how to make a resume for a cna job

• Premium Login
• Pass the First Time with Premium
• How to Write a Winning CNA Resume: Objectives, Skills, and Examples

• How to Become a CNA: Beginner Certified Nursing Assistant’s Guide
• Contact information
• Skills and Qualifications
• CNA resume sample

Whether you’re looking for your first job or your next one, you need a resume that shows employers that you are a skilled professional. Your resume is a summary of your education, experience, and qualifications. When you submit a resume with an application or take it with you to a job interview , you are showing pride in your career and capabilities.

If you’re new in the profession

Even if you are just entering the workforce and have just read the CNA job description , you need a resume. First, it sets you apart from other new CNAs. Second, it marks you as a serious professional. Third, it shows that you have abilities and experience that matter to an employer.

If you’re more experienced

If you’re an experienced CNA , your resume shows your development as a health care professional. It can highlight your work experience and accomplishments. Not every CNA bothers to develop a resume. Yours will put you at the front of the hiring line.

A good resume will put you at the front of the hiring line.

Writing a resume is not difficult, but it does take time and planning. You’ll need to have some basic information and a few dates. You should also spend a few minutes thinking about your strengths and career goals . The contents of a new CNA’s resume will differ from those of a CNA who has held a job or two . But the process is the same.

Ready? Let’s do it! Here are the steps to create your personal CNA resume

Contact information:.

Provide your full name, home address, phone number, and email address. Note: Be sure your email address looks professional. It can be some form of your name, such as “BettyNurse” or “Betty_Nurse.” Avoid cute or funny email addresses such as “HotNurse” or “Wild_Betty.” Get a new email address if necessary. If you wish to add a number to it, do not use your birth year.

In a sentence or two, describe your career goals and provide a capsule description of yourself. A new CNA job seeker might write, “Compassionate, CPR-certified CNA seeking an entry-level position in long-term care to provide outstanding patient care as a dependable team member. “” A more experienced CNA might write, “Experienced and reliable CNA with excellent patient care and documentation skills, seeking a position in pediatric care. Adept at working in a variety of health care settings. “

Skills and Qualifications:

Here is where you get to tell a prospective employer how great you are. Don’t overlook basic skills just because they don’t seem particularly noteworthy. The CNA’s role is to measure and record fundamental information about the patients. Here are some examples of skills you can list:

• CPR and first-aid certified (add the date)
• Patient and environmental safety
• Proficient in basic skills of patient care
• Vital signs and patient observation
• Knowledgeable in medical terminology
• HIPAA and patient privacy
• Excellent communication skills
• Use of proper documentation standards
• Supportive of family members
• Strong organizational skills
• Willing to learn new skills

These are only examples. Feel free to think about what you do and know, and add those. Of course, never mention a skill if you can’t do it. That could come back to bite you.

In reverse chronological order, list each school you attended on a separate line. Begin with your CNA training: “ ABC Vocational School, City, State. Completed (add the date). ” If you have your certification, include the date that it was awarded. If you are waiting for the results or have not yet taken the examination, state, “ Certification in process. ” Next, add other schools. If you graduated from high school in the past five years, add the school and year of graduation. If it was more than five years ago, you do not need to include it. Have you taken any other courses? Do you have any other training? Even if you took a computer course or had the mandatory OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen training at your job, it’s fine to list it here.

Experience:

If you’re a new CNA, list your clinical and extern experience and dates. You can add a brief statement about the patient care you gave: “ Assisted with bathing, feeding, vital signs. Documented in each patient’s medical record. ” Then go on to list other jobs you’ve had, even if they weren’t medical. Employers like to see that you have work experience of some kind, at least. If you’re an experienced CNA, you can, of course, list your CNA jobs with dates and short descriptions of their duties. Add any extra duties or accomplishments such as “ CNA of the Quarter ” or “ Safety Committee Member. “

References:

You need at least two professional references. Always get their permission before listing them on your resume. At least one needs to be a supervisor; for a new student, an instructor is acceptable. You can also provide a reference from a past nonmedical job, such as a manager from the restaurant where you worked while going to school. A co-worker is fine, too, if the person can speak about your skills and work ethic. Provide each reference’s name, title, phone number, and email address.

Your resume should be no longer than two pages. One page would be even better. If you’re not sure how to phrase your skills, or if you want examples of objective statements, visit some job websites for ideas.

Your resume should be no longer than two pages. One page would be even better.

Here are some links to get inspiration.

• For a new CNA: Resume-Now.com , LiveCareer.com
• For an experienced CNA: Monster.com , LiveCareer.com , Nursing-Resume.org

If you look at sample resumes online, you’ll see dozens of different formats and resume templates. Some are simple; others are elaborate. Don’t worry about being fancy or adding clip art of stethoscopes or Band-Aids. Keep your resume neat and error-free. Make copies on good-quality white paper.

When you apply for a job in person, you may be asked to fill out a paper application. Complete it and attach a copy of your resume. Yes, much of the same information will appear on both, but your resume will make your application stand out.

If you submit your application online, you should also have an opportunity to attach your resume. Again, even though the information may seem repetitive, go ahead and attach the resume.

The health care industry is competitive.

Although the demand for CNAs is growing, you want to have a competitive advantage, especially for the best jobs. Your resume (together with a CNA cover letter) can open doors for you, so don’t neglect these valuable tools.

About the Author

Winona Suzanne Ball

Nursing Adviser, RN | MHS, Governors State University, IL Full member of the American Nurses Association. Learn more

More help for you

CNA practice test

What is a CNA?

CNA job description

How to become a CNA

How to write a CNA resume

CNA skills test how-to

CNA certification requirements

CNA terminology

CNA Exam Simulator

All CNA articles

Preparing for your CNA exam? Sure you can study the dusty textbooks, but they don’t give you a pass guarantee. We do. Pass using our fast and efficient method, or your Premium membership is free.

What’s Your Time and Sanity Worth?

Sure you can study the dusty textbooks, but they don’t give you a pass guarantee. We do. Pass your CNA exam using our fast and efficient method, or it’s free.

CNA Resume Example (W/ Full Guide & Resume Tips for 2024)

So, you’re a certified nurse assistant.

Like many professionals in the healthcare industry, you probably dream of making a difference by helping people.

And yet, you can’t seem to get a job where you can do that. 

Truth is, getting a CNA certification isn’t enough to land your dream job.

After all, to many aspiring nurses, the CNA position is a stepping stone towards a career in the healthcare industry. Yeah, you guessed it - the competition is tough.

For this reason, whether you’re a newly certified nursing assistant or an experienced professional, you need to stand out from your competitors—and what better way to do it than by writing an effective CNA resume?

So, let us lend you a helping hand and show you exactly how to write a CNA resume that will help you win the job.

In this article, we will cover:

CNA Resume Example

• 8-Step Guide to Build the Perfect CNA Resume
• 55+ Top CNA Skills in 2022

So, let’s dive right in.

Here are all the elements that make the CNA resume example at the top great:

• Reverse-chronological resume format. The CNA resume example above uses the reverse-chronological resume format to highlight the candidate’s work experience. Not to mention, this resume format is recruiters’ favorite!
• Contact information. This CNA resume example contains all the necessary contact details, including the candidate’s full name, email address, location, and phone number. 
• Attention-grabbing resume summary. This CNA resume example contains an impressive resume summary that emphasizes the candidate’s professional achievements.
• Focus on work achievements. The CNA resume example above highlights the candidate’s work achievements, which helps their resume to stand out.
• Concise education section. Higher education isn’t a requirement for CNAs, so this candidate kept their education short by only including their key education details.
• Good use of bullet points. This CNA resume example uses bullet points to structure and present information, making this resume easy to skim.
• Well-structured skills section. Instead of listing all of the candidate’s skills, this CNA resume example only includes the most relevant skills for the CNA position.
• Certifications. The CNA resume example above lists all of the candidate’s certifications in the reverse-chronological order.
• Additional sections. This CNA resume example includes relevant associations and language skills to help the candidate stand out from other candidates with similar certifications and work experience.

8-Step Guide to Build the Perfect CNA Resume 

Now that you know the elements of an outstanding CNA resume, you’re ready to start writing your own job-winning CNA resume.

So, here are the exact steps that will help you create the perfect CNA resume:

#1. Format Your CNA Resume the Right Way 

First things first - let’s address the formatting. 

Generally speaking, you have 3 resume format options:

• Reverse-chronological resume format
• Functional resume format
• Combination (hybrid) resume format

A well-formatted resume will present your information in the most effective way, and for this reason, you want to go with the reverse-chronological resume format .

Apart from being the most popular resume format worldwide and recruiters’ favorite, the reverse-chronological resume format helps you make the most out of your CNA resume by putting your work achievements at the center of attention.

Here’s an example of the reverse-chronological resume format:

This said, choosing the right resume format isn’t all there is to format your CNA resume - you also need to refine your resume layout . 

So, here are all the elements that make an effective resume layout:

• Set the right margins. You don’t want your resume to look cluttered, so the use of white space will increase the readability of your resume.
• Keep your resume short. Having a one-page resume increases the odds of the hiring manager actually reading your CNA resume - after all, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes every day.
• Choose a professional font. To make sure that your CNA resume is easy-to-read, choose a professional font that will look good on both PDF and paper.
• Use bullet points. Using bullet points to organize the information makes your CNA resume look neat and well-structured.
• Save your resume in the right format. Your best option is to save your CNA resume in PDF format . This will ensure your resume looks exactly as intended no matter the device or OS the hiring manager uses to open your resume.

Use a Resume Template (and Save Time) 

As a certified nursing assistant, you’re great at time management and prioritizing tasks.

So, you probably want to focus more of your time and energy on perfecting your resume contents than formatting.

Well, with our resume templates , you can jump straight into filling in your CNA resume contents without having to worry about your resume formatting!

Our resume templates are well-structured and look much more impressive than standard Word resumes - after all, they’re designed in collaboration with professional recruiters.

See for yourself how our free, tried-and-tested resume templates compare to the standard, black-and-white basic resumes:

#2. List the Relevant Contact Details 

Once you’re done formatting your CNA resume, you’re ready to start filling in the contents.

So, let’s start with the basics - first, list your contact information , including:

• Your full name
• Your title (optional)
• Your phone number
• Your email address
• Your location 

It’s really that simple!

Here’s an example of the contact information section in a CNA resume:

Certified Nursing Assistant

012-345-6789

[email protected]

Orlando, Florida

#3. Write a Memorable Resume Summary or Objective

You want to catch the hiring manager’s interest from the get-go - and there’s no better way to do it than by writing an impressive resume summary or objective.

In short, both the resume summary and the resume objective are 2-3 sentence paragraphs that provide recruiters a brief (but effective!) overview of your professional background, allowing them to quickly determine whether your CNA resume is worth taking a closer look at.

Luckily, you don’t need to write both a resume summary and a resume objective - here’s how to choose the right one for you:

• If you have relevant work experience , write a resume summary to show off your professional background, skills, and achievements.
• If you don’t have CNA experience , write a resume objective to highlight your skills and share your professional goals. 

Here’s what you need to include in your resume summary to make sure it impresses the hiring manager:

• Your position
• Years of experience
• Your most relevant CNA skills
• 1-2 top professional achievements

And here’s an example of an excellent CNA resume summary:

• Dependable and patient-focused Certified Nursing Assistant with 4+ years of experience in providing top-quality elderly patient care. Skilled and experienced in conflict management, bladder retraining, and denture care. Resolved a long-standing conflict between nurses, leading to a 7% increase in patient satisfaction in Nursing Home X.

Now, if you don’t have relevant work experience, write an eye-catching resume objective by mentioning the following:

• Your certifications, industry-related degrees, and licenses 
• Any nursing-related experience and skills that make you the right fit for the position
• Your motivation to work for the organization or company
• Compassionate, newly-certified Nurse Assistant looking to use interpersonal skills gained from volunteering in a developmental disability center to provide exceptional patient care at Organization X. Experienced in providing care for neurodivergent children and children with learning disabilities.

#4. Highlight Your Work Achievements 

Next, it’s time to focus on the most important section of your CNA resume, which is the work experience section. 

First things in order, start with your latest position and format your work experience section as such:

• Begin each entry with your job title. Make sure that your job title accurately reflects the role you had in your previous/current workplace.
• Include the company's information. Apart from the company name and location, you can also add a brief description (especially if the company isn’t well-known).
• Add the employment date. Use the mm/yyyy format to show the recruiter how long you’ve worked in each company.
• Use bullet points to list your achievements and responsibilities. Ideally, you want to use 5-6 bullet points for the most recent jobs and 2-3 bullet points for older roles.

Now, if you’re looking to maximize your chances of landing the job, follow these tips to make your CNA resume stand out from the rest: 

• Focus on your achievements and make them quantifiable. To show the recruiter exactly what you can bring to the table, make sure to emphasize your achievements over your responsibilities. Moreover, make the most out of your work experience section by backing up your achievements with numbers (e.g. ‘Aided 14 patients…’ instead of ‘Aided patients’).
• Tailor your work experience section. If you have relevant work experience, the hiring manager won’t care you were waiting tables in high school. As such, you’re best off only mentioning the work experience that’s most relevant to the CNA position.
• Make use of action verbs. Starting each entry with ‘Responsible for…’ can quickly get boring, so use action verbs to make your work experience section pop (e.g. assisted, provided, aided, helped, organized, etc.’).

And here’s an example of a work experience section that includes all of the elements mentioned above:

Nursing Home X

05/ 2019 - 04/2022

• Successfully managed 8 CNAs for over a month while the nurse manager was absent.
• Trained a team of 15+ nurses to effectively use a newly implemented EHR software.
• Provided high-quality patient care for 40+ patients monthly.
• Fed, bathed, groomed, and otherwise assisted bedridden patients. 
• Accurately measured and documented patient food and fluid intake as well as their vital signs, including blood pressure and heart rate.

What If I Don’t Have Work Experience? 

CNA is an entry-level position , which means that many CNAs start their career without any relevant work experience.

So, if you just got your certification and are looking to land your first CNA job, worry not - chances are, just like you, many of your competitors have little to no work experience .

However, this doesn’t mean that you should simply skip this section. On the contrary, here’s what you need to do to get a winning edge over your competitors (regardless of their work experience!):

• Add any work experience that helped you gain relevant soft skills (e.g. if you’ve worked in retail or customer service, make sure to write it down - these jobs require a ton of patience, teamwork, adaptability, and other skills that are highly valued in a CNA).
• Mention your volunteering experience to show you’re genuinely interested in assisting other people, projects, or organizations.
• List any other experience , such as internships, mentorships, and au pair experience, where you were helpful to others.

Here’s what this could look like on your CNA resume:

Activity Big Buddy

Buddy Program X

09/2020 - 10/2020

• Assisted and supported an 11-year-old Little Buddy with a non-verbal learning disability and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in participating in basketball and art classes twice a week. 
• Helped the Little Buddy to maintain focus, follow instructions, and improve hand-eye coordination through physical and creative activities.
• Taught the Little Buddy how to navigate the public transportation system, which significantly increased his independence.
• Helped the Little Buddy to meet new people, make friends, and interpret other people’s body language, thus improving his social skills.
• Won the “Outstanding Volunteer Award 2020.”

#5. Keep Your Education Section Concise 

Here’s some good news - writing the education section of your CNA resume doesn’t take nearly as much time and effort as your work experience section. 

That’s because you don’t actually need a college degree to become a CNA, unlike with other nursing jobs. In fact, you can even get CNA training in high school . 

And, speaking of high school, only list it on your CNA resume if you don’t have higher education.

So, keep your education section brief by starting with your latest degree and mentioning just the key education details, which include:

• Degree Name
• College, university, or other educational institution
• Location (optional)
• Attendance years

Additionally, if you don’t have any work experience, feel free to mention any CNA-related high school or college courses that you took (and were good at) in bullet points.

Here’s an example of a short and sweet education section:

BSc in Nursing Studies (Adult) Glasgow Caledonian University 09/2017 - 07/2020

#6. Add In-Demand CNA Skills 

The skills section is another highly important section of your CNA resume as it shows the recruiter your professional abilities. 

Generally speaking, as a CNA, you need a good mixture of soft skills and hard skills. 

Luckily, you’ve likely gained most, if not all, of the necessary skills as a CNA while training for your certification. 

So, all you need to do is simply list your hard skills separately from your soft skills to make your CNA well-organized. 

Other than that, you want to make sure your skills section is tailored to the position. 

As such, you want to only include CNA-related skills in your resume - in other words, if your advanced programming skills won’t be useful for your job, you don’t have to list them on your CNA resume’s skills section. 

Not sure which skills to put on your CNA resume?

Worry not! We’ve compiled a list of 55+ top CNA skills to get you started.

55+ Top CNA Skills in 2024

20 soft cna skills.

• Active listening
• Attention to detail
• Responsibility
• Communication skills
• Conflict resolution
• Interpersonal skills
• Dependability
• Emotional intelligence
• Helpfulness
• Stress management
• Adaptability
• Problem-solving
• Strong work ethic
• Prioritization
• Time management

35 Hard CNA Skills

• Patient positioning
• Perineal care
• Manual and electronic blood pressure recording
• Manual and electronic radial pulse recording
• Manual and electronic respiratory rate recording
• Measuring and recording height
• Measuring and recording weight
• Assisting using a bedpan
• Upper and lower denture care
• Feeding and serving paralyzed patients
• Partial bed baths
• Making unoccupied and occupied beds
• Proper handwashing
• Putting and removing clean and contaminated gowns and gloves
• Back massage
• Assisting in dressing
• Medical terminology knowledge
• Infection control
• Diabetes care
• Elderly care
• Disability care
• Bladder and bowel retraining
• Restraint and side rail usage
• Protective device attachment and management
• Serving supplements, vitamins, and medicine
• Meal and supplement intake recording
• Fluid intake and urinary output recording
• EHR software knowledge
• Indirect care
• Catheter care and maintenance
• Range of motion exercises
• Elastic support stocking application
• Ambulation using a gait belt

#7. Include Your CNA Certifications 

As the title implies, certifications are vital to landing a certified nursing assistant job.

For this reason, make sure to list all industry-related certifications you hold on your CNA resume.

If you have more than one certification, start with the latest one and go back in time to make your CNA resume consistent and well-organized.

Some of the most popular certifications for CNAs include the following:

• Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) certification
• Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) certification
• Basic Life Support (BLS) certification
• State Tested Nursing Assistant (STNA) certification (only in Ohio)
• Home Health Aide (HHA) certification
• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) certification

And here are all the details that you should mention:

• Certification name
• Name of agency
• Year of obtainment
• Location (if applicable)
• Expiration date (if applicable)
• Expected date of obtainment (if you’re still in training)

Here’s an example:

Certified Nursing Assistant (2021-2023) American Red Cross

#8. Take Advantage of These Optional Resume Sections 

Now, if you still have some free space on your CNA resume, don’t let it go to waste and include some additional sections to gain an advantage over your competitors.

As a CNA, consider adding one or more of these optional resume sections:

• Associations and societies as well as your role in them.
• Conferences , such as Nursing World Conference and World Congress on Nursing Care and Healthcare.
• Awards , if any of them are related to nursing.
• Languages , including your language proficiency level.

And here’s an example of how you should organize these additional sections in your CNA resume:

Conferences

• 28th International Congress on Nursing and Primary Health Care (2021)
• World Nursing Congress (2020)

Associations

• National Association of Health Care Assistants (NAHCA) (2018 - Present)

#9. Attach a Cover Letter to Your CNA Resume 

At this point, you should have a better understanding of what it takes to write a truly impressive CNA resume. 

But, there’s one more step we need to address - writing a compelling cover letter to back up your CNA resume (and secure the job!).

Essentially, your cover letter should prove to the recruiter that you’re the perfect CNA for their company. 

Specifically, your cover letter gives you an opportunity to:

• Provide more detail on your professional background.
• Mention any important information that you’ve skipped in your CNA resume.
• Explain why you’re interested in working for this particular organization.

If this bit sounds a bit challenging, worry not - you don’t need to be a skilled writer to create a compelling cover letter.

Simply follow these steps and you’ll have a job-landing cover letter in no time:

• Start your cover letter by listing your contact information.
• Address the cover letter directly to the hiring manager (or, if not possible, the company or department).
• Write an attention-grabbing opening paragraph by focusing on your professional achievements.
• Use the body of your cover letter to highlight your skills, experience, and explain why you’d be a great asset to the company, thus proving you’re the perfect fit for the position.
• Effectively close the cover letter with a call to action.

Need more assistance writing your cover letter? Check out our guides on writing a cover letter , cover letter writing tips , and cover letter writing mistakes .

And here’s an impressive cover letter template example :

If you’re looking to leave a lasting impression on the hiring manager, use our cover letter templates to match your cover letter to your CNA resume and show off your attention to detail!

Key Takeaways 

Congrats - by now, you should be ready to write the perfect CNA resume and a convincing cover letter to help you secure your dream job!

