You may have many questions about writing your resume such as how to form an outline, how to write various sections, what should be the order of sections, how to present your profile in a way that helps you stand out as an extraordinary job candidate.
We will answer all your questions in this guide along with some bonus tips to help you ensure your chances of getting the job you want are increased.
When you are looking for a job, you need to keep in mind the current scenario of the health sector in the country as it can help you present your profile in a way that makes you a compelling candidate with quality services and skills to offer.
Who needs a healthcare resume?
Healthcare resume is useful for any professional in the healthcare industry. Whether you are a doctor or a nurse, you may need a really good healthcare resume.
Healthcare resume is for the medical professionals who may be providing services in hospitals, private clinics, other medical facilities and institutions that may not be medical however provide medical services for the people of the institutions. For example, infirmary in prison or a doctor in schools and such.
Some of the roles may be medical assistant, ICU nurse, orthopedic technician, surgeon, pediatrician and so on. The roles of the healthcare industry are infinite as you may know.
Now let's discuss all about resume and answer your questions!👇
How to write a perfect professional resume?
A perfect resume is defined by the professionalism reflected in the resume along with the presentation of the profile of the candidate. Professionalism means meeting the standards of a professional resume.
An effective presentation of a candidate profile is defined by the way information is presented, sections are organized and the key accomplishments and skills highlighted.
Professional standards of the resume include how you use the language, how you label the document and such intricate aspects.
When you are writing the details of the summary section, experience section and other sections with sentences, make sure you never use pronouns, absence of pronouns makes your resume language formal.
While describing details of your profile, you should always use past tense and use the third person perspective in language, this will also help you reflect professionalism.
Use the industry jargons however, avoid other unnecessary jargons and fluff content. The hiring manager can tell when you are being more formal than necessary.
When you are done writing your resume, make sure you proofread your resume twice and remove any spelling and/or grammatical mistakes and also double check the accuracy and factual errors of information of your profile as a healthcare professional or medical professional.
When you are done writing your resume, make sure you save your document in a formal and simple manner. Type your first name and last name along with the word resume or CV. Do not write only your name or only the words resume or CV.
This will help the hiring manager understand what document they are looking at when they open it. They can also save it for any other purposes.
Another important tip is to always save your resume document in Word document format or the PDF format so that your document is compatible with all the mediums that the hiring manager might view your resume through and various applicant tracking systems as well.
Research & Format
Before you begin writing your healthcare resume, you need to do some background research of your role or the job title, healthcare industry, various job descriptions in the job posting for your role, various job responsibilities and job duties and everything in between.
The research will help you understand the current scenario of the healthcare industry and the expectations of the hiring managers from you and your fellow job seekers.
You will understand how to describe your profile in a way that sets you apart as a job candidate and impresses the employers.
The research of the job description will get you some insight into the role and industry research will get you some employers' insight.
After some research, you may realize that healthcare jobs are available, however, getting hired is a bit difficult because the hiring managers have strict standards and a lot of expectations.
This does not mean you need to worry about anything, all you need to do is to learn how to write your resume in the best manner possible.
After your research, you will need an outline to begin writing your healthcare resume.
The outline can be decided by the resume format. There are various resume formats you can choose from. We will discuss a few professional resume formats here.
Functional resume format focuses on the skills section along with the education section. This outline is preferable for those who do not have significant experience to showcase on their resume. Freshers and recent graduates use this format for their professional resumes.
Another format is the reverse chronological order format, which is defined by the reverse chronological order of the experience description in the experience section. Job candidates who have extensive professional experience prefer this format as it helps them focus on the experience section of their professional resume.
The combination resume format is the combination of above two formats and it focuses both on the skills and experience sections.
The focus on skills section (especially transferable skills) allows the people who are looking for career change, to prove their competency for the new role; which is why it is preferred by those who are looking for career change.
You may want to go with the reverse chronological order resume format for your healthcare resume. Now let's talk about how to write each section of your healthcare resume and in which order.
Header Information
On the top of your healthcare resume will be the header in which you will add your name and your contact information for when the hiring managers want to get in touch with you for questions and interviews etc. You need to type your name in a slightly bigger font than the rest of the content.
After your name, you can add your professional headshot in which you are wearing formal apparel. However, adding your photograph is not mandatory.
Next, you need to add your mobile number with the area code and type it in a formal manner. After the mobile number you need to add the professional email ID. Use the email ID that you use for professional correspondence and have a formal address rather than informal address.
After the email address, you may want to add your LinkedIn profile link if you are active on LinkedIn and your profile is carefully curated and updated.
