Hiring managers looking through many nurse practitioner resumes will look for something extra, something exceptional to be convinced that particular candidate is suitable and competent.
To ensure you get the job, you need to be knowledgeable, skilled and experienced nurse practitioner. And most importantly, you need to present your profile with great effort in your nurse practitioner resumes.
Without further waiting, let's talk about writing your nurse practitioner resume!👇
Writing a Nurse Practitioner Resumes
Resume is your opportunity to make a first impression that lasts (and is -impressive)! You cannot be satisfied with the average resume. You cannot choose any resume template and run with it.
As important is the dream job and even the interview, to get that very interview you need to create a resume impressive enough that the hiring managers give you a call for a chance for interview.
How to write an impressive nurse practitioner resume? You need to include the important information of your experience and work history in the healthcare industry, relevant skills and education section with training details and what not. You need to know how to present the details. What should be the outline like?
Which details should be included? How to write the details? Which details should be left out? What should be the tone of language? Should there be images? Graphics? So many questions!
And the most important one- what can I do 'something extra' to impress the hiring manager and increase my chances of getting hired?
Well, in the rest of this article, we will answer all of your questions! Whether you are writing a new nurse practitioner resume or looking for tips for your experienced nurse practitioner resume, we have got you covered.
Research a little
Before you sit down to write your perfect nurse practitioner resume, you need to do a little research.
Research your role and job title, the job description of various job postings, the medical industry and its current scenario and everything in between.
This research will help you understand your profession better and give you an idea of what it is like to be a family nurse practitioner or entry level nurse practitioner job seeker in the industry.
During the research you can also note down keywords as they will come handy when you are writing your resume.
During the research you may also go through resume template and nurse practitioner resume examples. Going through these will give you an idea of what an average resume template may be or how an average resume is written.
You can also check out our resume examples and templates. All this will give you familiarity and some knowledge on writing your resume and presenting your profile.
The research will also help you understand how the nurse practitioner job market is these days, what do hiring managers look for and what you should write in your outstanding nurse practitioner resume.
With the understanding of all this you will be able to decide which job postings are suitable for you and which nurse practitioner job description you should target while applying to many available opportunities.
Now we will talk about what a nurse practitioner resume looks like!👇
Choose the format for nurse practitioner resume
First of all you need a format so you know how exactly you need your sections to be written in your nurse practitioner resume. There are various resume formats that you can choose from. As an experienced nurse practitioner your resume should be reverse chronological format.
The other professional formats are functional and combination. Functional resume template is utilized by freshers. Combination resume format is suitable for those nurse practitioner job seekers who are changing careers.
The format will provide you with an outline of your resume which will decide which sections to include and how to write the information in all those sections.
There are various themes as well that you can choose from. For example, modern, minimalist, traditional, visual and so on. These themes help you increase the visual appeal of your nurse practitioner resume.
For a serious professional resume such as nurse practitioner resume, you should choose the formal themes and avoid a lot of creative liberty.
The right format is important because without the right format, your resume may seem chaotic and you will be confused about where to write your experience and relevant skills and other information.
You may be confused about the order of sections and a lot more important aspects of a professional resume which you may not know.
You are a professional nurse practitioner and you know all you need to know about medical area but for resume, you need the help of a professional resume writer. This guide will help you with just that.
Fill the header
On the top of your resume is the header. In the header you need to write your name in a slightly bigger fonts than the rest of the information.
Next up is your contact details. In the contact details section, include your contact number with area code in formal manner. Note your formal and professional email address as well.
Make sure these details are accurate because if they are not the hiring manager will not be able to get in touch with you.
Effective Resume Summary
An effective resume summary highlights your key skills and accomplishments. While writing the resume summary, mention your job title- i.e. Nurse Practitioner.
Write the summary in bullet points and keep it concise and crisp. Quantify the details wherever possible with numbers.
In the summary, note your total years of experience delivering compassionate care as a nurse practitioner. You can add a little background such as- family nurse practitioner or working in healthcare industry or such.
Make sure it is an objective statement and doesn't sound like you are boasting, keep it humble and polite. This will really make your resume a polished resume.
You need to include only the most important highlights of your professional work history meaning the key skills and accomplishments only, leave the rest for other sections.
At last mention what kind of opportunity you are seeking and how you will contribute and help the patients.
Professional experience delivering compassionate care
The experience section is very important. Note the role name and the employer name in full. Add the period of time you worked with that employer.
