In today’s competitive job market, crafting a strong nursing resume is essential if you want to be noticed. Whether you’re a recent graduate or an experienced nurse applying for your next role, your resume needs to do more than just list your experience.
If you’ve ever wondered what to include in a nursing resume, how to make it stand out and which common mistakes to avoid, this guide offers practical advice and includes valuable insights from two experienced nurses, Michelle Deroubaix and Madeline Kessler.
What makes a great nursing resume?
While a good resume lists your qualifications and experience, a great nursing resume goes one step further to highlight why you’re a good match for the role. Rather than simply stating what you’ve done, a great resume effectively conveys your strengths, clearly illustrates what you bring to the table and how it may benefit the organisation you’re applying for.
Tips for making your nursing resume stand out
Here are a few key features that can help transform your nursing resume from good to great.
Be clear and concise
According to Michelle Deroubaix, recruiters often take just six seconds to assess whether a resume warrants further consideration. That’s why it's essential that your resume is easy to read, clear and concise, while still highlighting your key qualifications and experience.
Madeline Kessler echoes this sentiment and suggests that one way to keep your resume clear and easy to read is by considering what critical information you need to provide and how you can communicate it as eloquently and succinctly as possible.
💡Instead of writing, “I’m someone that’s always upskilling to ensure that I’m providing the best possible care to my patients. To do so, I pursue ongoing education and training such as studying for a Graduate Certificate in Acute Care Nursing to gain the skills required to manage high-acuity patients across healthcare environments.”
Try condensing it to, “Pursued ongoing education and training, including completing a Graduate Certificate in Acute Care Nursing to gain the skills required to manage high-acuity patients across healthcare environments.”
Showcase your unique values
With recruiters viewing dozens of nursing CVs each day, it’s important to avoid a generic cookie-cutter approach. Your resume should reflect more than just your qualifications, it should highlight what makes you different and the unique value you can bring to the team.
Michelle emphasises that it’s not just about listing responsibilities, it’s about clearly communicating what you offer that others may not, whether that’s a particular strength, specialised experience or a distinct approach to patient care.
💡To help identify your unique values, consider asking yourself what you offer that sets you apart from other candidates and how you can illustrate the value that you’ll bring to the role or organisation.
Ensure your resume is an appropriate length
It can be tempting to include every detail of your nursing career, especially when you’ve worked hard to build your experience. A nurse resume that’s too long, however, can be difficult to read and may end up burying your skills and achievements. Michelle recommends focusing on your relevant work experience from the past seven to ten years, unless earlier roles include achievements or specialised experience that strengthens your application.
Both Michelle and Madeline also suggest that your nursing resume should ideally be no longer than two pages. If it’s stretching beyond that, review it with a critical eye. Could you condense lengthy bullet points or remove roles that may no longer be relevant?
💡If you’re struggling to shorten your resume, try consolidating similar responsibilities under one heading or moving some details to your cover letter.
Tailor to each application
While you can use the same structure across multiple job applications, it’s important to tailor your resume to the specific role you’re applying for. A tailored resume shows the recruiter that you’ve taken the time to understand the position and its requirements.
Madeline shares that when preparing a nursing resume, she usually reviews the position description, identifies responsibilities that align with her strengths and reflects them in her resume to clearly demonstrate her fit for the role.
This approach may not only strengthen your application, but it may also increase your chances of making it through applicant tracking systems or automated screening tools, which often scan for role-specific keywords.
Focus on accomplishments over routine duties
Instead of listing everyday tasks such as administering treatment plans or working within a multidisciplinary team, focus on what sets you apart. Employers already understand the core responsibilities of a nursing role and what they’re looking for is evidence of the impact you’ve made.
As Michelle explains, “If you’ve worked a series of registered nurse (RN) jobs, just include the title and location. You don’t need to write out everything an RN does, you just need to focus on specific achievements you’ve attained in that role instead.”
Whether it’s leading a clinical project, contributing to a regional disease response or mentoring new staff, highlight the accomplishments that show your value.
Use a clean and professional design
Your nursing CV should have a minimalist professional design. Avoid using a variety of colours, mixed fonts or decorative elements that may distract from the content. Instead, opt for a simple, well-structured layout that keeps the focus on your skills and experience.
Consistent formatting is just as important. Use clear section headings, bullet points and adequate white space to break up information and improve readability as dense blocks of text or cluttered layouts can make it harder for recruiters to find what they’re looking for.
