simply a way to reduce the number of applicants.

In either case, the goal of the modern resume is to ‘sell’ yourself in an organized, targeted manner for a specific role. The best way to design an effective, attention-grabbing resume is by making strong assertions in the beginning followed by supporting evidence.

How to Get Past the ATS

• Target your resume to the specific position. Do this by reading job descriptions and selecting keywords noted in the descriptions - competencies, skills sets, education, and experience.
• Match individual experiences to keywords/key skill sets found within the job posting.  
• Research the employer and target the resume based on the facility's values and culture. 
• Make strong assertions within the top ⅓ of the resume.
• Follow those assertions with supporting evidence.
• Include a “ Professional Summary ” if you are an experienced Nurse.
• Only apply to roles that you match 100% of the “Required Qualifications.” 
• Use simple fonts such as Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri.
• Never use smaller than 10-point font. See Part 5 for more styling suggestions. 
• Use simple black bullet (dots) points, not special bullet symbols.
• Save your resume as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf format.
• If using an abbreviation, always spell out the words followed by the abbreviation or acronym. You never know how the abbreviation was entered into the ATS. 
• Use standard, simple section headers such as “Work History” or “Education.”
• Settings you’ve worked in 
• Patient demographics
• Policies/procedures
• EMR/EHR used
• Medications administered
• Equipment used
• Don’t use the same title as at your current employer if it is different from the title in the job description. Use the title in the job description. 
• Don’t overload your resume with keywords. Use them appropriately. Overusing keywords will flag a resume and could cause the ATS to lower your score.
• Don't forget to support the keywords you use with evidence throughout your resume.
• Do not put your contact information in the header section because ATS will not see it.
• Do not include tables because most ATS can’t read them. Other ATS can only read them if their operator programmed them to do so. 
• Do not use creative section headers such as “Where I’ve Worked” because the ATS likely doesn’t understand what that means.
• Don’t include a headshot, graphics, special fonts, photos, colored fonts, or unique bullets. 
• Do not state, “References available upon request.” It takes up too much space and is unnecessary. If employers want references, they’ll ask. 
• Don’t place skills at the bottom of the resume. Many ATS systems only scan the top ⅓ of the resume for keywords. If you have important keywords at the bottom, the ATS may not see them and could disqualify your resume. 
• Don’t use “I” statements; resumes should be written in the third person. 
• Do not rely on resume builder software. Stay in control of your registered nurse resume.

How to Spot an ATS

If you’ve ever visited a job posting and seen an “APPLY NOW” button, you’ve encountered the elusive resume-reading bot. ATS requires candidates to enter data on the front end. 

Maybe you’ve gone through the steps to create a login, complete the application and upload your resume. Perhaps you didn’t realize at the time that you were entering your information into an applicant tracking system.  

Raise your hand if you never heard back from an employer after applying online. Raise your other hand if you received an automated response “thanking” you for your interest and never heard back!

Now, keep in mind that it can be difficult to stand out when you are applying for a job online, especially when there is an ATS involved. As you consider your overall job search strategy, try to think of other ways that can increase your chances of getting a job. Don’t be afraid to ask your network connections for referrals and recommendations, or let friends and family know what type of position you are looking for and where. While your resume is absolutely important, it isn’t the only tool that can lead to you getting a job.

Prior to ever typing words onto your resume, it’s important to first decide on a resume format. There are three types of resume layouts. While we highly recommend the reverse-chronological layout for most nursing professionals, we’d encourage you to make the best choice for yourself.

Here’s a breakdown of the three most popular types of resume layouts: 

1. Reverse Chronological Nursing Resume

This layout focuses on career history and lists jobs in reverse chronological order. We recommend this type of registered nurse resume for the majority of healthcare professionals and will focus the details of this article on the format. It is best suited for:

• New nursing graduates
• Nurses with fewer than 5 roles within the past 5-7 years. 
• Travel Nurses with <10 completed assignments
• Nurses with experience in only 1-2 specialties
• Nurses applying for a similar role
• Nurses wanting to show vertical career progression 

2. Functional Nursing Resume

This nurse resume layout places emphasis on skills and deemphasizes work history. However, it does not pass the ATS test well, and hiring managers overall do not prefer it. We recommend against this layout for the majority of nursing professionals. Typically, people who use this format are: 

• Changing careers
• Have large gaps in employment
• Do have years of experience in the role in which they are applying

3. Combination Nursing Resume

This layout is a mixture of the reverse chronological and the functional resume. While it places emphasis on skill sets, abilities, and accomplishments, it also highlights applicable work history. We recommend combination resumes for nursing professionals with the following background, goals, and barriers: 

• Nurses with experience in multiple specialties and/or medical professions
• Seasoned travel nurses with >10 completed assignments
• Nurses with multiple small gaps in employment
• Nurses looking to change specialties
• Nurses interested in changing careers

Writing a nursing resume can feel overwhelming. It’s no easy task! Nowadays, nursing resumes must be able to pass through resume reading software before it even reaches a recruiter. That’s why we’ve put together THREE nurse resume templates to cater to your unique professional needs and employment situation.

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The first formatting and design consideration you should make when creating your nursing resume is how well an  ATS will read them. We recommend the following comprehensive design and formatting guidelines to appease common ATS systems:

Many experts believe you can achieve the perfect balance of text to white space in your nursing resume using the following margin settings:

• Top Margin: 1"
• Side Margins: .63"

Left alignment is standard since that’s how most people (and robots) read. You may think a justified alignment looks tidier, but it can leave uneven gaps between words and ultimately make text harder to read. 

In the nursing profession, length should not be the focus of the resume. While we recommend 1-2 pages, some nurses may have resumes with 3 (or more) pages.

Don’t stress over length too much. If the resume is slightly over the page amount by a few lines try changing the margin, font style, font size, or shortening statements. The bottom line is it should look visually appealing and should include keywords.

We recommend  Times New Roman or Arial to best utilize the functionality of the ATS. However, this is your personal preference. Take note that Times New Roman can be difficult to read if it is smaller than 11pt.

If you are striving for a resume that looks visually appealing when printed, there are great ways to achieve that without going overboard with design. For example, you could use the “small caps” feature for headings, which keeps the font the same but adds a bit more character and differentiation. Or, you could try a font pairing, using serif fonts for headers and sans serif for body text.

Important Note: Different font styles will take up different amounts of space. See how these identical statements look vastly different despite both being in 11 pt font:

Experienced Travel Nurse with 8 years experience in critical care nursing.

Throughout the resume, there should be different-sized fonts. We recommend the following for each section: 

It’s important to note that 10-point font should be the smallest size on the resume. 

While some ATS systems claim to read colors, we encourage you to simply use black. 

Special Characters

We recommend keeping the resume very simple. Basic bullet points (black dots) may be used when desired. Simple lines are acceptable as well. 

