how to write a resume for healthcare job

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5 Healthcare Resume Examples Landing Interviews in 2024

Healthcare Resume

• Healthcare Resumes by Experience
• Healthcare Resumes by Role
• Write Your Healthcare Resume

You navigate the intricate landscape of healthcare, managing its various moving parts with precision and compassion. Whether your focus is on recruitment, finances, negotiations, or compliance, your work is vital to the organization.

Your oversight of healthcare operations is second to none, but do you know how to express that in a one-page resume or write an effective cover letter ?

Don’t worry—we do. We’ve analyzed hundreds of resumes across the healthcare industry to help you land your next job. Check out our healthcare resume examples to advance in your career!

or download as PDF

Why this resume works

• Moreover, considering you will be dealing with patients, integrating soft skills such as adept organizational abilities and a genuine passion for aiding individuals will further enrich your candidacy.

Healthcare Professional Resume

• A single resume page should be enough to cover at most three job experiences. Now, summarize each role with four bullet points spotlighting your responsibilities and tangible outcomes. Better yet, recount when you capitalized on tools like Doxy.me, Cerner, Phreesia, and AthenaCollector to streamline tasks.

Healthcare Management Resume

• An excellent example would be Logan coordinating training for 11 healthcare professionals, advocating using Tableau dashboards for real-time performance monitoring (which raised patient rating scores), and establishing telemedicine infrastructure that boosted remote patient access.

Healthcare Administration Resume

• In whatever you did, including training staff, managing records, scheduling, and streamlining workflows, the end goal should always be for the good of the patient. Proving your track record in this is a sure way to capture a recruiter’s attention.

Healthcare Recruiter Resume

• Additionally, prove the processes involved in hiring the creme de la creme of healthcare workers. What is your track record in onboarding? How did you ensure diversity in your hiring? Ensure all these are reflected in your healthcare recruiter resume as Isabella did.

Related resume examples

• Medical Assistant
• Case Manager
• Human Resources (HR)
• Administrative Assistant

Adapt Your Healthcare Resume to Match the Needs of the Role

Through your experience in the healthcare industry, whether in the business, administration, or recruitment side of things, you’ve accumulated a unique set of trade-specific skills.

Given the specialized nature of the healthcare industry, it’s best to keep your skills section focused on the unique aspects of your job. This includes software proficiencies and industry know-how that help you thrive on the job. Your time management and leadership are vital, but you can let them shine through your work experience instead.

Focus on your expertise in navigating software for EHR management, medical billing, and scheduling. Always make sure to get into the specifics. If you’re a healthcare recruiter, dive into your familiarity with ATS, and platforms like LinkedIn and Glassdoor.

Need some ideas?

15 popular healthcare skills

• NextGen Healthcare
• Medtronic Carelink
• Athenahealth
• 3M CodeFinder
• HealthShare
• LinkedIn Recruiter
• EHR Management
• Medical Billing
• Contract Negotiation
• Managing Stakeholders

Your healthcare work experience bullet points 

Your work hinges on using metrics to analyze candidates, financial data, and compliance reports. In much the same way, recruiters rely on concrete statistics to help them gain insight into your potential impact. 

To really impress them, make sure to include some exciting metrics to back up your achievements. For instance, rather than just stating that you were responsible for streamlining billing processes, say that you utilized medical billing software to reduce error occurrences by 24%.

If you can find a useful metric for each career highlight that you mention, you’ll really harness the power of data to impress your potential employer.

• Underscore the effectiveness of your cross-departmental work, highlighting the resulting reductions in patient data retrieval times.
• Emphasize the increases in candidate pool sizes and application numbers your recruitment campaigns and methods led to.
• Showcase your commitment by citing the high compliance rates you maintained, and increases to compliance rates your work led to.
• Highlight improvements to accuracy rates and reduction in medical and work coordination errors resulting from your quality improvement initiatives.

See what we mean?

• Championed the integration of SimMan simulation technology in training programs, enhancing staff preparedness and reducing medical errors by 54%
• Collaborated with multidisciplinary teams, utilizing Epic and HealthShare systems, which led to a 46% reduction in patient data retrieval time
• Leveraged LinkedIn Recruiter to expand the candidate pool by 43%, leading to an increase in the diversity of healthcare professionals hired
• Used Healthicity Compliance Manager software, improving compliance rates by 66% across all departments

9 active verbs to start your healthcare work experience bullet points

• Collaborated
• Spearheaded
• Implemented
• Streamlined

3 Tips for Writing an Entry-Level Healthcare Resume

• If you have relevant certifications such as Certified Medical Manager (CMM) or Certified Personnel Consultant (CPC), highlight them on your resume. While they’re rarely mandatory, they communicate your specialized knowledge of the healthcare industry.
• Showing off your mastery of compliance can help set you apart from other entry-level candidates. Highlight your knowledge of relevant compliance frameworks, such as HIPAA for patient data, JCAHO standards for healthcare facilities, or specific regulations for recruiting medical professionals.
• In your skills section, focus on those emphasized in each job description that you’re proficient in. For instance, if you’re applying to a healthcare administrator role that emphasizes EHR management proficiency, make sure you put it at the top of your skills list.

3 Tips for Writing a Healthcare Resume if You Have Several Years of Experience

• If you have experience leading a team, mentoring new employees, or providing training, dive into the details and emphasize the results. For instance, talk about how you led a team of five healthcare billing professionals, achieving a 28% increase in reporting accuracy.
• It’s vital to show how patient care has been central to your approach. Discuss initiatives or systems you’ve spearheaded that had a positive impact, such as the patient appointment system overhaul you led, which resulted in a 23% increase in patient satisfaction scores. Spend time in your healthcare cover letter detailing the methods to your madness!
• Recruiters look for experienced healthcare professionals who can help save money for their organizations. Detail how your work has reduced operational costs or bolstered the efficiency of certain processes. For instance, dive into the monthly supply and management audits that you implemented, which led to a 29% decrease in expenses.

To make your resume stand out, study each job description and identify the skills and responsibilities they emphasize. Highlight these skills in your resume. For example, in a healthcare executive role, focus on your ability to lead teams and manage stakeholders.

If you’re transitioning from a different role within the healthcare industry, or a different industry entirely, focus on the relevant transferable skills. For instance, if you have a background in customer service, highlight how you could apply the skills you gained to better handle patient inquiries as a healthcare administrator.

Discuss instances where you’ve had to adapt and excel in changing environments. As an example, talk about how at the start of the pandemic, you streamlined patient scheduling and billing in order to maximize appointment slots.

• • Developed comprehensive copy for various direct mail campaigns and e-detail aids, achieving a 20% increase in engagement for our top healthcare clients.
• • Led the copywriting team in brainstorming and executing campaign strategies, resulting in a 35% increase in client retention rate over two years.
• • Conducted extensive medical research to ensure factual accuracy and adherence to FDA regulations, contributing to a 40% reduction in revision cycles.
• • Collaborated with an Art Director to present our campaigns visually, enhancing the storytelling aspect of our client's brand which directly impacted campaign recall by 25%.
• • Authored a series of award-winning journal ads, elevating the agency's profile in the healthcare advertising industry.
• • Oversaw copy for digital banner ads which led to a 15% uptick in online user engagement across several product launches.
• • Crafted educational materials for sales teams, significantly enhancing product knowledge and resulted in a 10% increase in sales performance.
• • Engaged in detailed competitor analysis to inform and evolve strategic direction in campaign development.
• • Maintained brand voice consistency across all marketing materials, supporting a cohesive and impactful brand narrative.
• • Contributed to campaign concepts that improved client market share by 8% within the first year.
• • Participated in creating promotional brochures, aiding in a 12% increase in campaign response rates.
• • Facilitated team meetings to ensure alignment with creative direction and campaign goals.
• • Assisted in copywriting for a new business pitch that successfully acquired a major healthcare client.

