If you are in the market for a new career in the medical field, the best thing you can do is write or freshen up your healthcare resume.
Careers in the medical field are abundant thanks to an aging baby boomer population and the battle against obesity. Even though there are excellent opportunities to find a stable position, your healthcare resume can help you obtain the very best job for you.
Did you know that most hiring managers spend only an average of six seconds skimming a resume before deciding if the candidate is worth a second look? If you are going to land your dream job, you need to know how to earn that second look.
BONUS: Hey Healthcare Professionals, snag more interviews with our handy resume template ⇨ Download Template!Great news: you came to the right place! In this article, we will share five helpful tips for creating the most effective healthcare resume so you can feel confident submitting your name for exciting new positions. Let’s get started!
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1. Tailor Your Healthcare Resume Objective
With such competition in the job market, it is very important that your resume is tailored to the job for which you are applying. It may seem like a lot of extra work, but the effort you put in here definitely won’t go unnoticed.
The best way to tailor your healthcare resume for a specific position is to study the job description in detail. Look for keywords and include those throughout your resume, starting with your objective.
Since your objective takes up prime real estate at the top of your resume, it needs to be easily skimmable and include specific things a hiring manager wants to see. These days, writing a generic objective and plastering it on every resume will do you more harm than good.
Be sure to clearly state your goals, experience, and skills in your healthcare resume objective while peppering in keywords found in the job description.
Not only will this show your commitment to understanding the position, it will help your resume stand out in the event the hiring company is using a software to streamline their search.
Many companies use a keyword matching software to determine which resumes are worth reading. The software looks for certain keywords to match the hiring manager with the best candidates for the job. This means in some cases your resume must feature a certain number of keywords or else it won’t even be seen by a human!
A sample healthcare resume objective looks like this:
Detail-oriented Registered Nurse with an MBA and +2 years of experience in the NICU. Seeking to leverage my professional expertise and a strong passion for wellness to grow in the new role of NICU RN at (company name).
Remember, this is only a sample objective and you should tailor yours to include keywords found in the job description.
2. Healthcare Resume: Feature Your Education
The second step for creating an effective healthcare resume is to feature your scholastic achievements. Be sure to do this in chronologically descending order so it’s easy for the hiring manager to digest at a glance.
You should include all certifications and licensures in addition to your formal schooling as they relate to the particular position for which you are applying.
SEE ALSO: 3 Quick and Easy Ways to Earn Your Nursing CEUs
Even if some of your certifications seem irrelevant to the position, a commitment to continuing education is part of what makes a healthcare professional great at their job over time. This means you should include every single professional certification and license you have!
Use our mini checklist to make sure you don’t leave anything out:
- Include the title of your license or certification.
- Include the full name of the certifying body.
- Show the license or certification number when applicable.
- List the date you obtained the license or certification.
- List the expiration date if applicable.
In this case, more is more! Show off everything you have learned in this section.
3. Detail Specific Healthcare Skills
The next step for creating an effective healthcare resume is to showcase specific skills.
In some cases, a hiring manager is looking for healthcare skills resume above anything else. That means you want to detail exactly what makes you a valuable, skilled potential employee.
Be very specific when describing your specialty. Just like you did in the education section, include detail here that helps illustrate what makes you unique as compared to other applicants.
Describing duties and responsibilities you have handled in previous jobs helps a hiring manager envision you working at their company.
While some skills may not seem healthcare related, if you have held a job in a customer service field, it may be worth mentioning depending on the job for which you are applying.
Consider how skills like communication and customer service are transferable in almost any medical profession.
SEE ALSO: Travel Nurse Resume Examples: 7 Secrets for Standing Out
Are you multilingual? Do you have multiple specialties? Have you worked in unique settings? You may have read elsewhere that the best resumes are short and sweet. When it comes to the medical profession, hiring managers want to see your experience. If you have it, include it.
Don’t worry about submitting two full pages of relevant job experience. Provide a comprehensive overview of your skills and capabilities to see the best results.
4. Proofread Your Healthcare Resume
Our fourth tip is not one to be ignored. Proper spelling, grammar, and formatting are incredibly important when it comes to submitting a strong resume.
According to CareerBuilder.com, more than half of hiring managers will dismiss a resume immediately if they notice it includes spelling or grammar errors.
Avoid this costly mistake by employing online tools such as RezScore, LiveCareer or Resume-Check. These websites provide valuable insight and do more than just spell check.
Check out the top 50 resume typos and make sure you don’t include them on your resume.
If you are seeking even more assistance in polishing your resume, consider working with a staffing agency. Not only do these agencies work to place you in your ideal position, but they help you every step of the way. That means they are well-equipped to review your resume before sending it to potential employers.
SEE ALSO: How Do Staffing Agencies Work for Your Ultimate Benefit?
When it comes to submitting the best possible resume, proofreading is key.
5. Include a Cover Letter with your Healthcare Resume
This is an often overlooked step when preparing your healthcare resume. Although a cover letter will not be required on every job listing, it is best practice to include one every time.
In fact, research indicates that 22% of hiring managers consider it a red flag when a cover letter is not included. While this isn’t the majority, there is no way for you to know if the hiring manager overseeing your potential position falls into this 22 percent. Why risk it?
Why is that the case? Just like your healthcare resume objective, your cover letter allows you to tailor the application process to the individual job for which you are applying.
A cover letter should be a single page and include a few elements:
- The same header found on your resume stating your full name, address, phone number and email.
- The date of submission
- The hiring manager’s name
- The address of the company
- A formal introduction (such as Dear Mrs. Smith)
- The body of your letter
- A formal sign off (such as Sincerely, your name)
The body of your letter should be used to specifically detail why you are the right fit for the job. As mentioned, be sure to include keywords when possible. Use the cover letter to expand upon the bullet points hiring managers will see on the resume. Include detail here and use full sentences to showcase your writing and communication skills.
Check out this nursing cover letter example to get some ideas.
Once you are confident in your resume, get ready for the next step: interviews! Check out our article How To Ace The Interview Question: Why Should We Hire You?
Conclusion
A healthcare professional resume can make or break your chances of earning an interview. Making sure it is in top form is crucial.
To increase your chances of landing your dream medical career, make sure your healthcare resume includes these five guidelines:
- Tailor your healthcare resume objective
- Feature your educational achievements
- Detail your medical skills
- Proofread, proofread, proofread!
- Include a customized cover letter.
Do you have any tips for creating an effective healthcare resume?
Share with us in the comments below!
BONUS: Hey Healthcare Professionals, snag more interviews with our handy resume template ⇨ Download Template!