Before you go, though, let’s quickly recap some of the key points of writing a job-landing CNA resume:

• Pick the reverse-chronological resume format to put a spotlight on your work experience and skills.
• To show the hiring manager you’re a relevant candidate for the position, write an engaging resume summary (if you have work experience) or objective (if you don’t have work experience).
• Make the most out of your work experience section by focusing on quantifiable achievements.
• Include all of your relevant certifications in reverse-chronological order to make your CNA resume easy to follow.
• To help you secure the job, attach a compelling cover letter to your CNA resume.

To provide a safer experience, the best content and great communication, we use cookies. Learn how we use them for non-authenticated users.

CNA Resumes & Resume Writing Guide

Although the demand for Certified Nursing Assistants (=CNA) is growing, you may still need a competitive advantage, especially for the top jobs. Use our Certified Nursing Assistant resume samples and accompanying write-up as tools to help in placing your resume at the front of the interview line. CNA's have a passion for providing care to patients, and our passion is resume creation.

By working through our resume guidelines and applying them to your own resume document, you will immediately grab the attention of hiring managers and recruiters by showing them that you are a competent professional ready to make a difference in the lives of patients.

What you can read in this article

Certified Nursing Assistant Resume Sample

(Free pdf CNA resume sample downloads are at the bottom of this page)

CNA Resume Writing Guide

Resume sections.

1. Contact Information: First Name, Last Name, Phone Numbers, Email Address, and Location. Include professional profile links such as LinkedIn.

2. Career Summary: View this as a capsule synopsis of your professional self to be written in 2-3 sentences. The introduction to your resume provides an outline of what is to come regarding your skills, accomplishments and working experience. A career summary could either be the first paragraph or the last paragraph a hiring manager ends up reading, so make it counts. Powerful action verbs, wow factors, and credentials should be incorporated into 4-6 lines, typed in bold, and also in a different font to grab the reader’s attention.

3. Qualifications Summary: A degree is not required to apply for a Certified Nursing Assistant role. However, practical training to attain a non-degree certificate or diploma is a must. Ensure that your CNA practical training is listed first in the education section stipulating dates completed, qualification name, vocational school, and location). CNA training programs are approved by your state’s nursing board and by the National League for Nursing Accredited Commission (NLNAC). You may also list your results received for the CNA Certification Examination. If you have less than five years of experience, it is wise to include High School Diploma or GED particulars as well. Certified Nursing Assistants that completed additional courses, for instance, the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen stand a better chance of securing higher-paying jobs as prestigious hospitals

4. Relevant Nursing Experience: You may be a rookie Certified Nursing Assistant who just completed the CNA examination and required practical training consisting of extern and clinical experience. Elaborate on the type of patient care given during this period and beef your resume up with previous vocational, temporary, or permanent roles during the last ten years to beef up your resume. If you have been a Certified Nursing Assistant for a while, list the previous three employment histories or nursing experience for the last ten years. Separate duty sentences with bullet points to make the resume neat and easy to read.

5. Skills Summary/Key Skills: Relevance is crucial to the skills section. Choose the most prominent skills mentioned in the job advertisement and align them with your core competencies and interpersonal traits. This approach is called Resume SEO and will guarantee that your application passes through ATS (applicant tracking systems) and the screening bots and be read by an actual human.

What to Highlight in a Certified Nursing Assistant Resume

Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA) provides care to clients, patients, clients, or residents of the agency or facility or agency that they work for. These may include basic assistance with dressing, bathing, and eating or performing medical activities such as taking vital signs, administering medications or setting up IVs, for example.

Regardless of the specific duties, you perform as a Certified Nursing Assistant, there are certain aspects to highlight on your resume that will assure recruiters and hiring managers of your commitment to individualized care and your core competencies to provide each patient with the best possible care and service.

First up is your work setting. Certified Nursing Assistants are employed in a variety of working environments:

• Long Term Care Facilities: Also called Nursing homes trained CNA’s are employed to assist the elderly, disabled, or mentally ill patients in performing basic functions such as eating, going to the bathroom, or bathing. You would also be responsible for taking vital signs, drawing blood samples or administering daily medicines.
• Home Health Agencies: They offer Certified Nursing Assistants with the option to work with clients individually on a “one to one” basis. In this role, you are assigned to a single patient providing them with home care or ADL (assisted daily living), for example, meal preparation, housekeeping, shopping, and general preventative healthcare.
• Hospitals: Certified Nursing Assistant jobs are most commonly found in hospitals that could be private or government-operated facilities. Gaining hospital experience offers CNA’s a chance to get exposure to a wide variety of patient care categories, for instance, ER, Geriatrics or Pediatrics. The work pace is breakneck due to the number of patients that require assistance every day.

Next on the resume agenda is the scope of your role. Some nurses are tasked with one or two primary duties, such as taking vital signs and prepping patients for surgery, but they perform these duties for a large number of patients across the facility. In other cases, Certified Nursing Assistants can be assigned to specific wards in the hospital, for instance, the Cancer or Burn Wards, where they perform more comprehensive nursing duties, but only for patients in that particular ward.

A smart idea is to break down your primary functions into subcategories and elaborate on your daily KPI’s for each category:

• Bathing, Dressing, Feeding: Explain to recruiters the schedule that you follow to get all the patients bathed, fed, and dressed in an appropriate timeframe and also mention how many patients you can handle in a day. You can also provide more detail on the nature of the conditions your patients have requiring your assistance with ADL (assisted daily living activities) for example stroke victims, or amputees
• Taking Vital Signs: This may include monitoring blood pressure or taking temperatures, and you need to list the equipment you are comfortable in using and also how you would record the readings.
• Cleaning & Sanitizing: If you are tasked with cleaning and sanitation of wards, rooms, laundry, and bedpans, stipulate the number of hours it takes you to complete each cleaning activity. Although not glamorous, keeping patients comfortable with clean sheets, spotless rooms, and sterile bathrooms is an important aspect of a Certified Nursing Assistant’s job.
• Medical Procedures and Equipment: Once you have a bit of skin in the game and a few months experience, more exciting activities such as setting up medical equipment for consultations or theatre operations will become part of your KPI’s. List all the machinery that you are responsible for and also the equipment that you can use when performing medical procedures such as incisions, setting up IV’s and drawing blood.
• Safety: Patient safety is a crucial part of a Certified Nursing Assistant’s job. Tell the reader about your CPR and First Aid credentials and whether you had to put those skills to the test in any way shape, or form during your career. Just as important is environmental safety and security, here you can mention knowledge of safety policies, security protocols, emergency procedures, and fire safety processes.

* Cool Tip for a stellar resume: Make a favorable first impression by including appreciation letters from patients and family members or recommendations given by supervisors and physicians to boost your credibility. Add them to Instagram, Pinterest, or create a folder on Google Drive and include the links in your resume document.

CNA Resume Objectives & Examples

Hospital administrators, Medical Facility Boards, Staff Nurses, Matrons, and Physicians are responsible for hiring Certified Nursing Assistants. Create a resume summary that captures their attention and interest immediately.

Use a career summary to impress hiring managers with a snapshot of your experience, passion for patients, accomplishments and most prestigious credentials. Remember to elevate the impact of your career summary by including a wow factor or measurable achievement.

A cool trick is to replicate the terminology from the job advertisement in your career synopsis to show how your experience aligns with the job at hand. For example: if the job calls for empathy, a passion for patients, and meticulous nature, use similar wording in your career summary.

Example Objectives:

Career Summary 1

Compassionate, empathetic CNA graduate with CPR Certification and six-months practical experience gained in an ER environment. Committed to providing excellent patient care proven by numerous commendations from ER Physicians and previous patients. Adept at operating a variety of emergency response medical equipment such as defibrillators and resuscitation devices with three years of experience gained working as a volunteer paramedic.

Career Summary 2

Patient-focused Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) with six years of experience in providing direct patient care in pediatric and neonatal wards. Highly adept at taking vital signs and administering medication to babies and infant patients. CPR and BLS certified. Meticulous in adhering to health and safety protocols to maintain infection control standards. 

Career Summary 3

Top-performing Certified Nursing Assistant with a proven track record in offering excellent assisted daily living (ADL) care to senior citizens in a hospice environment.  Highly attentive to individual patient needs from a physical and emotional perspective. Genuine desire to improve the comfort levels of patients and meticulous about adhering to safety and security policies and minimize any external risks to patients and the direct facility environment.

CNA Job Descriptions & Responsibility Samples

A Hospital Principal or Health Facility Executive board may expect specific foundational skills and work duties on a Certified Nursing Assistant Resume. In the section below, we have listed numerous generic job duties and CNA responsibilities that you may amend to align to your current and previous work experience.

A Certified Nursing Assistant may:

• Display sound clinical skills in assessment of vital signs, performing glucose checks and lab draws
• Providing pre- and post-operative care to patients in ICU
• Adhere to safety guidelines to eliminate safety risks to patients and the health care facility environment
• Ensure the accurate, timely flow of information by maintaining detailed patient records providing progress updates to respective healthcare teams
• Comply with HIPAA standards in processing patient documentation and recording of medical information
• Provide high-quality patient assistance in rehab, surgical, acute-care, hospice nursing-home healthcare settings
• Focused on preserving patient dignity and minimizing discomfort during nursing duties such as bed bathing, inserting IV’s drawing blood, removing draining bags and changing bedpans
• Maintain up to date charts recording hourly vital sign scores such as temperature, blood pressure, and heart rates
• On-call to answer patient buzzers and assisting with requests from patients and family members where needed
• Turn, reposition and ambulate elderly patients on a six-hour schedule
• Observing patients for any changes in physical or mental conditions and report issues to the Staff Nurse
• Tidying-up wards, restrooms, and family waiting areas
• Assist with cleaning and sanitizing theatre equipment and surgical instruments post-operative procedures
• Assist with serving meals and feeding patients during breakfast and lunchtimes also offering snacks and beverages to visiting family members
• Assist incapacitated patients in maintaining daily personal hygiene such as bathing, dental care, and skincare regimes
• Comfortable with basic medical procedures, for example, administering enemas, applying dressings, and conducting heat and ice treatments
• Comply with HIPAA Privacy Act to protect confidential medical records and patient information.
• Measure and record patients’ liquid and food intake
• Assist the Staff Nurse with complex medical procedures
• Monitor medical supply levels in the storeroom and conduct a weekly stocktake of medication

Highlight Your Accomplishments

Recruiters and hiring managers review hundreds of resumes every month. This means your Certified Nursing Assistant resume should catch their attention for the right reasons. To improve the visibility of your application, accomplishments should be listed in a separate section of your resume. The aim of accomplishments statements is to showcase your ability to care for patients with your excellent technical skills as well as interpersonal traits of empathy, compassion, and encouragement quantified by numbers representing the outcomes you have achieved. Quantifying accomplishment statements elevate their impact, so weave numerical values, percentages, scores, numbers, frequencies, and time frames into your statements.

You should pick an average of five accomplishments/achievements that you deem significant enough to distinguish you from the rest of the candidates.

Let us look at a few questions to ask yourself when writing accomplishment statements to add depth and prove your capability to generate results:

• What is the number of patients you are assigned to care for in a day?
• What is the size of the facility you work at?
• How many times do you take vital signs in a day?
• What type of medical procedures can you perform and how many of these have you performed?

Accomplishment Statement Examples:

• Directed a team of junior certified nursing assistants for two weeks in the absence of the nursing manager with a zero-incident rating
• Implemented a system that facilitated continuity of patient care across multiple shifts resulting in a 25% increase in positive patient reviews
• Spearheaded a nursing risk management initiative reducing the probability of incorrectly administering medication by 99.9%
• Implemented automated instrument sanitation and sterilizing schedule with phone notifications and reminders thereby reducing infection risks by 85%
• Created an online cloud-based recordkeeping system which increased efficiency in documenting nursing activities via reports, forms, and logs with 50%

CNA Education Section & Examples

The education section of a Certified Nursing Assistant should be comprehensive detailing all qualifications, certifications, training programs and courses completed (in this section more is more).

If the hiring manager finds it difficult to see your credentials, you are already halfway to the decline resume pile. Display your education and certifications neatly in separate lines on your resume. Be sure to include the certification name, issue date, the entity that issued the certificate, and, if relevant, the expiration date.

If you’ve completed additional training or completed additional certifications relevant to a Certified Nursing assistant job, feel free to include those too.

A CNA’s education section example:

2017 – Associates Degree in Medical Assistance, Metropolitan Technical College, Omaha, NE

2016 – Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), Maryland Board of Nursing, Baltimore, MD Course Curriculum: Role and Responsibilities of the CAN, Safety and Infection Control, Promotion of Function and Health of Residents, Basic Nursing Care and Restorative Skills, Emotional and Mental Health Needs, Resident Rights

2016 – CPR Certification, American Red Cross, Baltimore, MD

2015 – Nurse’s Aide Program, Apex Nursing School, Sometown, CT Nurse’s Aide Program Completed 60 hours of clinical training

2014 – Basic Life Support (BLS) for Healthcare Providers, American Heart Association, Mecosta Medical Center, Traverse City, MI

CNA's Resume Skills List

It is a given that Certified Nursing Assistants should have a passion for patient care, be their emotional soundboard of patients and families, and enhance patient comfort levels. All of these require various personality traits and technical competencies.

A smart way to present your skills section is to use skills matrix tables to provide a comprehensive picture of your skill set. The three skills matrix tables to use in a Certified Nursing Assistant resume include Technical Competencies, Interpersonal Traits, and a final one for Tools, Instruments, and Equipment.

Technical Competencies

Interpersonal Traits

Tools, Equipment & Instruments

Qualifications/Certifications associated with Certified Nursing Assistants

Professional information on Certified Nursing Assistants

Sectors:  Healthcare, Home care, Medical, Clinical Childcare Career Type:  Differentiated Instruction, Children-Centered Learning, Early Childhood Development, Peer-to-Peer Learning, Project-Based Learning Person type:   Supervisor, Cheerleader, Disciplinarian, Liaison, Helper, Tutor, Counselor, Coordinator, Instructor, Guide Education levels:  Nursing Diploma, Bachelor’s degree and upwards Salary indication : $7.25 to $26.65 per hour  ( Indeed ) Labor market : Estimated 11% from 2018 to 2028 (Bureau of Labor Statistics) Organizations : Hospitals, Medical Facilities, Corporate, Step Down Facilities, Nursing Homes, Old Age Homes, Disability Clinics, School Clinics, Military, Hospices, Schools, Psychiatric Institutions, Rehab Facilities

Download CNA Resume Samples (Pdf)

Certified Nursing Assistant – Resume (0).PDF

Certified Nursing Assistant – Resume (1).PDF

Certified Nursing Assistant – Resume (2).PDF

Certified Nursing Assistant – Resume (3).PDF

Certified Nursing Assistant – Resume (4).PDF

Certified Nursing Assistant – Resume (5).PDF

Certified Nursing Assistant – Resume (6).PDF

Certified Nursing Assistant – Resume (7).PDF

Certified Nursing Assistant – Resume (8).PDF

Certified Nursing Assistant – Resume (9).PDF

Certified Nursing Assistant – Resume (10).PDF

Certified Nursing Assistant – Resume (11).PDF

Nothing Found

• Resume Templates Simple Professional Modern Creative View all
• Resume Examples Nurse Student Internship Teacher Accountant View all
• Resume Builder
• Cover Letter Templates Simple Professional Modern Creative View all
• Cover Letter Examples Nursing Administrative Assistant Internship Graduate Teacher View all
• Cover Letter Builder
• Resume Examples

CNA resume example & writing guide

CNA salaries and job outlook

Certified nursing assistants, known as CNAs, assist elderly, ill, disabled and injured patients in performing daily living tasks that they can’t do on their own.  With job market growth for these healthcare professionals outpacing the overall occupational average, an exceptional CNA resume is your key to landing the best positions.

Resume.io. Is a leading source of job-seeking inspiration, advice and practical assistance. We’ve developed more than 300 occupation-specific resume guides and resume samples to support your next career move.

If you are a CNA, or want to become one, you’ll find everything here that you need to know about preparing a winning resume to land the job that’s right for you. Here’s what we’ll cover in this writing guide, along with the corresponding CNA resume example:

• Role of a CNA and the job market outlook

How to write a CNA resume

• The best format for structuring your CNA resume
• Advice on writing each resume section: header, summary, work history, education and skills
• Professional resume layout and design hints.

What does a CNA do?

CNAs typically work in nursing homes, assisted care facilities, hospitals and private homes. They may work alongside doctors and nurses , and are certified health-care professionals, although not licensed to practice medicine.

Nursing assistants do not need a college education, though certified nursing assistants in the U.S. are required to obtain certifications that vary by state, after passing an approved education program and competency exam. 

Where do CNAs work?

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS),there were roughly 1.5 million nursing assistant jobs in the U.S. in 2019. These were the primary employers:

• Nursing care facilities 37%
• Hospitals (state, local and private) 27%
• Continuing care retirement communities and assisted living facilities for the elderly 11%
• Home healthcare services 5%
• Government 4%

Nursing assistants, according to the BLS, earned a median salary of $30,850 per year, or $14.82 an hour, in May 2020.

Another salary information source, Glassdoor , puts the average base pay for certified medical assistants at $29,748 per year. 

How much do CNAs make?

According to the BLS, the median annual salary for nursing assistants in 2020 varied as follows, depending on where they worked:

• Government $37,240
• Hospitals (state, local and private) $32,160
• Nursing care facilities $30,120
• Continuing care retirement communities and assisted living facilities for the elderly $30,020
• Home healthcare services $29,210

Certified nursing assistant jobs are expected to grow at a robust 8% from 2019 through 2029 — double the 4% average for all occupations. You can credit the aging baby boomer population for this anticipated job growth. This 2019 projection does not reflect the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which sadly has left many people who would otherwise be healthy in need of nursing care. 

CNAs will continue to be in demand for the foreseeable future, so the jobs are out there. Now let’s talk about how to get the one that’s right for you — starting with an outstanding resume.

Before getting into how to write the perfect CNA resume, let’s picture what it looks like. It should be one page only and contain no more than 250 words, like the corresponding CNA resume example. 

Is should include the following elements:

• Employment history section
• Education section
• Skills section

We'll take you through each of these resume sections after some general structuring insights.

Choosing the best resume format for a CNA

There are innumerable ways to format a certified nursing assistant resume, and it’s impossible to declare which is “best.” Perhaps the best way to define a well-designed resume — OR a badly designed resume — is that you’ll know it when you see it.

A resume is mostly a collection of lists — all the ways of contacting you, past employers, past schools and job-related skills. The formatting possibilities for all this information are limited only by the imagination. But it has to look good at a glance. Take a look at the CNA resume example provided, which hits all the right notes.

The failsafe chronological resume format is ideal for structuring most resumes. It provides a straightforward overview of your career highlights in the employment history section.

But if the CNA position you’re pursuing would be a radical departure, or your job background has not followed a linear path of employee positions, you might want to consider alternative resume formats . A functional resume starts with a skills or experience section to highlight all your best qualities before continuing to a work history section where you can place previous positions.

If you have no experience as a CNA, perhaps because you’re still busy getting an education, then it may be appropriate to put the education section of your resume first.

Now let's go through each resume section, one at a time, referring to our CNA resume example.

Resume header

Thought and care should go into an eye-pleasing header design for your CNA resume. The header clearly identifies who your resume belongs to — your name and occupation — with contact information so interested employers know how to reach you: address, phone number and email. It might also include social media links and a photo. 

Depending on the design you choose, your CNA resume header may fill the top of the page, or parts of it may spill down into the left or right margin. The header is crucial for the contact information it contains, but it’s also an important design element in its own right. Your resume should look good at arm’s length, before anyone has read the first word. CNA profile/summary resume example. More design and formatting tips are offered in a later guide chapter.

Resume summary example

The first thing that appears below the header in a certified nursing assistant resume should be a summary of the job candidate — you. The summary (sometimes called the profile or personal statement ) is the one place in your resume where you should write in almost complete sentences — though not quite. Take a look at the CNA summary example below.

Experienced and dedicated CNA adept in providing the highest quality care to patients, while participating in effective team collaboration. Committed to safeguarding the privacy, dignity, and well-being of patients while adhering to all patient care guidelines.

Without using the word “I,” this profile/summary tells hiring managers what you do and what you’re good at, and it’s obvious what kind of job you’re looking for. This summary describes the “professional you” in a nutshell, using clear, concise and descriptive language. 

Notice that it doesn’t say “I am looking for a job as a….” It doesn’t say, “I have three cats, and in my spare time I enjoy scrapbooking….” It cuts straight to the chase, describing your qualifications as a certified nursing assistant — and that’s all you need.

Passing the ATS test

Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) are software programs that most large employers use to filter resumes electronically before they’re reviewed by human eyes. It’s crucial to understand how they work, because if you don’t pass the ATS test, it’s likely that a hiring manager won’t even see your resume.

These systems scan resumes looking for employer-programmed keywords that describe critical job qualifications. If your resume contains enough keywords, the system will greenlight it for further review. But if not, it will likely be consigned to the electronic equivalent of the garbage can.

