Now that you are a qualified CNA you will need to write a winning CNA resume in order to get the job of your dreams. This is not as easy as it sounds, but there are some tips you can follow to make it easier.
Steps In Writing A Nursing Assistant Resume
Objective
It is important that you draft everything before you write it in your resume. A certified nursing assistant resume needs to have an objective. An objective is just a short summary of what your aim is in terms of creating the resume. If you look online for a sample resume you may find one with a resume objective like “I am experienced certified nursing assistant with 5 years of experience, seeking a certified nursing assistant position in a reputed health organization where I can apply my best clinical skills”. This is the kind of thing you should write, but be original and don’t just copy the CNA sample resume word for word.
Aptitude
There are a number of things that can go in the aptitude section of your CNA resume. For example you could include information about the following:
- Educational background
- Licenses you have received
- Voluntary certifications you earned
Remember that the person reading your resume is also reading a whole lot of other resumes as well. They will not have the time or inclination to look at a resume that is exactly the same as all of the others. The trick is to write a resume in such a way that you are original but that is at the same time still professional. This list of your aptitudes can be the eye catching moment that makes the reader interested.
Professional Expertise
In the next section you should highlight your professional expertise. What things are you really good at doing? This section will be easier to write if you have more work experience. Some CNA resume examples do not include this as a separate section but rather put it in with work experience. However if you are an accomplished CNA you need to take the time to highlight the tasks you are especially good at, particularly those tasks that you can perform without supervision, in your resume. A good nursing assistant resume will be one that is laid out in the best way to draw attention to your skills, which is why you cannot simply copy just any sample CNA resume you come across.
Work Experience
Like we said previously you need to include your work experience in your CNA resume. A good certified nursing assistant resume will include a fairly comprehensive list of the places you have worked in as well as what skills you learned there and what tasks you were responsible for performing. This is a great way to draw attention to your skills as a CNA in your resume.
Other Awards And Achievements
Good CNA resume usually include things such as:
- Above average graduation grade point average
- Admission to the Dean’s List
- Other honours
This is because these things can make you look really good to potential employers so you should not forget to include them if you have them. However it is not a big deal if you have no special awards or achievements. This is not compulsory for writing a resume. CNA resumes that have a something special like this are just more likely to be followed up with. This does depend of course on what the reader is looking for in the resume. Again, don’t just copy the many CNA resume examples that you can find online.
Future Goals In The Nursing Profession
It is a great idea to mention in your resume what your future goals are in the nursing profession as this will show that you are dedicated to the profession and that you are willing to do what it takes to upgrade your qualification and move on in the industry. Employers like to have CNAs on their staff who are willing to maybe later upgrade their qualifications and become LPNs or RNs. However this is not the main point of your nursing assistant resume so do not devote too much space and time to writing about where you want to be in the future. Keep your resume short and to the point so as not to bore the reader.
References
You should also list any references you have from previous jobs on your resume, especially from those jobs where you felt that you really did a great job. If you have had a bad experience at a previous job try not to include that employer in your list of references in your certified nursing assistant resume. You need to be able to present your prospective future employer with a list of people he or she can contact in order to find out a little bit more about work ethic and style. If you don’t have much space on your resume sometimes it is acceptable to put “References available on request” on CNA resumes as you will see in any sample CNA resume on the internet.
Creating A CNA Resume In Your Word Processing Program
Step 1
The first step to creating your resume on your computer is opening your word processing program. Most computers will have a word processing program available on them. The most common is Windows Microsoft Word, but there are other options as well. Basically it is a program that you can type text into. Once you have typed the text into the program you will be able to print it or save it for future editing or use. If you are new to using a computer it won’t take you long at all to figure out how your word processing program works, and once you have got the hang of it you are ready to get started with your CNA resume.
Step 2
The next step in writing your certified nursing assistant resume is to write four lines of text:
- Full name on the first line
- Address on the second line
- Telephone number on the third line
- Email address on the fourth line
You will see in resume examples that this information is in the middle of the page at the top. Highlight what you have written by dragging the mouse over the words. Then click on the “centre” button at the top of the screen so that these four lines of text will be moved to the middle where they will be a lot more obvious to the reader.
Step 3
These four lines of information are generally considered to be the most important part of resumes because without this information an employer who is interested in hiring you will not know how to contact you. Consequently it is important to make this information stand out. You can do this by underlining it or making it bold. Highlight the words by dragging your mouse over them. Then click on the bold icon (B) at the top of the screen, or the underline icon (a U which is underlined). You will see that this is a common thing to do when you look at any CNA sample resume. Make sure that this information s accurate so that you can be easily contacted.
Step 4
Now you have to write the education sections. Make sure that this is written to the left side of the page and not in the middle. Type the word “Education” and make it bold or underline it. Under this heading you should then write all of the schools you have attended, including your high school and the CNA program you attended. Make sure that you write the dates you attended these schools in your resume, and state what qualifications you earned once you left. This is an important part of CNA resumes. For formatting advice have a look at a CNA sample resume, but don’t copy exactly what it says, just use it as a basic guideline.
Step 5
The next heading you need to write is “Experience”. Write it in the exact same way that you wrote the “Education” heading. Now you need to make a list of all of the work experience you have as a CNA in your resume. Make this list a bullet point list. You will see that this is common in most resume examples. Make sure that you give the years that you worked at each of the places you list. If you left the place, say why you left. Make sure you include contact information. Keep it short and simple so that the person who reads your nursing assistant resume doesn’t get bored in the middle of reading the most important information.
Step 6
An important thing to include on your CNA resume s any community involvement you have taken part in. This can include things like:
- Church positions
- Volunteer experiences
- Any other way that you served your community
Even if it is not related to being a CNA, include it anyway. It makes you look good in your employers eyes and will increase your chances of getting a job. List this information in the same way that you have listed your education and experience as good CNA resumes always have a consistent pattern throughout. Don’t be shy. As you can tell from any CNA sample resume the point of a CNA resume is to sell yourself and make yourself seem as good as possible.
Step 7
Now you need to write a list of your skills in your resume. Again write a heading. This time the heading will be called “Skills. Under this you need to write all of your personal skills that you think will help you to be a great CNA. You can include things like:
- compassionate
- hard working
- detail oriented
- a multi-tasker
There are many different personality skills that would make you a great CNA, so be sure to include them all. Look for ideas online from the resume examples that you can find on the Internet, but remember not to just copy a CNA sample resume. It is better to be original.
Step 8
You will then have to save you resume. There should be a button in the top left hand corner that you can click on to find the save option. Make sure that give your resume a name that you will be able to recognise easily when you want to find it again. Reasons why you will want your nursing assistant resume include wanting to edit it because you have more experience and wanting to email it or print it out in order to apply for a job. If you do not take the time to save the CNA resume all of your hard work will be lost. If you exit the program without saving it will ask you if you want to save. Always click “Yes”.
Step 9
If you need to send a hardcopy of your resume to your prospective employers you will have to print the resume out. For this you will need a printer that is connected to your computer. Hold down the “ctrl” button and hit the “p” button at the same time. This will allow you to print your CNA resume. When you go to a job interview you should also take an additional copy of your resume with you just in case. This means that if you have to have your resume printed by someone else because you don’t have a printer you will have to make sure that you get more than one copy of your resume so that you can give it to all of the relevant people.