Learn about the important requirements, skills, and keywords that should be included in a healthcare resume.
The healthcare industry covers a broad spectrum of medical professions. If you're pursuing a career in healthcare, you need a healthcare resume that will get your foot in the door and lead to job interviews with prospective employers.
Learn more about healthcare resumes, what you should include to highlight your qualifications and experiences, and where to get help writing your resume and finding healthcare jobs.
If you want to land a job in healthcare, we recommend ZipRecruiter! ZipRecruiter is free for jobseekers and makes apply for jobs easy! You can apply with a single click! Get started for free today.
Discover Your Dream Job Find jobs near you and apply with 1 click! New jobs posted daily.
If you’re an employer looking to fill a healthcare role, or any position, check out our list of the best free job posting sites.
What Is Unique About A Healthcare Resume?
With such a wide variety of medical specializations within the healthcare industry, job seekers need a resume highlighting the specific medical and other skills you must have as a healthcare professional. It often includes additional sections not included in other resumes.
The chronological resume format fits healthcare resumes well. This format focuses on your most recent educational and professional experiences.
If you want to get started in healthcare, you may consider a career as a nurse. Read our guide on how to become a nurse for more information.
What Should Be Included On A Healthcare Resume?
Header
Your resume header is what recruiters see first and includes basic personal information needed to contact you. Include your name, location, email, and phone number in the header.
Summary
A resume summary is a short paragraph that highlights experiences and accomplishments relevant to healthcare industry jobs. You only have a few seconds to catch the attention of recruiters. Having a compelling summary can help you make the shortlist of applicants to receive an interview.
Work Experience
List your healthcare-related work experience in chronological order, starting with your most recent job. It's ok to include non-healthcare work history if it points to your abilities or you have limited work experience.
Include five or fewer bullet points for each job listing. Each bullet point should include information on duties performed and achievements while on the job.
Education
Your educational experience is a vital component of a healthcare resume. List all college degrees earned, beginning with the highest degree earned. Each listing should consist of the college or university name, location (city/state), the years attended, your major, and the degree earned.
Skills
Include any hard skills you possess related to the healthcare field. You should also include transferable soft skills that recruiters are looking for in job candidates.
Other Resume Sections
The unique nature of the healthcare industry lends itself well to additional resume sections. Depending on your experience and the specific job you're applying for, you can also include one or more of the following resume sections:
- Awards and achievements
- Certifications and licenses
- Clinical experiences, residencies, and fellowships
- Memberships
- Languages
- Volunteer experience
Use your best judgement on what to include on your healthcare resume. You may need to extend your resume to two pages to fit the additional information.
Related: Medical Resume
Join The Break Community
What Should Be Left Off A Healthcare Resume?
Most of your resume should relate specifically to the healthcare industry. Don't include information or sections just to fill the page. Things you don't need to have on your healthcare resume include your interests and hobbies, a photograph of yourself, vague information, a career objective, and additional personal information.
Important Job Skills For Healthcare Resumes
With such a broad range of positions available within the healthcare industry, the list of skills you could include on a resume is nearly endless. Don't make the mistake of including every skill possible just to pad your resume. Limit yourself to the most relevant hard and soft skills for the job you're applying for, which could include:
Hard Skills
- Billing
- Bookkeeping
- CPR
- Data entry
- First Aid
- HIPAA knowledge
- Infection control
- Medical administration
- Medical record management
- Microsoft Office Suite
- Office skills
- Pharmacy
- Telephone proficiency
- Urgent care
- Vital signs
Soft Skills
- Administrative skills
- Attention to detail
- Empathy
- Flexibility
- Friendliness
- Interpersonal skills
- Management
- Multitasking
- Organization
- Problem-solving
- Teamwork
- Time management
Related: How To Get A Job In Healthcare
Frequently Asked Questions
What skills should I put on my resume for healthcare?
Healthcare jobs require a variety of skills. Healthcare hard skills include CPR, infection control, medical administration, vital signs, billing, and medical record management. Soft skills may consist of bedside manner, empathy, teamwork, and attention to detail.
What is the best resume format for healthcare?
A chronological resume format is one of the most effective resume formats for healthcare resumes. This format lists information in chronological order beginning with your most recent experiences.
What should I put on my resume for healthcare?
A healthcare resume should include a summary of your skills and experience, work history, education, certifications and association memberships, hard and soft skills, and other pertinent information related to the open position.
What are hard skills in healthcare?
Healthcare hard skills include billing, CPR, medical record management, HIPAA knowledge, infection control, first aid, data entry, and vital signs.
The Bottom Line
Gather the essential information to craft a healthcare resume that will attract attention from recruiters and prospective employers. If you need help, a resume writing service could provide the help you need to land more job interviews.
Online job search sites like ZipRecruiter can help you find open healthcare jobs. Job seekers can open a ZipRecruiter account and upload their resumes for free.