13 Healthcare Resume Examples & Guide for 2024

Your healthcare resume must clearly showcase your certifications and specialized training. These qualifications are critical gates that the hiring staff will need to tick off. Equally important, your healthcare resume needs to reflect your hands-on experience in the field. Be succinct and precise about the roles you've held and the impact you've made.

All resume examples in this guide

Case Manager

Clinical Director

Clinical Trial Manager

Healthcare Project Manager

Occupational Therapist

Physician Assistant

Public Health

Radiologic Technologist

Respiratory Therapist

Speech Pathologist

Surgical Tech

Resume guide.

Resume Format Tips

Resume Experience

Skills on Resume

Education & Certifications

Resume Summary Tips

Additional Resume Sections

Key Takeaways

One significant resume challenge you may face in the competitive field of healthcare is effectively conveying the breadth of your medical knowledge and patient care experience. Our comprehensive guide will provide you with the tools and examples you need to craft a standout resume that highlights your unique qualifications and sets you apart in the healthcare industry.

• [Job title] resume samples that got people hired at top companies.
• How to perfect the look-and-feel of your resume layout.
• How to showcase your achievements and skills through various resume sections.
• How you could hint to recruiters why your resume is the ideal profile for the job.

If the healthcare resume isn't the right one for you, take a look at other related guides we have:

• Pediatric Dentist Resume Example
• Agency Nurse Resume Example
• CVS Pharmacist Resume Example
• Nursery Worker Resume Example
• Nicu Nurse Resume Example
• Phlebotomist Resume Example
• ICU Nurse Resume Example
• Physician Assistant Resume Example
• Dental Nurse Resume Example
• Child Care Resume Example

Designing your healthcare resume format to catch recruiters' eyes

Your healthcare resume will be assessed on a couple of criteria, one of which is the actual presentation.

Is your resume legible and organized? Does it follow a smooth flow?

Or have you presented recruiters with a chaotic document that includes everything you've ever done in your career?

Unless specified otherwise, there are four best practices to help maintain your resume format consistency.

• The top one third of your healthcare resume should definitely include a header, so that recruiters can easily contact you and scan your professional portfolio (or LinkedIn profile).
• Within the experience section, list your most recent (and relevant) role first, followed up with the rest of your career history in a reverse-chronological resume format .
• Always submit your resume as a PDF file to sustain its layout. There are some rare exceptions where companies may ask you to forward your resume in Word or another format.
• If you are applying for a more senior role and have over a decade of applicable work experience (that will impress recruiters), then your healthcare resume can be two pages long. Otherwise, your resume shouldn't be longer than a single page.

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The more time and effort you've put into obtaining the relevant certificate, the closer to the top it should be listed. This is especially important for more senior roles and if the company you're applying for is more forward-facing.

The key to your healthcare job-winning resume - present your expertise with these sections:

• A header to make your resume more scannable
• Snapshot of who you are as a professional with your resume soft skills, achievements, and summary or objective
• Job advert keywords in the skills section of your resume
• Resume experience quantifying your past job successes with metrics
• A relevant education, certification, and technical sills section to provide background to your technological/software capabilities

What recruiters want to see on your resume:

• Clinical skills and medical certifications related to the position, like BLS/ACLS, RN, LPN, etc.
• Hands-on patient care experience and familiarity with patient-centric care.
• Knowledge of healthcare laws and regulations, including HIPAA compliance.
• Proficiency in electronic health record (EHR) systems, such as Epic or Cerner.
• Demonstration of soft skills like communication, empathy, and teamwork in a healthcare setting.

Quick formula for writing your healthcare resume experience section

Have you ever wondered why recruiters care about your healthcare expertise?

For starters, your past roles show that you've obtained the relevant on-the job training and expertise that'd be useful for the role.

What is more, the resume work experience section isn't just your work history , but:

• shows what you're capable of achieving based on your past success;
• proves your skills with (oftentimes, tangible) achievements;
• highlights the unique value of what it's like to work with you.

To ensure your resume work experience section is as effective as possible, follow this formula:

• start each bullet with a powerful, action verb , followed up by your responsibilities, and your workplace success.

The more details you can include - that are relevant to the job and linked with your skill set - the more likely you are to catch recruiters' attention.

Additionally, you can also scan the job advert for key requirements or buzzwords , which you can quantify across your experience section.

Not sure what we mean by this? Take inspiration from the healthcare resume experience sections below:

• Implemented a patient-centered care program that reduced average hospital stay by 1.5 days, increasing patient turnover and satisfaction.
• Directed a team of 15 healthcare professionals, improving department efficiency by 20% through strategic staffing and training initiatives.
• Collaborated with IT to develop a new electronic health record system, improving data accuracy and accessibility, leading to a 30% reduction in administrative errors.
• Managed a budget of $10M for clinical operations, achieving a cost reduction of 8% while maintaining high-quality patient services.
• Negotiated partnerships with local organizations to provide community health outreach, increasing patient engagement by 25%.
• Launched a multidisciplinary project to streamline patient flow through ER, reducing wait times by 35%.
• Oversaw the adoption of a new digital health platform, resulting in enhanced patient monitoring and a 20% improvement in treatment adherence.
• Initiated a staff development program that increased employee retention rates by 15% over a two-year period.
• Led a task force in response to a seasonal influenza outbreak, effectively containing the virus and preventing a community-wide health crisis.
• Executed quality improvement protocols that raised the hospital's patient satisfaction scores from 85% to 93% within three years.
• Supervised a large-scale EHR implementation across multiple departments, integrating systems and facilitating a smoother workflow.
• Developed and maintained strategic partnerships with key pharmaceutical companies, ensuring a stable supply of essential medications.
• Led a cross-functional team to develop a telemedicine service that increased rural patient engagement by 40%.
• Optimized resource allocation for a network of health clinics, delivering a 10% improvement in service delivery efficiencies.
• Implemented targeted community health programs that reduced the incidence of chronic diseases by 18% in underserved areas.
• Designed and executed a new staff training curriculum that resulted in a 95% staff certification rate within the first year.
• Successfully lobbied for state funding, securing a $5M grant for expanding mental health services to marginalized communities.
• Coordinated a hospital-wide initiative to improve the standard of care for diabetic patients, reducing complications by 22%.
• Facilitated a hospital merger by aligning clinical services across 3 facilities, improving patient access to specialized care.
• Redesigned patient intake procedures, cutting administrative processing time by 30% and enhancing the patient experience.
• Championed a sustainability project that decreased the hospital’s carbon footprint by 12% within two years.
• Directed the implementation of a new oncology department, overseeing the successful accreditation process and initial operation phase.
• Pioneered a pain management protocol that reduced the need for opioid prescriptions by 25% among post-surgical patients.
• Enhanced the hospital's competitive edge by leading the development of a cutting-edge cardiac rehabilitation program.

Quantifying impact on your resume

• Include the number of patients you've managed or treated to demonstrate your capacity for handling workload and patient care.
• List specific percentages to show improvement in patient outcomes due to your interventions or care plans.
• Mention the size of the team you've led or collaborated with to highlight your leadership and teamwork skills.
• Quantify the amount of cost savings you've contributed to through efficient resource management or process optimization.
• Specify the number of medical procedures you've performed or assisted with to showcase your practical experience and proficiency.
• Document any increases in clinic or department efficiency by citing percentage or time reduction figures.
• Detail the number of training sessions or workshops you've conducted to emphasize your role in education and staff development.
• Present the volume of medical records or data you've accurately managed to establish your attention to detail and organizational skills.

Action verbs for your healthcare resume

What if you don't have any experience?

There are two very common scenarios about candidates with less experience. They are either:

• Fresh out of college in search of a healthcare role
• Transferring over from a completely different field

Both of these types of candidates still have a shot at landing their first job in the industry.