Design Features to Avoid

The following design features are best left off the resume: 

• Multiple font styles
• Special characters

As you’ve learned, ATS systems skim resumes and locate specific information in the correct order. We’d suggest using the following categories and section headers to optimize your nursing resume for ATS scoring.

Contact Information

This is the first section of the resume and does not require a title. Your name should be front and center. Don’t make the recruiter search for it. Make sure it’s the largest font on the page. While there are varying opinions on the exact placement of the name, we recommend a simple classic version in the following format:

Your name should be the first thing a recruiter, hiring manager, or ATS system sees on your nurse resume. It should share a line with your nursing credentials and be in a bold, readable, 18-22 pt font. If you go by a different name, make sure to list both in this section.

Nursing Credentials

Your nursing credentials should directly follow your first and last name on a nursing resume. The preferred order to list these in is Highest degree earned, Licensure, then National Certifications.

We've included a  credential quick reference guide below to help you fill out your resume perfectly.

The days of listing your home address on a resume are over - most employers don't need this information, and we advise against including it on your resume as a security precaution. However, this is a personal decision you can make at your own discretion.

You should never leave your location off completely because many employers have location parameters set in their ATS systems. Ensure you include your city and state in the contact information portion of your nursing resume.

Phone/Texting Number

Oh, technology! Yes, some employers will actually text their candidates. Make sure to indicate if you receive texts and whether the phone number is a cell phone or a home phone. This is a great time to make sure your voicemail message states your full name and is professional.

Email Address

It is in your best interest to ensure that you have a professional email address that does not reveal your age. Age discrimination is real, and listing your birth year or using an antiquated email service like AOL can definitely trigger it.

Your email address should include a variation of your name and some numbers if necessary. You can even make a totally separate email account and use it only for your job search.

LinkedIn Profile

If you have a LinkedIn profile definitely include it. If you don’t have a LinkedIn profile, you could be missing out on opportunities. Now is the time to create one!

In your settings, you can easily create a shortened LinkedIn URL that doesn’t have a bunch of random numbers and letters.

How Your Digital Footprint Impacts Your Nursing Job Search

Though you may not list it, you should consider your social media and online presence when you complete the contact information portion of your resume. Potential employers will likely look you up online. Many Recruiters tell us that looking a candidate up on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter is one of the first things they do. So, make sure everything you post online is what you would want an employer to see. 

Additionally, online behavior can benefit you. Do you have a nursing-related website or blog? Are you an Instagram celebrity? Maybe you created a successful YouTube channel when you were a newbie nurse. Include all this on your resume if it relates to nursing. This is all part of your unique brand!

Nursing Resume Credential Quick Reference Guide

According to the American Nurses Credentialing Center (AACN), the preferred order is Highest degree earned, Licensure, and National Certification.

Educational degrees include doctoral degrees (Ph.D., DrPH, DNS, EdD, DNP), master’s degrees (MSN, MS, MA), bachelor’s degrees (BS, BSN, BA), and associate degrees (AD, ADN).

Licensure credentials include RN, LPN, CNA, and APRN.

National certification , which is occasionally voluntary for nurses and obligatory for advanced practice nurses, is awarded through accredited certifying bodies such as the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), includes RNBC (Registered Nurse-Board Certified) and FNP-BC (Family Nurse Practitioner-Board Certified).

You may also choose to include awards and honors:

Outstanding achievements in nursing, such as FAAN (Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing).

Other certifications that recognize additional skills, such as the EMT-Basic/EMT, awarded by the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians.

Here is an example of contact information on a nursing resume that puts it all together:

Penny Lite, BSN, RN   Los Angeles, CA | Text/Call: (987) 654 - 3210 | [email protected] | www.linkedin.com/pennylitern

Professional Summary

Don’t make an employer (or ATS) search your entire resume for reasons to invite you to an interview. Tell them right off the top exactly why you are the best candidate for the role.

Every position is unique, and this is your first opportunity to optimize the resume for ATS and to also catch the employer’s eye. Spend a little time to target it and let your qualifications and accomplishments shine. 

While there is some debate about how to introduce your resume, we suggest using a professional summary as opposed to a career objective. The professional summary can be formatted in either a short paragraph or a bulleted list asserting qualifications and providing a concise career snapshot.

How to Write a Professional Summary for a Nursing Resume

Think of your resume summary as an “elevator pitch” - a quick, attention-grabbing, loaded statement that entices the reader to want to continue on. Your professional summary is unique to you and should be targeted to a specific role, just like the cover letters career counselors used to tell us about.

However, it could definitely include the following information: 

• Number of years of experience in a specialty 
• Common keywords found in nursing job descriptions e.g., excellent patient care, acute care, family education, compassionate
• Facility designations or info about facilities 
• Supervisory experience and number of subordinates
• Special certifications or awards
• Language abilities
• Soft skills such as patience, compassion, and a cooperative spirit

Nursing professional summary example: 

4+ years nursing experience with strong clinical background in critical care (CCU) and intermediate care nursing (IMCU). Proactively streamlines operations, initiates tasks, and supports the healthcare team while prioritizing excellent patient care. Champions patient and family education by providing compassionate, inclusive care that encourages self-sufficiency. Recipient of the Daisy Award. Bilingual in English and Spanish.

Nursing Skills and Areas of Expertise

List your nursing skills within the top ⅓ of the resume - Don't make the common mistake of adding them last. With the popularity of ATS, this mistake could cost you an interview. This is especially true in nursing, as the profession requires very specific skills. 

Additionally, your hard skills should be directly targeted to the role as expressed in the job description. Is the employer asking for a specific EMR that you are experienced with? List it! Are you an expert at starting IVs because of your five years of experience in the emergency room? List it!

This should not be a generic list of skills but a specific list that is as quantified as possible. It’s possible that if you are a newer nurse or are making a specialty pivot you may not have hard skills to include. In that case, it’s okay to omit this section and highlight your transferable  soft nursing skills within your job history.

While most nurses list their license titles on their resumes, it’s been our experience that they leave off a few very important details - most notably, whether the license is active and the expiration date. 

Why is this important? Including this information lets potential employers know that you are ready to start work ASAP. They don’t have to wait for the licensing process. Including your license number is optional, and you can make this decision based on your privacy comfort. The employer will likely be verifying your license online anyway (this is all public information).

If you are an advanced practice nurse, you may decide to leave off license numbers for privacy purposes, especially your DEA number or controlled substance registration number.

Here’s an example of how to list your licensure:

Registered Nurse - California, #RN00101, expires 4/17/2024.

Certifications and Credentials

This is another key section where some important details are typically missing on the nursing resumes we’ve seen. While most nurses list their credentials, it’s important to list them in a specific manner.

Don’t simply list acronyms, as some ATS systems may not be programmed to read shortened versions. Make sure to list the accrediting body, credential/certification number (where applicable), and expiration date. 