In our guide to ATS optimization , we use the example of a company looking for “an art director with  five years of experience , proven talents in illustration and design , and excellent skills in  Photoshop , Adobe Illustrator and InDesign. ” All of the bolded words might be what the employer's ATS is programmed to search for. If your resume contains none of these keywords, it will be swiftly deep-sixed. Notice that the job description language correlates closely with the contents of a resume summary.

This is why it’s very important to scrutinize each job listing, and wherever possible include the exact same words in your resume. You don’t want to lie and claim you’re an InDesign whiz if you aren’t. But even if you have limited InDesign experience, you should mention it so that ATS search box will be checked by the ’bot. Had the employer in our example been interested in photography skills — and you actually have photography skills — then that also belongs in your resume summary.

This brings us to another point — resumes can be prepared in a lot of formats, but stone is not one of them. A resume should be an adaptable document that you can customize for each employer. 

For ideas to help write your CNA resume summary, check out these other resume examples and guides in the medical category:

• Nursing student
• Physician assistant
• Wellness manager

Employment history sample

Unless you’re brand-new to this occupation — still in school or perhaps changing careers — employment experience is your best selling point in your CNA resume. If you have relevant  work experience , put this first in the employment history section. 

List your past employers, where they’re located and when you worked there. Then provide bullet points below each job describing what you achieved. Be specific, using strong action verbs and quantifying your experience with facts and figures whenever possible.

As a general rule, you should list your CNA job history in reverse chronological order (last job first, first job last). But as a possible exception, your most impressive and relevant work experience should take precedence. If you worked as a CNA three years ago, but you’re currently working as a dog groomer, put your CNA experience first. 

A word about bullet points: These can take up a lot of vertical space, with wasted space on the right side of your resume, making it hard to fit everything onto one page. One solution may be to arrange bullet points in columns. But if it's still not possible to contain your resume on one page, try dispensing with bullet points and just describe your achievements at each job in a couple of lines of text.

Below is a CNA employment history resume sample you can adapt to your own experience.

• Successfully performed designated functions under the supervision of an RN.
• Worked with an unwavering commitment to patient safety and comfort.
• Performed duties in accordance with all existing regulatory and hospital standards.
• Sanitized and prepared rooms for various procedures.

CNA resume education example

If you attended college, say so in the education section for your CNA resume, stating the college name and location, when you attended and any noteworthy details like an exceptional grade point average.

Include any degrees you obtained and by all means your certification(s) as a nursing assistant. Any other training you have undergone that has helped shape your CNA qualifications is relevant here.

Whether or not you should mention the high school you attended in a CNA resume depends on your postsecondary education. If you have a relevant college degree, prospective employers likely won't care where you went to high school. If not, clarify that you did graduate from high school or the equivalent.

Below are the education and certification listings on a CNA resume example.

• 2012 – 2014: University of Florida, Associate of Biology, Gainesville
• 2014: CNA- Florida Board of Nursing

CV skills example

Every certified nursing assistant CV should have a skills section for highlighting soft skills (“people skills”) and hard skills (technical/medical know-how).  

When you sit down to create this CV list, beware of clichés like “team player” or “self-starter.” Unfortunately, it's a common pitfall to list the same skills that hiring managers have read thousands of times before. These end up becoming “fluff” — fancy language that conveys nothing of value.

Strive for original language that says something new, in a way that no recruiter has ever read before. Also define your skills in solid and pragmatic terms, applicable to everyday work situations and professional challenges.

Check out these resume samples of CNA skills below.

• Leadership skills
• Excellent Communication Skills
• Knowledge of Medical Terminology
• Attention to detail
• Responsible

The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists the following as important qualities for nursing assistants:

• Communication skills: The ability to communicate effectively with both patients and colleagues.
• Compassion: An empathetic heart for injured, ill or disabled people in need of assistance with basic daily functions.
• Patience: A capacity for slowing down to the pace of the person in need of care.
• Physical stamina: The strength to lift or move patients and the stamina to spend most of the day working on your feet.

Resume layout, design and formatting

Your CNA resume has to look as good as it reads. These are some basic considerations for resume layout, design and formatting.  

Fonts . Font sizes. Margins. Spacing. Balance. All caps here but not there? Words underlined or bolded? Icons or no icons? How much text on the page and how much white space?

Even for a one-page resume, there are dozens of design choices to be made. Make the right choices, and your resume will look great. But make the wrong choices, and it will tend to be overlooked in nine cases out of 10 due to basic human psychology.

This is why we strongly urge job applicants to use a professionally designed resume template like those Resume.io offers. The design is already done for you — all you have to do is write the text. 

Simply browse through our selection of field-tested templates, find one you like, click on it, and you’re in. Our step-by-step resume builder prompts you to enter your own contact info, profile/summary, employment history, education and skills — everything we’ve discussed above. But you have no worries about the design and formatting, because all of that is done for you.

If your CNA resume comes out longer than one page, you go back into the builder and trim your text. Look for “widows” — solitary words that spill over onto another line, making your resume one line longer and creating a vertical space challenge. Trim a couple of words to eliminate the widow. Trim an unimportant bullet point if necessary.

Look at your CNA resume from a distance, without reading any of the words. Does it look attractive? Is it balanced from top to bottom and left to right, with an appropriate amount of text and blank space? If so, you’re golden. If not, keep tweaking it.

One of the worst mistakes you can make is sending a resume in a file type that neither the hiring manager nor the ATS software can read. We recommend that unless you’re instructed to do otherwise,  always submit your resume as a PDF.  This file type preserves all the formatting so your resume looks the same on any device. 

Some employers do prefer to receive resumes as Microsoft Word files; of course, you must send employers what they ask for. But depending on the Word version you use, and the platform you’re using it on (Apple or PC, for example), your document may arrive at its destination looking totally different than you intended. The PDF file type eliminates this risk. Take these small but important nuances into account when considering the file format of your CNA resume.

Key takeaways for a CNA resume

• The job outlook for certified nursing assistants (CNAs) is secure, with projected job growth of 8% in the decade ahead. But to find the right job for you, you need an outstanding resume.
• Your CNA resume should look good at a glance, with an attractive header at the top and a coherent design throughout.
• Your CNA resume must contain your contact information, summary, employment history, education and job skills, all written in an appropriate style.
• The best way to avoid design and formatting errors is to use a professional resume template where the design is already done for you

Best of luck with your job search!

Other related resumes from the same industry

• Lactation Consultant
• Epidemiologist
• Marriage and Family Therapist
• Health Care Administration
• Dental Receptionist
• Endodontist
• Nursing Home
• Occupational Therapist
• Behavioral Therapist
• Psychologist
• Art Therapist
• Audiologist
• Respiratory Therapist
• Child Psychologist
• Medical Support Assistant
• Medical Social Worker
• Pharmacy Technician
• Clinic Coordinator
• Medical Receptionist
• Optometrist
• Physical Therapist
• Pharmaceutical Sales Representative
• Sonographer
• Psychotherapist
• Medical Science Liaison
• Dental Assistant

Beautiful ready-to-use resume templates

Certified Nursing Assistant Resume (CNA) | Examples, Tips & Templates

If you are a candidate with a soft heart, a good memory, and the ability to learn hands-on patient care skills fast, you would be an excellent nursing assistant.

All resume examples in this guide

CNA Resume Example for Experienced Candidates

Joseph Steve

CNA [email protected] (245)365-1254

Professional summary

A dedicated CNA with over 10 years of experience in children and elderly healthcare settings seeks to take professional patient care to the next level at San Diego Senior Nursing Home. In my previous role, I led a team of 4 CNAs to treat 30 senior patients providing daily medication and healthcare guidance.

Aug 2015 to Present

• Educated the patients and communicated to their families about the physiological disorders, treatments, and consequences
• Assisted elderly patients to bathe, dress, and feed – fed patients with Nasogastric feeding tubes and Gastronomy tubes
• Checked blood pressure and drew blood for tests on doctor prescriptions
• Read and understood electronic medical records and assisted the patients to meet the relevant doctors ‍

June 2013 to Aug 2015 Best Care Children Clinic, NM CNA

• Recorded patient vital signs such as body temperature and blood pressure as a routine procedure for new admits
• Developed positive first impressions with the children and their parents
• Set up medical equipment to assist the doctors in medical procedures and carried out simple medical procedures such as drawing blood and checking blood pressure
• Carried out basic patient care such as serving meals, making beds, and keeping the rooms clean ‍

Nursing Assistant Certification Program Howard Community College, Columbia 2009-2013

Certified Nursing Assistant (2013) University of Wisconsin Bachelor’s degree in Biology 2006-2009

• Emergency care
• Preventive care
• Operations management
• People skill
• Detail-oriented
• Customer service
• Stress-resilience ‍

Certificates

Certified Nursing Assistant (2013)

To communicate all these in a single page, you need a perfect Certified Nursing Assistant Resume – a winning resume that gets you more interviews and makes you confident to apply for the highest-paid CNA jobs.

That’s where we can help you. Perfect resumes do not come by accident – they’re a result of understanding the current HR practices, following the guidelines, and targeted writing of each section.

This article will guide you:

• To pick the perfect resume format, layout, and template.
• With tons of examples to write each section of the resume.
• With DOs and DON’Ts in writing your CNA resume.

Read to the end to learn how to write a CNA resume better than 95% of the other candidates.

If time is a constraint for you, we have created the finest ready-to-fill resume templates on the internet – with our resume builder, you can create a perfect CNA resume in less than 10 minutes. Still, we recommend you to read through the guide👇

New Graduate CNA Resume Example

Olivia Jonathan

(245)365-1254

A passionate CNA with 12 months of internship experience in elderly care and ETU seeks to join an assisted living facility to provide my service and expand my expertise in elderly care. In my internship at City Hospital, treated patients recovering from accidents, injuries, and surgeries for faster recovery

Aug 2021 to Present

ETU, City Hospital, Nebraska

Certified Nursing Assistant (intern)

• Took patient’s vital signs such as blood pressure and temperature
• Gave first aid in emergencies – CPR, saline, oxygen – under the supervision of the nurses
• Created patient records for new admits and maintained them
• Helped elderly patients to bathe, dress, and feed themselves with extra care

Certified Nursing Assistant

Jefferson College, Philadelphia (2020)

High School Diploma

South Philadelphia High School

• General care
• Elderly care
• health testing
• Diagnosis and treatment planning
• Communication skill
• Attention to detail
• Team player

Volunteer for Elderly Care foundation

If you need further inspiration, examples, and keywords to fill up your CNA resume, refer to these other medical professional resumes:

• Dentist resume
• Physician assistant resume
• Dental assistant resume
• Medical assistant resume

Certified Nursing Assistant's Salary & Employment Rates

The average Certified Nursing Assistant salary is $30,000/ year 💰 ( Payscale.com ). However, many CNA professionals get overtime and bonuses for their service.

There are about 1.5 million CNAs working in the USA in 2020 and the numbers are expected to increase by 8% over the next 10 years according to the US Bureau of Labour Statistics . The certification is having high demand as a result of the expansion of healthcare in the USA and many regions in the world.

How to Make a Certified Nursing Assistant Resume?

Writing a resume is just like admitting a patient to the hospital – you can’t skip the set procedures. The hiring manager reading your resume is a professional in their trade and they expect the same professionalism from you.

Writing a certified nursing assistant’s resume would initially look like a complex surgery for you, but when we break down the process into simple digestible pieces, you’ll see it so simple like checking the vital signs of a patient – a defined process with simple steps.

To start with, we should define the layout of your resume followed by the resume format and the template.

The Layout of a Certified Nursing Assistant Resume

The layout of your resume defines the sections you’re going to include and their order – the headings as well as subheadings.

Having your resume layout defined at the beginning helps you create the resume faster without missing any important sections.

In defining your resume layout, give priority to the information your recruiter is looking for.

We recommend the following layout for a Certified Nursing Assistant resume:

• Header: name and contact information.
• Professional summary/ Objective summary
• Work experience.
• CNA skills.
• Additional sections (certifications, interests, and achievements).

Certified Nursing Assistant Resume Format

In your CNA resume or any medical professional resume, there’s an order in which you should write your experience section so that it's easy for the recruiter to read and understand the information.

Simply put, the format defines the order you should follow in writing your professional experience section.

There are three standard resume formats:

• The functional format: priority is given to the related skills and the experience is ordered based on them
• Reverse chronological format : most recent experience is listed first and the rest follows the reverse chronological order
• Hybrid format: a combination of the functional and reverse chronological formats

For Certified Nursing Assistants and other medical professionals, we suggest using reverse chronological order to write your experience sections. Because your recent experience would be the deciding factor in making hiring decisions in healthcare-related jobs.

Resume Template for Certified Nursing Assistants

A resume template is about the overall look and feel of the CV. In this, you’ll think about the colors, fonts, font sizes, document margins, and such details.

The right resume template would create an exceptional first impression for the hiring managers. Resume writing standards have changed from boring biodata-type documents to more compressed, well-designed, and attractive pages.

We have created a ton of awesome resume templates for CNAs and other medical professionals saving you hours of valuable time. Pick the template that suits your personality and tailor it to create your resume within 10 minutes.

Let's discuss how to write each section with examples and tips.

Start Your Certified Nursing Assistant Resume with a Header

The header of your CNA resume should include your name and contact information. As this is the first thing on your resume, recruiters often spend their first second reading your name.

The mistake most candidates make in this section is making it cluttered with unnecessary information.

Here's what to include in your header and what to leave out 👇

A good & a bad header

(276)254-8654

11, main street, apt 56,

Washington DC

A good header is a clean and concise one with limited information enough to find out the candidate and their contact information. Put your first name and last name. Include the basic contact information such as your email and the contact number. If you have an updated personal website or a LinkedIn profile, include that at the end.

Professional Summary

In the professional summary, you should highlight the reasons why the recruiter should consider your application. This summarizes your key skills, expertise, and experience into two sentences.

A great resume summary is a sales pitch about the candidate – it's the cover letter on your resume. Ideally, you should tailor the summary to each job you apply for – a customized statement that fit the context of your potential employer would attract them to read your resume further.

Writing a great professional summary is not difficult if you follow the right steps. In your first sentence, state the level of experience you have, your key skills, and your interest to join the organization – the second sentence should highlight your previous achievements, the problems you solved, the challenges you faced, the solution you gave, and the results you achieved as a CNA.

Professional summary for an Experienced CNA

A compassionate caregiver with 7 years of experience in diverse healthcare settings seeks to join MK Elderly Nursing Home to extend my expertise. In my previous job, I led a team of 12 CNAs to manage an elderly home of 50+ providing exceptional service and care. CNA, CPR, BLS.

Certified nursing assistant with elderly home experience seeks to join a similar position that pays better.

The correct example highlights the candidate’s achievements with numbers – demonstrates the key skills – and provides specifics of the work carried out.

Resume objective for an entry-level CNA

If you’re an entry-level CNA or someone looking for a career transition, you should write an objective summary. This is similar to writing a professional summary – the only difference being that in the objective summary, you should highlight your enthusiasm for the profession and your interest to join the company.

A dedicated CNA who was recently certified (2021) seeks to join a hospital CNA team to advance my expertise in all types of patient care. I have extensive 200+ hours of clinical training which included children's care, elderly care, general medical, and ETU.

Freshly graduated CNA looking for a job in a hospital or an elderly care facility

Prove Your Experience as a Nursing Assistant

Whether you’re applying for a senior certified nursing assistant position or an entry-level CNA job, your work experience would be the most critical component the recruiter would make judgments about your profile – everything else including your skills, education, and extracurricular activities come next.

The good news is you can write a compelling experience section with any level of work experience to convince the hiring manager that you’ve what it takes to be successful on the job – and we should say, that you don’t have to be a great writer to do that.

Follow these guidelines and our comprehensive examples to write your experience section.

• Write clear and concise sentences.
• Focus on your achievements and accomplishments in your career rather than writing job roles and responsibilities.
• Numbers in sentences attract the hiring manager’s eyeballs – in addition, numbers add credibility to your statements.
• Start your experience sentences with power verbs. Eg: Carried out, Managed, Led, Provided, Assisted, and Collected.

You need a specific set of skills to become successful as a CNA – each patient and scenario you face would be different and challenging. A great CNA experience section answers these questions:

• Can you manage such challenging situations?
• Have you already done that in your previous job? If so, how?

Example Work Experience Section for a Senior Certified Nursing Assistant Resume

Cleveland Clinic Cleveland, OH

• Helped the nursing staff to carry out their tasks
• Provided medical assistance to patients
• Assisted nurses in patient care and reporting
• Recorded patient information
• Led a team of CNAs to carry out the daily patient care – achieved a customer satisfaction of 94% in 2018 which was an all-time high
• Delegated the patient care, documentation, and administration work among the team
• Introduced a distant patient communication system for patients with virus infections to reduce spreading to healthcare staff
• Educated patients and their family members on their physiological disorders, treatments, and side effects
• Provided social and emotional support to those in need

Your senior CNA experience section should focus on demonstrating your leadership, communication, administration, as well as technical skills.

Example Work Experience for an Entry-Level Certified Nursing Assistant

Jan 2020 to Present

Assistant Certified Nursing Assistant - apprenticeship

• Assisted patients in admission
• Cleaned patient rooms
• Patient stability measures were taken
• Checked patient vital signs

Jan 2020 to present

• Worked collaboratively with registered nurses, specialist doctors, and other medical professionals to provide an exceptional patient care
• Valued patient advocacy and helped patients with the information required to make medical-related decisions from choosing doctors to financing, legal, and social support
• Assisted patients in admittance to filling the documents and record vital signs such as temperature and blood pressure
• Treated 10+ elderly patients a daily to bathe, dress, and feed themselves

Entry-level Certified Nursing Assistants should demonstrate their key technical knowledge of patient care and medical procedures.

Now, the question is if you do not possess the required experience to write, would you have a disadvantage over other candidates?

The answer is relative. While having solid CNA experience does not guarantee you the job, not having experience does not make your resume dismissed. The hiring manager only sees what you write on your resume – not what you did on the job.

Even if you’re applying for your first job as a Certified Nursing Assistant, don’t leave your experience section empty – consider your training sessions and apprentice work as your professional work experience.

Reinforce Your Resume with Your Education

In your CNA resume, though education is not a priority section the recruiter checks, your academic background is noteworthy – the more educated you’re, the better chance you have of getting hired.

The nursing assistant program – academic studies, and relevant clinical training sessions would be the only critical component of your education section. However, you could also list your high school diploma or bachelor’s degree.

The education section should be a short section with only relevant information – you could list the key learning outcomes of your education, GPA, the institution, and the years of graduation.

Certified Nursing Assistant Program

• General patient care
• Medication administration

CNA Resume Skills

In the job advertisement or job description, the recruiter would mention the type of skills they’re looking for in a nursing assistant – pick the skills that match your profile.

A CNA should possess a specific set of soft and hard skills. Hard skills are the technical skills required to perform the tasks – soft skills are the personality traits required to become exceptional at work. Aim to write about 4 to 7 skills.

Soft skills:

• Empathy and compassion
• Patience and flexibility
• Interpersonal skills
• Communication skills
• Problem-solving
• Willingness to learn
• Decision making
• Time management

Hard skills:

• Knowledge of medical terminology
• Infection control
• Administrative skills
• Measuring and recording vital signs
• Patient care
• Assisting patients to walk using gait belts
• Brushing dentures
• Mouth care for unconscious patients
• Giving partial bed baths
• Perineal care for female patients
• Shaving – cleaning, and trimming fingernails
• Feeding paralyzed patients
• Feeding patients using G tubes and NG tubes

There’s a massive list of hard skills that a CNA should possess. You could read more about CNA skills in this comprehensive guide .

Additional Sections for a Certified Nursing Assistant Resume

You’ll realize every applicant applying for a CNA job has the same qualification: The Nursing Assistant Certification. So, how would the recruiter pick 10 resumes out of 200 resumes they get?

It is the additional qualifications that get you the interview – the basic computer and system certificate you acquired – the Red Cross volunteer program you took part in – your bi-lingual skills would add value eventually to stand out from the rest.

In addition, these smaller resume sections attract the eyeballs of the recruiter – making additional sections a great place to showcase your key strengths.

The type of additional sections you should put on your resume would depend upon your personal profile. Here we have highlighted the typical sections used by CNA applicants👇

Computing Skills

Basic computer literacy would be valuable to carry out your job duties. As a CNA, you will get to work with different computer systems and software. Most hospitals use Hospital Management Systems (HMS) to report, store, and manage patient information.

Also, basic data entry in Excel and understanding of using mobile applications would be added advantages.

Skill Certifications

Skill certifications are a great way to stand out and get into the highest-paid positions. The best way to find out the relevant skill certifications for CNAs would be to refer to CNA job advertisements.

Here’re some certifications relevant to CNAs:

• Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) certification
• Basic Life Support (BLS) Certification
• CPR, First Aid, AED Certification

Your bi-lingual skills would look impressive on your resume – as a CNA, you’ll get to work with patients who speak different languages – having proficiency in English would help you manage most cases, however, more languages the better.