All they need to do about the experience section of their healthcare resume is:

• Consider their strengths - would the outcomes of their previous roles or niche skill sets impress recruiters? Feature those towards the top of your resume
• Exclude any and all irrelevant experience items - remember that at the end of the day, you're telling a story that aims to align with the ideal candidate for the healthcare job
• Win recruiters over with personality - perhaps your ambition, dreams, and diligence would make you the perfect fit for the healthcare role. Dedicate resume space to detail your personality traits by showcasing how they've helped you succeed in past roles
• Tailor your experience to specific job requirements - ensure your healthcare resume answers the advert in the best way possible.

Recommended reads:

• How To List Certifications On A Resume (Examples Included)
• How to List GPA on Your Resume

If you happen to have plenty of certificates, select the ones that are most applicable and sought-after across the industry. Organize them by relevance to the role you're applying for.

The heart and soul of your healthcare resume: hard skills and soft skills

If you read between the lines of the healthcare role you're applying for, you'll discover that all requirements are linked with candidates' hard skills and soft skills.

What do those skills have to do with your application?

Hard or technical skills are the ones that hint at your aptitude with particular technologies. They are easy to quantify via your professional experience or various certifications.

Meanwhile, your soft skills are more difficult to assess as they are personality traits, you've gained thanks to working in different environments/teams/organizations.

Your healthcare resume skills section is the perfect opportunity to shine a light on both types of skills by:

• Dedicating a technical skills section to list up to six technologies you're apt at.
• Focusing a strengths section on your achievements, thanks to using particular people skills or technologies.
• Including a healthy balance of hard and soft skills in the skills section to answer key job requirements.
• Creating a language skills section with your proficiency level - to hint at an abundance of soft skills you've obtained, thanks to your dedication to learning a particular language.

Within the next section of this guide, stay tuned for some of the most trending hard skills and soft skills across the industry.

Top skills for your healthcare resume:

Medical Knowledge

Patient Care

Diagnostics

Clinical Procedures

Healthcare Compliance

Electronic Health Records (EHR) Proficiency

Pharmacology

Medical Coding

Emergency Response

Infection Control

Communication

Attention to Detail

Problem-Solving

Time Management

Stress Management

Adaptability

Interpersonal Skills

Cultural Competency

Discover the perfect certification and education to list on your healthcare resume

Value the insights your resume education section offers. It can shed light on various proficiencies and experiences tailored for the job.

• Add only college or university degrees, stating the institution and duration.
• If you're nearing the end of your degree, note your graduation date.
• Weigh the pros and cons of including unrelated degrees - it might not be your best choice with so little space on your resume.
• Talk about your educational achievements if they amplify your relevant experience.

There are so many certificates you can list on your resume .

Just which ones should make the cut?

• List your prominent higher education degree in a separate box, alongside the name of the institute you've obtained it from and your graduation dates
• Curate only relevant certificates that support your expertise, hard skills, and soft skills
• Certificates that are more niche (and rare) within the industry could be listed closer to the top. Also, this space could be dedicated to more recent certifications you've attained
• Add a description to your certificates or education, only if you deem this could further enhance your chances of showcasing your unique skill set

When listing your certificates, remember that it isn't a case of "the more, the merrier", but rather "the more applicable they are to the industry, the better".

Recruiters have hinted that these are some of the most in-demand certificates for healthcare roles across the industry:

The top 5 certifications for your healthcare resume:

• Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) - National Healthcareer Association (NHA)
• Basic Life Support (BLS) - American Heart Association (AHA)
• Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) - National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists (NBCRNA)
• Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) - American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA)
• Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) - American Heart Association (AHA)

Mention specific courses or projects that are pertinent to the job you're applying for.

• How to List Expected Graduation Date on Your Resume
• Perfecting the Education Section on Your Resume

Should you write a resume summary or an objective?

No need to research social media or ask ChatGPT to find out if the summary or objective is right for your healthcare resume.

• Experienced candidates always tend to go for resume summaries. The summary is a three to five sentence long paragraph that narrates your career highlights and aligns your experience to the role. In it you can add your top skills and career achievements that are most impressive.
• Junior professionals or those making a career change, should write a resume objective. These shouldn't be longer than five sentences and should detail your career goals . Basically, how you see yourself growing in the current position and how would your experience or skill set could help out your potential employers.

Think of both the resume summary and objective as your opportunity to put your best foot forward - from the get go - answering job requirements with skills.

Use the below real-world healthcare professional statements as inspiration for writing your resume summary or objective.

Resume summaries for a healthcare job

• Seasoned Registered Nurse with over 12 years of experience in fast-paced hospital environments, including critical care and emergency services. Known for delivering compassionate care, optimizing patient outcomes, and leading successful collaborative healthcare team efforts. Spearheaded the integration of a patient-centered electronic health record system that improved care coordination and patient satisfaction by 30%.
• Dynamic Biotechnology Research Scientist transitioning to the healthcare industry with a profound understanding of molecular biology and a record of success in genome analysis. Highly skilled in data interpretation and presenting complex research findings to diverse audiences. Recipient of the Innovator Award in Biotech Research for breakthroughs in genetically-targeted therapies.
• Accomplished IT Project Manager with a decade of experience overseeing complex digital infrastructure projects seeking to leverage technology expertise into healthcare management. Proven ability to foster multidisciplinary teamwork and drive software implementation projects that enhance operational efficiency, with a noteworthy accomplishment in reducing system downtime by 40% for a Fortune 500 company.
• Marketing professional pivoting to the healthcare sector, bringing a robust background in developing customer-centric strategies and a track record of executing campaigns that increased market share by 25%. Adept at utilizing analytics to drive decision-making and passionate about contributing to health promotion and patient education initiatives.
• Eager to embark on a fulfilling career in healthcare, armed with a recent Bachelor's degree in Health Sciences and a determination to make a significant difference in community health outcomes. Keen to apply academic knowledge and an objective to bridge the gap between healthcare services and underserved populations through effective program development.
• Recent graduate with a Master's in Public Health, seeking to apply theoretical knowledge and strong analytical skills to a healthcare setting. Objective to enhance public health policies and contribute to research efforts aimed at improving quality of care and fostering health equity across various communities.

Miscellaneous healthcare resume sections for a more personalized approach

Your healthcare resume can reflect even more upon your personality and best qualities - that is if you decide on including a couple of additional resume sections to support your application.

Some of the best-accepted industry-wide choices include the:

• Resume projects - getting into the outcomes of your most important work, so far;
• Languages on your resume - detailing your proficiency level;
• Special recognitions - dedicated to your most prominent industry awards;
• Hobbies and interests - defining how you spend your free time.

Key takeaways

• The layout of your resume should take into consideration your professional background while integrating vital sections and design elements;
• Highlight your most pertinent achievements for the role all through different sections;
• Be very specific when selecting your certifications, hard skills, and soft skills to showcase the best of your talents;
• Include within the top one-third of your healthcare resume a header and summary to help recruiters understand your experience and allocate your contact details. A skills box is optional, but it will help you align your expertise with the role;
• Detail the full extent of your professional experience with specific bullets that focus on tasks, actions, and outcomes.

Healthcare resume examples

Explore additional healthcare resume samples and guides and see what works for your level of experience or role.

Looking to build your own Healthcare resume?

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Healthcare Resume Examples & Writing Guide for 2024

Embarking on a journey to pen the perfect healthcare cover letter ? You're in the right place! With our expert-curated tips, real-life examples, and professional samples, we're about to turn this sometimes intimidating task into a walk in the park.

To make your resume compelling to employers, you must focus on creating a well-organized and thoughtful resume that showcases your qualifications as a healthcare provider. 