Here’s an example of how to list your certifications and credentials: 

Basic Life Support (BLS), American Heart Association, expires: 12/1/2021

Work History

Employers want to know what you can do for them, period.  Nurse recruiters we’ve talked to will zero in on this section. What are they looking for? Evidence, facts, quantifiable points - proof to support the assertions made in your resume summary.

Vague work histories are particularly frustrating to employers - especially when applicants copy and paste job descriptions. To avoid falling into those pitfalls, try incorporating these tips: 

Use simple section headers such as “Work History” or “Relevant Experience,” these are ATS friendly. “What I’ve Done” is not. 

List your experience in reverse chronological order.  If you have a lengthy employment history, you may consider only including the most recent 10-15 years of experience. This will shorten your resume and also limit the chances that you’ll encounter age discrimination. Looking at the big-picture experience from 25 years ago doesn’t necessarily speak to your recent nursing experience because employers care about what you can do for them now.

Work History Format

Adding your work history in a logical format can help your nursing resume beat the ATS and impress recruiters. We recommend using the following format for each work history segment:

1. Job Title and Specialty

This is a controversial subject, but we believe employers care more about what you’ve done than who you’ve worked for. Use the job title as it is listed in the job posting, or use a more industry-wide job title. Registered Nurse as opposed to Clinical Nurse II. 

2. Facility Name

Add the name of the facility or company you worked for after your job title. You can add this on the same line or a different line, but using the same line will optimize space.

3. Employment Dates  

These are important and can be listed in a number of ways. However, it’s been our experience that specific dates are not necessary for a resume. On an application, yes, on a resume, not so much. You can simply list the months and years (mm/yy - present).

4. Facility-Specific and Unit-Specific Information

This information is helpful and important to employers but is left off the majority of resumes we’ve seen, it includes: 

• Trauma level: level I, II, III
• Facility Designations 
• Total Hospital beds
• Total unit beds

Primary Duties and Accomplishments

This section looks best in a bulleted list of no more than six points and should include duties, noteworthy accomplishments, and achievements. It’s important to emphasize specific duties and not be too vague.

Also, try your best not to simply regurgitate basic nursing duties that would be assumed of your role. This will take up valuable space on your resume and not really tell the reader much about you !

Wondering what specifics to include? Here are a few questions to get those wheels turning:

• What illnesses, injuries, or traumas do you care for? 
• What cases do you work on? 
• What type of medications do you administer and how? 
• What therapies do you perform? 
• What equipment do you use? 
• How have you improved processes? 
• When have I been first or best?
• No. 1 achievement in each position?
• Which achievements have the most impressive numbers?
• When have I been publicly recognized?

Write Strong Nursing Resume Bullets

Wondering how to order your bullets and what to include? Try this: start with a verb leading to quantifiable data or a specific point and include a relevant duty.

Use our comprehensive tables to build compelling nursing resume bullets that make your achievements shine:

Here is a brief work history resume example for nurses that puts it all together:

Registered Nurse, Acute Care - Example Medical Center 09-19 - Present

• Supervised staff of 15 registered nurses, 8 certified nursing assistants, and 7 paramedics while multitasking excellent patient care. 
• Cared for up to 4 patients per shift with acute neurological disorders, including strokes, spinal cord injuries, and head trauma.

Education and Training

In the nursing profession, education and training are of utmost importance. If you have work experience, this section can be fairly brief.  You should list your relevant degrees in chronological order. 

There are varying opinions regarding the specific ordering of education. However, we believe that the degree or certification title should be listed first. Employers care firstly that you have the education requirement they need and secondarily where you obtained the requirement. 

We suggest the following format:  Degree or Certification Title (acronym), Institution Name 

Here’s an example: 

Bachelor's Degree in Nursing (BSN), University of Washington 

Should I Include Graduation Dates on a Nursing Resume?

You are not required to include your college or high school graduation dates on your nursing resume , as it could reveal your age. Age discrimination is the top form of employment discrimination and affects all age groups. If you graduated more than 10-15 years ago, it may be a good idea to omit the date.  But this is a personal decision you should make at your own discretion.

Should I Include My GPA on a Nursing Resume?

Including your GPA in your nursing resume is optional. If you are particularly proud of your GPA, by all means, add it! However, it is not required. If you graduated with honors that you are proud of, you can definitely include that as well. Again the resume is a unique snapshot of you!

Should I Include my Non-Nursing Degrees and Credentials?

If you possess other degrees not related to nursing, it is not necessary to include those on your nursing resume. Some second-career nurses like to list this information, especially if there has been an interesting career pivot or one that brings a lot of value to your role as a nurse. Remember, you are telling your personal, unique story, and you get to decide what to include.

How Do I Add In-Progress Advanced Education Programs?

If you are currently enrolled in higher education to advance your studies within the nursing field, that should be listed on your resume and state that the degree is pending or in progress. However, if you started a graduate degree program, never finished, and do not plan on finishing, it is unnecessary to include it on the resume. 

Should I Include my High School Education?

Nurses do not need to include their high school diplomas on their resumes. The nursing profession requires completion of higher education, and therefore, your higher degree trumps your diploma. 

Awards, Accomplishments, and Affiliations

Though this section is not required, we encourage including awards and accomplishments that are relevant to the nursing profession. These details will provide the potential employer with more proof and evidence of who you are as a nurse. 

In this section, you can include: 

• Awards and recognitions that are specific to the hospital or facility where you work, e.g. the Daisy Award, Employee of the Month, and Nursing Excellence Award
• Professional memberships and affiliations relating to nursing and/or healthcare
• Volunteer work, if it relates to nursing

We suggest the following format: Title, organization, year

Here are a couple of examples:

• Recipient, Nursing Excellence Award, Washington Medical Center
• Volunteer, American Red Cross - Haiti - 2012

Naming Your Nurse Resume Save File

One last thing, saving! Don’t just give your resume any old name! Hiring professionals sometimes receive multiple documents from candidates, and they don’t want to waste time sorting through every document to find the resume. Some prefer to organize resumes by specialty. Tell them exactly which document is your resume. 

We suggest the following format: firstlast_specialty_resume.doc

Here’s an example:

PennyLite_ICU_resume.doc

We’ve seen a lot of resumes over the years, and you might be surprised by the amount of strange information people have included on them. So, here are the top mistakes we’ve seen:

Woot! If you’ve made it this far you should have an excellent understanding of how to write a great nursing resume. We know it’s a lot of information right now, and we hope that you’ll use the information to advance your career.

For a little more help, try using our free resume templates. And when you’ve landed your next interview, check out the next part in this series, The Complete Guide to Nursing Job Interviews .

>> Download free nurse resume templates!

What should be included in a nursing resume?

• A nursing resume should include your education, experience, including clinical, work, and volunteer, any certifications you have, and skills. 

How do I write a nurse resume?

