How to Write a New Grad Nurse Resume that Gets You Hired
Writing a new-grad nursing resume is a daunting task for most new-grads. The fear of having no experience
and being unqualified leaves many wondering what details to include. Moreover, many new-grads wonder
how to structure their nursing resume in a way that best conveys their current skill-set and value to
prospective employers. A well-crafted resume is key to landing your first position in a hospital setting.
5 Essentials for Creating the Ideal New Nurse Resume
#1 - Follow standard resume etiquette.
Don’t get so concerned about the details of your new nurse resume that you forget the basics. Unless you are
given specific guidance to the contrary, stick to generally accepted resume norms:
● Keep your resume to one page. You will see guidance that this isn’t of concern anymore, but we hold
that it’s best to adhere with standard practice. Plus, your resume will likely be reviewed alongside a full
nursing application, so there will be plenty of information provided to the hiring manager.
● Use “clean” fonts only, such as Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri.
● Use only one font on your resume. If you need variation, use bold or italics.
● Do not include text smaller than 10 pt font or larger than 12 pt font (excluding headers).
● PROOFREAD. Your resume should be free of typographical errors and spelling mistakes.
● Save and upload/email your resume as a PDF so that your formatting doesn’t change when it’s opened
on another computer.
Remember, whether you’re considering font choice, language, layout, or something else, your resume should
be professional and concise.
#2 - Layout matters.
First, the overall layout of your resume is important because if it’s sloppy or unappealing, it’s likely a nurse
manager won’t bother to consider what it actually says. Common wisdom holds that nurse managers spend
about six seconds reviewing each resume. Consider reviewing resume templates to find one that has aesthetic
appeal and a sensible layout.
Second, the sections you choose to include - and the order you put them in - is important. We recommend
something similar to the following:
Headings that every new-grad nursing resume should include (Required)
Every new-grad resume should include the following headings (we’ll discuss why we recommend these
headings and provide tips for each below):
1. Summary/Objective
Your resume summary or objective should be a few sentences that give measurable goals. Articulate
what you want from the nursing job you’re applying for, and what you believe you bring to the table
that makes you the right person for the job.
2. Licenses and Certifications
List out your certifications (and licences once you have it) with the full name of the license or
certification followed by the parenthetical abbreviation (the reason for this will be detailed when we
cover candidate screening software below), the full name of the issuing body, and the expiration date.
For your nursing license, include the state and license number. Also make a note if your license has
compact nursing state privileges.
Example for when you have your license:
2019 - Present Registered Nurse Licensure, Alaska Licensure Number: 55552323555
BLS, expiration date 11-12-2020
3. Education
For your schooling, include all relevant education. This means you shouldn’t include things like your
high school diploma, but should include your Bachelor of Science in Biochem. Make sure to make it
clear whether you have an ADN or a BSN (and don’t use those acronyms without writing them out
first!).
4. Clinical Rotations and/or Experience
Even the newest of new nurses has nursing experience!
Very few nursing schools lack a component of clinical rotations, practicums, or other training that
involves hands-on nursing care. Maybe you weren’t paid for it, but - THAT IS EXPERIENCE. Be sure to
specify what kinds of experience, and build your action-word-packed bullet points (more on this below)
to demonstrate how this experience 1) is indicative of the quality healthcare you’re capable of, and 2) is
going to help you succeed as an RN.
In the experience section, make sure to include details like type of work, start and end dates, weekly
number of hours worked, name of the hospital or facility (plus city and state - "St. Joseph’s" doesn’t tell
anyone anything), and name of your unit or department (Similarly, don’t provide a “5S” unit label! Stick
to names that will be meaningful to your audience - “Med/Surg,” “Stepdown,” etc.).
Experience
This is a great time to describe any experience you have had for the last few years. This could be fast
food, serving or even babysitting. All of these provide skills that many nurse recruiters will look for.
Optional headings for your new-grad nursing resume
Each of the following headings should be considered and included based on whether or not you have relevant
details to include:
1. Professional Memberships
2. Community Involvement
3. Honors and Awards
4. Skills Summary
5. Languages
6. Basic Contact Information
In this section, include your full name, email address (if you don’t have one, get a
stands out. Sometimes you’ll see full addresses included in this section - we highly recommend not
including this for privacy reasons. Instead, just list your city and state.
New nurses sometimes decide to link to their social media here, particularly with LinkedIn. If you
choose to do so, make sure your social media is professional. One questionable post or photo could
take you out of consideration.
7. Activities
This section is definitely optional, but it’s a chance to demonstrate to the hiring manager that a nursing
career isn’t just a job for you. Think of those leisure activities, enrichment projects, or volunteer hours
that tie in to your passion for nursing. Maybe you subscribe to a nursing magazine? Go on medical
missions trips? Have you joined a nursing association? Let the nurse manager see your commitment in
this section.
Depending on who you are and what you’ve done so far, you might want to add other sections. If
you’ve won relevant awards, speak a second (or third, or more) language(s), have relevant publications,
you might decide to add a section to highlight these skills or accomplishments.
For all of these sections, consider listing items in reverse chronological order, as this will likely put your
most intriguing information on top while keeping your narrative in a sensible order.
Advice from a Nurse Manager:
It is also important to include areas of clinical rotations/senior preceptorship -- if they are in the area of specialty to the job
you want. For example, if you worked as a CNA in a related unit, it will let the manager know you have already experienced
working in that particular specialty. Provide a skills summary, including computer skills, along with certifications pertinent to
your nursing practice. For example, EKG; NIHSS; BLS; ACLS; IV certification etc." - Bonnette Villalba Novak, BSN, RN, PCCN-K
(Clinical Account Manager at American Traveler)
#3 - Choose your language carefully.