In this guide, we will cover crucial components of your resume to pay attention to, including tips for tailoring each section for the job you are applying for. Keep reading to learn:

• How to choose the right resume format for your healthcare experience level
• How to write a healthcare-specific resume summary
• Which key healthcare skills to select for inclusion on your resume
• What details to include in your work experience descriptions
• How and when to create a dedicated certifications section
• Where to find the best job search resources for healthcare professionals

1. Choose the right resume format for your healthcare experience level

There are many different types of positions within healthcare – and the position you are applying for effects which resume format will best suit your needs. 

These positions include:

•     Medical Doctors and Assistants •    Mental Health Professionals •    Nurses •     Pharmacy Technicians •    Physical Therapists •    Dentists •    Veterinarians

As for resumes, there are two main formats you can choose between for a standard resume: reverse-chronological and functional. 

• Reverse-chronological resumes are well-suited for experienced job candidates who have enough relevant work history to fill out a large, main section on the resume. This is also the most common type of resume format, so employers will have an easier time navigating this format visually and textually. 
• Functional resumes take the emphasis off work experience and place it instead on skills, education, certifications, and any other sections a resume may have. This format is sometimes preferred by recent college graduates who may have unpaid internship experience, but few formal jobs to showcase. 

Pro tip : For highly experienced healthcare professionals, consider a CV-style resume. CV stands for Curriculum Vitae and is a long-form resume with multiple pages. If you are applying for a high-level healthcare position, such as an executive, a CV will give you a greater opportunity to list all of your qualifications – including research and publications. 

Use artificial intelligence to create your resume — FAST!

2. write a summary of your healthcare qualifications.

Grab attention with a strong health care resume summary or objective statement  at the top of the document. In the healthcare field, recruiters often receive a flood of resumes for each position. They spend just a few seconds scanning each one.

Your resume summary acts as a concise introduction that grabs their attention right from the start. It allows you to highlight your key qualifications, relevant experience, and the value you bring to the table. Crafting a compelling summary helps you stand out among the sea of applicants and ensures that your resume is given the attention it deserves.

Incorrect healthcare resume summary example

"Healthcare professional with many years of experience working in medical administration and office management. Strong understanding of medical terminology and excellent communication skills."

What's wrong with this example? Though there are some good details included here, such as the candidate’s experience as a medical administrator, this summary lacks specificity. For this type of summary, you want to highlight your best accomplishments and qualifications to help your resume stand out from your competition’s. 

Corrected healthcare resume summary example

"Driven healthcare professional with more than 5 years of experience in medical administration and office management. Highly knowledgeable in managing patient records, medical billing, and hospital expenses. Implemented a new patient scheduling system that boosted patient retention by 20% in previous position." 

Why is this better? In this example, the candidate provides specific details regarding their years of experience and the types of responsibilities they held. Additionally, they include a notable achievement of boosting patient retention – thus, highlighting the value they can bring to a new employer. 

3. Select key healthcare skills to include on your resume

The skills  you include on your resume will ultimately depend on what position in healthcare you are applying for. 

Job descriptions are often rich with keywords and skills that the employer wants from applicants. Finding and including these on your resume will not only help you impress employers but will show that you have a close attention to detail as well. 

Best hard skills to include on a healthcare resume

• CPR & First Aid
• HIPAA Knowledge
• Customer Billing
• Patient Record Management
• Quality Assurance
• Medical Budgeting
• Outbound/Inbound Calling
• Urgent Care
• Pharmaceutical Sales

Best soft skills to include on a healthcare resume

• Communication 
• Positivity 
• Active Listening
• Compassion & Empathy
• Emotional Support
• Conflict & Stress Management
• Time Management 
• Work Ethic 
• Professionalism
• Attention to Detail 

Find out your resume score!

4. Include specific and quantifiable details in your work experience section 

As you write out your work experience section, it is crucial to include as many of your achievements and key responsibilities as possible. 

You don’t want your work experience descriptions to come across as too bland or ordinary. Using action verbs to emphasize your participation in previous jobs is key, as well as including specific and quantifiable details regarding your achievements. 

Here's an example of a well-written work experience entry on a healthcare resume

Medical Administrator | Kindred Hospital Denver

Denver, CO | June 2017 to January 2021

• Onboarded and coordinated care for more than 200 patients .
• Implemented a new scheduling system that increased patient retention by 20 percent and decreased scheduling expenses by 35 percent . 
• Reviewed more than 100 medical applications on a weekly basis. 

5. Create a dedicated certifications section aside from your education section

On a healthcare resume, your education section matters – sometimes even more than your work experience. 

While you want to include all your relevant educational information – such as your university, degree, and year of graduation – you will likely also have a plethora of certifications to include as well. Whether you earned these through your degree program or sought out additional qualifications on your own, including these on your resume is key. 

As for where to include them, it depends on how many you have. If you have between 1 to 3 additional certifications outside of your degree, you may be able to include them in your education section. 

However, we recommend creating a dedicated certifications section that goes alongside your education section. This way, your certifications are kept nicely organized without over-stuffing your education section with too much bunched-up information. 

6. Useful job search resources for healthcare professionals

If you're angling for a role in the dynamic world of healthcare, having the right resources can power up your job search. Let's focus on some key platforms that can provide invaluable help:

• Healthcare-specific job boards:  Websites like HealthJobsNationwide and Health eCareers specialize in healthcare positions, from entry-level to senior roles, across multiple specialties.
• LinkedIn:  This professional networking site is not just for techies and marketers. Many healthcare organizations use LinkedIn for recruitment. Make sure your profile is up-to-date and optimized with relevant keywords to appear in recruiters' searches.
• Professional associations:  Many healthcare professions have associations like the American Medical Association (AMA) or the American Nurses Association (ANA) that post job opportunities for their members.
• Industry publications:  Publications such as Modern Healthcare and Healthcare IT News often feature job postings alongside industry news.
• Hospital job boards:  Don't forget to check the career pages of hospitals in your area. They often post job openings on their websites before listing them on other platforms.

Remember, while these resources can be great aids, they can't replace the power of networking. Always be ready to make connections, whether online or in person, who can help propel your healthcare career forward.

Healthcare Resume FAQ

Absolutely! The advice in this healthcare resume guide applies across various healthcare roles, nursing included. The emphasis on formatting, highlighting skills, and detailing experiences can benefit all healthcare professionals. Just remember, specificity counts - tailor each aspect of your resume to reflect your unique nursing skills and experiences.

As a new graduate, focus on your academic accomplishments, coursework that ties in directly with the job you're applying for, internships, and any practical training or projects that you were part of. Your soft skills, such as communication, teamwork, and problem-solving, are valuable too. Aim to show your potential and your enthusiasm for a career in healthcare.

Yes, you can reference specific cases or instances as long as they illustrate your professional achievements and skills, and you ensure patient confidentiality is maintained. Never include identifiable patient information.

If you have significant employment gaps, the best way to handle them on your healthcare resume would be a functional or skills-based resume, which emphasizes your skills rather than your chronological work history. If needed, briefly address these gaps in your cover letter while focusing on what you did during these periods (like further studies or voluntary work) that could enhance your healthcare profession skills or knowledge. Remember, there's no one-size-fits-all career path in healthcare.

In such a case, your healthcare resume should highlight the diversity of your experience. Create a "Professional Experience" section and categorize your roles under each relevant position. Alternatively, sort it based on medical specialty, depending on which approach presents your skills and experiences best. Remember, your goal is to show an employer the full range of your healthcare proficiencies.

Martin Poduška

Martin is a resume expert and career advice writer at Kickresume. In his five years at Kickresume, he has written hundreds of in-depth, painstakingly researched resume advice articles and, as chief editor, he has also edited and revised every single article on this website. Tens of thousands of job seekers read Martin’s resume advice every month. He holds a degree in English from the University of St Andrews and a degree in Comparative Literature from the University of Amsterdam .