• You can use a template to fill out your nursing resume or fill out your own. 

How do I list my nursing skills on my resume?

• List skills that are in the job description or outline on the facility’s website. For instance, common nursing skills include critical thinking, teamwork, communication, team management, and high ethical standards. 

Do you put RN after your name on a resume?

• You can include "RN" or "RN, BSN"  if you have other credentials. If you haven’t passed your NCLEX yet, you can put G.N. for Graduate Nurse.

How long should a nurse's resume be?

• A nursing resume should be no longer than 1-2 pages. 

What is your greatest skill as a nurse?

• The most valuable skill you have as a nurse may depend on your exact role and specialty, but in general, communication, kindness, empathy, and critical thinking are highly valued traits as a nurse. 

How far back should a resume go?

• If you’re a recent graduate, you don’t need to go to high school, just include your college experience and degree. For experienced nurses, include all relevant experience. 

Amanda is an Ivy-league-educated nurse practitioner and career mentor who helps nurses find and land their dream jobs. She founded The Résumé Rx  in 2018 to help nurses with career and résumé strategy  Learn more about Amanda and her products at  www.theresumerx.com  and follow her on Instagram  @theresumerx.

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7 Registered Nurse (RN) Resume Examples for 2024

Registered Nurse (RN)

Best for senior and mid-level candidates

There’s plenty of room in our elegant resume template to add your professional experience while impressing recruiters with a sleek design.

Resume Builder

Like this template? Customize this resume and make it your own with the help of our Al-powered suggestions, accent colors, and modern fonts.

• RN Resume by Education
• RN Resumes by Experience
• RN Resumes by Type

Registered nurses (RN) are a profession in very high demand. In addition to a hiring rush during COVID-19, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts a 12 percent growth in demand for RNs through 2028.

Nursing is a tough enough profession in its own right. So, don’t be discouraged if you’re struggling to draft your  nurse cover letter  or  write a resume  that puts your best foot forward.

We’re here to help with seven great RN resume samples that guarantee success in the challenging world in 2024. It doesn’t matter if this is your first job out of nursing school or if you’re a seasoned vet; these resumes are a great starting place when writing or updating your own.

Registered Nurse (RN) Resume

or download as PDF

Why this resume works

• You’re undergoing a career change,
• You just finished nursing school and this is your first RN job, or
• You’re going to customize it to the  nursing job description .
• If none of those are relevant to you, skip the objective!
• Two other relatively common requirements for RN positions (though certainly not all positions) are Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) and Basic Life Support (BLS). Explicitly mention those in your resume if you have them.

RN BSN Resume

• Next, delve into outstanding performances like streamlining shifts and reducing scheduling conflicts. Also, adding measurable impact further elevates your suitability.

New Grad RN Resume

• If the activities are related to healthcare or show you in a professional, positive light and you need some help filling out your new grad RN resume , then include one or two.
• Color is one way to show some personality on your resume while still portraying professionalism. Try a strong accent color while keeping the color basic everywhere else, as seen in many of our  resume examples .
• P.S. You can catch this mistake easily when you take advantage of our  resume builder  and its AI-powered tips. 

Experienced RN Resume

• As you gain more and more experience as an RN, try your best to show a progression in responsibility and ownership on your experienced RN resume. 
• Here’s the trick: Keep a master copy of every job and a working list of job description bullet points for each. Then, pull from this master list and customize it according to the specific role for which you’re applying now.
• Two other quick things you can do to fit more content are to reduce vertical spacing and reduce page margins, which is a simple click of a button in our  resume maker .
• Hit the highlights in your resume, but you can delve further into these details when creating a cover letter .

Travel RN Resume

• Mentioning and quantifying outcomes possible through your keen eye and observation (hint: cut documentation errors by 28%) is a great way to make this attribute count.

Med Surg RN Resume

• Pay attention to the skills, qualifications, and responsibilities listed in the job description to gain ideas on what you should include in your skills section.
• RNs can work in a ton of different areas in medicine. If you’re applying to a specific job (like Med/Surg Nurse) and you have experience in that area, be sure to match your job title to that of the job description.
• White space is a commonly overlooked factor in resume design, and if it’s a concern for you, try simplifying the process by picking one of our  free resume templates .

ICU RN Resume

• Check your resume  to ensure you’re using action verbs that propel your bullet points forward and keep hiring personnel engaged.
• Another way to demonstrate impact is by quantifying it, that is, tying the outcome of your work to a number. By linking a number to your claims, proof of impact becomes clear.
• Ultimately, nursing is a profession involving people. So if you can show that you’re comfortable with the human aspects of the job (patient care, plans of care, family interactions, etc.), speak as much as possible concerning that experience in your ICU RN resume .

Related resume guides

• Physician Assistant
• Medical Assistant

The Best Resume Guide for Nurses

How to Write a Nursing Resume

Addressing required vs. preferred qualifications, types of nursing resumes.

• What Should Your Resume Include

Are you ready to earn your online nursing degree?

Whether you are a recent nursing school graduate or an experienced healthcare professional, writing a nursing resume that accurately and persuasively depicts your education, skills, and characteristics is the first step to getting an interview.

Since this important document is the initial impression you will make on a hiring manager, you must craft a resume that creatively addresses the employer’s requirements and highlights your professional achievements, helping you stand out from other qualified applicants.

The nursing field heavily relies on extensive practical training, certification and registered nurse licensure , and specialization, so it is important that your resume highlights your qualifications. Even personal qualities should emphasize practical applications (e.g., how your compassionate nature enables you to connect with patients or how your bilingualism helps you accommodate diverse populations as a nurse ).

Being specific can make a resume exceptional. Through this guide, you can learn how to tailor your nursing resume to an employer’s mission and job description.

Do Your Research

Learning how to write a nursing resume requires dedicated research that allows you to target information to your potential employer. On top of carefully going through the job description, look at the employer’s website and social media platforms to figure out their culture and values.

Some healthcare facilities emphasize education and certification, while others want nurses with more clinical experience. Find out what they want in an ideal employee and tailor your application accordingly. It is equally important to consider your needs and if the job fits your standards for professional advancement and personal happiness.

Write Down Your Key Points

Format your resume.

For more details and examples, see our tips for writing a nursing resume .

Addressing a potential employer’s specifications is the main objective in writing a nursing resume. But before writing, it’s important to identify required versus preferred job qualifications.

Because this profession necessitates advanced academic and professional training in addition to licensure and nursing clinical experience , job postings for nurses include extensive requirements that are either required or preferred criteria. Required reflects qualifications a candidate must possess to warrant consideration, while preferred is typically a wishlist of additional skills, experiences, and character traits that benefit the position but are not mandatory.

An effective resume details how an applicant fulfills required qualifications and as many of the preferred qualifications as possible without crowding the page and rendering the information inaccessible. Nurses can take advantage of a cover letter to elaborate and fill in additional qualifications with anecdotal evidence and data, if possible.