When you’re listing your language skills, consider including the level of proficiency in each of them so that the hiring manager would have a clear idea.

We got some awesome resume templates where you can list the languages you speak with the level of fluency in each.

Hobbies and Interests

Put your hobbies and interests on your resume as an additional section if and only if they add value to your profile – do not use this as a filler.

Read our hobbies and interests guide to have a complete understanding of what to include in your interests section and how to write them.

Tips for Improving Your Certified Nursing Assistant Resume

If you followed the guide to this point, you would have already created an exceptional CNA resume. Use these final tips to further improve it:

• Modern resumes follow the ONE PAGE standard – remove unnecessary sections and non-value-adding information to optimize the resume length.
• Identify the most demanding skills and certifications recruiters are looking for – make an effort to acquire some of them – you can mention a skill certification on your resume as soon as you get official admission to the course – put in parentheses that you’re still following the course.
• Pick a modern resume template – the first impression is a powerful weapon.
• Use a tool such as Grammarly to proofread your resume for grammar and other mistakes.
• Limit your header to your name and contact information.
• Write a professional summary if you’re an experienced candidate and an objective summary if you’re an entry-level candidate.
• Make a list of achievements and accomplishments for your experience section – do not limit the experience section to the roles and responsibilities.
• Use a consistent format to present your education.
• Write a combination of relevant soft skills and hard skills.
• Use a couple of additional sections to make a pleasant surprise to the hiring manager.

Complement Your resume with a Cover letter

A cover letter is a one-page document that highlights the applicant's specific interest in the job. In this, you should demonstrate your key skills, expertise, and experience that is relevant to performing the duties as a CNA.

Keep your cover letter to 3 to 4 short paragraphs.

Our resume builder has a cover letter builder that helps you create stunning cover letters within 10 minutes.

The cover letter is a critical component of your entry-level job application. Make it your sales pitch to communicate to the hiring manager why you’re so interested in the job.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the highest-paid specialties for cnas.

According to payscale.com , the following specialties pay the highest salaries for CNAs:

• Long term care $14
• Rehabilitation $14
• Geriatrics $14
• Elderly care $13
• Home health care $12

Can I become a CNA without a degree?

To become a certified nursing assistant, you need to complete the nursing assistant certification (CNA certification) course. At the completion of the course and the relevant clinical hours, you’ll get the certification to practice as a CNA.

Having a degree in a relevant field such as biomedical or biology would surely help you to get a job, however, you do not need to have a degree to become a CNA.

Create your resume with the best templates

What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

Create your resume in 15 minutes

Our free collection of expertly designed cover letter templates will help you stand out from the crowd and get one step closer to your dream job.

Sample letters to download

Cover Letter

Advice for getting a job, instructions.

20 CNA Resume Summary Examples (Also with No Experience)

When you’re applying for a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) position, your resume is your first opportunity to make a good impression on potential employers.

It’s crucial to start your resume with a powerful summary that highlights your qualifications and shows your passion for patient care – even if you’re just starting with no experience.

On this page, you’ll find 20 examples of CNA resume summaries that effectively showcase skills and professionalism, designed to help you stand out among other applicants and boost your chances of getting hired.

Whether you’re a seasoned nursing assistant or new to the healthcare field, these examples can serve as a guide to creating your own compelling summary statement.

Experienced CNA Resume Summary Examples

Entry Level CNA Resume Summary Examples

How to Write a Summary for a CNA Resume?

Writing a compelling summary for your CNA resume is crucial in capturing the attention of potential employers and setting yourself apart from other applicants. Here are 9 steps to help you craft an impressive CNA resume summary:

1. Keep it concise

Your resume summary should be brief, typically consisting of 2-3 sentences. Be direct and focus on your most relevant qualifications.

2. Highlight your key skills

Identify the key skills and qualities that make you a strong candidate for the CNA position. These may include patient care, medication administration, infection control, communication, teamwork, and empathy.

3. Emphasize your experience

If you have previous experience as a CNA, highlight your years of experience and any notable accomplishments. Mention specific settings such as hospitals, long-term care facilities, or specialized units.

4. Include measurable achievements

Quantify your achievements whenever possible. For example, mention your patient satisfaction rating, any awards or recognitions received, or any improvements made in patient care or safety.

5. Demonstrate your knowledge

Showcase your expertise by mentioning your proficiency in vital signs monitoring, patient hygiene, medication administration, and any other relevant technical skills.

6. Showcase your soft skills

In addition to technical skills, highlight your soft skills such as compassion, empathy, strong communication, and teamwork abilities. These qualities are essential for providing quality patient care.

7. Tailor it to the job description

Customize your summary to match the requirements and qualifications outlined in the job description. Use keywords and language that align with the specific role you are applying for.

8. Use action verbs

Start your statements with action verbs to make your summary more dynamic and engaging. Examples include “implemented,” “achieved,” “received,” “recognized,” “developed,” and “proficient.”

9. Proofread and revise

After writing your summary, proofread it carefully to ensure proper grammar and sentence structure. Make any necessary revisions to ensure clarity and coherence.

Final Thought

These 20 CNA resume summary examples provide valuable insights and inspiration for crafting your own standout summary, even if you have no prior experience. By showcasing your skills, passion, and dedication, you can increase your chances of landing the perfect CNA position. Let your summary shine and set yourself apart from the competition!

Recommended:

• CNA Resume Sample
• CNA Cover Letter Sample
• CNA Interview Questions and Answers

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Notify me of new posts by email.

Build my resume

• Build a better resume in minutes
• Resume examples
• 2,000+ examples that work in 2024
• Resume templates
• Free templates for all levels
• Cover letters
• Cover letter generator
• It's like magic, we promise
• Cover letter examples
• Free downloads in Word & Docs

3 Beginner CNA Resume Examples That Got the Job in 2024

Beginner CNA Resume

Professional beginner cna resume, formal beginner cna resume.

• Beginner CNA Resume Writing 101

As a beginner Certified Nursing Assistant, you assist patients with grooming, bathing, eating and drinking, movement and cleanliness in bed, and much more. You also respond to any requests for help and provide routine injury care.

But you might not be as familiar with the resume-building process : What should you highlight on a beginner CNA resume, and how should it look?

No sweat! We’ve got three solid beginner CNA resume templates for you to try out, alongside some time-tested resume advice to help you get moving!

or download as PDF

Related resume examples

• Hospital CNA
• Home health CNA

What Matters Most: Your Skills & Experience Sections

You call upon a wide variety of patient care skills as a beginner CNA! Between helping patients shave and get dressed to ensuring and documenting adequate food and water intake, you utilize soft and hard skills on a daily basis.

Show recruiters that you’re equipped to excel in your job role by keeping skills specific to the profession . Instead of vague list items like “patient care,” specify “patient hygeine” or “diet planning.”

And be as specific about the nature of the skills themselves as you are about how they relate to your profession: Name any programs you use, and be clear about what you do:

9 most popular beginner CNA skills

• Vital Signs
• Diet Planning
• Patient Care Records
• Patient Hygiene

Sample beginner CNA work experience bullet points

Now that you’ve provided a nice list of skills, it’s time to show recruiters that you’re already prepared for the beginner CNA role—after all, no two days on the job are the same! Provide examples of tasks like patient or customer care that you’d leverage as a CNA.

Feel free to pull in experiences and accomplishments from other job roles or volunteer experiences as long as they relate directly to the job you’re applying for! Pinpoint overlapping areas such as record keeping or client outreach/follow-up calls.

And always provide metrics for your positive impact! Recruiters want to see percentages, rates, and other quantifiable data to back your accomplishments.

These examples do a good job of pulling in transferable experience from outside CNA work:

• Collaborated with employee team to ensure that 98% of delivery initiatives were met on time
• Systematized 97% of inventory for office and medical supplies, reducing unnecessary spending by 9%
• Processed and filed over 489 patient insurance claims for reimbursement per month, exceeding goals by 13%
• Operated an 8-line phone system, answering calls and quickly responding to patients and vendors to earn a 4.8/5.0-star personal rating

Top 5 Tips for Your Beginner CNA Resume

• Add intrigue to your resume by varying the context surrounding your experience points: Talk about everything from high-quality daily patient care to your ability to save time by efficiently filing insurance claims.
• When you want to use an objective statement to set off your resume, make sure you’re not repeating yourself. Any references to your excellent bedside manner or multitasking abilities should be fresh!
• You worked for them, so share them! Alongside earning your CNA, include any other credentials you have, such as a First Aid, CPR, or Emergency Medical Response (EMR) certification.
• The details of your experience points should be as straightforward as your patient wellness reports. State what you did, why you did it, and give a metric for how it helped.
• They don’t have much time to spend on your resume, so stick with super-clear fonts and minimal color usage that preserves contrast. Don’t get too zany and draw attention away from the fact that you’re empathetic and love giving dignity to your patients.

All our resume examples are just one page (hint: yours should be, too!). And while you need to limit your accounts of positive patient feedback and great response times to only one page, you don’t have to fill the page.

If you simply hate to part with the idea of sharing your experiences with patient mobility assistance and diet planning, you can include that material when writing a cover letter instead of over-filling your resume!

While any of our resume templates are good options, you’ll want to pick whichever one plays up your greatest strengths. If your certifications and skills list are extra impressive, they may warrant their own sections on the side of the page.

• • Directed a team of 7+ CNAs in the absence of the RN
• • Educated 500+ patients and their families on their medical conditions
• • Managed a scheduling system that improved patient comfort by 20%
• • Led the recreational activities of 4 groups of 30+ patients on the weekends
• • Monitored the vital signs of 30+ patients daily and ensured cleanliness of the patients' rooms
• • Provided personal care and mental health support to 100+ patients at the center
• • Provided daily needs and monitored vital signs of 20+ patients daily
• • Guided motion and passive exercises for post-surgery patients twice a week
• • Collaborated with a 5-person nursing team in bathing, grooming and dressing of the patients
• • Prepared 200+ meal plans and ensured 100% positive dining experience of patients
• • Checked in and out 200+ books daily
• • Raised over $5000 in library donations in just 6 months
• • Assisted 80+ people with locating books on shelves

4 Nursing Assistant Resume Examples & Guide for 2024

Your nursing assistant resume must clearly demonstrate your compassion and dedication to patient care. Highlight your ability to work effectively in fast-paced environments. Ensure your resume showcases your experience with various medical procedures and patient interaction skills. Employers value nursing assistants who are reliable and communicate well with team members.

Resume Guide

Formatting Tips

Experience Section

Hard & Soft Skills

Certifications & Education

Summary & Objective

Additional Sections

Key Takeaways

Assistant Nurse

Certified nurse aide, nurse extern.

Many nursing homes and facilities found themselves severely understaffed, following the release of new federal requirements . This means that numerous nursing positions will be opening in the coming months.

If you’re passionate about helping others improve their health and are proficient in operating a variety of medical equipment, this is your chance to start your career as a nursing assistant.

In this guide, we’ll go over:

• How to choose the best resume format according to your level of experience;
• What to include in your resume header to ensure recruiters understand your qualifications before they review your application;
• When and how to craft a professional objective or summary;
• How to build an impactful and ATS-compatible (Applicant Tracking System) experience section;
• How to showcase your professional qualifications and certifications;
• Real nursing assistant resume examples and the writing traps you must avoid.

Consider taking a look at other nursing-related guides we have:

• Nursing assistant cover letter
• Home health aide resume
• Certified nurse aide resume
• Clinical medical assistant resume
• Dermatology medical assistant resume
• Cardiology medical assistant resume
• OB GYN medical assistant resume
• Certified medical assistant resume  

How to format a nursing assistant resume

Writing a good shift report or an outstanding nursing assistant resume both hinges on having excellent communication skills and being able to relay important information succinctly.

The first step in showcasing your skills and expertise properly is choosing a suitable resume format . Working with the right framework will guarantee you’re making the most out of your resume because you’re highlighting all the relevant know-how you have to offer.

Let’s review the three most popular layouts and when to use them.  

Reverse-chronological resume format

If you’re a tenured nursing assistant with plenty of experience in a variety of health environments, pick the reverse-chronological resume format . Hiring managers are keen to understand how much of your experience is relevant to the offered role to determine the range of responsibilities you can potentially take on.

It’s worth noting that because of the heavy focus on prior positions, the reverse-chronological resume format makes career gaps more visible. So, if you have any, remember to include additional information that will explain how you were engaged during that time. For example, reference other professional commitments you’ve had or supplementary nursing training you’ve undergone.

Hybrid (combination) resume format

As its name suggests, the hybrid resume format  strives to provide a balanced overview of your practical experience, transferable skills, and expertise. This is what makes it the perfect layout for candidates who have less than five years of experience or are switching careers from an adjacent field. It’s also ideal for positions that require you to feature both home care and clinical experience — especially if the role requires comprehensive knowledge of specialized medical equipment for long-term care patients.

Functional resume format

Your third option is the functional resume format . The layout concentrates mainly on your relevant skills and qualifications rather than hands-on experience. For example, if you have customer support experience, you can boast about your strong communication skills and ability to empathize with others. Thus, the functional template is ideal for recent college grads and candidates aiming to secure their first clinical rotation.

Is your resume good enough?

Drop your resume here or choose a file . PDF & DOCX only. Max 2MB file size.

In addition to choosing the proper resume format, you also have to keep in mind the following formatting tips:

• Add your nursing credentials in the resume header :  Very often health recruiters are seeking applicants with a particular set of qualifications. So, don’t make them scan your whole resume to figure out what you’re an expert on. Place your credentials next to your name, contact information , and address.
• Build an ATS-compatible  nursing assistant resume: One way hiring managers vet potential candidates is by scanning resumes and cover letters with ATS tools. The scans take into account factors, such as design, layout, and resume keywords  that reference specific skills, such as the ability to use Electronic health record (EHR) software. Make sure you use the job description wording when listing your skills.
• Opt for a readable resume font  and a clean design:  Select a simple font, such as Lato or Rubik, to make your resume easy to scan. Also, stick to more established designs that won’t distract recruiters from what’s really important — your professional achievements and expertise.
• Use the health organization’s branding colors in your resume: Medical facilities oftentimes use colors that both invoke trustworthiness and reflect their services. So, if you’re applying for a position at a health organization, incorporate its branding palette as the color scheme of your resume .
• Don’t make your resume longer than necessary :  Consider how much of what you want to share is relevant. Be selective about the past roles you list and the achievements you highlight. Tailor your experience section according to the job description requirements.
• Save your nursing assistant resume as a PDF file :  Unless the job ad states otherwise, preserve the design and formatting of your resume by saving it as a PDF file. This will ensure your application is displayed properly, regardless of what device it’s viewed on.

After you create a rough draft of your resume, split it into a few sections. Don’t forget to make room for the essential ones first. Then, if you have some extra space, include additional sections to reflect other relevant details about your career.

Below are the must-have sections for your nursing assistant resume:

The top sections on a nursing assistant resume:

• Objective statement : State what your career goals are and how they align with your potential employer. This will emphasize the value you’d bring to the healthcare organization.
• Certification and licenses : Showcase the necessary role qualifications, such as your CNA License, CPR Certification or other nursing-specific certification.
• Professional experience : It is essential to detail your experience and demonstrate your hands-on skills in patient care, including where you've worked and in what capacity.
• Skills : Be specific about your nursing competencies and present your healthcare, patient care, and other relevant skills in this section for a straightforward reference.
• Education : Although many positions require only a high school diploma or an equivalency diploma, do outline your academic background — especially if it’s nursing-related.

After you divide your resume into sections, think about the key points you must reference:

What recruiters want to see on your resume:

• Certification or licensure : Recruiters prioritize candidates with CNA licenses because it is a legal requirement for working as a nursing assistant in many regions.
• Direct patient care experience : This is valued because it speaks to the hands-on abilities of the candidate to handle patients, helping with routine activities and responding to their needs.
• Knowledge of medical terminology : Understanding medical jargon is important as nursing assistants work in healthcare settings and need this knowledge to effectively communicate with team members.
• Physical endurance and strength : This is prioritized because the role often requires long hours, moving patients, and assisting with physically demanding tasks.
• Interpersonal and communication skills : Nursing assistants interact with patients, family members, and healthcare staff, so they need strong skills in these areas to perform their roles efficiently.

One wonderful thing about medicine is people are living longer, healthier lives. However, we also have to have the nurses to take care of them.

Braxton Nowell, UNC Health RN

How to write your nursing assistant resume experience

Generally speaking, the resume experience section  is where you summarize your work history, outline your nursing responsibilities, and list your skills. But this simplified view often traps candidates into thinking all they have to do is recount their work tasks and duties. While these are a crucial part of your professional profile, health organizations are more interested in the results your expertise and skills offer.

Therefore, the best way to go about describing your nursing assistant experience is by featuring your career achievements. These will help health recruiters get a better idea of your patient care approach, as well as the scope of work you’re able to take on.

This is where the relevancy of your nursing accomplishments comes in. Hiring managers want to make sure you’re familiar with the work environment you’re potentially going to operate in. If you’re aiming for a nursing assistant role in a medical facility, but most of your experience falls under home care, you’ll have to prove your ability to adapt, multitask, and work in a stressful environment.

Reference the type of patients and ailments you have experience treating. However, always keep in mind that health recruiters prioritize candidates who protect patient confidentiality. So, be careful not to include any sensitive data when describing your achievements.

So, before you start filling out your nursing assistant resume template, think about which parts of your work history best relate to the available position. Then, list each as a separate entry in your experience section.

Here are some recommendations and tips to take into account:

• Disclose the legal name of your past employer:  Health recruiters often do their due diligence when vetting medical specialists because reputation is everything. They want to make sure that none of your past employers were sanctioned for medical malpractice — especially during your tenure.
• Provide your subspecialty, if applicable:  If your goal is to become a member of a specific hospital unit, you must mention your subspecialty as recruiters prioritize applicants with specific in-depth medical knowledge.
• Briefly describe your past employer’s main medical focus:  If you’re aiming for a position in a health organization, you must be able to work cross-functionally and provide support to a large range of medical specialists and patients. That’s why it’s recommended you list some of the main health services you have experience with.
• State the dates of your tenure:  For each start or end date cite the month and the year. For example, “May, 2024”. If you’re still actively employed, write “Present” as your end date.
• Align your nursing assistant experience with your potential employer: Many health organizations strive to offer a certain standard of medical care or commit to tackling specific health issues. That’s why recruiters seek candidates who are passionate about working towards the same goal. Emphasize how your nursing assistant experience fits with the community of medical specialists the health organization fosters.
• Don’t forget to highlight your career growth:  Instead of recounting day-to-day duties to demonstrate the scope of your nursing abilities, describe the results of your work by listing at least one or two achievements for each experience section entry. To underscore the significance of your accomplishments, begin each bullet point with an action verb .
• Build a targeted resume :  One of the key characteristics of an impactful resume is how much thought was put into tailoring it to a specific role. This means that the candidate has referenced most of the required skills and expertise from the job ad. The best way to do this is to mark resume keywords from the job description, such as names of tools and medical equipment, and incorporate them in your experience entries.  

Now, take a look at the following bad example:

• • Improved the health rate of over 380 patients.
• • Increased patient satisfaction rates.
• • Helped 1150+ patients regain mobility by providing post-operative care and physical therapy assistance.

While the applicant did well with describing their past employer, many details about their tenure and achievements are missing from the rest of the entry.

The candidate has listed the number of patients they have treated, but they haven’t described the type of patients or illnesses they have expertise in. And despite citing some data, crucial numbers like the patient satisfaction rate are missing. Finally, none of the entries point to whether the candidate is adept at operating medical equipment.

An enhanced version of the example above would be:

• • Improved the health rate of over 380 patients by 75% after establishing care plans for stroke patients with limited or impaired mobility.
• • Increased patient satisfaction rates by 52% by mentoring new nurses on how to effectively communicate with patients and their families.
• • Helped 1150+ patients regain mobility by providing post-operative care and physical therapy assistance, using equipment such as the RT300, the Bioness Integrated Therapy System, and the Vector Gait & Safety System.

The main reason why this edit works is because the candidate has:

• Included all the missing details, such as the type of patients they specialize treating;
• Pointed to specific measurable outcomes that demonstrate their nursing assistant work performance;
• Listed some of the medical equipment they have experience operating.

How to quantify impact on your resume

Hiring managers value candidates who have a goal-oriented mindset and a keen attention to detail. That’s because work performance and results are directly linked to patients’ overall health.

As such, medical organizations and private employers want to make sure the nursing assistants they hire will prioritize patients’ health over other job performance indicators.  By quantifying your achievements  and sharing measurable results, you can prove your ability to communicate effectively with patients, think critically, and provide emotional support when needed.