The language that you choose to communicate your skills and experience is important. Try to use action words
that show initiative instead of passive words or words that imply you were just following orders.
Example of Passive Language (BAD): Was responsible for caring for 5-10 patients per shift.
Example of Active Language (GOOD): Assessed and provided care for 5-10 patients per shift.
Additionally, using quantifiable words - as in, actual numbers or ranges - is always better than using general
words like “many,” “frequent,” “all”, or “a lot.”
Example of General Words (BAD): Educated many parents on healthy lifestyle changes and proper medication
administration to facilitate improved health and wellbeing for their child
Example of Quantifiable Words (GOOD): Educated more than 30 parents on healthy lifestyle changes and
proper medication administration to facilitate improved health and wellbeing for their child
#4 - Tailor your resume to the specific employer and job posting.
One resume does not fit all nurse jobs. It’s important to customize your resume for the specific position you’re
applying for. But don’t despair! This doesn’t have to be as bad as it sounds. Here’s what we suggest -
Create a master resume that goes into excruciating detail on what you’ve done and where and to what extent
(remember, using action-packed verbiage and lots of numbers!). Don’t worry about length. The goal is just to
have everything on there! Save this resume as a master, and then each time you apply for a new nurse job, you
can save a version of this master and then start chopping.
Here are a couple of things to keep in mind as you do this:
1. You can include details about your previous hospital or healthcare facility employers to either build
common ground with your new potential employer, or to impress them. What do we mean by this?
To build common ground - Maybe your last job was in a critical access hospital in Kansas, but now
you’re looking at a nursing job in New York City at a massive trauma center. You think there’s no
commonality here, but with a little research, you realize both facilities use Meditech EMR systems. This
is something you will build into your bullet points.
To show off - If you have experience at a very small hospital (sell as: I can do anything, because I had to
be versatile!) or at a very large hospital (sell as: it was fast-paced, and I kept up!), at a teaching hospital,
trauma center, or Magnet facility, there's something you can pull into your experience to say, "Look at
me, if I could this, I can do what you’ll need me to do."
2. Take note of the job requirements. Does the job posting say, “Looking for a new nurse with a desire to
hit the ground running?” Guess who you are! That’s right,
new-nurse-with-a-desire-to-hit-the-ground-running. This can also help you get through any applicant
screening software (see below).
#5 - Set yourself up for success with applicant screening software.
Many hospital employers use applicant screening software to weed out unqualified candidates before a person
ever sees their resume. These systems aren’t perfect, and are often just looking for key words and phrases.
There are two key ways you can adapt your resume to include your chances of screening success:
1. It’s important to pull words and phrases directly from the job posting you’re applying for and include
them in your resume.
Example: Your actual title at your last nursing job was “Clinical Nurse II,” but the current position you’re
applying for is looking for “Floor Nurse.” Consider using this title instead, so that the software
recognizes your experience as relevant to the current opening.
2. Include non-acronym and acronym versions of text, where possible.
Example: List “American Heart Association (AHA) Basic Life Support (BLS)” under your “Licenses and
Certifications” section, so that whether the software is screening for “Basic Life Support” or “BLS,” it
will positively ID your resume.
Don’t worry if you feel like your resume isn’t exhaustive. First off, the hiring manager is likely inundated with
candidates. She doesn’t need to see every detail about you. She just needs the highlights! Plus, your nursing
resume is nearly always accompanied by a fairly exhaustive standardized employment application that can fill
in any gaps.
It's a good idea to update your resume intermittently so you don’t have to recall all the various, diverse
experiences you’ve had and skills you’ve learned later. And once you have a year or two of experience under
your belt, you’ll be ready to embark on a travel nurse career!
SAMPLE TO FOLLOW
Anytown, AK 12345
(123) 456-7890
Taylor Smith
OBJECTIVE
Seeking a new grad residency position in an acute care seng. Special interest in Med/Surg and Telemetry units. Rated
highly by supervisors and professors in ability to handle high-pressure situations, analytical skills, and building patient
rapport.
EDUCATION
May 2019 Anytown College of Nursing, Anytown AK — Bachelor of Science of Nursing (BSN)
● Graduated with Honors
CERTIFICATIONS
2019 Basic Life Support, expiration date 11-12-2020
RELATED EXPERIENCE
Summer 2019 Anytown Medical Center, Anytown AK, Medical-Surgical Telemetry Unit — Nurse Intern
● Planned and provided nursing care to 10-12 patients per shift under the supervision of a
Registered Nurse
June 2018 Indian Health Services, Anytown Reservation -- Nursing Externship
● Shadowed Registered Nurses and other medical professionals as they provided medical care to
native communities, 20-45 patients served daily
STUDENT CLINICAL EXPERIENCE
2016 - 2019 Good Samaritan Hospital, Senior Clinical Praccum, Tyler TX 2019
● Intensive Care Unit
● Emergency Care Unit
Family Centered Nursing of Children, Children’s Hospital of Anytown, Sep-Nov 2018
● NICU
● Mother Baby
Nursing of Communities, Anytown Community Health Department, July 2017
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS and/or ADDITIONAL SKILLS
● Sigma Theta Tau, Nursing Honor Society
● Student Nurse Association
● Medical Mission to Bangal, Bangal
● Alzheimer’s Association and American Heart Association
● Bilingual - English, Spanish
