Travel Nurse Resume Examples: 7 Secrets for Standing Out

Are you ready to upgrade your resume and find your dream travel nursing job? We’ve compiled the best travel nurse resume examples and a host of tips and tricks you can use to stand out.

Did you know including a resume along with your agency application can separate you from the pack?

What’s more, professional details above and beyond the application can help recruiters submit you for assignments in a faster, more effective way.

BONUS TEMPLATE: Showcase your experience in the best way.
Download Our Travel Nurse Resume Template!

When it comes to preparing the perfect resume, the rules are a bit different for travel nurses. While some common resume-builder practices help, there are definitely other noteworthy tips every traveling nurse should know.

Let’s go into it in-depth!

The Best Traveling Nurse Resume Secrets

Every resume includes past employment and formal education, but a stellar traveling nurse resume includes much more.

Here’s our list of 7 resume-building secrets you should know for preparing the ultimate travel RN resume.

1. Customize Your Summary

Remember that every travel nurse position is unique. Your resume should be just as unique!

This means that tailoring your resume to each position is key. Your travel nurse resume examples may be for general nursing, so use it as a starting point and customize it to each individual position you seek.

The easiest way to customize your resume for a job is to study the assignment listing.

Look for buzzwords used by the hospital or facility. They are outlining the qualities and skills they seek.

Sprinkle those buzzwords throughout your RN resume. You can even find buzzwords in interview questions.

You may be thinking, “This isn’t a secret! I always do this.”

Here’s the real secret:

Go the extra mile by researching the specific hospital and unit related to the assignment.

Do some research:

Visit the company website.
Find Facebook Groups or other nurse communities at the facility when applicable.
Call them directly with specific questions.

Look for this:

What qualities does the hospital highlight in its mission statement?
Do you possess those qualities? If yes, include them.
Has the hospital reached any notable goals recently?
Include an example of how you met a similar goal in a former position.
What electronic records system does the facility use?
Include your experience with their preferred system in your computer skills section.

Taking the extra step to research the facility can help you uncover information that is not listed in the job posting. More importantly, it will also help you better understand your potential job environment—which is very useful and something only the best travel nurse resume examples do.

Another great place to look for advice is in our article 10 Excellent Pros (and Cons) of Travel Nursing Careers.

2. Conquer the Applicant Tracking System

When it comes to the best travel nurse resume examples, resumes submitted online almost always go through an Applicant Tracking System. This system completes a computerized analysis of each resume before it is ever seen by a human.

Hiring managers and recruiters use Applicant Tracking Systems to streamline the hiring process.

Instead of reading all nurse resumes themselves, this system itemizes your resume by skills and can even rank you against other applicants.

So how do you make sure the computer ranks you at the top?

Follow these tips:

Mirror the job description in key areas whenever possible.
If the description says “16-bed NICU unit specializing in cutting-edge infant care”, include something like “2 years experience in 12-bed NICU unit”.

Focus on relevant experience.
If the description requires travel experience, for example, highlight this in a prominent way (summary, headline).

Format appropriately.
The system’s “resume parser” codes and categorizes your text as data. During this process, it creates a searchable file for you. The easier it is to parse your text, the more thorough your file.

The best nursing resume examples:

Stick with professional but relatively common formatting. Lose the fancy fonts and line breaks that can confuse the system.

Don’t underline words or use uncommon characters.

Use plain bullets.

Use black and white; avoid color.

Refraining from adding images, text boxes, columns, tables or anything else that the system cannot understand.

Use conventional headings like “Summary”, “Experience” and “Computer Skills” for example.

3. Include ALL Licenses and Certifications

The best thing you can do when it comes to your licenses and certifications is to list every last one. Follow these tips from the top travel nurse resumes for properly listing licenses and certifications on your travel nurse resume:

Include the complete title of license or certification.
List the full name of the certifying body.
Include the license of certification number when applicable.
List the date you obtained the license or certification.
List the expiration date if applicable.
Be sure to use the correct significations and state if it is a compact nursing license.

Take a look at the formatting of this on our travel nurse resume examples at the end of this article.

Questions about what a state requires for RN Licensure? Find out more here.

4. Use a Spelling and Grammar Checker

While the Applicant Tracking System may not knock you for a few mistakes, CareerBuilder says 58% of hiring managers will automatically dismiss a resume including spelling or grammar errors.

Gone are the days when you had to rely on a friend to double check your resume. Now you can use tools like RezScore, LiveCareer or Resume-Check to get instant feedback on your work.

Paying close attention to these small details will set you up for success when creating your traveling nurse resume.

Staffing agencies are also a valuable resource when it comes to polishing your resume and they’ll have many travel nurse resume examples for you to review.

5. Choose Your Words Wisely

You may be surprised to learn that swapping certain words on your resume can exponentially increase your odds of landing an interview.

Consider this travel nurse resume example: “Was the leader of a team of three NICU nurses.”
Instead, try: “Supervised a team of four NICU nurses.”

Focusing on action words is a simple way you can make your resume highly impactful. These words help the hiring manager envision your work ethic and picture you in action.

Think about the powerful feeling words like “executed”, “spearheaded”, and “managed” convey. Finding ways to include such vocabulary ensures that you stand out.

Source: TotalMed

6. Be Highly Detailed

You will never find travel nursing resume samples that are considered “too long”.

Remember, that travel nursing is unlike any other job. Short-term positions are not viewed negatively. Not only is that part of the job, it shows your dedication and willingness to be wherever work is needed.

Include every last detail about your past experiences. You need to provide a comprehensive overview of your skills and capabilities.

When the Applicant Tracking System and/or Hiring Manager is reviewing your resume they want to see details about things like:

Qualifications and awards
Managerial experience and style when applicable
Licensing and certifications
Statistics that quantify your successes

If you feel it is relevant to the position, include it. Be concise throughout, but do not feel like you must leave important pieces of information out.

7. Include the Big Six

Stellar traveling nurse resume examples always include six sections.

Let’s review them:

Summary
Speciality
Licenses & Certifications
Professional Experience
Computer Skills
Education

This is the most common order. However, there may be instances in which you modify it.

For example, if the position requires a certain number of licenses and certifications, consider starting with that or including them in your summary.

1. Summary

While the short and sweet objective may be enticing, put in the extra effort and write a real summary. Employers want to know what you really bring to the table. Therefore, tell them!

2. Specialty

This is a brief section where you simply list your specialty and the number of years you have worked in it. You can also mention your personal philosophy of nursing in this section.

3. Licenses & Certifications

As outlined in tip #3, don’t skimp here. The most effective RN resume examples show off the hard work you put into becoming the talented nurse you are.

4. Professional Experience

LiveCareer points out that the professional experience section will make or break getting an interview.

For each position held, include:

Names of employers.
City and state of each employer.
Positions you held in with the most current position at the top.
Employment periods for each job.
A brief description of responsibilities.

5. Computer Skills

You know that technical skills are incredibly important as the healthcare system continues to utilize advancements in technology. Top travel nurse resume examples includes your relevant experience.

List the official name of the systems with which you have experience.
List the amount of time you spent with each system.
Include any specific training you received in the system.
Did you perform any key functions within a system? Be sure to mention it.

6. Education

Include the following information regarding your formal education:

Formal name of the institution(s) you attended.
The dates you attended.
The complete title of the degree you earned.
Any honors that are specific or relevant to the job you are seeking.