The numbers you share will depend on your level of expertise and years of experience. Below are some ideas to get you started:

• Include the number of patients you cared for regularly : This demonstrates your ability to handle workload, manage time effectively, and maintain quality of care.
• Specify the number of shifts you took per week : Frequently taking on extra shifts shows your dedication and commitment to the job.
• Detail how many different types of medical equipment you're proficient with : It indicates your versatility and ability to adapt to different care situations.
• Indicate the percentage of patient satisfaction or feedback received : It provides a tangible measure of the quality of care you provide.
• Mention if you trained or mentored any new nursing assistants and how many : This showcases your leadership and coaching abilities.
• Provide the number of emergency situations you've handled : It demonstrates your ability to stay calm and effective under pressure.
• State the number of languages you speak fluently : This shows cultural competency, which can improve patient communication and satisfaction.
• List how many care plans you contributed to or implemented : This shows your knowledge and abilities in planning and ensuring comprehensive patient care.

How do I write a nursing assistant resume with no experience

Crafting a nursing assistant resume with no experience  can be tricky — particularly if you have to discuss how you handle patient care or your ability to operate certain medical equipment. Odds are, the bulk of your practical experience is shadowing other nurses .

But here’s the catch, this is something you can reference on your resume. Albeit it isn’t exactly hands-on experience, recruiters will recognize your motivation to immerse yourself in an actual work setting to improve your skills. This also proves your commitment to the nursing profession.

In addition, research the health organization offering the position. As mentioned, most medical facilities face bigger challenges than day-to-day operations and tasks. Find out what the organization’s main medical services are, as well as the type of patients it most frequently treats.  Also, determine how you can align your professional profile to reflect the requested expertise.

Once you understand what your potential employer is working towards and which skills are prioritized, tie them to your:

• Clinical rotations:  Highlight your familiarity with all the standards and protocols you must adhere to when in a medical working environment. Accentuate your ability to take guidance from other medical specialists, implement treatment, and actively listen to your patients.
• Certifications and supplementary training:  Emphasize your broad range of expertise and your continuous strive to develop as a nursing assistant. If any of your training has earned you specific qualifications, list them next to your name in the resume header.
• Transferable skills :  Your social skills are as equally vital to conduct your job effectively as your medical competencies. Recruiters prefer candidates who can empathize with patients and treat them with the respect they deserve.

Next, we’ll delve further into how to talk about your abilities and core nursing skills.

How to list your hard skills and soft skills on your resume

Given the complexity of the job, you’ll have to showcase different aspects of your character and abilities in the skills section  of your nursing assistant resume.

A common writing mistake here is to outline your full skill set. The result is an overcrowded resume. The trick to avoid this pitfall is targeting specific job ad requirements.

But first, let’s review how your nursing skills are typically categorized and how you can build a balanced skills section.

Hard vs soft skills

Simply put, your professional competencies can be separated into two types:

• Nursing assistant hard skills :  Also known as your technical skills, these reflect your knowledge of medical terminology, ability to use measuring equipment and provide postoperative patient care.
• Nursing assistant soft skills : These illustrate your level of emotional intelligence and include skills, such as time management, multitasking, and showing compassion towards your patients and their family members.

As you can imagine, if you recount all of your abilities, you can build a very comprehensive and unnecessarily long skills section. But there is no need to do this to impress recruiters. All you have to do is create a well-rounded profile of your skill set.

To do this:

• Re-read your resume once again — specifically your experience and education sections.
• Verify if you’ve already mentioned any of the skills from the job ad.
• Make note of the ones you haven’t addressed yet and include them in your skills section. Don’t add more than 10 skills to avoid overcrowding your resume.
• Describe how you acquired your skills by referencing career achievements and certificates you’ve obtained.

If the job description  doesn’t provide a full list of the necessary skills required for the role, you’ll have to go back to your research about the health facility. If the ad mentions the type of medical services the organization offers or the nursing assistant subspecialty requested, align your skills section with this information.

We’ve also compiled two lists with the currently most popular social and technical skills for nursing assistants to help you out. Is there any missing from your resume? Showcase them in your skills section!

Best hard skills for your nursing assistant resume

• Basic nursing skills
• Patient transfers
• Wound dressing
• Infection control
• Vital signs measurement
• Catheter care
• Electronic health record (EHR) software
• Microsoft Office
• Patient bathing
• Medical equipment operation
• Medical terminology
• Feeding assistance
• Tracheostomy care
• Medication administration
• Blood glucose monitoring
• Therapeutic techniques
• Physical therapy assistance
• Post-operative care
• Bedpan changes

Best soft skills for your nursing assistant resume

• Patience  
• Empathy  
• Effective communication
• Time management  
• Multitasking
• Critical thinking
• Attention to detail
• Problem-solving
• Service orientation
• Adaptability
• Interpersonal skills
• Emotional resilience
• Tact and diplomacy
• Active listening
• Professionalism
• Decision-making skills
• Respect for patient confidentiality

How to list your certifications and education on your resume

As mentioned in the beginning, health recruiters are very particular about the set of nursing assistant qualifications they demand from candidates. That’s why crafting an outstanding education section  properly is just as important as your work history.

Formal education

The level of detail you add to your education section is based on the amount of practical experience you have. If you’re a recent graduate, include the:

• Name of your degree, as well as the qualifications you’ve obtained.
• Provide the name of the academic institution and its location.
• Cite the start and end date of your course. If you’re still undergoing training, state the expected date of graduation .
• Describe one of your top academic achievements, such as a relevant piece of coursework  you’ve done.
• Reference majors and minors  that directly relate to the required subspecialty.

Here is what an ideal education section looks like:

• • Researched and presented a presentation on the Common Misconceptions in Nursing on Commonly-administered Drugs in the Journal of Clinical Nursing.
• • Majored in Medical Surgical Nursing, Principles of Human Anatomy and Physiology, and Pharmacology.

On the other hand, if you have more than four years of clinical experience, you can omit details about your academic focus and work. Instead, concentrate on additional training you’ve undergone after graduation.

You can do this by recounting your qualifications and certifications. Here is how to do it.

Certificates

Listing certifications on your resume  is easy! All you have to do is:

• Select the credentials that relate most to the offered position.
• Check their date of validity, as well as their status. Health recruiters must ensure that you’re eligible to practice within the jurisdiction cited in the ad. More importantly your credentials have to be in good standing with the relevant Board of Health.
• Organize them in order of relevancy, starting with the most pertinent certificate.
• State the qualifications you’re granted upon completion of the training.
• Provide the name of the issuing institution and the date you received the certificate.

Best certifications for your nursing assistant resume

• Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)
• Certified Patient Care Technician (CPCT/A)  
• Certified Geriatric Nursing Assistant (CGNA)
• Certified Hospice and Palliative Nursing Assistant (CHPNA)
• Medication Aide Certification (MAC)

How to write your nursing assistant resume summary or objective

Finally, don’t neglect to declare what motivates you to pursue the available role by writing a powerful resume profile . This is a short paragraph of no more than 100 words at the top of your resume that provides an overview of your accomplishments and top skills.

Depending on the years of clinical experience you have, there are two types of resume profiles you can build.

If you’re a tenured nursing assistant with more than five years of experience, then opt for a resume summary . This profile type focuses on your:

• Career achievements:  Highlight at least one accomplishment that showcases your value as a nursing assistant.
• Subspecialty and specific training: Cite two or three of your key technical nursing skills to emphasize how your professional profile relates to the available position.
• Type of patients you have experience treating:  By describing your experience in patient care, you’ll provide evidence of how you acquired your top nursing skills.

By contrast, if you’re a nursing assistant novice, write a resume objective . Although its structure is similar to the summary, this profile concentrates on your:

• Potential value as a nursing assistant:  Since you haven’t established yourself as a medical specialist yet, you’ll have to advocate for yourself and all the benefits your work will bring.
• Clinical rotations you’ve completed: Hiring managers prioritize candidates with clinical and shadowing experience as familiarity with the medical equipment and work environment are crucial for the position.
• Academic background:  To make your professional profile more well-rounded, mention the type of qualifications you have. These will prove that your abilities are up to the latest nursing standards.

Let’s illustrate the differences with a few examples.

First, have a look at the sample below:

Even though the candidate has appealed to the health organization by referring to the exact position they’re aiming for, this nursing assistant resume objective won’t impress recruiters.

Most of the issues concern the lack of explanation surrounding the applicant’s achievements and skills. The paragraph doesn’t mention how the accomplishments came to be or how the candidate acquired their skills.

Last, but not least, the applicant should’ve refrained from using field-specific abbreviations as not all hiring managers recognize them. So, to avoid ambiguity, write out the full name of your degree and qualifications.

Here is how to amend the paragraph:

This version is better because it describes the type of clinical experience the candidate has, as well as what their work entailed during their residency. Plus, the objective relates the applicant’s technical talents with their clinical experience.

Now, take a look at the following example:

The above nursing assistant resume summary won’t catch the recruiters’ eye because it doesn’t properly describe the applicant’s subspecialty and qualifications. Hence, the profile doesn’t offer any reasonable support in favor of the candidate’s application for a position in the facility’s maternity ward.

Plus, the applicant has missed the chance to match possible resume keywords by writing out the full name of their certificate.

An improved version of the summary would be:

This profile provides strong arguments as to what makes the candidate qualified to be a member of the health organization’s maternity ward as they list:

• Pertinent achievements;
• Relevant hard and soft skills;
• Supplementary subspecialty training.

Additional sections for a nursing assistant resume

We know that every job seeker is different, so in most cases, a cookie-cutter resume template won’t do. If you still want to share role-relevant information that doesn’t fit into any of the essential sections we’ve discussed so far, you can build your own.

To do this, first determine what type of experience or ability you want to add to your resume. Then, think about how to best categorize your expertise.

Here are some ideas on what else you can add:

• Volunteering experience : Relevant clinical experience doesn’t have to come from residencies and rotations alone. Volunteering at a health-related event, such as a blood donation drive, will demonstrate your commitment to the job and willingness to improve your skills in patient care.
• Publications and research : If you’ve delved primarily into the academic side of nursing, describe your particular medical focus. This will inform hiring managers of what motivates you to pursue nursing and how you plan to grow further as a medical specialist.
• Non-medical training and courses:  Depending on the type of patients you’ll be treating some of your non-nursing education can be of value to your potential employer. For example, imagine you’re aiming to become a nursing assistant at a children’s summer camp. If you’ve undergone specialized search and rescue medical training, you’ll be among the top contenders for the position!
• Language skills :  Patients come from all walks of life. That’s why recruiters prefer candidates who are proficient in foreign languages or American Sign Language (ASL) as they are well-equipped to understand their patients’ needs better and provide the necessary care.

Key takeaways

In conclusion, to write an impressive nursing assistant resume, you’ll have to do a bit of research about the health organization to tailor your application accordingly. Once you do that, simply:

• Choose a resume format that will best represent your experience and expertise.
• List your nursing assistant qualifications next to your name in the resume header.
• Craft a resume summary or objective to explain how your skills relate to the offered role.
• Describe the range of medical services your past employers provide when recounting prior roles.
• Explain what experience you’ve gained during your tenure and what your approach to patient care is.
• Remember to always quantify your achievements to showcase the impact of your work.
• Don’t add more than 10 skills in your talent section to avoid overcrowding your resume.
• Arrange your degrees and certificates in order of relevancy.

Nursing Assistant resume examples

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

Assistant Nurse roles have evolved from the broader nursing field, highly influenced by advancements in healthcare practices and technologies.

While applying for Assistant Nurse positions, include your experience with modern nursing techniques and protocols, such as patient safety and infection control procedures. Highlight your abilities in assisting with the administration of medication and documenting patient history. Showcase your interpersonal skills and your ability to establish rapport with patients, their families, and medical professionals.

Remember, don't just list your skills, but show how they enhanced patient care, for instance, 'improved patient recovery rates by doing..' Insert any relevant nursing certifications you hold, as this is a significant selection criterion.

Certified Nurse Aide’s focus is primarily on patient care, making experience with hands-on caregiving skills crucial.

List your proficiency in basic patient care tasks including bathing, feeding, and transporting patients. Emphasize your capabilities in health monitoring, such as checking vital signs and observing changes in a patient's condition.

It’s essential to share how these skills had a direct impact on patient well-being, for instance, 'increased patient comfort by providing...'. Demonstrate your soft skills such as communication, empathy, and patience, and specify if you have any specialty, such as geriatric or pediatric caregiving.

Certification is key for a Certified Nurse Aide, ensuring it is prominently highlighted.

Nurse Extern is often a stepping-stone role for nursing students, making it critical to display a healthy mix of academic and practical engagement.

Detail your experience with hands-on practice through clinical rotation or externship, conducting patient assessments, and administering basic care under supervision. Emphasize your collaborative work with healthcare teams, and involvement in patient education.

Contextualize your skills by illustrating how they contributed positively to patient care, say, 'enhanced patient understanding and adherence by implementing...'. Highlight any academic achievements or nursing-related study projects you've been part of.

Finally, as a student, your educational details and expected graduation date should be clearly stated on your resume.

Looking to build your own Nursing Assistant resume?

• Resume Examples

How to Put Cum Laude on Your Resume

Expert guide on how to get a job at a nonprofit, questions to ask your future manager before joining the team, imposter syndrome at work: 4 strategies to battle it out, how to write a resume headline (5 examples you need to steal), how to start a resume (5+ examples of resume introductions).

• Create Resume
• Terms of Service
• Privacy Policy
• Cookie Preferences
• Resume Templates
• AI Resume Builder
• Resume Summary Generator
• Resume Formats
• Resume Checker
• Resume Skills
• How to Write a Resume
• Modern Resume Templates
• Simple Resume Templates
• Cover Letter Builder
• Cover Letter Examples
• Cover Letter Templates
• Cover Letter Formats
• How to Write a Cover Letter
• Resume Guides
• Cover Letter Guides
• Job Interview Guides
• Job Interview Questions
• Career Resources
• Meet our customers
• Career resources
• English (UK)
• French (FR)
• German (DE)
• Spanish (ES)
• Swedish (SE)

© 2024 . All rights reserved.

Made with love by people who care.

How to Write a Killer CNA Resume (5 Free Sample)

Job hunting is tough, but it doesn’t have to be. Knowing how to write a killer CNA resume will give you an edge over the competition and help get your foot in the door for interviews. If you’re looking for a job as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), then this blog post will show you five free samples of what makes up a good CNA resume so that when it’s time for you to write your own, you’ll know exactly what hiring managers are looking for.

Nursing and health care organizations offer many different high-paying jobs that come with a variety of perks. To be considered for one, the applicant must have an excellent resume in hand which will stand out from their competition to land themselves on top.

CNA Resume Objective

The key to a successful resume is understanding the importance and objective of your resume. Below are some points that you should consider while drafting an excellent cover letter for your caregiver job application:

• The resume should be formatted in such a way that it is professional. You need to make sure the font used conforms to Arial, Times New Roman or Calibri and avoid cursive fonts or decorative ones as well. The presence of bolding, italics and underlining will help you highlight important details on your resume which are likely going catch the attention of recruiters so they can get an idea about what kind of candidate may he/she would fit their company’s needs best!
• You are a part of an era where competition is the name of the game. In order to stay ahead of the competition, you need to make sure your resume gets shortlisted when scanned through modern software. The recruiter spends no more than a few seconds reading resumes and scanning for keywords specific to their field is now necessary in order to ensure that they are not overlooked or passed over.
• A good resume is readable and engaging. Employers will not want to go through a document that makes them feel stressed, so make sure your contact details are clearly labeled as well as any other important information such as employment history within the past few years. Make highlighting points from previous jobs with bullet point lists of duties you’ve fulfilled in these positions for easy access by employers who may be sifting through many resumes at once while scanning quickly over each one’s headlines before deciding on candidates they wish to interview further about potential job openings!
• Your resume is your chance to share what you have done and can do for a prospective employer. You will want them to know who you are, why they should hire you, and how well suited that make be as an employee in their company. Your focus should always remain on the future of this new employment position – not necessarily where it might take place but rather about where YOU would like YOUR career journey to lead next!
• Divide your resume into appropriate sections. The employer will be looking for different details such as work experience, academic details, skills, achievements, references, etc. Start the resume with contact details, followed by career objective, then mention sections such as qualities and core competencies, computer skills, educational qualifications, certifications, achievements and awards, extra-curricular awards, area of interests, and references.
• Many candidates may not understand the importance of references and just mention that they should be provided on request. The employer does not have time to ask for them, so another competent candidate could get hired instead. You need to provide 2-4 details about your references when you apply because this information will help verify if it’s worth hiring you or someone else who has better experience than you do!
• Be short and precise and provide relative and correct information
• Make use of resume keywords to create an effectual cover letter
• Personalize the cover letter and make it unique
• Just provide a glimpse of your resume by highlighting your credentials and professional summary
• Proofread the cover letter at least twice before mailing it to the recruiter and make sure that it is error-free
• It is very important that the objective seems thoroughly professional as well as contains no errors as far as grammar and spelling are concerned.

CNA Resume Format

Let us go through the content of a standard resume for the position of a certified nursing assistant.

Contact Details: The contact details section of the resume is arguably one of its most important sections. It’s what hiring managers will research first, and it includes your name, address (both current and permanent), email id, as well as a phone number for you to be reached at in case they have questions about your qualifications or background.

Career Objective: This segment includes the objective or aim of a person applying for a job. It also indicates their approach to work and how they plan on doing it, as well as what position they are actively seeking out in that field.

CNA Resume Skill Set: This resume section helps the recruiter in shortlisting candidates for an interview. The skills you have learned from previous organizations should be mentioned with bulleted points to keep things concise and clean-cut, so do include these qualities. You can also categorize your skills by dividing it into sections like technical, computer related knowledge and other areas of expertise – make sure everything is explained well though! Some CNA job skill ideas are:

• Complete knowledge of taking and recording the vital signs of patients; be it blood pressure, temperature or pulse and respiration
• Certified cardiopulmonary restoration skills
• Good bedside manners to assist patients in changing positions, changing bed linen of occupied bed
• Good experience of ambulating patients to different departments for various checkups and complete understanding of the varied documentation required for patient transfers
• Proven track record of maintaining hygienic surrounding
• Ability to educate patients and their family members about healthcare needs
• Can assist multiple patients at the same time without mixing up their healthcare requirements
• Experience in dressing, grooming, feeding patients and providing bedpans

Professional Summary: Your professional summary highlights all of your work experience in an efficient manner. It includes the duration of your career along with every project you’ve handled, so don’t bore them by lengthening it; as you have to mention the work experience in detail in the below sections.

Work Experience: This section is a crucial part of the resume because it shows potential employers that you’re qualified for their position. It should also include your current designation and name, tenure with organization, roles and responsibilities within the company. Previous work experience can be mentioned as well in reverse chronological order to show progression throughout career path.

Academic Qualifications: Academic qualifications section includes your educational details such as post-graduation degree, graduation degrees and any certification courses you have obtained. The list should start with the most recent course or qualification followed by a reverse chronological order of all other credentials which should include name of the institution where they were attained, year when these certificates were earned and their duration in years/months respectively.

Certification Details: You will need to mention your certification details in order for the certificate you possess to really emphasize how great of a skill set that you have.

Area of Interest: The Area of Interest section is where you get to detail your interest in the work that you’re currently doing or have done before. Make sure that you have listed these pointers using the bullet points.

Awards and Achievements: This part of the resume lists the awards that you have received in your current as well as previous organization. It gives an added advantage to your profile.

References: References are not something to be overlooked. Your references section is a place for potential employers to see the people who have vouched for you and your job performance, as well as contact information they can use in their own research process. It includes name of referrer, designation and job title with company (if any), email address, and phone number.

Personal Details: Personal Details is the last segment of a resume and carries an overview of your personal information. It includes the date you were born, social security number, citizenship status, as well as marital or relationship statuses to make it easier for potential employers to find out more about you.

A standard resume cover letter is divided into 3 sections:

Header or Introduction Section: This section includes the main objective of drafting the cover letter. It also includes the position for which you want to apply for. Also mention basic information about yourself.

Informatory Section or Body: Start this section by mentioning your current job description along with the important job responsibilities that you undertook. Mention why you are interested in working with a particular organization. Also, mention your educational qualification, skill set, and contact information.

Salutation or Conclusion Section: This is the concluding section of the cover letter in which you thank the recruiter for spending their precious time, for considering your resume, and mention your interest in meeting the recruiter to know about the organization and their hiring plans. Do remember to follow up within 2 weeks time.

Free CNA Resume Samples

Let us have a look at the sample resume format, as it will provide you with a clear idea about how to prepare a resume and what are the essential elements you should include. Also you can use those format in your next job hunting.

Anatomy of The Format

Contact Details [Name of the Candidate] [Address of Correspondence] [Email Address] [Telephone Number]

Career Objective:  [Aim/ objective for drafting your resume]

Skill Set:  [Include your strength, qualities, and skills]

Professional Summary:  [Total number of years of experience along with a short summary of the projects undertaken]

Work Experience

Educational Qualifications

Area of Interest:  [Mention your interests related to the work]

Achievements:  [Mention the awards that you received for your excellence at work while serving the organization]

Personal Details

CNA Resume Sample – in General

Contact Information  Name: Meredith Sheppard Address: 14 E. Ninth Street, Brooklyn, NY 2222 Contact number: 631-119-1528 E-mail address: [email protected]

Career Objective:  Seeking for the position of a certified nursing assistant in your organization where I can perform to the best of my potential and serve the patients effectively.