💡If you’re not sure where to start, consider downloading a nursing resume template. These templates are typically pre-formatted with readability in mind so all you need to do is input your details.
Additional tips for graduate nurse resumes
Highlight clinical placements
If you’re a recent graduate, your clinical placements are one of the most important parts of your resume. They give employers insight into the practical experience you’ve gained and the healthcare environments you’ve worked in.
Michelle recommends placing this information near the top of your resume, just below your professional profile or career overview. She also suggests presenting your placements in a clear format that includes the hospital, ward, specialty and duration.
Example:
"St John of God Geelong Hospital, Two North
Surgical and medical, four weeks."
Similar to a registered nurse resume, when describing your placements, avoid listing routine tasks. Instead, highlight key achievements, how you contributed to the ward or clinic and the clinical scenarios you were exposed to.
💡 Once you’ve got a year or so of nursing experience under your belt, it may no longer be necessary to include your clinical placements on your resume. Madeline explains that at that stage, it’s more valuable to highlight your professional experience and any additional training you’ve completed.
Emphasise transferable skills from non-nursing jobs
Even if your previous work experience isn’t in healthcare, roles in industries like retail or hospitality can still add value to your graduate nurse resume. These jobs often involve transferable skills such as communication, teamwork, time management and working under pressure, all of which are highly relevant in nursing.
Michelle highlights that even roles like managing a Domino’s store can demonstrate leadership, multitasking and accountability through responsibilities such as managing staff, handling cash and opening and closing the store.
While you may not yet have extensive nursing experience, showing how you’ve built practical, real-world skills in other roles can strengthen your resume and position you as a viable candidate.
Include education details and academic achievements
As a new graduate, it’s important to clearly outline your education and any relevant academic achievements. This might include scholarships or academic awards. If applicable, you can also list additional degrees or qualifications you’ve completed prior to or alongside your Bachelor of Nursing.
It can also be helpful to include leadership roles or extracurricular activities from school such as serving on a student committee, participating in peer mentoring programs or being involved in clubs, as these can showcase initiative, collaboration and interpersonal skills.
💡 Have questions pertaining to graduate nurse programs in Australia? Take a look at our guide here.
Common nursing resume mistakes to avoid
Having a vague professional profile
Your professional profile sits at the very top of your resume and it’s often the first section a recruiter will read. That’s why it needs to be engaging, purposeful and tailored to the role you’re applying for.
When Michelle reviews resumes, she ensures that all resumes have a professional profile, “We always include a professional profile that outlines what their purpose is, what they’re looking for and why.”
A common mistake, however, is keeping this section too vague. For example, writing, “I’m a registered nurse with critical care nursing experience looking for a new opportunity” doesn’t give employers a clear understanding of your background or goals.
Instead, aim for something like, “I’m a qualified registered nurse with over 10 years of experience in critical care nursing. I’m passionate about delivering high-acuity care in fast-paced environments, with a strong focus on clinical decision-making, patient advocacy and supporting junior staff in complex care settings.”
Having a cluttered and text-heavy resume
Even the most impressive experience can be overlooked if your resume feels overwhelming to read. Resumes that are too dense or poorly structured can make it difficult for employers to quickly identify key information.
Michelle states that some of the resumes she’s seen that have an overwhelming amount of text are, “squeezed together, not clear and just looks really boring.” She adds that when content “flows into each other” without structure or clarity, it becomes hard to grasp the nurse’s experience and capabilities.
Instead of trying to squeeze everything into one page, focus on trimming down the content and presenting it in a way that’s clear and easy to read.
Including generic nursing skills
One of the most common mistakes on a nursing CV is listing generic nursing skills. As Michelle explains, “You don’t need to include things like teamwork or communication skills as it’s expected that RNs will already possess those.”
Instead of listing general traits, focus on the specific nursing skills or strengths that set you apart. Maybe you’re particularly skilled at breaking down complex clinical information for patients and families, or perhaps you’re someone who takes ownership of your actions and words and is valued for your honesty, loyalty and accountability.
Your resume should reflect what makes you unique and not just what’s expected of any nurse.
Being too modest about your achievements
While some people overload their resume with too much information, others make the mistake of including too little, often because they find it difficult to promote themselves or put their achievements into words. As Michelle notes, “It can come across in their CV that they’re not good at selling themselves and showing what they have to offer.”
