Congratulations! You’ve passed the exam and are now certified and seeking employment as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)! Compassion, empathy, patience, excellent communication skills, and skills such as patient care, infection control, CPR, and knowledge of medical terminology are some things that employers look for when searching for the best candidate to fill an open CNA position. While listing the above attributes and skillsets helps show potential employers that you are the right fit for your desired role, keep in mind that your resume should be short and direct. Below are a few tips on how to write a resume that enhances your CNA training and hands-on skills.
Your Resume Should Include Your Contact Information
While it seems as though including your contact information in your resume should be simple and, at the very least, the one thing most remember to add, that is not always the case. Not including it can mean your resume is tossed before the potential employer even has an opportunity to read it. You’ll want to include your name, first and last, phone number, email address, and possibly your address, even if it is just your city and state, so the employer has multiple ways of contacting you.
When adding your contact information, you’ll want to ensure it’s appropriate. Avoid addresses that include nicknames or other personal information that could give a wrong impression. An example of a good email would be Sharenabeard@gmail.com. An example of one that should be avoided would be Ilovefishinganddrinking@gmail.com. You can also include your professional social media sites, or websites, as this lets them know more about you.
Your Resume Should Be Simple and Straightforward
Most employers don’t have time to sit and read word for word every resume they receive. For this reason, only including information essential to the CNA role and using large font and bullet points makes your resume easy to read. Think about the information you, as an employer, would look for in a six to eight-second glance and then add that.
Your Resume Should Include Relevant Professional Experience
Certified Nursing Assistants have a wide range of skills that can be listed on their resumes. A resume should have some hard skills, such as:
patient safety
emergency care
safety and rehabilitation
basic life support
hygiene-related skills
positioning
transferring and moving patients
observing and recording vital signs
using medical equipment
It should also include soft skills, such as:
attention to detail
interpersonal skills
time management
and a strong work ethic
Knowing how to balance your skills on your resume is essential. Often, the hard skills needed for a CNA position can be taught. As a result, some employers look for candidates with stronger soft skills, so if you are great at critical thinking and problem solving or are very reliable, highlight that.
Your Resume Should Include Relevant Educational Experience
When creating your resume, you should include a list of your relevant higher education experience, such as the college institution or training center you’ve attended. The location, date range, and degree or certifications received should be at the bottom of your resume after you’ve listed your professional experience.
Your Resume Should Include a List of Skills
Again, creating a list of the skills you have that apply to the position you are seeking helps you stand out amongst other candidates. Here is where you can list in detail all of your hard and soft skills. Use bullet points to separate them.
Now that we’ve shared with you tips on how to write a resume, we’d like you to take a moment and share in the comments some tips you’ve found helpful as a CNA when creating your resume.
What are the next steps?
Schedule a Tour at Nurse Resource Training Center LLCComplete an Enrollment Application https://form.jotform.com/nurseresourcetrainingcenter/Enrollment
Sign up for a course. Use Code "CNA200" for $200.00 off.
Evening Course (6 Weeks)
Weekend Course (10 Weeks)
Graduate (Go You!)
Start your new career as a Certified Nursing Assistant!
Nurse Resource Training Center is now a CEU Provider. Classes will be available starting near the summer of 2023 and can be taken at the training center to meet the 24-hour requirement.
*Please note. You will need to upload documents to CE Broker. Courses can be found here at https://courses.cebroker.com/search/fl/certified-nursing-assistant. Feel free to contact us for more details.
References:
Nurse Sharena Beard, MSN, RN
Founder of Nurse Resource Training Center LLC
850-792-6619