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EXECUTIVE MASTER OF HEALTH ADMINISTRATION ONLINE

How to Write a Resume like a Healthcare Executive

November 18, 2023

View all blog posts under Articles

First impressions are important. A good one can open doors to new opportunities, and a bad one can lead to being overlooked.

For most people seeking a new job or applying for a graduate program, the initial introduction comes in the form of a resume. If you’re a health care executive — or a mid-level career professional interested in becoming one — you need to make that first impression count.

Making your health care resume as effective as possible provides prospective employers or graduate programs with an accurate, detailed insight into your skills, qualifications and accomplishments.

How to Create a Health Care Resume

Here are six tips to help create an effective resume for health care. The objective is to maximize your qualities and position you as a candidate worthy of serious consideration for career advancement or an advanced health care degree.

1. Lead Strong

If your resume serves as your formal introduction, the top of the first page is the opening handshake. As with the first few pages of a novel or screenplay, you need to grab the reader’s attention and hook them immediately. The information that leads your resume should project confidence in your skills and accomplishments while avoiding irrelevancies.

First, consider your audience. A human resources employee or admission officer will typically encounter your resume first. As such, design and write your resume to give them the information they need — and the information you want them to know — quickly and clearly. Highlight your most impressive capabilities, key professional experiences and top accomplishments up front. Many health professionals choose to include an opening section titled “ Areas of Expertise ” or something similar on their health care resume.

Second, be descriptive. Give yourself a proper title to distinguish yourself at a glance, such as “Senior Director, R&D and Product Development” or “Business Development and Strategic Marketing Executive.” Putting this in the lead will set the table for using descriptive phrases throughout the resume, which can help you summarize your profile and reflect your personality.

2. Formatting a Health Care Resume

A resume that’s difficult to follow is easy to ignore. Make sure your resume presents information clearly and logically, looks distinctive and is easy to read. There are a few basic rules to follow to ensure your resume achieves the right balance.

First, you can study templates and sample resumes for resume formatting ideas. However, sample CVs will only get you so far. To distinguish your resume from the rest, find ways to improve on the design and format of a resume template. Try to express your strengths through the design.

Once you’ve finalized the formatting, the next step is to craft your resume according to its purpose. If it’s for a job opportunity, carefully review the description of the position and its responsibilities and qualifications. Make sure your resume reflects what the health provider is seeking in their own terms.

If you’re applying to a graduate program, comb through the institution’s admission page and program overview so you know what types of candidates the university is looking for. Then, provide that information in your resume.

When your goal is to transition from a mid-level position to the senior level or even the C-suite, you will be evaluated first and foremost by your experience and aptitude as it relates to the particular opportunity. In this instance, it’s crucial to demonstrate your value where possible. This value could pertain to a specific project or key strategic decisions you influenced. You should also highlight what impact you made in your last position when describing your professional work experience and performance.

Follow the lead information on your resume with a chronological listing of your work experience. All things being equal, the more recent roles and achievements are considered most applicable and noteworthy — and should therefore be allotted a little more space. When building out your work experience, you should begin each segment of your executive work history with a description of your responsibilities, followed by several bullet points highlighting your contributions.

Download the How to Write a Resume Like a Healthcare Executive Guide

3. Choose the Best Resume Length

You should always strive to make your CV or resume two pages in length. Three pages can be acceptable, but only if you feel that detailing your experience and telling your best story can’t be accomplished in two pages. Conversely, condensing your resume down to one page may feel like the right move, but doing so would likely require you to omit notable details or achievements that would differentiate you from other candidates.

You should be concise with your information as you build your resume, but don’t omit anything pertinent. When reviewing your resume, delete superfluous information and only keep details that are relevant to the job description or graduate program you’re applying to.

4. Quantify Your Accomplishments

Health care, in some ways, is a numbers game. This is particularly true in health care administration, where questions regarding the cost effectiveness of everything from quality care to pharmacy expenses falls under consideration.

If your existing job role is on the numbers side of health care in the form of accounting, billing, management or human resources, then using numbers to quantify your accomplishments will present a strong case to the person reviewing your resume.

If quantifying your impact is challenging, or you work directly with patients, clearly describe what you have accomplished, the outcomes you have achieved and any tangible benefits you brought to your position.

5. Choose the Best Words for Your Health Care Resume

A candidate’s professional experience is the most important factor in determining the success of an application. Yet how you write a resume — specifically the words you choose to convey why you’re qualified — also plays a crucial role. Therefore, you should be mindful of a few elements when you sit down and compose your health care resume.

The first strategy is to use action verbs whenever possible. Write descriptive resume phrases beneath your current or past work experience, and begin sentences with action verbs to make your resume come alive. These will give depth to your experiences and characteristics. Words such as motivated, optimized, pioneered, negotiated, and delegated imply leadership qualities. Words like supported, prompted, and trained imply teamwork-driven characteristics.

Second, avoid repetition. Take care not to repeat any words too often or else they’ll lose their impact. However, this doesn’t mean any synonym will work. If you’re having a difficult time finding descriptive, action-oriented words, consider other projects you contributed to, decisions you fought for or roles you held.

Additionally, take care to use the proper tense throughout your resume. When you’re describing your role, responsibilities and contributions from your current job, write in the present tense. When you’re tailoring previous work experiences on your resume to reflect the responsibilities of the opportunity you’re currently applying for, write in the past tense.

6. Proofread Before Submitting

Potential employers and master’s programs are looking for candidates who are well spoken and well written. Making grammatical mistakes in your resume will significantly dampen your chances of being accepted.

When you proofread, make sure fonts and formatting are consistent, and check for spelling and grammar. Read your resume aloud, which may help you identify errors your eyes have missed. Finally, ask colleagues, family members or friends to proofread your resume.

Elevate Your Career

A powerful, well-crafted, professional resume can help you stand out among other candidates and get you through to the next round of consideration. A strong resume could be the crucial element that leads you to the next phase of your professional career.

With a curriculum that focuses on disciplines including economics and finance, health care regulation, organizational design and information management, USC’s Executive Master of Health Administration (MHA) program offers the knowledge and skills to help you stand out among the crowd.

Discover how USC’s MHA can help you become one of tomorrow’s health care leaders.

Recommended Readings

Executive Master of Health Administration Online: Program Overview and Student Spotlight

Leadership in Health Care: How to Advance Into the Hospital C-Suite

6 Examples of Health Disparities and Potential Solutions

American College of Healthcare Executives, Career Resource Center

Indeed, The Healthcare Resume: Definition, How-to and Examples

Indeed, 25 Leadership Words to Use on Your Resume

LinkedIn, How to Develop a Strong Healthcare Executive Resume

My Perfect Resume, Hospital Administrator CV Example & Writing Tips, Questions, and Salaries

Resume Now, Healthcare Management Resume Example

University of Southern California, How to Write a Resume Like a Health Care Executive

Learn More About Our Executive MHA Program.

The UMA healthcare blog covers information at the intersection of healthcare, education and employment. Our contributors are familiar with a wide range of subjects covering professional development, career advancement, healthcare industry-specific topics, and education.

Your Guide to Creating a Healthcare Resume

In: Uncategorized

Updated: Friday, January 12, 2024 @ 4:15pm Written by Ultimate Medical Academy

How to Write a Resume for Healthcare Jobs, Including Examples & a Healthcare Resume Template

We often don’t give our resume much thought until we’re actively on the job hunt. That’s when this document suddenly jumps to the forefront of our minds — as it should. Whether you’re currently in the field or a recent grad ready to get their foot in the door, there isn’t a bad time to enhance your resume. In fact, with the current state of the healthcare industry, now is as good a time as any.

Healthcare occupations are expected to have a “much faster than average” growth rate from 2022 to 2032 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics , resulting in the creation of roughly 1.8 million new positions each year. 1 If you’re interested in pursuing a healthcare role, crafting your resume is a good first step – and this guide can help.