While some healthcare facilities outright reject applicants who do not possess all their required qualifications, most see the job listing as a guideline and not a checklist. Even if a nurse does not meet all the standards, they should still apply if they can impress during the interview.

Popular Online RN-to-BSN Programs

Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.

Ultimately, a resume represents the individual person, their academic standing, professional achievements, personal qualities, and career potential. How do you write a nursing resume that gets all these points across? Choose the proper formatting.

There are three main resume formats, each with their unique structure and distinct purpose: the reverse chronological, the functional, and the combination. Nurses need to use the resume style that best suits their particular skill set and the position they are vying for.

Reverse Chronological

The most commonly used resume type, this form benefits nurses who possess extensive and relevant professional experience. Here, past employment is the most important element, with positions listed in reverse chronological order. However, this reliable resume structure comes with drawbacks, as it can highlight gaps in employment, frequent job changes, and the candidate’s age.

Also referred to as the skill-based resume, this format highlights awards, accomplishments, and training, making it preferable for recent college graduates and other professionals who lack relevant work history. One of the major drawbacks of the functional resume is that it can expose a candidate’s limited experience in the nursing field.

Combination

The most complex resume type, the combination format eschews the either-or structure of the previous forms, enabling professionals to showcase relevant professional experience and skills and training. Experienced nurses, especially those with clinical specializations, benefit most from this resume form. However, versatility also renders it more difficult to construct, as the large amount of information can confuse readers if not conveyed clearly.

What Should I Include on a Nursing Resume?

Education and training.

The American Nurses Credentialing Center provides a standardized way of listing all your credentials. The preferred sectional order is education, licensure, state designations, certification, awards and honors, and additional certification. Start with your highest degree, then work backwards.

You do not need to include high school information or graduation dates. If you are currently working on a degree, state that completion is pending or in progress. Whether you provide GPA information is up to you. Generally, it is only worthwhile if you graduated in the last three years and earned a 3.5 or better.

Display professional nursing experience in reverse chronological order, starting with your current or most recent position. If you have gaps in employment, prepare to address them. Consider listing facility- and unit-specific information, including total beds, trauma levels, and patient demographics. Specificity when writing a nursing resume elevates it from good to great.

For example, while both positions require a great deal of stamina, a nursing home nurse does not fulfill the same responsibilities as an urgent care nurse. By framing professional experience through a personal lens, your resume stands out among the rest.

Out of all the resume sections, this one benefits from keyword use the most. You can usually find out what skills an employer wants by analyzing the job description. Tailor this section to meet those needs. Work in categories, such as basic care, technical, administrative, and computer skills.

Be strategic and specific. Instead of “defibrillation insertions,” list “automatic implantable cardioverter-defibrillator insertions.” Finally, do not neglect soft skills for nurses , like reliability and adaptability or special skills like a foreign or sign language. These details can set you apart from other applicants.

Licensure and Certifications

As a registered nurse, you’ve earned a state-specific nursing license . And because the profession consists of diverse and advanced nursing specializations , you also may have pursued certification exams and postdegree training in areas like gerontology or cardiac-vascular nursing. List them in their entirety and avoid acronyms.

For licenses, use this order: license type, licensing state/body, license name and number, nurse license compact , and expiration date. For certifications, start with the name, followed by conferring organization, expiration, and certification number, if applicable.

Awards, Accomplishments, and Affiliations

Celebrate all relevant achievements, but do it honestly and in a way that reflects your ongoing commitment to nursing and capacity for high performance in the new position. These achievements may include academic recognition; official awards; and competitive scholarships, fellowships, grants, and internships. Also display membership in professional organizations, such as the American Nurses Association or Sigma Theta Tau, the international honor society of nursing.

As an experienced professional, you may find that you possess an abundance of awards and accomplishments. In these instances, narrow them to the most prestigious, current, and applicable to the job you are applying for.

Volunteer Work

Unpaid positions let prospective employers know you understand the importance of community education, outreach, and engagement. Only include volunteer work that relates to nursing or the health services field. As always, when writing a nursing resume, furnish specific details that showcase your skills in action (e.g., you managed a 10-person team to canvas a neighborhood about HIV/AIDS prevention).

What Should I Put on My Nursing Resume If I Don’t Have Any Experience?

For recent college graduates, professionals switching careers, and those with limited clinical experience, learning how to write a resume for a nursing job may seem overwhelming. You can make up for inexperience by using a functional hybrid resume format that places academic credentials, qualifications, and skills above the employment section. Additionally, you have completed extensive training as a student and perhaps continuing education, so highlight state licensure, optional certification, and organizational membership to further bolster your resume.

Start with a personal introduction that states more than just the obvious (that you want the job), but also speaks to your professional values as a nurse and the training and education you possess. The lack of contextualization can represent a major pitfall of the functional resume. Avoid this by making your skills applicable to actual work scenarios that relate to a nurse’s duties.

Hospital managers seek employees who display skills, such as critical thinking, safe practice, customer service, and interpersonal communication. As a nursing student, you completed hours of clinical training. Use these experiences to show employers your skills in action, framing them in terms of achievements.

Finally, take full advantage of volunteer positions, giving them their own section, to show that you not only display the practical qualifications for the job, but also care passionately about the well-being of patients and healthcare equitability for all communities.

What Is a Resume-Reading Robot/ATS?

To deal with a flood of candidates, many employers use an applicant tracking system (ATS). Like a hiring manager quickly scanning for standouts among the group, the ATS ranks and categorizes nursing resumes by how many designated keywords they contain. This automated process reduces an employer’s manual workload and theoretically vets resumes with a large amount of filler content, an indication of unqualified applicants.

However, the ATS may also unnecessarily reject qualified nurses as part of automated software processes. To avoid this unfair outcome, learning how to write a nurse resume requires working within and overcoming the ATS framework.

Tips for Outsmarting an ATS

• Simple Headers: To accommodate the ATS, use header terms common enough to show up in keyword searches, such as “skills,” “professional experience,” and “education.” Do not neglect to include city, state, and, if living outside the U.S., country, because employers generally vet candidates by location.
• Clean Format: Engaging visuals are useless if they make your resume difficult to read. Use a simple format that contains no graphics or unusual fonts because the standard ATS cannot process such information, resulting in an automatic rejection. In general, Verdana, Tahoma, and Arial fonts at the 10.5 point size or above are acceptable.
• Keywords/Phrases: You can usually glean relevant keywords from the job description. If not, conduct some research into phrases commonly found in the nursing field, such as “patient care,” “clinical research,” and “community outreach.” Avoid abbreviations in all cases.
• Industry-Specific Jargon: ATS keywords reveal a candidate’s relevant skills and experiences. The more specific a keyword is to the particular position you are applying for, the better. When in doubt, use the hiring employer’s phrases first, industry standards second, and your current or previous employer’s terminology third.
• Choose the nursing resume type that best highlights your experience, personality, and qualifications.
• Be specific; specificity helps your resume stand out from the rest.
• Format your resume using headers and keywords that make it easy to read — whether by a person or an applicant tracking system.