Professional Summary:  I am a highly-skilled and talented person for the post of a certified nursing aide, as I have work experience of more than 3 years in the field of nursing and health care. I have my own method of working and solving problems in the best possible way.

Skills and Core Competencies

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Good knowledge of the nursing domain and well-versed with nursing techniques
• Good interpersonal skills and ability to maintain a healthy relationship with the teammates

Designation: Certified Nursing Assistant Organization’s Name: ABC Heath Association, New York, USA Duration: October 2009-till date

Duties and Responsibilities

• Note the vital signs such as temperature, pulse rate, and blood pressure
• Take samples: stool/ urine/ sputum for clinical examinations
• Prevent bed sores of bed-ridden patients and reposition the patients as well
• Note any abnormal changes in the patient’s condition and report to the registered nurse (RN)
• Assist the patients with the range of exercises as prescribed by the doctors
• Prepare admission, discharge procedures, and other patient’s documentation
• Answer the call of the patients and make sure that their problems have been sorted out immediately
• Provide mental support to the patients
• Keep the patient’s room clean in order to provide proper hygiene
• High School Diploma from St Stephens High School, New York, United States in the year 2008

Certification Details

• CNA certification degree from ABC Health Association, New York, United States in the year 2009

Achievement

• Awarded as the best nursing aide of the year from ABC Health Association, New York, United States in the year 2010

Areas of Interest

Name: Maria Thomas Designation: Registered Nurse Organization: ABC Heath Association, New York, USA Phone No: 987-990-8989 E-mail id: [email protected]

Date of Birth: 12 January 1988 Nationality: American Marital status: Married Children: Yes

For Entry Level CNA – 1

Alisha Johnson Address: 415 Quincy Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, United States Contact No: 789-987-8181 E-mail id: [email protected]

Date: November 17, 2012

Kimberly L. Smith Recruiting HR ABS Health Care Center Philadelphia, PA 19101, United States

Dear Smith,

As per the advertisement posted on the job portal for the position of a certified nursing assistant in your organization, I fulfill the eligibility criteria for the opening and would like to apply for the same.

I have just completed CNA certification from the Red Cross Society and possess good knowledge of the nursing domain. I have attended training sessions under the supervision of a Registered Nurse (RN) and have learned various skills in order to serve the patients effectively.

The rest of the details such as my education qualifications, qualities, skills, certification details, awards, and contact details are mentioned in the resume. As nursing is an area of my interest, I am sure that I will excel at work and prove to be an ideal employee in your organization.

Thanks for taking interest in going through the cover letter. I have attached my resume for further details. I would like to meet you for further discussions. I am eagerly waiting for your reply.

Yours sincerely, Signature (Alisha Johnson)

Enclosures:

• Copy of CNA Certification

For Entry Level CNA – 2

Contact Details

Name of the Candidate Address for Correspondence Email ID Phone Number

Career Objective:  Aim for drafting the resume.

Skill Set and Core Competence:  Key skills and qualities that you possess.

Academic Qualifications: Details of the educational qualifications that the candidate possesses.

• Name of the Course
• Name of the College/Institute
• Name of the University
• Year of Passing
• Name of the Degree
• Duration of the Course

Achievements and Awards:  The awards that you received from your previous or current organization for excellent work.

References:  Mention at least 1 or 2 references in your resume.

• Name of the referral 1
• Position of the referral
• Name of the company
• Contact number and email address

Personal Details:

• Date of Birth
• Social Security Number
• Nationality
• Marital Status

For Fresher

Name: Ronnie C. Dewald Address: 594 Keyser Ridge Road, Thomasville, NC 27360, United States Cell phone: (555) 555 7799 E-mail: [email protected]

Career Objective

Aspiring for a career in the field of nursing and health care for the position of a certified nursing assistant. I have the passion to work for long hours and strengthen my key skills and bring growth and success to the organization.

Qualities and Core Competences

• Excellent verbal and written communicational skills
• Sound knowledge of the nursing domain
• Multitasking ability
• Target oriented and trustworthy
• Ability to act according to the given situation and handle pressure easily
• Self-motivated and fast learner
• Good convincing power and positive thinking ability
• Highly attentive to details and a good team player

Computer Skills

• Office Automation: MS Office (MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, MS Outlook)
• High School Diploma from St. Xaviers High School, New York, United States in the year 2011

Certification

• Certification in Nursing from ABS Nursing School, New York, United States in the year 2012

Achievements and Awards

• Received the first prize in a debate competition St Xaviers High School, New York the United States in the year 2009

Extra-Curricular Activities

• Organized “Blood Donation Campaign” conducted by Red Cross Society in the year 2010
• Social Service
• Playing computer games

Name: James Joseph Designation: Registered Nurse Organization: ABS Nursing School, New York, United States Phone No: 987-989-1234 E-mail: [email protected]

Name: Ronnie J. Johnson Designation: Faculty of English Organization: St Xaviers High School, New York, United States Phone No: 963-852-1478 E-mail: [email protected]

• Birth Date: 24 March 1988
• Nationality: American
• Marital Status: Single
• Social Security Number: 000-00-0000

For Experienced Candidate

Michael T. Walker 479 Hilltop Drive, Amarillo, TX 79101 United States Contact No: 219-728-0762 E-mail id: [email protected]

Thomas L. Reynolds Recruiting HR MM Center of Medical and Health Care Amarillo, TX 79105 United States

Dear Reynolds,

While searching for nursing jobs, I came across an advertisement in the employment newspaper for the position of the certified nursing assistant in MM Center of Medical and Health Care. Currently, I am working with ABC Health Association for the past 2 years.

I possess strong knowledge about the nursing domain and have handled various situations at the time of emergency in an effective manner.

I have gone through the eligibility criteria for the job opening and hope that I have fulfilled it. I have served different types of patients admitted to the hospital i.e. from children to elderly.

I have completed a high school diploma degree, followed by a certification in nursing from AMS Nursing Home in the year 2009. The rest of the details i.e. professional experiences, educational qualification, job description, achievements, contact information, and extra-curricular activities are mentioned in my resume attached to this cover letter.

Last but not the least, I would like to thanks the recruiters for their consideration in going through the cover letter and hope to see a positive reply. It would be a great pleasure to work for your organization.

Please feel free to contact me at your convenience. My contact number is (219)-728-0762. I have attached the required documents with this cover letter, as mentioned in the advertisement.

Yours sincerely, Signature (Michael T. Walker)

• Copy CNA Certification Degree
• Letter of Recommendation from the previous employer

CNA Job Description for a Resume

It is important to read through the CNA job description carefully and create a resume that includes all relevant information about your academic qualifications, skills, and previous work experience. These are some of the points you may find in a CNA job description:

• Help the ill person with the basic necessities of daily life, like for example, giving a bath, feeding them, and dressing them up, or at other times even helping in undressing them
• Take note of the proper input of food, or some other juices if required to be given any, as well as the output of the said patient
• Help in keeping everything around the patient in a spick and span condition, right from the dressing packs, to the healing trays, to the other supplies, to in fact the whole room
• Track changes in the condition of the patient, noting some important changes, as well as taking note of the vitals of the unwell person
• In order to send it for testing, a few important samples of blood, stool or urine might have to be collected
• Respond to the signal bells, or the signal lights, or any other form of message, or courier to assist the need of the sick person to the best of one’s potential
• Be well versed in clinical terminology and sometimes also required in administering a few medicines under expert supervision.
• Layout the meal for the ailing person, as well as collect the plates and other utensils once the meal is over.
• Prepare the patient for any test or treatment required, while at the same time, continuously being next to the ailing person. Herein, at times, it might also be required to do some small tasks like holding the instrument tray or positioning the light properly so that it helps the doctor or the LPN in checking and treating properly.
• Lay down the bed linen, checking it as regards when it requires to be changed; besides, the nursing assistant would also be expected to show the direction to the visitors and attending to them cordially

This is the end of our post. Thank you for reading and we hope that it was helpful! If you’re looking to learn more about what makes up a good CNA resume, or if you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact us anytime by phone or email. We will be happy to answer your inquiries and provide more information on how to get started in this career field. Good luck with your job search!

Related Posts

Alternatives to CNA: Exploring Other Career Paths in the Healthcare Field

Should You Stay as a CNA or Become a Nurse?

10 Reasons Why Being a CNA is a Great Career Choice

10 Common CNA Resume Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

CNA Without Certification! Is it Possible?

Being a CNA Before Nursing School – Pros and Cons

11 Funny Signs You’re a CNA Student

13 Signs That You are Going to Be a Great CNA

10 Things You Will Never Learn in CNA Training

12 Tips To Survive CNA Training Program

2 Nursing Assistant Resume Examples for 2024

Creating a strong resume as a nursing assistant is essential to landing a good job in healthcare. This article gives examples of effective resumes and offers strategic advice. Learn how to highlight clinical skills, patient care experience, and certification details. We will also discuss the proper format and language that appeal to employers. Make your resume work for you.

• 09 Jun 2024 - 4 new sections, including 'Where to place your education', added
• 09 Jun 2024 - 5 new resume templates, including Nursing Assistant with Transferable Skills, added
• 07 Jun 2024 - Article published

  Next update scheduled for 17 Jun 2024

Here's what we see in the best resumes for nursing assistants.

Show Impact With Numbers : Good resumes use numbers to show impact, like reducing patient wait times by 20% , handling 15 patients per shift , cutting error rates by 30% , and administering medications to 25 patients daily .

Include The Right Skills : Include skills on your resume that you have and are mentioned in the job description. Some popular ones are vital sign monitoring , patient hygiene , charting , phlebotomy , infection control . But don't include all of them, choose the ones you have and are mentioned in the JD.

Highlight Certifications : It's key to list any licenses or certificates. Sample phrases: Certified Nursing Assistant , CPR certified , First Aid trained .

use this maybe to have a resume upload button widget 1: yellow Here's a short quick tip / warning for people to include. If your symptoms get worse or do not improve after 1 day, go to a lower altitude if you can. Try to go around 300 to 1,000 metres lower.

widget 2: red / but not serious Here's a short quick tip / warning for people to include. If your symptoms get worse or do not improve after 1 day, go to a lower altitude if you can. Try to go around 300 to 1,000 metres lower.

helpful blue / but not serious Here's a short quick tip / warning for people to include. Here's a short quick tip / warning for people to include. Here's a short quick tip / warning for people to include. Here's a short quick tip / warning for people to include. Here's a short quick tip / warning for people to include. Here's a short quick tip / warning for people to include. Here's a short quick tip / warning for people to include.

Nursing Assistant Resume Sample

Find out how good your resume is.

ummm here it is

Where to place your education

As a nursing assistant, your education is critical to your role. If you are new to the workforce or have recently finished your nursing studies, you should list your education at the top of your resume. This will help hiring managers see your qualifications right away. Make sure to include any certifications such as Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) or any relevant training you've received.

If you have been working as a nursing assistant or in a related field and have built up experience, your education should follow your professional experience on your resume. In these cases, your hands-on experience can say more about your skills than your formal education. Always keep the content focused and relevant, which in your case, means highlighting any specialties or areas of healthcare you are trained in.

Senior Nursing Assistant Resume Sample

Highlight certifications.

Nursing assistants should list any certifications, such as CPR or First Aid, prominently. These are crucial qualifications that healthcare employers look for.

Experience with electronic medical records (EMR) is also valuable. Mention any software platforms you are proficient in, as this skill is highly regarded in the industry.

•   Research Assistant Resume Examples
•   Assistant Project Manager Resume Examples
•   HR Assistant Resume Examples
•   Accountant Assistant Resume Examples
•   Executive Assistant Resume Examples
•   Assistant Operations Manager Resume Examples
•   Accounting Assistant Resume Examples
•   Entry-Level Virtual Assistant Resume Examples

Quick links

Nursing assistant, resume sample #1, senior nursing assistant, resume sample #2, additional resources, questions get in touch.

How to Become a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)

• What is a CNA?
• How to Become
• Top Programs
• Career Growth
• Career Outlook
• Related Careers

What is a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)?

A CNA, or Certified Nursing Assistant, is a healthcare professional who provides basic care to patients under the supervision of a Registered Nurse (RN) or a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). CNAs are sometimes referred to as nurse aides, patient care technicians, or nursing assistants. They assist with daily patient care tasks like dressing, bathing, and checking patient vital signs.

These vital patient care providers are the backbone of the American healthcare system. With a short certification process, becoming a CNA is often the most accessible way for new workers to enter the nursing field. 

This article will explore what certified nursing assistants do, how much they earn, and how to become a CNA. Keep reading to prepare for your nursing assistant career today.

What Does a CNA Do?

CNAs can help a unit run smoothly, especially for nurses with multiple medically complex patients. Common CNA responsibilities include:

• Turning or repositioning patients
• Gathering supplies for the RN or MD
• Checking and charting vital signs
• Answering patient calls/bells
• Bathing, feeding, and dressing patients
• Measuring and recording patient food/liquid intake
• Preparing rooms for admissions 
• Assisting with medical procedures
• Dressing wounds
• Assisting patients with elimination

Direct responsibilities will vary based on the location of employment and the nurse's level of need. Different states have individual CNA requirements and duties. You can check your state guidelines for specific details about approved CNA duties and tasks in the state where you plan to practice.

How to Become a CNA

Certified nursing assistants must complete a state-approved training program. CNA programs are generally found at local community colleges, high schools, vocational or technical schools, or local hospitals.

Most programs have similar CNA certification requirements that must be completed prior to application and acceptance. The American Red Cross runs a popular CNA training program throughout the country which runs for 4-8 weeks depending on class size and location. Prerequisites include:

• Attendance at an orientation information session
• TABE (reading and math assessment) OR verification of High School diploma or GED
• Red Cross criminal background check prior to registration
• Completion of Red Cross physical form and TB test

Where Do CNAs Work?

The most common CNA workplaces include:

• Hospitals (state and local)
• Skilled nursing facilities
• Long-term residential facilities
• Rehabilitation centers
• Adult daycare centers

Certified nursing assistants rarely work in outpatient, office, or clinic settings. These facilities all require nursing assistants to act as a liaison between the nurse and the patient. 

CNA Qualities

As patient care liaisons, CNAs must enjoy interacting with people and have good bedside manners. But other skills or attributes that can help your nursing assistant career include:

• Flexibility
• Advanced communication skills
• Time management
• Reliability
• Physical Strength

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median annual nursing assistant salary in 2022 was $38,200 per year or $18.36 per hour. 

However, CNA salary expectations will vary depending on the setting and area. CNAs working in dentistry earn the most, with an average mean salary of $57,450. On the other hand, home healthcare services have the lowest median pay at $35,640. 

Highest Paying States for CNAs

According to the BLS , the following states have the highest pay scale for certified nursing assistants. 

Highest Paying Cities for CNAs

Metropolitan areas tend to pay higher for nursing assistants. Some of the highest-paying cities include:

Highest Paying Nonmetropolitan Areas for CNAs

Nonmetropolitan areas that pay CNAs the most in the US include:

• Alaska nonmetropolitan area
• Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area
• North Valley-Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area
• Coast Oregon nonmetropolitan area
• Hawaii / Kauai nonmetropolitan area

Top CNA Programs

We consulted nursing experts to curate the top 10 CNA programs in the nation. To determine which programs made this list, our nursing panel used Nurse.org's proprietary ranking methodology .

Our nurses considered several crucial factors in selecting these programs, including:

• Program length
• Acceptance rate, when available

3 Registered Nurses with years of experience and multiple degrees comprise our selection panel:

• Tracy Everhart, MSN, RN, CNS
• Tyler Faust, MSN, RN
• Kathleen Gaines, MSN, BSN, RN, BA, CBC

Because individual nursing pathways take various forms, our panel ranked the top CNA programs in no particular order. 

1. Uintah Basin Technical College

• Total Tuition: $300
• Online: Hybrid
• Program Length: 6 weeks

Students can complete the three-credit CNA program at UB Tech in as little as six weeks. This program covers everything new nursing aides need to know, including patient care, medical law and ethics, infection control, and life-saving procedures like CPR.

This program uses a hybrid learning format and is available on each of UB Tech's campuses, Roosevelt or Vernal. It incorporates classroom and clinical training, culminating in a written and skills test.

Learn More About This Program

2. Cochise College

• Total Tuition: $1,500
• Program Length: 16 weeks

Based in Cochise County, Arizona, Cochise College offers multiple allied health programs, including a nursing assistant certificate. Cochise College's two-course CNA program teaches skills to become a nurse assistant as well as basic CPR and First Aid skills. Graduates also become CPR and First Aid certified. Arizona residents get an in-state discount, though Cochise also extends discounts to senior citizens and charges a per-credit rate. 

3. Hutchinson Community College

• Total Tuition: Resident - $558 | Nonresident - $698
• Program Length: 12 weeks

Created to educate nurses to work with elderly patients in long-term healthcare settings, Hutchinson Community College's CNA program requires just 4.5 credits to graduates, making it among the shortest and most affordable CNA programs available.

Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, students must study on-site in Hutchinson, Kansas. While the Kansas Board of Nursing doesn't disclose outcomes for CNA programs, this short program quickly prepares nurses to gain a CNA certification.

4. Pratt Community College

• Tuition Per Credit: Resident - $70 | Nonresident - $84

Pratt Community College, another college located in Kansas, offers its CNA program in a hybrid format, allowing students to complete coursework and theory online. The program requires five credits, though students who choose to study online do not receive an in-state tuition discount. Regardless, Pratt CC's CNA program costs far less than other programs. Graduates can find positions in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and various hospitals. 

5. Elizabethtown Community and Technical College

• Total Tuition: $558

Elizabethtown Community and Technical College offers the best CNA program in Kentucky and perhaps in the region. The low-cost CNA program requires the completion of just 96 hours of practice, 16 of which must be supervised clinical skills training. 

Students can also complete a Medicaid Nurse Aide Certificate to boost their job prospects and potential earnings. Graduates must attend 100% of courses to graduates. Elizabethtown offers courses on weekdays, Saturdays, and in the evening. 

6. Fox Valley Technical College

• Total Tuition: $529.75
• Program Length: Up to 12 weeks

Located in Appleton, Wisconsin, Fox Valley Technical College's CNA program is among the cheapest routes for becoming a CNA, though the school's estimated costs do not include exam fees. The full-time program consists of daytime and evening courses, and FVTC also offers an accelerated format that takes less than 12 weeks to complete.

Students cannot take courses online but can complete courses at six different locations in Wisconsin. Graduates can also transfer their CNA credits into an associate's or bachelor's degree. 

7. Elgin Community College

• Total Tuition: $5,476
• Total Tuition: $1,040 

Elgin Community College offers one of the most comprehensive nurse assistant programs. The training program requires the completion of seven credit hours (double what other programs require) to increase graduates' job prospects by increasing their potential scope of practice. By the end of the program, graduates can take the nurse assistant certification exam in Illinois, though the program might also meet requirements for other states. 

8. Century College

• Total Tuition: $825.64

Century College, based in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, offers its four-credit nurse assistant certificate program in both part-time and full-time formats. Available year-round, the CNA program allows students to complete courses either for credit or not for credit.

Both options lead to program completion, though for-credit courses can be transferred into an associate's or bachelor's degree. Regardless of which option students choose, Century College is among the most affordable institutions in the region. 

9. City College of San Fransisco

• Tuition Per Credit: $452.00
• Program Length: 6-10 weeks

With several CNA options available, the City College of San Francisco is one of California's most versatile CNA programs. Nurse assistant students choose to specialize in acute care or convalescent care, which take 6 and 10 weeks to complete, respectively.

The convalescent care route also requires twice as many credits, meaning double the tuition cost. The City College of San Francisco is definitely more affordable for California residents who pay a fraction of what out-of-state students pay. 

10. Miles Community College

• Total Tuition: Resident - $740 | Nonresident - $964.00
• Program Length: 10 weeks

Miles City, Montana-based Miles Community College offers one of the region's best (and most affordable) CNA programs. Students complete 45 of the required credit hours online and 30 hours of clinical practice in person. The 75-hour program counts as four credits that students can transfer into another nursing program.

Note that while Miles CC's CNA program prepares nurses for Montana certification, the costs associated with the exam are not included in the total tuition. 

Online CNA Programs

While most of the top CNA programs offer in-person classes, some vocational schools and community colleges offer online CNA programs. Many programs operate clinics at local hospitals.

There are pros and cons to online programs. While individuals may be able to obtain their CNA certification quicker, there is concern that graduates from these programs are not gaining the same core knowledge and skills as their in-classroom counterparts.

How Do CNAs Transition to Other Nursing Positions?

Becoming a certified nursing assistant will not immediately prepare you for other nursing occupations.

However, the base of knowledge and experience earned as a CNA can help you gain entry into LPN or RN programs. However, earning these nursing certifications will require completing separate continuing education programs.