In this guide to creating your healthcare resume, we talk about what a resume is and why it is so important. While you likely already have one, clarifying this basic information can give you a solid foundation for creating a resume that helps you better connect with a potential employer.

Next, we offer tips for creating a resume, along with a healthcare resume example so you can get a better idea of what they look like. We even provide a ready-to-use healthcare resume template so you can simply copy and paste it into your word processor, plug in your personal information, review it, and you’ll be ready to submit it to your desired employer.

Sound good? Great! Let’s get started.

What Is a Resume?

The word resume , also sometimes written as résumé or resumé, is defined as “a short account of one’s career and qualifications” or “a set of accomplishments.” 2 Submitting a resume is often one of the first steps in the job application process. This document is used to tell potential employers why you’re a good candidate for an open position at their healthcare organization based on your qualifications, experience, education, skills, and career objectives.

Research indicates that, in 2019, there were more filled healthcare support positions than there were job postings; however, by 2021, this trend had reversed with more support-based job posts than individuals holding those positions. 3 This highlights that, post-COVID, there is a healthy job market for healthcare support roles such as medical assistant , nursing assistant , and phlebotomist .

A well-crafted resume can help you stand out from other applicants vying for one of these types of open positions. This leads us to our next point, which is why putting time and effort into creating a solid healthcare resume is so important.

Why a Well-Crafted Resume Is So Important

Your resume is likely the first interaction you have with a potential employer. And since it’s recommended that job seekers submit two to three applications daily, 4 this also means that two to three hiring managers are going to be developing their first impression of you each day as well.

Even if you don’t hit this number, each time you submit your resume, you have a chance of getting a response or being selected for an interview. The information you include in your resume, and how you choose to include it, can mean the difference between moving to the next step in the hiring process and never receiving that call.

It’s also important to develop a healthcare resume that helps you stand out. You don’t have much time to stand out either. The average employer only spends six to seven seconds looking over an applicant’s resume. 5 Not minutes. Seconds . What can they glean from your resume in this short amount of time?

Here are some of the things they look for when doing their initial scan: 5

• Your resume format , which helps them assess your ability to organize information while also making the document easier to review quickly
• Your work history , to better identify how long you typically stay in a job role and to ascertain whether you’re an entry- or senior-level applicant
• Your education , to know whether you meet the minimum qualifications
• Other information applicable to the job post , such as if you have the required healthcare skill sets for that position
• A link to your online profile , such as one posted on professional networking sites like LinkedIn if they want to know more

Paying extra attention to these areas of your healthcare resume can help you get the most from your six or seven-second scan. But this isn’t a complete list of all the information your resume needs to contain because, if it is to highlight everything that could make you a good candidate for a specific position, it needs to include much more.

10 Elements of a Strong Healthcare Resume

You can look at dozens of healthcare resumes and each one is a little different. This can make it feel overwhelming when wondering how to create your own. One helpful thing to remember is that a healthcare resume contains most of these 10 elements.

#1: Your Contact Information

Your resume must contain your contact information since this is the information that the potential employer will use to reach you should they decide to advance you in the application process.

Contact information to include on your resume for healthcare jobs includes your:

• Full name . Place your first and last name on your resume. Your middle name or initial is optional but may be helpful if you have a common name or if you want to distinguish yourself from other applicants.
• Phone number . When writing your healthcare resume, provide the phone number where the employer can best reach you. Also, record a professional-sounding voicemail in case you miss their call.
• Email address . Providing your email enables an employer to easily contact you with important follow-up information, such as an interview time, or to request additional information. If you don’t have an appropriate email address, consider getting one. Using your first and last name is a good approach (i.e., [email protected]) and can look better to a potential employer than one that is less professional (i.e., [email protected]). Gmail and Yahoo! email addresses can be set up at no cost.

While not necessary, it can also be helpful to provide a link to your profile on professional networking sites such as LinkedIn . This enables the employer to learn more about you, also giving you the opportunity to show them that you’re a serious healthcare professional.

#2: A Summary of Your Healthcare Career or Career Objectives

Under your contact information is generally where you’ll add a statement that provides a summary of your career up to this date or your overall career goals. How do you know which one to put on your resume for healthcare?

If you’ve been working in the field for a while and have a lot of experience, a summary can help give a big-picture view of your qualifications. Conversely, if you’re new to healthcare, such as if you recently graduated from a healthcare program, consider adding an objective instead. This tells the employer what you hope to accomplish and, perhaps most importantly, how their job opening fits into your healthcare career pathway.

Here's an example of a healthcare resume summary:

Caring and reliable healthcare management professional with 10 years of experience in medical billing, staff scheduling, budgeting, and the creation of internal policies and procedures. Looking to strengthen my healthcare leadership skills in a higher-level supervisory role.

Here’s an example of a healthcare resume objective:

To secure a role as a pharmacy technician, where I can use my knowledge and skills to help provide patients access to their needed medications and to ensure that these medications are filled accurately and with the greatest proficiency – all while providing exceptional customer service.

#3: Your Experience

You’ll list your work experience in another section of your healthcare resume. This gives the employer insight into the current or prior roles that you’ve held, in addition to some of the responsibilities you’ve had in these positions that can help you excel in the job they’ve posted.

For each job position, you want to provide:

• Your job title
• The time frame you held that position, using months and years or only years
• The name of the business or organization you worked for
• The work location (city and state)

Under this information, you want to include a bulleted list of your job duties. Highlight any duties related to or that could help you in the job that you’re applying for.

Don’t forget to add quantifiable data. If you’ve worked as a nursing assistant or dental assistant , for example, roughly how many patients did you see each day? Sharing this information can help the employer understand your ability to provide expedient and efficient patient care.

What if you don’t have any healthcare experience, such as if you recently graduated from a healthcare program and are new to the field? In this case, provide any experience you have that has helped you develop skills that would be beneficial to the open job role.

Working in a retail position, for example, can help develop the customer service skills that are important as a pharmacy technician. Or maybe you held a position as a clerk or clerical assistant. Skills learned in these roles can help you as a medical administrative assistant or medical office and billing specialist.

Focus on the skills you developed that are transferable to healthcare (more on that in a minute). Adding this to your resume can help an employer decide if you have the qualities they seek – even if you don’t have healthcare experience.

#4: Your Education

In your resume, you also want to share information about your education. While you can qualify for some entry-level healthcare positions without a diploma or degree, others may require that you complete an educational program. This helps ensure that you have the knowledge needed to perform the necessary job functions.

Generally, the education section of a healthcare resume is fairly short. So, keep it as brief as possible. Information to provide in this section includes:

• The name and location of the institution you attended
• The diploma or degree obtained, including your field of study
• The year you graduated
• Your grade point average (GPA) upon graduation, if it was higher (a 3.5 or above)
• Any academic achievements or honors

Pro Healthcare Resume Tip: If you have a lot of experience in healthcare roles, place that section before your education. If you're new to the field, however, list your education first – before your experience – to draw attention to the knowledge and skills you developed or strengthened by taking a healthcare program.

#5: Any Licenses or Certifications

If you hold a professional license and/or a healthcare certification, you’ll want to list it on your resume as well. Some regulatory agencies may require you to be licensed to work in certain healthcare positions. Employers may also want you to hold certain certifications to be considered for a specific position.

For example, if you are applying for a medical coding role, the employer may require you to be a Certified Professional Coder (CPC) or Certified Coding Specialist (CPS). If it’s a medical administrative assistant position you seek, the employer may require you to be a Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA).

Even if certification isn’t required, earning this type of credential offers many benefits. One is that it provides proof of your knowledge and skill set. It also signifies that you can perform the job duties within a particular role. Certifications can even bolster your resume if you have limited experience.

