Are you searching for a job in the healthcare field? Whether you’re a nurse, chiropractor, massage therapist, nutritionist, or another practitioner, you need a resume.
Your resume has the potential to get you hired faster by telling potential employers about your skills and experience. However, you need more than a basic resume – you need a resume that stands out.
What makes a resume stand out?
A resume stands out in two ways: visual appeal and strong copy. A visually appealing resume is actually somewhat boring. For example, decent margins, white space, neat typography, and easy to read text make a resume visually appealing.
When it comes to colors and images, boring is better. Adding fancy graphics and colors might get your resume noticed quickly, but it will look unprofessional.
Strong copy is concise, condensed, and powerful. Strong copy gets the point across quickly and demonstrates the depth of each point. Since words matter, it’s wise to use a healthcare resume template to get ideas.
Let’s dive into the elements that make a stellar healthcare resume.
Element 1: Speak positively about your co-workers
Speaking positively about your co-workers will tell potential employers that you are a team player and willing to credit others. This trait is essential in the healthcare field, given the nature of the work.
It’s normal to be required to do stressful things like cover shifts while being overworked and exhausted. The best practitioners don’t allow their circumstances to make them feel resentful toward co-workers. You can demonstrate your lack of resentment by saying positive things about your co-workers when discussing your work experience.
Element 2: Be honest if you’re new
If you’re looking for your first job in the healthcare field, or you’re looking for a job in a new position, be honest about your experience and training. Honesty is always the best policy. While recruiters and hiring managers naturally want people with experience, there will always be exceptions.
If you’re worried that your lack of experience will prevent you from getting a job, don’t worry too much. Everyone has to start somewhere. There will always be jobs available to people with no or little experience; you just have to keep applying and don’t give up the search. In the meantime, there are ways to get your foot in the door.
Element 3: Follow tried and true resume rules
You’re probably familiar with basic resume rules. Although general resume rules are boring, they matter.
· Limit your resume to one page. This is the oldest resume tip in the world, but it’s golden. Keep your resume one page long. You won’t be able to fit all of your work experience on one page, and that’s okay.
If you can’t fit all of your important past positions on one page, you can still list them in your skills and experience section. You’ll also get a chance to discuss past jobs during your interview.
· Spell check your resume multiple times. Ask at least three other people to review your resume for spelling and grammar errors. You’re bound to miss obvious errors like missing words, random typos, and inconsistent tenses, but other people can spot small errors easily.
· Save your resume as a PDF file. This will lock in your formatting and design so that all potential employers will see your resume exactly as it was created. If you send out your resume in MS Word format, it might look different on each recruiter’s computer, depending on what program they use to open the file.
· Save your resume with a proper file name. Be intentional with how you name your resume file. Everyone you send your resume to will see the file name. Make it easy for recruiters to recognize your resume on their hard drive. As a best practice, your file name should include your full name and no spaces. For example: Smith_John_Resume.pdf.
Make sure your resume matches the way you interview
A stand-out resume is a great way to get an interview. Once you get an interview, make sure to conduct yourself in a manner that represents who you are on your resume. You don’t want to create a disconnect between the two.
Hiring managers don’t expect anyone to be perfect, but they will notice if you amped yourself up on your resume and don’t deliver in person. Again, honesty is the best policy for getting a job in the healthcare field.
The Editorial Team at Healthcare Business Today is made up of skilled healthcare writers and experts, led by our managing editor, Daniel Casciato, who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare writing. Since 1998, we have produced compelling and informative content for numerous publications, establishing ourselves as a trusted resource for health and wellness information. We offer readers access to fresh health, medicine, science, and technology developments and the latest in patient news, emphasizing how these developments affect our lives.
