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Resume Tips to Help Nursing Assistants Get Noticed

Show a Stable Work History

You don’t need healthcare experience to land a nursing-assistant position, recruiters say. The proper attitude, willingness to learn and a stable work history are considered more desirable attributes for these job candidates — qualities you can convey on a resume.

“Too many people these days jump from job to job,” says Susan Rayner, a nurse recruiter at Mount Sinai Hospital in Chicago. “A stable work history says something about an applicant’s loyalty and character.”

Be Specific – Very Specific

Detail all your work experience and be specific about any that’s healthcare-related, recruiters say.

For example, instead of merely stating that you worked at ABC Nursing Home, list your daily responsibilities to paint a clearer picture of your skill set, says Josh Sturgill, vice president of client services with the medical division of @Work Personnel Services, a full-service staffing agency based in Knoxville.

“You can use more specific terms that would highlight the areas of specialty, like dealing with long-term-care patients,” he says. “Describe the medical conditions and ages of patients you’ve cared for.”

Watch Your Language

Few things bother Rayner more than nursing-assistant applicants who use the wrong terminology. “You can show a commitment to quality by submitting a clean resume that is computer-generated,” she says. “But that won’t make much difference if you call Alzheimer’s disease ‘Old Timer’s disease’ under your job responsibilities.”