When listing your certification, include:

• The certification title
• The organization you obtained your certification with
• The date you became certified and its expiration date, if there is one

#6: Related Skills

Two types of skills are important for healthcare workers: hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills include technical skills such as knowing how to enter patient medical records into a computer system, medical billing and coding skills, being able to take a patient’s vital signs, and – if you’re a dental assistant – the ability to take x-rays.

Soft skills are more so the personal qualities or traits that can help make you successful in your role. Soft skills important for healthcare include those related to teamwork, empathy, leadership, communication, time management, attention to detail, and organization. Problem-solving and critical thinking are two more beneficial healthcare skills to include on your resume.

Healthcare resume skills are usually provided in the form of a bulleted list. This helps draw attention to each skill while making this section easy to scan.

Although you may be tempted to list every skill you have, brevity is best. Look at the job posting and notice the skills the employer wants. If you have them, focus on those when creating your healthcare resume so it is more tailored to that position. Another approach is to only list the skills that you are proficient in, so the employer understands where your strengths lie.

“Emphasize your strengths on your resume, in your cover letters and in your interviews. It may sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people simply list everything they’ve ever done.” ~ Marcus Buckingham, bestselling author of “First, Break All the Rules” and “Now, Discover Your Strengths” 6

#7: Professional Memberships

If you belong to any professional groups related to the open position, you may want to include this on your resume too. Professional affiliations help highlight your interest in the healthcare field. They can also signify your level of commitment as a healthcare professional.

As an example, one healthcare career option is to work in health information management . Joining the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) helps show potential employers that you’re serious about your work.

#8: Awards and Honors

If you’ve received any accolades, either as a healthcare professional or student, you might want to provide these on your resume as well. Healthcare organizations are interested in hiring top talent. Winning awards or achieving high honors can suggest that you are in this category of applicants.

Maybe you worked at a healthcare facility and earned employee of the year. Or you might have graduated from your healthcare program with top honors. List these achievements on your resume. This isn’t being boastful; it’s simply telling the employer that you’re willing to put in the work to do the job to the best of your ability.

#9: Any Volunteer Work

Do you volunteer at a hospital or nursing facility? What about doing regular volunteer work for the American Red Cross at a local blood drive or donating your time to help with patient registration at a mobile medical clinic?

Listing volunteer work on your healthcare serves a few purposes. One is that it’s a good way to share skills you have that can benefit you in the open position. Another is that it suggests that you are a caring and giving person, which are two qualities that are helpful in a healthcare role.

#10: Anything Else That May Be Important

While ensuring that your resume contains the previous nine elements may be enough to highlight your healthcare knowledge and skills, there may be something additional you may want to add. You might also add more information if you don’t have a lot of education and experience, leaving your resume fairly short.

Some information that you might choose to add to your healthcare resume includes:

• Any continuing education courses you’ve taken
• Any research projects you’ve completed or taken part in
• If you fluently speak other languages

What NOT to Put on Your Healthcare Resume

Now that you know what type of information either needs to be or should be on your healthcare resume, it’s equally important to understand what information to leave off. The goal isn’t to deceive a potential employer by not divulging certain information. Instead, it’s more about keeping your resume brief while also offering you certain protections.

With this in mind, here are some things your healthcare resume should not include:

• Sensitive personally identifiable information (such as your birthdate and social security number)
• Every job you’ve ever had (unless they all pertain to healthcare)
• Every duty you’ve ever performed at a job (only the ones relevant to healthcare)
• Your salary at current or previous jobs
• Big blocks of text (small paragraphs and bullet points work best)
• Graphics, images, and photographs (they can detract from your resume and are also hard for resume software to read)
• Reference information (if they want it, they’ll ask for it)

Tips for Writing a Compelling Healthcare Resume

The next step in the resume creation process is to sit down and draft this document. Put all the above information together so that a prospective employer feels compelled to move you forward and invite you in for an interview.

Here are a few tips to help you stand out from other applicants when crafting your healthcare resume:

• Be honest . When you have your heart set on a particular job, it can be tempting to want to embellish your qualifications. However, misrepresenting your education or experience can have serious negative consequences, one of which is a tarnished reputation. This can make getting any other healthcare job harder if word gets around.
• Tailor your resume to the job post . This doesn’t mean that you should add any information to your resume that isn’t accurate. What it does mean though is that if the job post calls for someone with “compassion” or who is “reliable,” adding these words to your resume – if they are true for you – is a good way to show that you hold the skills or qualities that the employer seeks.
• Use action words . When listing your work-related responsibilities, skills, or accomplishments, use action words versus passive words to make this content stronger. These types of words may even help persuade employers to bring you in for an interview. Examples of action words include developed, generated, evaluated, collaborated, coached, trained, managed, or tracked.
• Use keywords . Remember that you only have a few seconds to catch a hiring manager’s attention. Using words that they may be looking for in their quick scan is a good way to get noticed. Additionally, some healthcare facilities use software to screen resumes submitted. This is called an applicant tracking system (ATS) and one of the things this system looks for is keywords. 7 These keywords are often mentioned in the job post, which is another reason to tailor your resume to the listing. It can also help to look at the healthcare organization’s website and see if it mentions certain words and phrases.
• Be brief and to the point . When it comes to your resume, release the urge to tell the employer everything and focus on providing only the most important information. Get rid of any words that don’t add value to the document, aiming for as much conciseness as possible. For example, instead of listing “Organized patient medical records to help the organization find the information they needed faster” as one of your job responsibilities, you might write “Organized patient medical records for improved efficiency.” It’s a minor change but it gets your point across faster with half the words.
• Proofread, edit, and proofread again . Imagine that you’re a hiring manager. What would you think if you received a healthcare resume full of spelling and grammatical errors? At a minimum, this suggests that the applicant is okay with poor work quality. Some may even take it as a sign that you’re not capable of doing a good job. That’s why it is so important to proofread your healthcare resume before submitting it with your application. Your word processor may find some errors. You can also use free online spelling and grammar checkers, like those offered by Grammarly , to help catch any errors. Also, ask someone you know to look the document over and see if they notice any problems or issues.

Want More Help? If you graduated from a healthcare program, you may be entitled to receive assistance via their Career Services division or a similar department. If this is an option, reach out and ask if they can help. Some institutions provide help with healthcare resume writing and optimization.

Your Healthcare Resume Format

When it comes to your resume format, simple is best. Although you may want to “spruce it up” with graphic elements, it’s better to leave them off.

Two potential resume formats to consider are the F-pattern and E-pattern layouts. Both of these layouts are designed to use the ways the eyes typically track when reading this type of document.

An F-pattern layout references the fact that most people read in a horizontal line across the top of the page, then drop down the page before reading in a horizontal line again. However, when dropping down, they generally don’t read as far across the page as they did the first time.

An E-pattern resume adds a third horizontal line. In this case, a person would read across the top of the page, drop down and read across the page again, then drop down one more time to scan information closer to the page’s bottom.

Using one of these two formats helps you align your resume with these quick-scan patterns.

Healthcare Resume Examples

Before you get started, it can be helpful to see a sample resume. This can help give you a better idea of what type of information to include, how to format your resume, and more. Seeing healthcare resume examples is also beneficial if you are a visual learner and like to “see” before you “do.”

The first one is an example of a healthcare management resume for a worker who is applying for a higher-level position with the same facility. The second is an example of a healthcare resume that may work better for a recent dental assistant grad who is now looking for a full-time job. Notice how the two are laid out a bit differently, also containing somewhat different information for the job applicant.

Resume Example One

Resume Example Two

Easy-to-Use Healthcare Resume Templates

Now that you’ve seen what a strong resume looks like for both experienced and new healthcare grads, it’s time to create your own. If the idea makes your palms sweat and your heart beat a little faster, don't worry. We’re here to help.

To make the job-seeking process as stress-free as possible, we’ve created a couple of healthcare resume templates you can use. Simply cut and paste the text for the one that applies to your situation into your word processor, update it with your information, and you’re ready to go!