Remember that your CNA experience and education won't likely translate to shortened LPN or RN training. But it could translate to less stress and confusion as you navigate nursing school courses. It can also help your career outlook because you'll already have a professional network when you graduate.

CNA Career Outlook

Certified nursing assistants are in high demand, and the need is projected to continue through the next decade. The BLS predicts CNA career growth of 4% between 2022 and 2032. 

This number will only increase as the baby boomer generation ages, and there is an increased demand for additional long-term nursing care facilities. Nursing assistants will be needed to care for this population which is more likely to suffer from dementia and other neurologic changes.

Related Healthcare Careers

If you're interested in becoming a CNA, you might also want to check out these other healthcare careers you can start working in quickly!

CNA vs Medical Assistant

While certified nursing assistants and medical assistants (MAs) have some similarities, they are not the same job. Both careers assist doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers with treatments, procedures, and tests. However, MAs primarily conduct patient assessments and evaluations as they assist doctors with patient care and treatment.

On the other hand, certified nursing assistants focus on direct patient care and have specific job-related duties that are dictated by their state of employment.

>> Related: Medical Assistant vs CNA: What's the Difference?

To  become an LPN , you must pass a state-mandated exam and obtain a nursing license. On the other hand, CNAs only need to obtain a certification to practice.

Though both career paths don't require a college degree to practice, LPNs have higher education requirements than CNAs. For example, LPNs gain a deeper knowledge about healthcare and the human body during their year-long training programs. Such additional knowledge allows them to perform more complex procedures that CNAs cannot, like inserting a peripheral intravenous catheter.

CNA vs STNA

State-tested nursing assistants, or STNAs, essentially have the same role as CNAs. The only difference is their state of practice. While most states use the CNA title, Ohio uses STNA. You can learn more about the differences in these careers in our STNA vs CNA guide.

CNA Resources

Professional nursing organizations such as the Nursing Association of Health Care Assistants are great resources for information about becoming a CNA. Being a member of an organization provides you with several professional development opportunities, including:

• Discussions on growing healthcare trends impacting CNAs
• Healthcare conventions for nursing assistants
• Access to education hours
• Job boards and opportunities
• Contact information for local chapters

These associations are more than just a great resource for new CNAs. They also provide vital information for those who are already established in their career. By joining these professional organizations, you can make vital connections with industry experts and managers, leading to future career growth opportunities.

What Does CNA Mean?

• CNA stands for Certified Nursing Assistant. 

What Does a Nursing Assistant Do?

•  A CNA assists with nursing duties in patient care–this can include everything from help with grooming, bathing, feeding, and activities of daily life. 

How Much Do CNAs Make an Hour?

• A CNA's median hourly income is $18.36, according to the BLS.

How Long is CNA Training?

• You can become a CNA in as little as 4-12 weeks. 

What State Pays CNAs the Most?

• The District of Columbia, Alaska, California, Oregon, and Washington are the five highest-paying states for CNAs.

What is the Difference Between a CNA and an LPN?

• A CNA is a nursing assistant, while an LPN is a Licensed Practical Nurse. An LPN has more responsibilities and earns more than a CNA.

How Much Does it Cost to Become a CNA?

• You can complete nursing assistant training for under $1000. 

How Can I get my CNA Faster?

• Most CNA programs can be completed in a matter of weeks. 

What Type of CNA Earns the Most?

• CNAs who work at dentist offices earn the highest salaries.

Plus, get exclusive access to discounts for nurses, stay informed on the latest nurse news, and learn how to take the next steps in your career.

By clicking “Join Now”, you agree to receive email newsletters and special offers from Nurse.org. We will not sell or distribute your email address to any third party, and you may unsubscribe at any time by using the unsubscribe link, found at the bottom of every email.

Medical Assistant Resume Examples and Templates for 2024

• Resume Examples

How To Write a Medical Assistant Resume

• Resume Text Examples

As a medical assistant, you play a vital role in the delivery of quality care to patients. To generate opportunities on the open market, you want to showcase achievements demonstrating your ability to communicate effectively with physicians, nurses, and patients in fast-paced healthcare environments. The key to differentiating yourself from the competition is to build a compelling, accomplishment-driven resume that highlights your strongest qualifications.

Throughout our medical assistant resume guide, we’ll provide expert tips to help you translate your work experience into an effective marketing document.

• Entry-Level
• Senior-Level

1. Write a dynamic profile summarizing your medical assistant qualifications

Your profile is often the first thing the hiring manager sees when reviewing your resume, so it’s important to grab the reader’s attention as quickly as possible. Your opening sentence should contain your title, years of experience, and three to four specializations that match the job posting. This will send a clear message to hiring managers that you have the ideal qualifications for the position you’re applying for, which will increase your odds of landing the interview.

Example 1 - Senior-Level

A Certified Medical Assistant with 10+ years of clinical and administrative experience. A proven track record of supporting nursing teams and physicians in delivering patient-centered care in high-volume hospital environments. Adept at communicating with patients, maintaining medical records, and utilizing EHR software.

Example 2 - Entry-Level

A Certified Medical Assistant with two years of experience delivering exceptional patient care in acute care environments. Adept at collaborating with registered nurses, physicians, and administrative teams to improve clinical operations and efficiency.

2. Add a compelling section featuring your medical assistant experience

To create a strong accomplishment-driven resume, you must translate your healthcare experience into compelling bullet points. Hiring managers want to gain a better understanding of your unique background as a medical assistant. As you build out your professional experience section, you should also quantify your achievements using quality metrics such as patient satisfaction scores. This will show prospective employers that you have a proven track record of positively impacting internal teams and patients in fast-paced clinical settings.

Professional Experience

Certified Medical Assistant, St. Anthony’s Hospital, New York, NY May 2013 – November 2015

• Supported registered nurses in performing examinations, delivering treatment, and providing high-quality care to patients in a hospital with 300+ beds
• Coordinated with nurses to perform non-invasive procedures, interfaced with patients, family members, and medical teams, and ensured compliance with patient-centered care standards, which contributed to a 5% increase in patient satisfaction in 2014

Medical Assistant, West Chester Pediatrics, West Chester, PA October 2022 – Present

• Schedule all patient appointments for a high-volume pediatrics office with six full-time physicians and two nurse practitioners, amounting to up to 40 appointments per day
• Interface effectively with diverse patient populations, communicate with empathy and understanding, and contribute to a 95% patient satisfaction rating for the practice
• Obtain patient vitals, including blood pressure, temperature, and diagnostic information, and maintain medical records using EHR software

3. Include education and certifications relevant to medical assistants

Obtaining your Medical Assistant Certification (CMA) from an accredited program is a prerequisite for employment in over 26 states. You can also consider pursuing a specialization (SCMA) if you plan on working in a specific healthcare unit, such as cardiology or pediatrics. Another way to increase the strength of your application is to acquire certifications in phlebotomy or medical billing and coding, as these are valuable in both the clinical and administrative aspects of the role.

Certifications

• [Certification Name], [Awarding Organization], [Completion Year]
• Certified Medical Assistant, AAMA, 2019
• Registered Phlebotomy Tech (RPT), 2018
• [Degree Name]
• [School Name], [City, State Abbreviation] [Dates Enrolled]
• Associate of Applied Science (A.S.S.) Medical Assistance
• University of San Francisco, San Francisco, Ca September 2020 – May 2022

4. List medical assistant-related skills and proficiencies

Many healthcare organizations utilize automated tracking systems (ATS) to help narrow down their candidate pool. To separate yourself from the crowded field of applicants, you’ll want to incorporate various skills that showcase your expertise in both the clinical and administrative areas of healthcare delivery. Below, you’ll find a list of skills and keywords you may encounter during the job search:

How to Pick the Best Medical Assistant Resume Template

Choosing the right resume template can be overwhelming for many job seekers due to the many options available. In most instances, selecting a straightforward template that avoids flashy graphics and colors is best. It’s important to understand that hiring managers will interview candidates based on their experience and qualifications, so you want to prioritize readability and organization over presentation.

Medical Assistant Text-Only Resume Templates and Examples

Joseph Corbin   (123) 456-7890 [email protected] LinkedIn | Portfolio 123 Carpenter Street, Philadelphia, PA 12345

Medical Assistant, West Chester Pediatrics, West Chester, PA   October 2022 – Present

Medical Assistant, Medical Offices of Simmons and Cohen, Philadelphia, PA May 2021 – October 2022

• Managed patient appointments and scheduling for a physician’s office with over 120 active patients, which included maintaining electronic medical records
• Collected patient insurance information and authorized services, provided information on co-pays to new patients, and interfaced with insurance agencies to resolve issues
• Certified Medical Assistant, American Association of Medical Assistants, 2021
• Patient Relations
• Calendar Management
• Appointment Scheduling
• Healthcare Support
• Office Management

Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) Medical Assistance   Temple University, Philadelphia, PA September 2019 – May 2021

Cameron Malfara (123) 456-7890 [email protected] LinkedIn | Portfolio 123 Pine Brook Dr, Miami, FL 12345

A Certified Medical Assistant with over eight years of experience as a clinician and administrative support staff member. Adept at collaborating with multidisciplinary teams to deliver high-quality care to diverse patient populations, including both geriatric and pediatric patients. Extensive knowledge of EHR and scheduling software.

Medical Assistant, St. Mark’s Medical Center, Miami, FL July 2017 – Present

• Deliver clinical and administrative support to registered nurses and physicians, obtain patient medical history and documentation, and communicate with empathy and compassion, contributing to a 95% patient satisfaction rating
• Maintained exam rooms in accordance with OSHA standards for health and safety, sanitized exam instruments, and ensured compliance with Covid-19 safety protocols
• Collected lab samples of blood and urine and submitted labeled samples for testing

Medical Assistant, West Bay Medical Group, Miami, FL May 2015 – July 2017

• Scheduled 50+ patient appointments per day, managed cancellations, performed data entry, and oversaw calendars for a busy medical office with 20 nurses and ten physicians
• Managed patient appointments and scheduling for a physician’s office with over 5K active patients, which included maintaining electronic medical records
• Oversaw basic billing and coding tasks for standard office procedures, streamlined billing processes, and reduced turnaround on payments by an average of six days
• Certified Medical Assistant, American Association of Medical Assistants, 2015
• Certified Phlebotomy Technician (CPT), NPA, 2015
• Patient Management
• Office Administration
• Process Improvement
• Medical Support

Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) Medical Assistance   Miami Dade College, Miami, FL September 2013 – May 2015

Aliya Jackson   (123) 456-7890 [email protected] LinkedIn | Portfolio 123 Bedford Avenue, New York, NY 12345

Certified Medical Assistant, Manhattan Medical, New York, NY November 2015 – Present

• Manage five front office staff for a medical practice with over 8K active patients, assigned responsibilities, evaluated performance, and coordinated scheduling
• Oversee calendars and appointments for four physicians and three nurse practitioners, minimizing patient wait times to less than 30 minutes on average
• Submit billing records to insurance companies for thousands of patients each month, fielded information requests, and resolved billing issues and inaccuracies
• Certified Medical Assistant, American Association of Medical Assistants, 2013
• Certified Phlebotomy Technician (CPT), NPA, 2013
• Clinical Operations
• Medical Billing and Coding

Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) Medical Assistance University of Syracuse, New York, NY September 2011 – May 2013

Frequently Asked Questions: Medical Assistant Resume Examples and Advice

What are common action verbs for medical assistant resumes -.

We know it’s easy to get stuck when writing the professional experience section of a resume. You might find that you start to run out of action verbs to accurately convey your job responsibilities and healthcare achievements accurately. That being said, it’s best to try and differentiate your usage of action verbs to avoid redundancy, as this can negatively impact the reading experience. Below, you’ll find a list of verbs you can use to build out your professional experience section:

How do you align your resume with a job description? -

The healthcare industry is one of the fastest-growing verticals in the job market. The demand for medical assistants is expected to grow by 16% by 2031, adding 123,000 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics . Despite the positive outlook, you’ll still need to align your resume with the job description to differentiate yourself from the competition.

As you begin applying for open positions, you should carefully review the job description and incorporate key terms that match the needs of the organization. It’s also important to provide tangible examples of utilizing these skill sets throughout your career to make a positive impression on the hiring manager.

What is the best medical assistant resume format? -

For most job applications, use a reverse chronological format to ensure that your most recent experience is featured towards the top of your document. Conversely, a functional resume approach prioritizes skills and avoids detailed bullet points. This is generally not recommended because the lack of professional achievements won’t help you differentiate yourself from the competition.

Craft your perfect resume in minutes

Get 2x more interviews with Resume Builder. Access Pro Plan features for a limited time!

Not every organization will ask for a cover letter. It’s good to have one on hand for the applications that require it. In addition to reinforcing accomplishments from your healthcare experience, you should also mention something about the organization’s reputation or work culture. For instance, if a hospital is known for its commitment to patient-centered care, you may want to explain that this is one of the reasons you’re applying for the job. This will show hiring managers that you’ve done your research beforehand, which will increase your chances of landing an interview. For more insights, see our medical assistant cover letter guide .

Frank Hackett

Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW)

Frank Hackett is a professional resume writer and career consultant with over eight years of experience. As the lead editor at a boutique career consulting firm, Frank developed an innovative approach to resume writing that empowers job seekers to tell their professional stories. His approach involves creating accomplishment-driven documents that balance keyword optimization with personal branding. Frank is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) with the Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches (PAWRCC).

Check Out Related Examples

Physician Assistant Resume Examples and Templates

Certified Nursing Assistant Resume Examples and Templates

Health Care Support Resume Examples and Templates

Build a Resume to Enhance Your Career

• How to Build a Resume Learn More
• Basic Resume Examples and Templates Learn More
• How Many Jobs Should You List on a Resume? Learn More
• How to Include Personal and Academic Projects on Your Resume Learn More
• Common Healthcare Interview Questions and Answers Learn More

Essential Guides for Your Job Search

• How to Write a Resume Learn More
• How to Write a Cover Letter Learn More
• Thank You Note Examples Learn More
• Resignation Letter Examples Learn More

Explore Jobs

• Jobs Near Me
• Remote Jobs
• Full Time Jobs
• Part Time Jobs
• Entry Level Jobs
• Work From Home Jobs

Find Specific Jobs

• $15 Per Hour Jobs
• $20 Per Hour Jobs
• Hiring Immediately Jobs
• High School Jobs
• H1b Visa Jobs

Explore Careers

• Business And Financial
• Architecture And Engineering
• Computer And Mathematical

Explore Professions

• What They Do
• Certifications
• Demographics

Best Companies

• Health Care
• Fortune 500

Explore Companies

• CEO And Executies
• Resume Builder
• Career Advice
• Explore Majors
• Questions And Answers
• Interview Questions

How To Write A Resume In 7 Steps (With Examples)

• How To Write A Resume
• Resume Skills Section
• Resume Objective Section
• Career Objective Section
• Resume Reference Section
• Resume Summary Section
• Resume Summary Example
• Resume Interests Section
• Address On Resume
• Relevant Work Experience
• Anticipated Graduation Date On Resume
• Education Section On Resume
• Contact Information On Resume
• Statement Of Qualifications
• How To List Publications On Resume
• Accomplishments On Resumes
• Awards On Resume
• Dean's List On Resume
• Study Abroad On Resume

Resumes are still the most important document in your job search . Generating a professional and interesting resume isn’t easy, but there is a standard set of guidelines that you can follow. As hiring managers usually only spend a short time looking over each resume, you want to make sure that yours has a reason for them to keep reading.

If you’re looking to write a resume, rewrite a resume you already have, or are just curious about resume format, then you’ve come to the right place. This article will go through the steps to writing an excellent resume, as well as offering examples for what sections of the resume should look like.

Key Takeaways:

A resume is a short document that details your professional history in a way that tailors your experience and skill set for the particular job you’re applying for.

Resumes follow a few standard formatting practices, which hiring managers and recruiters expect to see.

Highlighting your work experience, skills, and educational background with relevant keywords can help you get past applicant tracking systems and into more interviews.

How to write a resume

Writing a resume involves using the proper formatting, writing an introduction, and adding your work experience and education. Stuffing your entire professional life into a single page resume can feel overwhelming, but remember that you’re distilling the relevant parts of your professional experience in order to catch the eye of the recruiter .

Formatting your resume. To start, use a word processor such as Microsoft Word or Google docs. Standard resume formatting calls for:

1 inch margins

10-12 point font

A professional, commonly-used font

Additionally, there are three resume formats that are commonly used. Most people should stick with a chronological resume format , but the combination resume format and functional resume format can be effective for more advanced workers or those who have significant gaps in their resume.

Write a resume header . It doesn’t matter if you have the best resume in the world if the hiring manager can’t contact you. Every single resume should include the following contact information:

Your full name. First and last.

Your phone number. Use a personal phone number, and make sure your voicemail is set up properly.

Your email address. Nothing inappropriate — [email protected] is a safe choice.

Location. City, State, Zip Code is fine, but you can include your full mailing address if you think it’s appropriate.

Your social media (optional). LinkedIn is the obvious one you’d want to include, but make sure your profile looks good. If you have an online portfolio , either on a personal blog/website or on a site like Journo Portfolio , feel free to include that here as well.

Your job title. Also optional, but can be useful for applicant tracking systems.

Resume introduction. You have four options for your resume introduction: a resume objective, summary statement, resume profile, or qualifications summary. For most job-seekers, a resume summary statement is the best choice. Regardless of which resume introduction you choose, avoid first-person pronouns (I/me/my).

Resume objective. A resume objective is the goal of your resume. Since the objective of every resume is to land a job, this is not the most original or impressive opener you can have.

On the other hand, it’s a good choice for an entry-level applicant or someone who is changing career paths . This should be a 1-3 sentence summary of why you’re motivated to get the position you’re applying for.

Who should use a resume objective: Entry-level applicants, career-changers, and recent college graduates.

Resume summary. This is the best opener for most job-seekers. As the name suggests, a resume summary highlights the most salient aspects of your resume.

It should include your current position, how many years of experience you have, some of your biggest achievements, and possibly your career goals. This should be a 1-3 sentence spiel and should include some quantifiable experiences.

Who should use a resume summary: Most job seekers; anyone with quantifiable accomplishments to emphasize and a broad range of skills.

Qualifications summary. A bullet point list (4-6 points is the sweet spot) of your qualifications for the position. It’s best used by applicants going for jobs that require a fixed skill set. It’s not a great choice for entry-level applicants who lack quantifiable achievements.

You’ll notice that a qualifications summary takes up more space than a resume objective or summary, but it can actually save the hiring manager time if you provide a bunch of valuable information right off the top.

Who should use a qualifications summary: Those applying to a job with requirements for certain skills and job-seekers who have a lot of experience in their industry and/or field.

Resume profile. A resume profile is similar to a resume summary, but goes into more detail about your accomplishments at your current or former job, while also telling the reader about your career goals. Think of a resume profile as a section that pulls all the best parts of your work experience section into one place.

Who should use a resume profile: Anyone with significant accomplishments under their belt, expertise in a niche field, or applying to a job in the same industry that they have lots of experience in.

Resume headline. Resume headlines aren’t necessary, but you can include one alongside any of the four types of resume introduction listed above. A resume headline comes between your contact information and the resume introduction of your choice.

Headlines can be used by entry-level applicants and experienced job-seekers alike. The important point is that your headline should be short and to the point. Additionally, you should use title case when writing your resume headline (capitalize words as you would for a book title).

Who should use a resume headline: Any job-seeker who wants to showcase their experience or unique value right off the bat.

Work experience. Your work experience section is the place to let hiring managers know that you have relevant experience that would allow you to handle the job you’re applying for.

If you’re using the chronological resume format, your work experience section would come after your resume summary/objective. In a funcitonal reumse, it would follow your skills section. Either way, work experience should be listed in reverse-chronological order (most recent experience at the top).

When listing your work experience, you should include all of the following information:

Job title. Start by stating the position you held at the company. These are easy cue for the hiring manager to look at and determine whether your past positions would help you succeed at their company.

Company Info. Include the name of the employer, the location where you worked, and perhaps a brief description of the company, if it isn’t a well-known name.

Dates Employed: Use the mm/yyyy format if you want to be sure that most applicant tracking systems (ATS) will pick it up. Whatever format you use for dates, be consistent, or your resume will look sloppy.

Job Description. Don’t just list your job’s responsibilities; hiring managers and recruiters already have an idea of your duties based on the job title. Instead, list your most important and impressive responsibilities/achievements at the job with bullet points. Determine which of these are most relevant for your new role based on the job description.

Ideally, each bullet should be no longer than a single line. However, two lines is acceptable, if used sparingly.

Always start with a strong action verb, followed by a quantifiable achievement and a specific duty. For example: “Developed ad campaigns for clients, increasing sales by an average of 27%.” Each job title should include 3-5 bullet points.

The order that you include this information can be changed around, as long as you are consistent throughout your resume. However, the bullet points detailing your job’s achievements should always be the last item for each entry.