Whether you’re looking to get your pre-licensure degree or taking the next step in your career, the education you need could be more affordable than you think. Find the right nursing program for you.

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16 Tips To Prepare Your Nursing Resume For Applicant Tracking Systems

We’ve spoken to countless nurses and other healthcare professionals who have expressed dismay with the now ubiquitous applicant tracking systems utilized by healthcare organizations for nursing jobs and other healthcare jobs. The most common complaint is that the applicant tracking system is like a black hole. The nurse fills out an online application, uploads their nursing resume, and then never hears a word from the employer.

We always inquire if the nurse made an attempt to optimize their nursing resume for the resume parser and the applicant tracking system. Understandably, most nurses have no idea what this means. In this blog post, we’ll discuss the importance of optimizing your resume for applicant tracking systems and offer some tips for doing so.

First, let’s take a look at what’s not happening. Many nurses that we speak with are under the impression that resumes are reviewed by a human when submitted for a nursing job. This used to be the case, but it’s not anymore. In the past, recruiters, human resource representatives, and hiring managers would personally review nursing resumes as they were received. This process was time-consuming, unorganized, and therefore expensive. And the larger the organization, the more difficult it was to manage.

Applicant Tracking Systems: Why They Exist and How They Work

Enter the applicant tracking system (ATS). An applicant tracking system is a software application designed to handle the recruitment process. By automating and centralizing the recruitment process, the applicant tracking system offers greater efficiency and “trackability” than traditional methods. A unique data file is created in a central database for each applicant. Each applicant’s relevant job data is stored in their unique data file. The ATS allows this data to be conveniently searched and matched to job openings within the system. The ATS may also provide tools for recruiters to track applicants through each step of the hiring process. And the most advanced ATS’s will interface with an enterprise’s entire Human Resources Information System which can include functions like onboarding, payroll and scheduling.

Important Configuration Issues for Healthcare Professionals

Like all highly complex software packages, applicant tracking systems have various features that can be activated or remain inactive. Whether or not such features are activated is up to the software owner, which in this case is the healthcare employer. We point this out because this article is devoted to providing recommendations to help you optimize your resume for an applicant tracking system’s “Resume Parser” feature. And this is a feature that a healthcare employer may or may not be using. However, you’ll really have no way of knowing if they’re using these features, so it’s always best to assume they are.

Resume Parsers

For the purpose of this discussion, the most important components of the ATS are the resume parser and the candidate-matching/ranking feature. Resume parsers are software applications. There are many different resume parsers on the market and they all work in different ways. However, their primary function is to “conceptualize” or “understand” what your uploaded resume is saying, and then apply this understanding to accomplish various tasks within the ATS.

You see, your nursing resume is easy enough for a human to read, but to a computer it’s just a series of letters, numbers and punctuation. In its current form, your resume is an unstructured set of data. By contrast, the ATS is a structured database. Therefore, one of the resume parser’s primary functions is to understand the data in your resume well enough to import the data into the appropriate database fields in the ATS where it can be put to use. Sometimes, the resume parser is capable of parsing an uploaded resume and filling out parts of the on-line job application for the applicant.

This is a difficult task. Everyone’s resume is different. There are sometimes thousands of different ways to say the same thing. Take dates for example. There are tens or even hundreds of different ways to display this seemingly simple piece of information. The parser needs to understand that what it’s reading is a date in order to properly import it to the ATS as a date. And obviously, it gets much more complicated than this. The parser needs to understand that it’s reading your education history versus your work history, and so on, in order to properly import the information in to the ATS.

Candidate Ranking Features

Once the resume data is imported to the ATS, the candidate-matching/ranking feature comes in to play. This feature allows the employer to enter the desired criteria being sought for a job opening and then query the database of applicants to find candidates who meet the criteria. The results are ranked from highest to lowest in terms of how well the candidates’ data match the desired criteria.

It’s important to note that the resume parser is involved in the matching/ranking process. The parser is once again used to “conceptualize” the data. For example, let’s say the employer is looking to hire a nurse with 5+ years of ICU experience. One of the nurses who applies for the job has 10 years of ICU experience that ended 7 years ago and has been working as a Case Manager ever since. Another nurse has 6 years of recent ICU experience. The parser will understand this difference and rank the more recent experience higher despite the fact that there is less experience overall.

Similarly, resume parsing software can also assign different weights to different job requirements. For example, a job might call for a “Licenses Registered Nurse with 5 years experience working with post-heart patients”. The term “Licensed Registered Nurse” can be weighted lower than “5 years experience working with post-heart patients” in order to improve the candidate matching results provided by the ATS.

So, what does all of this mean for you? Below is a list of suggestions and recommendations for nurses and healthcare professionals. Please bear in mind that there are many different ATS’s and resume parsers on the market. They all work differently. So these suggestions and recommendations should be viewed as guidelines or best practices rather than steadfast principles.

BluePipes: Professional Networking and Career Management Tools for Healthcare Professionals

Nursing Resume Suggestions/Recommendations for Applicant Tracking Systems

What file type should you use for your nursing resume.

Many people say that you should use a Microsoft Word resume only, or that using a Word doc is the best way to ensure that your resume is read properly by resume parsers. This is fair enough. However, resume parsing companies are adamant that their software can read many file types with the same accuracy rates.

For example AIRS SourcePoint accepts .doc, .pdf, .txt, and .xls files. Burning Glass accepts 60 file types including all of the aforementioned and many more. Taleo also accepts multiple file types. These are three of the most widely used resume parsers on the market and they are dominant in the healthcare industry. However, there are file types that you shouldn’t ever use. These include JPEG, TIFF, and GIF. These are picture files, and resume parsers can’t read pictures. Also, don’t use zip files and don’t password protect your files. The ATS won’t know what to do with them.

Moreover, you may come across many ATS’s that don’t even allow attachments. Instead, they just provide you with an opportunity to copy and paste your resume and/or cover letter into the fields they provide. In this case, you can obviously use any format that allows you to copy and paste. You can then play around with the formatting once your data is in the system to ensure it’s formatted as good as it can be given the limitations of the system.

How should you format your nursing resume?

KEEP IT SIMPLE!!! Don’t use headers or footers. Don’t add pictures or videos. Don’t use fancy characters or fonts. Don’t use charts or graphs. Don’t use fancy spacing techniques to make your resume look pretty. Remember, this isn’t a glossy sales brochure to catch a human’s attention; it’s just data for a computer to understand. All of this stuff will confuse or crash the system (commonly referred to as “choke” the system). For example, when listing your work history, simply stack the information neatly as follows:

Employer Name

Start Date-End Date

Details/Job Duties/Description

Finally, I recommend a traditional reverse chronological resume format versus a functional format. The reverse chronological format is easier for the parser to understand which results in fewer import errors.