Here’s a template you can use if you don’t have any healthcare experience and recently graduated from an education or training program:

Resume Template Example

UMA Helps Grads with Resume Creation and Optimization

One service we’re proud to offer UMA grads is helping them with their resumes. We can assist with creating the document itself or, for graduates who already have a resume, we also help with optimization.

This is just one way that we care for our students so they can care for others. It also highlights our commitment to UMA grads – even after they’ve walked down the aisle and collected their diploma or degree.

If you’d like to learn more about UMA’s healthcare programs and services, contact us today . You can take classes at our Clearwater Campus or enjoy one of our many online healthcare programs.

In the meantime, check out these blogs to learn more about how to create the best healthcare resume you can:

• Building a Resume That Makes Employers Want to “Swipe Right”
• 4 Reasons You Have a Resume Gap—and How to Explain Each One

Frequently Asked Questions

• How long should a resume be? Generally speaking, your resume should fit on one page. If you’ve had a lengthy history in the healthcare industry, it may be a bit longer – but you still want to limit it to two pages. 8
• What is a CV and how is it different from a resume? A CV (which stands for Curriculum Vitae) provides a big-picture view of your overall career history whereas a resume focuses more on your skill sets. 9 CVs are typically more common when applying for an academic job, fellowship, or research program rather than being used to apply for a healthcare position.
• How do you add a resume to LinkedIn? Go to your LinkedIn profile page and, under your name, title, and location, click on the “More” button. In the dropdown menu, select “Build a resume.” That will take you to a pop-up which enables you to upload your resume.
• Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Outlook Handbook. Healthcare Occupations. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/home.htm
• Merriam-Webster. Resume. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/resume
• Dixon N, Goggins M, Ho E, et al. Occupational models from 42 million unstructured job postings. Patterns. https://www.cell.com/patterns/pdf/S2666-3899(23)00102-2.pdf
• Indeed Career Guide. How Many Job Applications Should You Send Per Day? https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/how-many-job-applications-per-day
• Indeed Career Guide. How Long Do Hiring Managers Look at a Resume? https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/resumes-cover-letters/how-long-do-employers-look-at-resumes
• Brainy Quote. Resume Quotes. https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/resume-quotes
• Indeed Career Guide. 18 Tips to Pass Automated Screening Resume Software. https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/resumes-cover-letters/automated-screening-resume
• Indeed Career Guide. How Long Should a Resume Be? https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/resumes-cover-letters/how-long-should-a-resume-be
• Indeed for Employers. Resume vs. Curriculum Vitae: Guide for Employers. https://in.indeed.com/hire/c/info/resume-vs-cv-differences

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How to Write an Impactful Resume for a Healthcare Job

Published on:

• April 16, 2023

Are you in the market for a new career in the medical field? You may want to freshen up your resume for grabbing a healthcare job.

The medical field needs aspiring and seasoned healthcare professionals because of the ongoing battle against obesity and an ageing baby boomer population.

However, your healthcare resume can also help you land your dream job at a reputed hospital or medical facility.

Most hiring managers spend an average of six seconds to skim a resume before deciding if the candidate is appropriate for the position.

Thus, your resume must showcase your skills, qualifications, expertise, and experience.

Writing a convincing healthcare resume is not as complicated as it seems. You just have to include all the pointers that recruiters are looking for in a candidate.

Here is a valuable guide if you are looking for the best tips to write a resume for a healthcare job.

Resume Template

Customize your Resume Objective

Before writing your resume, have a clear understanding of what an organization or an employer is looking for in a candidate.

Read the job description carefully to understand better what the hospital or medical institution requires.

There is intense competition in the job market. You can’t use the same resume for applying to different healthcare jobs.

Customizing your resume objective is essential when applying for a specific position because that’s the first thing recruiters see when they review your resume.

The best way to develop an impressive resume is to study the job description and choose essential keywords. Writing a generic objective and using it for your resume is one of the biggest mistakes you can make to reduce your shortlisting chances.

Several recruitment officials use keyword matching software for determining which resumes are worth their time. The software looks for specific keywords, and your resume must contain all of them before a recruiter looks at your healthcare resume.

Here is a sample objective for a healthcare resume.

Registered Nurse with an MBA degree and 12 years of experience in the NICU. I have a strong passion for leveraging my expertise to grow in the new role of (position) at (name of the hospital/company).

If the employer is looking for a candidate with an MBA degree, they will shortlist this resume without reading further.

Related Reads:

• Top (Effective) Nurse Resume Templates and Samples
• Latest (Effective) Dentist Resume Templates and Samples
• Top Dental Hygienist Resume Templates and Samples

Highlight your Education

Whenever you are writing a healthcare resume, don’t forget to emphasize your academic achievements.

Remember to write it in chronologically descending order, so it becomes easier for the recruitment manager to grasp all information immediately.

You must include all licensures and certifications to your resume’s education section, even if they seem irrelevant to the position. That’s because any extra training adds more to your qualification.

Don’t forget to add all interns, volunteers, and paid experiences that can make your resume more attractive.

Here is a checklist for you to follow:

• Include the title of your certification or license.
• Mention the full name and address of the certifying body.
• Mention the certification and license number when applicable.
• Highlight the date you received the certification of the license along with any expiration date.

Emphasize on Specific Healthcare Skills

If a hiring manager is looking for specific healthcare professional skills, he will scrutinize your resume for those skills. For that reason, adding your expertise to your resume will make it unique.

Mention all the responsibilities and duties you handled in previous jobs and any managerial positions you held. In addition to healthcare skills, you can also add other valuable customer service and communication skills.

For instance, if you are multilingual, don’t forget to mention it on your resume, mainly if you apply for a job in another country and speak the native language.

Provide a comprehensive overview of your capabilities and skills to get the best results.

Proofread Your Resume

Never send out any resume without proofreading. Pay attention to grammar, spelling, and formatting, so you don’t make a wrong impression.

In addition to that, don’t forget to break down complex information into bullets.

More than half of the recruitment officials dismiss a resume if they notice any grammar or spelling errors. Avoid this mistake by using online tools that detect and fix all grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors.

You can also get in touch with a professional resume writing service to edit and proofread your resume.

Add a Cover Letter

Many healthcare professionals overlook the importance of a well-written cover letter. This piece of document can describe your accomplishments and achievements in detail.

That’s one reason why resumes are often short and concise, while a cover letter elaborates on your experiences and qualifications in detail.

Research tells us that nearly 22% of recruiting managers discard a resume that does not come with a cover letter.

Your cover letter should be a single page and must include:

• The same header as your resume featuring your name, address, and contact information.
• The date of submission
• The address of the company
• A formal introduction

The body of your letter should detail why you are the perfect fit for the job. Again, include all relevant keywords to leave a good impression.

Use the cover letter for expanding on the bullet points and add any useful details that you feel will help you land the job.

Here is a checklist to make sure your healthcare resume increases your chances of securing a position.

• Your resume lists information about your qualification, skills, and education
• The resume features your contact information
• It is easy to read and understand
• Your resume has all the right keywords

Final Thoughts

Your healthcare resume can make or break your chances of securing an interview. Pay attention to how you write and format your resume because recruitment officials go through dozens of resumes every day.

You don’t want to reduce your employment chances by applying a badly-written resume that doesn’t provide a clear picture of your credentials and experience. Follow our guide to writing an impressive healthcare resume.

Marissa Letendre, SPHR, SHRM-SCP

Marissa Letendre is a senior HR leader and resume expert with over 12 years of experience. She has worked for both startups and Fortune 50 corporations and has helped thousands land jobs at top companies. Marissa has written on a wide range of topics, including employee engagement, career development, resumes, job searching, recruiting, and organizational effectiveness and has been featured on sites such as Slack and The Undercover Recruiter.

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