While it’s understandable that self-promotion doesn’t come naturally, your resume is your chance to highlight what you’ve accomplished and what you bring to a role. Don’t shy away from including wins you’re proud of, whether that’s positive feedback from patients or managers, recognition for your work or specific outcomes you contributed to.
💡Achievements don’t always need to be clinical. Madeline, for example, highlights her experience running emotional health nursing workshops and negotiating enterprise bargaining agreements (EBAs) in her resume.
Key strengths and experiences to include on your nursing resume
Leadership experience
Leadership experience is a key strength to highlight on your nursing resume. It not only showcases your ability to support and motivate others, but also reflects your capacity to take initiative, solve problems and contribute to the greater success of your team and organisation.
Madeline emphasises that leadership experience can set you apart as a candidate. She notes that, “Stepping up to an associate charge nurse is something you would definitely highlight on your resume. Being a preceptor as well, as it shows that the hospital trusts you to be in charge of training new graduates.”
When adding your leadership experience to your nurse resume, be specific and, where possible, quantify your impact. Rather than saying, “I led a team”, you could write, “Led a team of six staff to implement [briefly explain the project] that [briefly mention the results].”
Specialised skills
Every nurse’s experience is different as the skills you develop often depend on the environments you’ve worked in and the clinical exposure you’ve had. Including specialised skills in areas such as mental health, aged care or paediatrics, or hands-on experience with specific equipment or systems can help highlight your expertise.
Certifications and professional development
Nursing is a constantly evolving profession so including any training or certifications on your resume demonstrates that you’re proactive about keeping your knowledge and skills up-to-date. This may include training in areas such as life support, vaccination or infection control as well as qualifications from any postgraduate nursing courses you’ve completed.
💡Looking to pursue a postgraduate nursing course? Explore the range of postgraduate nursing courses offered by our university partners here.
Committee involvement, volunteering and affiliations
Your nursing resume doesn’t need to be limited to clinical experience. Involvement in committees, volunteering or professional affiliations can also be valuable additions to your resume.
If you’ve been involved in community health initiatives, local volunteering programs or organisations like St John Ambulance or the Red Cross, it’s worth including as it’s a valuable way to show your values, passions and commitment to a cause.
Madeline also encourages nurses to include roles like health and safety representative or being a job representative for an organisation like the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF), as these positions can demonstrate initiative and leadership.
Nursing skills
While it’s important to highlight your soft and hard nursing skills, it should be integrated in a manner that is purposeful and relevant. Rather than just listing your hard skills, weave them into your employment history so it’s backed by context and outcomes.
Soft skills can be included in a separate “key attributes” or “personal strengths” section, but it’s important they’re also reflected in your examples throughout the resume. Also, rather than listing generic qualities, focus on qualities that are more specific to you and your strengths.
How to write a nursing resume (step-by-step)
1. Identify your unique strengths
Before you even start writing your nursing resume, you should have a clear understanding of your strengths and skills.
As many nurses struggle to pinpoint their strengths, Michelle suggests using tools like the CliftonStrengths Assessment to help with this, “When I’m coaching someone, I get them to do the assessment online. It identifies their top five strengths.”
Gaining this insight can help you articulate your strengths with greater clarity and confidence. Having a better understanding of what your strengths are will also aid in shaping the tone and direction of your resume.
2. Start with a compelling professional profile
Your professional profile is one of the first things recruiters will read as it sits prominently on the top of your resume below your name and title. As mentioned earlier, it shouldn’t be vague or generic as it needs to make an impact. Instead, this section should clearly express your motivation for applying and convey what you’re able to bring to the role.
Think of your professional profile as your elevator pitch. It should summarise your key areas of experience, your motivations for applying for the role and the value you can add to the organisation. Keep it brief, ideally no more than two short paragraphs and avoid waffling or using generic statements.
Here are a few tips to help you craft your profile:
- Tailor it to the role
If you’re applying for a mental health nurse role, make sure that your professional profile highlights your experience in mental health.
- Lead with your experience
Example: “Has over six years of experience as a registered mental health nurse.”
- Show your motivation
Example: “I’m passionate about creating a safe and supportive environment for individuals experiencing mental illness.”
- Include one or two strengths
Example: “I bring a calm and empathetic approach with strong active listening skills, fostering therapeutic relationships and building trust with patients from diverse backgrounds.”
3. List your education and contact information
While it might seem like a no-brainer, it’s not uncommon for candidates to overlook essential details like education or contact information. Make sure these are clearly presented in their own sections and are easy to find on your resume.
