If you’re applying for a nursing job in the UK in 2023, you’ll have plenty of options because of ongoing nursing shortages. But you need to write an effective CV to get hired for the specific position you want.
To find a good nursing job in a hospital or GP’s surgery, give your nursing CV the same detailed care you give your patients. Here’s how:
1. Make your most relevant nursing skills stand out
Nursing recruiters will only interview you if you show that you have the skills needed for their open job. To emphasise your job-specific nursing skills on your CV:
Assess the job advert
As a nurse, you carefully read patients vital signs to identify symptoms. Apply that ability to assessing job adverts for the nursing hard skills and soft skills that the employer is seeking.
Below are examples of common hard and soft skills that recruiters look for in nursing applicants:
- Medical equipment & procedures: Knowing how to accurately and confidently administer injections, insert IVs, and read vital signs is critical to providing safe and effective patient care.
- Clinical documentation: List your ability to document patient details, including keeping accurate medical records, writing reports, and communicating with other health care professionals.
- Experience with hospital software: Being comfortable with using telecare systems, health information systems (HIS), and electronic medical records (EMRs) shows employers you can quickly adapt to new workplaces and can keep medical records up to date.
- Stamina: Nursing can be a physically demanding job, so list your ability to work long hours and perform physically demanding tasks when necessary.
- Language skills: Nursing is a diverse field, and being able to communicate effectively with patients in their preferred language can help build trust and ensure that patients are receiving the best possible care.
- Maths proficiency: Maths is an important aspect of nursing, particularly when it comes to calculating medication dosages and interpreting lab results, so list examples of times you performed these calculations accurately.
- Patient advocacy: Advocacy is an important aspect of nursing. Examples of patient advocacy involve having empathy, speaking up on behalf of patients who can’t advocate for themselves, ensuring patients are receiving appropriate care, and providing emotional support to them and their families.
- Interpersonal skills: Nursing is a team-based profession, so prove you can work well with colleagues, patients, and their families by listing times you collaborated with other staff or dealt with patients in positive ways.
- Ability to work under pressure: Knowing how to be calm in stressful situations is a highly sought-after skill for nurses, so find examples of times you handled high-pressure challenges or worked under a tight deadline.
- Decision making: Nurses are often called upon to make important decisions that change their patients lives, so ensure you demonstrate your ability to make informed decisions quickly and confidently.
- Communication: Effective communication is a great skill to discuss in your CV as it shows you know how to build trust with patients and staff, provide clear explanations of medical procedures, and adjust your communication style to suit individual patients’ needs.
Use data and examples
You’re not the only applicant who has professional nursing skills. So differentiate and showcase your skills by including hard numbers and specific examples whenever possible.
Read the following CV work experience bullet points — first without data and then with numbers and examples added — and note the difference:
- Reduced the number of patient calls from 65+ to 30 per day by educating patients on appropriate call procedures
- Aided senior nurses with administering medication and carrying out daily procedures with a 100% accuracy rate, while maintaining a clean and hygienic patient environment
- number of patients you treated
- amount of time you saved on a procedure or task
- percentages related to your daily duties
- type of medical procedures you performed
- satisfaction rating in patient surveys
- error rate in patient record-keeping
- number of interdisciplinary team meetings you participated in
- resulting improvements in patient outcomes and staff satisfaction
Adding examples and data makes your skills more engaging to read, and they show employers how you can help them reach their health care goals.
Make a key skills section
You may think your key skills section is unimportant because it’s typically tacked on at the end of your CV. But think again:
Hospitals and GP surgeries use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to determine which applications they review based on how many keywords from the job advert appear on CVs and in cover letters. To avoid having your application binned by an ATS, put keywords from the job description that you didn’t include in the other sections of your CV in your key skills section.
2. Use professional nursing CV formatting
Your nursing CV should be two full pages and include sections for your:
How you order your CV sections depends on your level of experience. For example, if you’re applying for a nursing assistant apprenticeship programme and don’t have any medical work history, write a skills-based CV that prioritises your education and skills sections.
But if you do have relevant nursing experience, place it on the first page of your CV. Even if you’re a newly qualified nurse, you can list your placements in your work history section above your education and skills sections to show the employer that you’ve got hands-on nursing experience.
3. Write an attention-grabbing personal statement
Including skills from the job advert on your CV is essential, but where you include them is equally important. Instead of hiding your most relevant selling points near the bottom of your CV, highlight them in a 2–3 sentence or 4–5 bullet-point personal statement under your name and contact details.
Placing the information that makes you stand out at the top of your CV encourages the recruiter to read your complete application. An attention-grabbing personal statement:
• starts with your nursing specialism and years of experience
• includes nurse skills–related keywords from the job advert
• states your target nursing position so employers know which of their open jobs you want
Here’s an example of a well-written nursing CV personal statement:
Registered adult nurse with 4+ years’ experience providing comprehensive care for patients in general practice surgery and National Health Service settings. Successfully advocate on behalf of patients from all socioeconomic backgrounds to ensure inclusive health care, and self-study to stay current with NHS Plan standards. Eager to continue following a passion for patient care as a Senior Adult Nurse at North Leeds Medical Practice.
Remember to write a cover letter that explains your nurse CV in greater detail to maximize your chances of finding a fulfilling nursing job.