How to display your contact information

Again, don’t do anything fancy with your contact information. For example, don’t add spaces between the numbers in your telephone number, or use anything other than a dash to separate the telephone number sequence. Also, be sure to include your physical address. Many candidates leave it off because they’ve heard that the ranking system can possibly be programmed to give a higher ranking to candidates who are closer to the employer. This may be true, but leaving your address off may result in the lowest possible ranking.

Use of keywords and phrases

Use Keywords, Phrases, and Jargon from the job posting in your resume where they are applicable and relevant to your employment history. This is extremely important. The ranking criteria are often based off of the exact verbiage in the job post.  It’s not a bad idea to also search the company’s web site for references to the job’s qualifications, and the company’s generally desired characteristics. Finally, if a job posting is vague, then you can search for other jobs posted by the same company, or even similar jobs posted by other companies, in an effort to identify relevant keywords and phrases.

However, you shouldn’t just list out the Keywords and Phrases. There was a time when resume parsers weren’t smart enough to notice the difference between a random list of keywords/phrases and keywords/phrases used in context. As a result, candidates could just list out the Keywords and Phrases and trick the system into giving them a higher ranking. Now, resume parsers are smart enough to understand the context in which the Keywords and Phrases are being used. Therefore, you should make sure that you use them in the context of explaining job duties.

You should also list as many keywords and phrases as possible where applicable in your most recent job description. This is because the parser will give more weight in the ranking process to recent experience than past experience. From there, be sure to sprinkle the keywords and phrases throughout your resume where applicable.

Finally, you should try to incorporate both acronyms and full names when possible. For example, use “Intensive Care Unit – ICU”, and note the dash with spaces to ensure that the parser reads these as separate words. You never know if the system is set to look for the full terminology, the acronym, or both. And because the healthcare industry uses acronyms more than most industries, it’s best to play it safe.

Consider verbiage authority

When determining which words to use, refer to the hiring employer first, industry standards second, and your current/old employer last. For example, if the hiring employer is calling it “Intensive Care Unit” and your current employer is calling it the “Critical Care Unit” but you can tell from the job description that they mean the same thing, then you should discuss your experience with Intensive Care Unit patients. Additionally, you should never use terminology that is applicable only to your previous employers. For example, don’t use “4West” to describe the unit you worked in. Nobody outside that hospital knows what “4West” means and that includes the resume parser. Finally, if your current/previous employer uses terminology that isn’t standard, then you should use the standard terminology instead of the employer specific terminology, or at least use them both to ensure the resume parser understands the data. For example, if your employer calls it “High Risk Labor”, then we recommend calling it Labor and Delivery because that’s the industry standard. You could then include that the unit took high risk patients in the job description.

Parsers, Grammar, and Spelling

Grammar is important! It’s part of the logic that resume parsers use to understand what they’re reading. So if letters aren’t capitalized or periods are left off, then it could throw the parser out of whack.

Spelling is obvious. The system is programmed to recognize words. If a word is misspelled, then it won’t be recognized. In addition, your resume may be viewed by a live person at some point in the future, so you want to make sure it’s professional.

Use official names of schools and employers

Use the official names of your employers and schools. The systems can be programmed to recognize certain institutions for higher ranking. In addition, these details will make it easier for recruiters to work with your data in the event that you’re selected for review.

Use common resume headings

Use “Work Experience” or “Work History” as the heading for your work experience, not “Career Achievements”…use “Education”, not “Academic Achievements”. The system may not recognize these creative headings and they may throw the system out of whack.

Use a Summary, not an Objective

We’re firm believers that you should include a Summary to introduce your resume. You can review our recommendations for nursing resume summaries. However, we’ve heard that they can cause trouble for the resume parsers. The worst that can happen is that the parser will misunderstand them as work history and import the data to the incorrect field in the ATS. Therefore, if you use a summary, then it’s important to reiterate the key points in context throughout your resume to ensure that they’re adequately accounted for. On a side-note, we recommend against a “Career Objective.” Your objective should be to get the job you’re applying for…otherwise, why are you applying for it?

How long should your nursing resume be?

Don’t worry so much about the length of your resume . It’s most important to ensure that you’ve included everything of relevance to the job posting and the job in general. Length was important when people were required to review thousands of resumes. The ATS doesn’t care.

Rules for Using the Applicant Tracking System

Upload your resume.

Always upload your resume as opposed to copying and pasting into the ATS. Copying and pasting from the program that contains your resume to the internet browser can result in formatting issues that aren’t visible. These formatting issues can cause problems for the resume parser.

Thoroughly complete the online application

Fill in the information requested in the online application even if it’s optional and even if it’s already included in your resume. The online application information is sometimes separate from the information that’s imported from your resume. Furthermore, the online application information can possibly be used as the primary filter with the resume upload information as the secondary filter.

Always Enter a referral source

Let the ATS know where you heard about the job opening especially if you were referred by an employee. This information can be used in the ranking algorithm.

Rules for applying to multiple positions with the same employer

It’s fine to apply for multiple positions with the same organization as long as you have the qualifications. You can even submit different resumes tailored to the specific jobs you’re applying for. Just be sure that there are no discrepancies between the resumes. Employers will see all the resumes and pick up on the discrepancies.

While it’s fine to apply to multiple positions, most employers frown upon candidates who submit multiple resumes for the same position.

Stay on top of the communication

Be sure to check your spam folder often when you’re in the process of applying for jobs. Many email services will recognize automatically generated email responses as spam, and ATS’s often send automatic email responses. It’s best to mark these messages as safe. Respond to all requests for communication from potential employers within 24 hours.

What to do when rejected

If you receive a rejection notice, do not reapply using a different email address. Most ATS’s use multiple identifiers and will recognize that it’s the same person applying for the job. Instead, if you think you’re qualified, try to contact someone in the hiring/HR department and ask if it’s possible to upload a new resume or speak with someone about your interest in the job.

With all this in mind, there are many reasons a candidate’s resume can get rejected, many of which are outside the candidate’s control. For example, the employer may fill the position from within, the position maybe closed due to unforeseen circumstances, or the employer may receive more highly qualified candidates among other reasons.

However, being mindful of applicant tracking systems and tailoring your resume accordingly can greatly enhance your chances of moving up in the rankings. Remember though, your information is going to be viewed at some point. Therefore, make sure that your resume is legitimate and cohesive. Also, make sure that your resume includes the details that hiring managers are interested in, but might not be in the job posting. We recommend that healthcare professionals read our blog post “ The Top 10 Details to Include on a Nurse Resume ” to get an idea of what hiring managers in healthcare are looking for. Despite the title, it’s applicable to all healthcare professionals.