For your qualifications, make sure to include your Bachelor of Nursing and any additional certifications or postgraduate studies such as a graduate certificate or diploma. For each, list the institution, the qualification title and the years it was undertaken.
When it comes to contact details, include your phone number and a professional email address. You may also choose to include your general location such as “Cairns, QLD, 4870” to give employers a sense of your geographical location.
💡If relevant, you can also add a link to your LinkedIn profile, especially if it reinforces your professional experience.
4. Highlight attributes and key achievements
Use this section to tell your story and showcase what makes you different from everyone else. Your attributes should reflect your personal strengths, ideally drawn from your strengths assessment. Remember to avoid listing generic traits and instead, focusing on qualities that genuinely represent who you are.
When it comes to key achievements, you would typically weave them into your employment history. If you have several, you can also create a separate section titled “Key achievements” or “Career highlights”. Some examples that you might include in this section are:
- Trained and mentored five new graduate nurses over a six-month period on best practices in acute mental health care
- Responded to over 60 psychiatric emergency cases in a six-month period, providing rapid triage, de-escalation and coordination with teams
- Provided mental health nursing support across more than 12 clinics across regional settings
5. Detail relevant work experience
Now that you’ve built the first part of your resume, it’s time to work on your employment history. This section should be in reverse chronological order, highlighting your most recent roles first. For each role, include:
- Your job title
- The name of the organisation you’ve worked in
- The duration of employment (e.g. 2021 – present)
- If you haven’t worked in the role full-time, detailing the number of days or hours you worked per week (e.g. Two days per week or 16 hours per week)
A succinct, results-focused description of your role where you’ll highlight contributions, achievements and relevant responsibilities
Rather than listing every responsibility, focus on the contributions that mattered. Ask yourself, what impact did you make? What initiatives were you involved in? What results can you highlight? Use action verbs like “identified”, “developed”, “implemented”, “led” or “improved” and wherever possible, quantify your impact.
💡While your employment history should not be too long, Madeline suggests that if it’s a specialty role, it could be worthwhile fleshing it out.
6. Include any other relevant miscellaneous information
Once you’ve completed the main sections of your resume, take a moment to consider whether there’s any additional information you can add. This might include:
A skills section that outlines your technical abilities such as familiarity with electronic medical record systems or patient administration systems
Additional training or certifications such as mental health first aid, wound care management or hemodynamic monitoring
Relevant involvement or volunteering experience
Professional affiliations such as membership with the Nurses’ Professional Association of Australia (NPAA)
7. Review the job description and incorporate role-specific terms
Once you’ve got a resume template, it’s time to review the job description for the role you’re applying for. Review requirements such as specific skills, years of experience, qualifications and areas of clinical focus.
This is your opportunity to tailor your existing resume template so it aligns with the role. Pay close attention to keywords and phrases in the job advertisement, especially those related to required competencies or desirable traits.
Look for ways to reflect those words in your own resume, whether in your professional profile, attributes or work experience section. You don’t need to rewrite everything, but small adjustments, such as echoing specific keywords or shifting emphasis on certain experiences can make a big difference.
8. Get feedback from others
Once you’ve completed your resume, it can be helpful to get some feedback. If possible, ask someone who has worked in a similar role, or better yet, someone who has experience reviewing resumes or hiring nurses, as they may be able to offer valuable insights into what could be improved.
💡Madeline also mentions that after sending her resume, she sometimes follows up with a phone call to introduce herself and express her enthusiasm for the role. While this isn’t something you have to do, it can be a great way to leave a memorable impression.
Nursing resume template
This nurse resume template captures the key elements outlined in this article and serves as a foundation for building or updating your own resume. Feel free to tailor it to suit your experience, skill set and the specific role you’re applying for.
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Getting started with your nursing resume
Crafting a standout resume can be a game-changer in your job search and it’s not as difficult as you might think. With the tips and insights shared above, you’ll be well on your way to creating a resume that’ll get you noticed.
Looking to strengthen your skill set and enhance your resume? Our university partners at GlobalHealth Education offer a range of graduate certificate, graduate diploma and master’s postgraduate nursing courses to enhance your clinical skills or expand your scope of practice. To apply, simply select a course and enquire to speak with a Student Enrolment Advisor.
Need more personalised guidance on your study or career journey? Book a complimentary professional development strategy call with our Education Consultant.