While describing your experience you should include the usual responsibilities, key skills that helped you perform well and the exceptional instances and challenges that you overcame and how.
Make sure you reflect your relevant skills, in-depth knowledge and experience thoroughly without missing anything important. You may think that particular detail is obvious however, including it could make a big difference for you.
Include your knowledge and experience with surgical procedures, physical examination, emergency procedures, acute health conditions, prescribed medication, treatment plans, understanding patient's medical history, providing patient education, utilizing medical knowledge, working as a primary care providers, checking patient's complete health history, chronic illnesses, recording physical examinations, basic life support, patient care and everything in between that is relevant and necessary.
Carefully include all the soft skills, patient care skills, nursing related skills and other valuable skills as well.
Your professional experience should reflect that you are a competent board certified healthcare provider or registered nurse with nursing degree or nurse practitioner degree.
And do not forget, the format of the resume is reverse chronological order format which means that your experiences should be noted in the reverse chronological order. Use bullet points to describe details of each experience.
Education section
Your education section is important for your nurse practitioner resume because without the education you cannot practice as a registered nurse.
Education is just as important as practical training and experience along with skills such as soft skills and hard skills for the nurse practitioner position.
While writing your registered nurse practitioner education, you need to mention the degree and the education institute.
In this section you can also include the details of your training, both the practical and theoretical.
As a best nurse practitioner seeking a nurse practitioner job, your education may be as required but if you have done extra courses and special programs that will earn you extra points. Make sure to include them in your resume as well.
Make sure to read the job description carefully to confirm the required education.
Add Key Skills
Extremely important nurse practitioner skills will be noted in your skills section. you should include your soft skills along with the hard skills. Your nursing experience is important and your nursing skills help you reflect the nursing experience in better light.
When reading the job description, make sure you note all the skills and then include them when you get down to resume writing.
Your ability to provide patient care or patient education or your knowledge of chronic illnesses has to be backed up with the patient care skills and other nurse practitioner skills on your np resume.
Include Certifications & Licenses
The prospective employers will be looking for best nurse practitioner with the best np resume, and to impress them you need nurse practitioner skills and experience.
However, impressing them does not mean you will get the job. If you check the job description, you will find the required certifications and licenses details. There are many laws and regulations in place to ensure ethical medical practices.
This means your np resume must include the details of all your certifications and licenses. Every state and country may have different laws and regulations, make sure you qualify for practice in particular state and country.
Your own resume will be scanned by many primary care providers and various medical facilities where you will apply for job, not mentioning these details will definitely cost you the job.
The Keywords
The applicant tracking system or the ATS is a software used by the recruiters to scan the resume. All you need to do to beat the ATS is to include all the relevant keywords.
The job candidate, whose resume has all the relevant keywords, will be in the shortlisted applications which will be reviewed by the recruiter carefully for next step. Your np resume will not even reach the recruiter in case it doesn't have the keywords.
To find the keywords for np resume, you need to do a little research in your role and especially pick up the keywords from the job description.
Without the keywords, you being an experienced board certified nurse practitioner will not make any difference.
Write a Cover letter
At last, write a cover letter along with your nurse practitioner resume to the recruiter to earn some brownie points. Cover letter allows you to include more keywords and describe your profile in more detail.
You can showcase your passion and dedication for the job and the recruiter will realize you are the best nurse practitioner!
This will help your resume to be an outstanding nurse practitioner resume in the pool of nurse practitioner job applicants.
Key Takeaways
In conclusion, nurse practitioner resume should be informative and professionally presented.
Here are some of the key takeaways:
- Include keywords
- Write a cover letter
- Note the certifications and licenses
Now you know all about the nurse practitioners' resume. You can also refer to nurse practitioner resume examples however do not take the content as is.
You can use this guide as your checklist. Check out our resume examples and templates as well. Good luck with job search!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is a cover letter necessary?
Cover letters are not always mandatory however writing one can always be a good addition to your job application and it will win you some brownie points with the hiring managers.
I'm pursuing some night classes for extra medical knowledge, should I include it in my resume?
Absolutely, you should include every relevant details of your profile. Any additional details could help you stand apart and get hired.
Do I need the resume summary or resume objective?
Resume objective explain your career goals. Resume summary explains what you bring to the table for the employer. Hiring managers often look for what you bring to the table hence the resume objectives are no longer preferred and you might want to stick with the resume summary.