At last, you can write your home address briefly, it is not mandatory so it is up to you if you want to include it or not.
Professional Resume Summary
Your professional resume summary is the section where the highlights of your professional profile are presented. This section is the first on your resume after the contact information and the hiring managers look at it hoping for something intriguing.
If your resume summary does not have any intriguing details, the hiring manager may not look at the rest of the resume. You need to ensure your resume summary is compelling and well written.
Use bullet points to describe the details. Do not write more than 5 bullet points and ensure the sentences are crisp and concise and include crucial information from your profile.
You need to include the details of your total years of professional experience in the first bullet point along with some background information.
Next bullet points should describe your key accomplishments and the relevant skills. You can mention any remarkable awards or recognitions as well.
At last, you need to mention what kind of opportunity you are seeking and how you will leverage your skills and experiences.
You should try and quantify as many details as possible. Numbers help your information seem more valuable and have a better impact.
Professional Experience
The experience section comes right after the resume summary section and describes your previous positions and work history.
You need to mention details such as your job title, the name of your employer and the employment period with the particular employer.
After these details, you need to describe the details of your experiences. While describing the details, make sure you talk about your achievements, accomplishments and key skills.
You need to mention your usual job duties as well because it helps cover all the relevant key skills and keywords that are important.
Many healthcare resumes do not mention the obvious job duties, however they end up being overlooked because the ATS does not scan that resume as a relevant one. More on ATS will come later.
Residencies, Fellowships
As part of a medical professional experience, you may have done some residencies and or came across fellowships. You should include the details of such experiences on your healthcare resume as well.
These experiences speak to your knowledge and field experience which is a building block on the theoretical knowledge you may have acquired from your formal education and degrees.
Education Section
The education section should mention all your degrees and any extra courses or programs you may have completed.
You can also mention the relevant subjects and your majors briefly. In the education section, you need to mention the degree and the institution from where you acquired the degree.
Do not mention the year of degree completion as it may lead to bias on the hiring manager's part.
Skills Section
The skills section is your space for all the skills you have- soft skills, technical skills as well as any role specific skills. Depending on your role, you may need different skills.
We have curated a list of skills for medical professionals, you can choose the ones that are relevant for you. You can also add more skills of your own and from the job description.
- Medical billing
- Emergency medical services
- Patient care
- Healthcare management
- Handling patient records
- Improve patient outcomes
- Healthcare administration
- Emergency treatment
- Occupational therapy
- Medical care
- Physical therapy
Licenses/ Registrations/ Certifications
As a medical professional, you may already know that the medical profession requires various licenses and registrations. You must be a registered nurse or a licensed doctor to be able to practice in the field.
Every state and country might have different rules and regulations for the medical professionals and you need to be updated with your state and country's rules and regulations to avoid any legal repercussions in the future if you are ever under scrutiny.
In your resume, include a section for the details of your licenses and registration details. You can also include any certifications you may have acquired.
Relevant Keywords- Your Weapon to Beat ATS
ATS or the applicant tracking systems is software utilized by the recruiters to scan the resumes they receive to shortlist them. The ATS filters the resumes through the parameters set by the recruiter.
The parameters are nothing else but the relevant keywords for your role and responsibilities. We have listed some of the important keywords here. You need to include more from the various job description you go through during the research.
- Hospital budget
- Healthcare position
- Healthcare sector
- Healthcare services
- Medical Assistant
- Medical workers
- Medical billing
- Medical terminology (use the medical terms)
- Healthcare providers
- Pharmacy technician
- Health care
Use these keywords throughout your resume in a sensible manner without compromising the readability of the information. Ensure that comprehension of the details is easy and keywords are included in a meaningful manner. Do not stuff keywords anywhere.
Conclusion
In conclusion, your healthcare resume should be informative and carefully curated according to the professional standards. You can utilize this guide as your checklist when you sit down to write your resume.
- Ensure professionalism in your resume
- Use keywords
- Choose the right format
- Do some research
- Proofread your resume
- Provide all the relevant information
You should also check out our resume examples and templates. Now you know all about writing a perfect healthcare resume! Good luck with the job search!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Does my healthcare resume need visual elements?
Visual elements may be more suitable for those in creative professions. For a serious profession such as medical, your healthcare resume should stick to simple and professional formats.
Should I include my bachelor's degree in my healthcare resume if I have a master's degree?
Yes. You should include any and every relevant degree in your resume. If your bachelor's degree is in the relevant field then you should include it on your healthcare resume.
How long should my healthcare resume be?
A professional healthcare resume should not exceed the limit of two pages. The preferable page count for resumes is 1 or 2.