It’s important that you tailor your resume’s work experience section to the job you’re applying for. We recommend reading the job description carefully and highlighting the action verbs in one color and the skills, adjectives, and job-specific nouns in a different color.

Educational background. In almost all cases, your education section should come after your professional history. If you’re a recent college graduate with limited work experience, you may choose to put your educational achievements first.

Like the section on your professional history, educational experiences should come in reverse-chronological order, with your highest level of education at the top. If you have a college degree, you don’t need to add any information about your high school experience. If you didn’t finish college, it’s okay to give a list of what credits you did complete.

Each educational experience can be listed in the following format:

Degree/Program Name College/University Name Dates attended

You don’t need to add anything else, especially if your resume is already impressive enough. But if you’re struggling to fill up the page, or you feel that aspects of your educational experience will help make you a standout, you may consider also including:

Minor. If you think it rounds out your not-exactly-relevant-to-the-job major nicely.

GPA. Only if it was 3.5 or higher. Otherwise, it’s not going to do you any favors to include this.

Honors. Dean’s List, Cum Laude, etc.

Achievements. If you wrote a killer thesis/dissertation that showcases intimate knowledge relevant to the job to which you’re applying, you can include its title and a very brief description.

Extracurricular activities. Only include if they’re relevant. For example, if you’re applying for a management position and you were president of your student government.

Certifications/Licenses. If the job you’re applying for requires/likes to see certain certifications or licenses that you have, you may include them in this section as well.

Skills section. Your impressive skills should be scattered logistically throughout your professional history section, but you should also include a section solely dedicated to highlighting your skill set . Skills can be broken down into two categories:

Hard skills are skills you learn through training and indicate expertise with a technical ability or job-specific responsibility.

Soft skills are your personality traits, interpersonal abilities, and intangible qualities that make you more effective at your job.

Your resume should have a healthy mix of hard and soft skills, as both are essential to job performance. However, since soft skills are harder to prove in the context of a resume, we recommend leaning more toward hard skills. Additionally, whenever you list a soft skill, make sure that it has a correlating item in your work experience section.

For example, if you say you are skilled in collaboration, you should mention a time when a team project was a major success somewhere in your work experience section.

Optional sections. If you still have space left or there’s more you want to show off that doesn’t quite fit in any of the above sections, you may consider adding an additional section covering one or more of the below categories:

Language . Being bilingual is always impressive, and can be included on a resume for any company. Highlight this more if your position involves liaising with international distributors and/or clients. Don’t lie about your proficiency level.

It may be best to not mention it if you’re not particularly proficient speaker . Such as if you took courses in school, or haven’t really managed to gain fluency. It can end up looking like an attempt to inflate your credentials, which you want to avoid.

Volunteer experience . Always a good thing to include. It shows you’re a team player who behaves in a way that promotes the greater good, without thought of personal gain. Especially good for entry-level candidates and those applying for jobs at a non-profit. If you have gaps in your work history, you can also consider including volunteer experiences in your work history section instead.

Personal projects. A personal blog, published works, or a portfolio of your past projects are all good things to include. They show you take initiative, enjoy and take pride in your work, and that you can handle the responsibilities of the job, if relevant.

Certifications/licenses. If you didn’t include these in your education section, this is another good place to list relevant certifications or licenses that you have.

Interests . This is largely just a space filler if your resume is light in other areas. However, if your hobbies are directly related to the job that you’re applying for, it’s not a bad idea to include them. And it might draw a recruiter’s attention if you end up sharing some of the same interests as they do.

If you have several seemingly random items that are valuable, but don’t warrant creating a whole separate section for, you can also make a section called “Additional Experience.” Here you can include all of the above categories in one place. Just make sure that each item is clear and easy for readers to understand.

Resume samples

Now that we have a good idea of how to write a resume, let’s take a look at some example resumes:

Jack Pilgrim Washington , DC 14015 – (555) 444-3333 – [email protected] – www.linkedin.com/jpilgrim Resume Summary Graphic designer with 3+ years of experience creating and implementing promotional materials and social media graphics. Worked with sales and marketing teams to increase inbound calls by 23% YoY through compelling digital media. Adept at planning, managing, and prioritizing multiple deadlines at once, and thrives in fast-paced work environment. Work Experience Creative Designs | Washington, DC Lead Graphic Designer | June 2018-Present Worked with sales and marketing teams to create landing pages, sales proposals, and supporting media elements to drive sales by over $250,000 per quarter Trained, managed, and mentored team of 4 junior designers to fulfill 40+ project orders on a weekly basis Conducted UX research through surveys, usability testing, and data analysis to plan content marketing strategy, driving organic search traffic by 12% Presented proposals, results, and status updates to set of 4-7 clients, ensuring customer satisfaction at or above 95% for 3 years straight Happy Place | Alexandria, VA Junior Graphic Designer | July 2016-May 2018 Translated client needs and branding strategies into design and content strategy, increasing client retention by 22% Reduced project turnaround time by 8% by Utilizing web-based ticket system for completing and archiving finalized pieces Posted digital artwork to network IPTV using web interface to produce high-end info-graphics and other materials Happy Place | Alexandria, VA Marketing Intern | September 2015-July 2016 Assisted marketing team with data collection, analysis, and presentation using Google Analytics Drew up storyboards for new marketing campaigns alongside sales team, increasing brand awareness through social media Wrote 500-1000 word articles to pair with graphical elements on page, leading to a 40% boost in engagement on company website Education Savannah College of Art and Design | Savannah, Georgia May 2016 Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design Skills Adobe Creative Suite Typography HTML/CSS WordPress Collaboration Organization

Allison Neederly Chicago, Illinois , 60007 | (333) 222-1111 | [email protected] | www.linkedin.com/allison.neederly Resume Summary Dedicated customer service representative with 4+ years experience resolving customers’ needs in-person, online, and over the phone. Top achiever at XYZ Inc. with a 100% customer satisfaction rate for Q1 of 2020. Friendly personable, and knowledgable about company’s products and services. Relevant Skills Customer Service Responded to upwards of 200 customer queries daily with XYZ Inc., reducing the average wait time by 56% and increasing customer satisfaction rates by 13% Ability to resolve conflict and create a positive atmosphere for shopping for both new and existing customers through technical proficiency Expert product knowledge and communication skills, and experience training and mentoring new customer service staff Web Chat and Phone Skilled in 3 web chat platforms for helping online customers resolve their queries quickly and accurately Achieved fastest call resolution rate at XYZ Inc., with an average resolution time of under 5 minutes per customer Performed outbound calls for customer satisfaction surveys, as well as writing web-based surveys for 10,000+ customers Troubleshooting Detailed product knowledge allowed for customer technical issues to be resolved at rate within top 5% of all customer service associates at XYZ Inc. Created manual for step-by-step directions for troubleshooting that was implemented for team of 100+ customer service reps Positive attitude took average tech-related negative response from 1/5 stars to 4/5 stars, increasing trust in brands and services Work Experience XYZ Inc. | Philadelphia, PA Customer Service Associate New Look Global | Burlington, VT Junior Customer Service Representative L.L. Bean | Burlington, VT Sales Associate Education University of Vermont | Burlington, VT May 2012 Bachelor of Arts in Humanities

Priya Laghari New York, NY | (222) 111-0000 | [email protected] | www.priyabizdev.com Resume Profile Strategy Development: Grew John Deere’s international sales by 13% by tapping into undeserved countries in Southeast Asia Management: Oversaw a team of managers representing marketing, sales, and product teams. Streamlined collaborative, cross-functional communications through agile and scrum management system CRM: Developed, customized, and implemented new customer relationship management database for accounts totaling over $10M in value Work Experience Business Development Manager 01/2015-Present Microsoft | Redmond, WA Developed product strategies and roadmap for Google AdWords, increasing inbound traffic by 26% YoY Reduced time training on new software by 50% for new and existing employees by implement e-learning programs Spearheaded digital marketing campaign worth $1M that saw a return of 200% in first year by qualifying leads earlier in the sales funnel Regional Sales Manager 11/2012-01/2015 Big Things Inc. | St. Louis, MO Managed territory encompassing 29 regional locations with an annual revenue of approx. $55M Worked with C-level executives to plan business strategies, resulting in 20% reduction in overhead costs Increased client retention by 12% in first year by implementing a CRM approach based on account profiling and elevating levels of relationship selling Account Manager 02/2009-11/2012 Solutions Corp. | Chicago, IL Implemented and developed CRM strategic plans, increasing retention of long-term clients by 22% Maintained 50+ accounts totaling over $35M in value Generated leads through one-on-one consultation via phone inquiries, online check-ins, and meeting office walk-ins Relevant Skills CRM: Proficient with Salesforce, Zoho, and HubSpot; some experience with Keap. Used various CRM software over a decade to successfully manage customer relations and quick to adapt to new software and tools that aid in quality of customer experience. Salesmanship: Negotiated and closed over several deals worth $1M+ and skilled in upselling and cross-selling. Adept at working closely with marketing and product teams to maximize the efficiency of the sales funnel for both inbound and outbound traffic. Presentation: Represented Microsoft Northwest Region at quarterly board meetings, ensuring all stakeholders were kept abreast of new developments and opportunities. Also deliver monthly presentations to big clients and vendors to maintain positive relationship. Data analytics. Expert at integrating data from various analytics platforms, including Google, Microsoft Power BI, and SAP BusinessObjects Education Colgate University | May 2008 MBA Fordham University | May 2006 Bachelor’s Degree in Business

For more resume examples and templates:

Resume examples by job

Google docs resume template

Resume templates

Resume builder

Resume Headers Samples:

Tip : Never put your contact info in the header of your document; some applicant tracking systems might miss it.

For more on how to write a resume header:

Resume Header

Resume Titles

Resume introduction examples

Entry-Level Resume Objective.

Recent graduate with a bachelor’s in Marketing from the University of Virginia seeking an entry-level role in content marketing. Excellent copywriter with 2+ years experience editing content as a member of the UVa Writing Center.

Career Change Resume Objective.

Eager to apply 7+ years of experience with customer success management to make successful outbound B2B calls, deliver customized business solutions to new and existing customers, and provide expert product knowledge in the role of Account Manager for XYZ Inc.

Example Resume Summary Statement.

Accountant with over 8 years of experience in the medical industry. Adept at advising on management of cash deficits, reconciling departmental accounts, and creating new accounts and codes. Coordinated invoice preparation system for ABC that reduced contractor overhead by 19% YoY.

English teacher with a love of language and 6 years of experience teaching high school students. Developed new curriculum that boosted freshman reading comprehension scores by 12% and created after school book club for AP Lit class, resulting in 100% of participating students achieving a 5 on the AP Lit test.

Example Qualifications Summary.

Executive assistant with 5+ years experience helping maintain efficiency in an office of 25 employees Communicated directly with internal and external stakeholders, helping Senior Vice President manage projects worth $5M+ Proactively managed office schedules, identifying and prioritizing changes to ensure client satisfaction Recognized in a company of 500 for “Outstanding Achiever” in May 2019

Example Resume Profile.

Detail-oriented IT Specialist with 4 years of experience overseeing and improving the infrastructure of IT systems. Adept at building and running troubleshooting systems and testing services. Decreased security risk by 47% through continual optimization, while also improving the speed of client portal by 22%. Excellent communicator both internally and for client-facing discussions. Achieved 98%+ customer satisfaction ratings through weekly and monthly check-ins with accounts valued cumulatively at $500,000.

Entry-Level Resume Headline.

Bilingual College Graduate with 80 WPM Typing Speed and Tutoring Experience

Experienced Resume Headline.

Business Development Specialist with 6+ Years Experience Scaling Start-Up Tech Teams

For more on resume introductions:

Resume objective statement

Resume summary statement

Resume summary statement examples

Qualifications summary

Sample resume work experience sections

Work Experience XYZ Industries | Seattle, WA Marketing Associate | May 2019-Present Delivered weekly presentations to client-base to communicate brand messaging, increasing client retention by 11% Served as liaison between marketing and product teams, resulting in projects finishing 2 weeks early, on average Leveraged Excel skills to create and maintain spreadsheet to track consumer insights, emergent trends, and inform decisions of marketing team through competitive analysis Managed team of 5 contractors to juggle multiple priority projects simultaneously, never missing a deadline Initiated an affiliate referral program that PR team went on to turn into a revenue-generating stream valued at $30,000 annually ABC Corp | Seattle, WA Marketing Intern | September 2018-May 2019 Developed, maintained, and processed 20+ digital consent forms and distributor forms Worked collaboratively with a team of 10 marketing professionals, closely aligning our goals with the PR team Provided data analysis using Google Analytics and performed keyword research to increase blog traffic by 56% over six months Answered up to 50 customer queries by phone and email each week

For more on building the perfect resume work experience section:

Resume work experience section

First resume (no experience)

Examples Of Education Resume Sections

Graduated recently from a 4-year program.

Western Illinois University | Macomb, Illinois May 2020 Bachelor of Arts in Sociology | Minor in Psychology 3.95 GPA magna cum laude Dean’s List all semesters

Two degrees.

Fordham University | Bronx, New York April 2016 Master of Chemical Engineering Stony Brook University | Stony Brook, New York April 2014 Bachelor of Science in Chemistry

Anticipated graduation date (not yet graduated).

DePaul Univeristy | Chicago, Illinois Bachelor of Arts in History – Degree anticipated May 2021 Current GPA: 3.8

Older job seeker (graduated 10+ years ago).

University of Chicago | Chicago, Illinois Bachelor of Business Administration

High school graduate (no college degree).

Johnston High School 2016-2020 Head of Computer Club

More on crafting the perfect resume education section:

Education resume section

GPA on resume

Dean’s list

Magna cum laude

Examples Of Skills For Resume

Examples of hard skills include:

Examples of soft skills include:

Here’s more information on how to incorporate skills into your resume:

Resume skills section

Hard skills

Soft skills

Top skills for professionals

Skills-based resume

Resume writing FAQ

What is a resume?

A resume is a one to two-page document that focuses on professional experience, past achievements, education and certifications, and specific skills tailored to the job you’re applying for.

Almost every job application requires a resume, and hiring managers use them as a first impression in determining which applicants get a shot at an interview.

Whether you’re fresh out of college or have 30 years of professional experience, this guide should help craft a resume that stands out from the crowd and get you one step closer to landing your dream job.

What is the format for writing a good resume?

Most people will want to use a chronological or reverse-chronological resume format. This format is compatible with most applicant tracking systems (ATS) and is easy for employers to read. Additionally it helps highlight your experience, which helps prove your qualifications.

How far back should a resume go?

A resume should go back no further than 10 to 15 years. However, it is important that all your information is relevant. Therefore, do not include job experience that is irrelevant to your application, even if it’s fewer than 10 years old. Save that information for later discussions.

Should you personalize your resume for each job?

Yes, you should personalize your resume for each job you apply to. Many recruiters use ATS now, which will search for keywords in a resume and reject those that don’t have them. That means that the skills you choose to highlight as well as your opening, such as your resume summary, should be altered to suit each job you apply to.

You don’t need to rewrite the entire resume for each job, but it does show attention to detail and initiative to make sure that your resume is customized. It also makes it more likely that you’ll get past the first step of the process.

State of New York Department of Labor – Resumes, Cover Letters and Job Applications

Harvard University – Create a Resume/CV or Cover Letter

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating / 5. Vote count:

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

Matthew Zane is the lead editor of Zippia's How To Get A Job Guides. He is a teacher, writer, and world-traveler that wants to help people at every stage of the career life cycle. He completed his masters in American Literature from Trinity College Dublin and BA in English from the University of Connecticut.

Recent Job Searches

• Registered Nurse Jobs Resume Location
• Truck Driver Jobs Resume Location
• Call Center Representative Jobs Resume Location
• Customer Service Representative Jobs Resume
• Delivery Driver Jobs Resume Location
• Warehouse Worker Jobs Resume Location
• Account Executive Jobs Resume Location
• Sales Associate Jobs Resume Location
• Licensed Practical Nurse Jobs Resume Location
• Company Driver Jobs Resume

Related posts

How To Write A Graduate School Resume (With Examples)

Resume Examples To Get The Job You Want

Python Projects for Your Resume

Should I Put My Address On My Resume?

• Career Advice >
• Resume Structure >
• Parts Of A Resume >

CareerStaff Unlimited

Home Clinician Life Blog Nursing National CNA Week 2024: 7 Ways to Celebrate You

National CNA Week 2024: 7 Ways to Celebrate You

June 10, 2024 — 5 min read

Ready for National CNA Week? From June 13-19 th 2024, this special week is all about celebrating you: the dedicated CNAs who are the heartbeat of healthcare. It’s hard to fit all our CNA appreciation into one week, so we’ve created a guide on how you can continually grow, succeed, and take care in your career.

You’re always there for others. So, from self-care to the biggest career opportunities, let’s look at ways to celebrate you during National CNA Week.

What is National CNA Week 2024?

Led by the National Association of Health Care Assistants (NAHCA), this 2024’s CNA Appreciation Week theme is “ We’ll Be There For You .” To our CNA friends, this perfectly captures the essence of your work: Always being there for those who need you the most.

“We’ll Be There For You” is a promise that reflects your everyday reality. Whether you provide care, comfort, or companionship, you are a constant presence in the lives of your patients and their families. Therefore, we’re thrilled to join the National CNA Week celebration and celebrate you.

CNA Appreciation: The Impact You Make

As a CNA, the impact you make is personal and powerful. For instance, your hands help heal, and your care comforts those in need. ​​Here are just a few reasons we celebrate National CNA Appreciation Week:

• You Help Maintain a Quality of Life

From helping with bathing and dressing to feeding, your hands-on care helps patients maintain their dignity and quality of life, no matter their struggles.

• You are a Healthcare Advocate

You are the voice for patients, making sure their needs and preferences are heard and respected. You play a crucial role in the healthcare team to ensure patients receive the care they need, when they need it.

• You Strengthen Your Community

CNAs make a difference in the lives of the aging population, individuals with disabilities, and anyone in need. The strong bonds you create with patients and their families foster a sense of support that continues to make a difference.

Ways to Celebrate National CNA Week

Ready to celebrate your hard work? Here are four ways to make the most of National CNA Week:

Prioritize Self-Care

Make sure you can always be there by taking care of your needs, too. Your well-being is just as important as the care you provide. Whether diving into a hobby, catching up on sleep, spending time with friends, or enjoying a peaceful walk in nature, find simple ways to prioritize self-care during CNA Appreciation Week.

Expand Your Knowledge (and Opportunities)

Grab your CNA bestie and participate in professional development together! Find courses, webinars, and other learning opportunities to celebrate the week. For example, discover National CNA Week webinars on key topics like self-advocacy and handling microaggressions.

Update Your Resume

What better time to update your CNA resume than National CNA Week? Take some time to reflect on your achievements, and make sure your resume showcases your growth. Highlight new skills for your CNA Resume , certifications, and experiences that can help you advance your career.

Treat Yourself to Exclusive Discounts

Enjoy the perks of being a CNA! Several brands offer discounts on products and services for healthcare pros — treat yourself and take advantage of these offers!

Ways to Advance Your CNA Career this Week

Celebrate and unlock the biggest career advancement opportunities during National CNA Week! As a dedicated CNA, you’re always there for others. Now, it’s time to pursue your own dreams and ambitions.

Whether you want to stay in the CNA field or venture outside of it, discover three ways to level up your career path and pay:

Earn Additional Certifications

Thinking about taking your career to the next level? Look into completing certifications that can specialize your skills, expand your job opportunities, and even increase your pay:

• Certified Medication Assistant (CMA) : Get certified to dispense medications.
• Home Health Aide Certification : Specialize in working with patients in the comfort of their own homes.
• Alzheimer’s Training : Gain more insight when working with aging adults in skilled nursing, assisted living, and memory care facilities.
• Safety Training : Feel confident working in behavioral and mental health facilities.

Become a Licensed Practical Nurse or Registered Nurse

Want to significantly increase your earnings? Consider heading back to school to become a Registered Nurse (RN) or Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN).

LPN/LVNs earn an average of 50% more than CNAs, while RNs earn more than double. With the nursing shortage, advancing your education opens endless career opportunities and a higher earning potential.

Spread Your Wings

RNs aren’t the only traveling healthcare professionals. Lastly, explore travel CNA roles or apply to PRN jobs near you to see how you can gain experience faster and increase your salary.

Celebrating National CNA Week All Year Long

Celebrate National CNA Week! This is your time to shine and honor your dedication, impact, and goals. To support you in being there for others, CareerStaff is here to connect you with CNA job opportunities that align with your personal and professional goals.

Quick Apply now to connect with a recruiter and see the opportunities waiting for you!

Related Articles

Clinician Life Blog

9 Best Pediatric Nursing and Healthcare Jobs

New Webinar: Prioritizing Work-Life Balance and Mental Health

CareerStaff Joins ShiftMed: Your Healthcare Job, Unlimited

© 2024 CareerStaff Unlimited. All Rights Reserved.

• Privacy Policy
• Exercise Your Privacy Rights