Related posts:

• How Long Should My Nursing Resume Be? Our article discussing the top 10 details to include on...
• How to Write the Best Nursing Cover Letter Do you know that a well-crafted nursing cover letter is...
• Nursing Resume Objective or Summary? Nurses often wonder if they should include an objective or...

Very helpful article (and comments), thank you. This cleared up a lot of overarching questions I had. I’d appreciate your recommendations on some smaller details.

> Summary: I typically use a job title that best describes me as the title for this section, instead of putting “Summary.” Would the ATS be able to understand this? Would a hybrid like “Summary – Job Title” work better, or is it best just to stick with “Summary”?

> Lines: I’ve read that the use of horizontal lines across pages to separate sections can cause ATS to reject or misread a resume. However I’ve also seen ATS resume samples that use these lines. What is the current rule of thumb for this? (To clarify, I am referring to solid lines created by typing a series of hyphens and pressing Enter, not object lines.)

> Bullet points: Many articles say to replace bullet points with standard keyboard characters like hyphens/asterisks. Does this still hold true, or is it safe to use list bullets (not special character bullets)?

Hey Carolyn,

Thanks for the inquiry. I believe current resume parsing software can handle all of the use cases you’ve described. That said, I’d recommend using the term Summary. I don’t think you’ll have a problem with lines as described and bullet point are definitely okay to use in your resume. I hope this helps!

Hello, Kyle. This information is very helpful, thank you! I was spending a silly amount of time trying to decide the best way to handle relatively trivial items like bullet points and lines.

This is probably one of the best articles I have read on ATS. Thank you. It would still be really helpful to actually post an example format of a resume that will be read by ATS. In that context I have a few questions:

1. If I use a summary, should it I left justify the title, then type the summary just below – like this? SUMMARY (should I bold Summary and do I use a colon at the end of my title?) Nurse Practitioner with 15 years of experience…….

2. Skills: (should I call them skills?, should I list them or use tabs – I now know not to use a table) Critical Care Patient Education or

Critical Care Patient Education

3. Where does Education go – should it be at the top only if I am still in school and once I graduate go to the bottom of the page?

4. What about “Additional Information” like interests, awards, do I still include these if they are relevant?

Thanks so much, Angelica. We’re glad to hear the information is useful. Yes, keeping the headings simple is a great way to go. So, left justifying Summary and making it bold is good. You can leave the colon off though.

Skills can be listed in your summary as: Critical Care, Patient Education, etc. However, you can also frame them within “accomplishment statements”. You can review our article on details to include in your nursing resume .

I’d recommend against listing them in columns as it takes up too much space.

Education can go at the bottom as long as you have completed and have applicable work history to display.

Interests are not really relevant. However, you can include them at the end if you’d like. Awards can be given their own heading, or you can place them under the applicable work history or education entries where they were received.

We hope this helps!

What about tenses? Say a job description says “supervise”, should you include supervise, supervised, or supervising? Do tenses matter for ATS?

It’s always best to use the exact verbiage from the job posting when possible. However, most ATS’s should be able to recognize tenses. They are pretty adept at conceptualizing the content.

Should I stake my information like this: Employer Name Job Title Start Date-End Date Details/Job Duties/Description

Currently I have it like this to look nice on a physical paper:

Employer Name (justified left); Start Date-End Date (justified right) Job Title (justified left) Details/Job Duties/Description (justified left)

Hey Pamela,

While we recommend “stacking” those details for best results, the ATS should be able to understand your current format. So you should be fine leaving it the way it is.

If you are putting your resume in PDF format, does formatting and spacing still matter? Will it know you have a header or too many spaces or whatnot if it’s all in PDF?

Thanks for the question, stephyee. Applicant tracking systems are pretty sophisticated these days. They conceptualize the content of your resume regardless of headers or spacing. However, if you’re referring to the system’s ability to transfer your data into an alternative resume format, then yes, sometimes spacing and headings can affect this. However, it shouldn’t affect the system’s ability to properly search and rank your application. We hope this helps.

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Resume Tips for New Nurse Graduates without Job Experience

Are you graduating from nursing school soon? If so, you need to start working on your resume to submit to potential employers. Many new nurses do not have any job experience in the health care field and are afraid this may hurt their chances for employment.

In this article, I am going to give you some resume tips on how to make your resume look the best even if you don’t have job experience. In addition, I am going to give you some tricks on how to highlight certain categories of your resume to it look just as desirable as a nurse with experience.

In this article you will learn about:

• Importance of a resume and cover letter template design
• Categories to include on your resume and how to highlight them
• Importance of a cover letter
• Letters of recommendation

Video on Resume Tips for New Nurse with No Job Experience

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Resume Tips for New Nurses

Make or buy a professional looking resume! The design of your resume is very important. You want to make sure it is pleasing to the eye, has color, organized neatly, and unique to you.

You can create your own resume template or purchase a nice design that stands out among the competition. Resume templates are relatively inexpensive. Here are some resume templates with matching cover letters and a job guide that will walk you through the job hunting process.

Buy digital copy here

Buy physical copy here ( affiliate ad )

Watch for misspelling or errors! Always proof-read and get someone to look at it as well. It is so embarrassing to misspell something on a resume and you don’t want to look unprofessional.

Include categories that accent your skills! In your resume, you can include whatever categories you want, but make sure you include categories that highlight your skills. For instances, did you graduate in the top of your class or have a high GPA. If so, include this information. In addition, list any volunteer time in a healthcare setting, job shadowing, or summer jobs (this will show you have held down a job).

Lastly (which I think is the most important for new nurses without job experience), is to list your clinical time under “experience”. This will show you have experience because you do. Here is an example using one of our templates:

Sell yourself in your cover letter! The cover letter is your sales pitch to get the manager to look at your resume and call you for an interview…so make it good. I suggest writing 1-2 sentences highlighting your extensive clinical experience during nursing school. Be sure to include any complex tasks you performed and specialties you had clinicals. Then, end with a sentence about being highly motivated and willing to learn.

Include a letter of recommendation from a clinical instructor! This should be a clinical instructor or a registered nurse you worked with during clinicals. Ask them to highlight your work ethic, nursing skills, patient interactions, and attitude during clinicals.

Still in nursing school? If you are still a student, I suggest trying to get a PRN (as needed) job as a nursing assistant. This will allow you to build your resume and possibly easily transition to a registered nurse position when you are ready to graduate. This happened to me and I had an easy time getting a job after nursing school.

Don’t get discouraged! Many employers are looking for new nurses and some even prefer new nurses over nurses with experience. I’ve talked with several nurse managers who said they preferred new nurses because they don’t have bad habits formed yet and can be trained easier. Plus, they tend to bring a fresh “pair of eyes” to the unit and help see things others don’t see.

You may be interested in: “ Nursing Resume Templates and Job Guide by Nurse Sarah ”

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