Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) Resume Example

Patricia Roberts
[email protected]
1 (786) 443-6060
Miami, FL 33101

Summary Statement:

Certified Nursing Assistant: Skilled and reliable Certified Nursing Assistant with over 7 years experience in hospital work, elderly nursing care, and patient rehab. Specialize in hygiene, dressing, feeding, ambulation, and checking vital signs. Known for establishing a friendly rapport with patients and maintaining open communication while maintaining a high level of care.

Key Accomplishments/Areas of Expertise

• Documentation and Records
• OSHA Guidelines
• CPR & First-Aid Certified (2019)
• HIPAA Guidelines
• Conflict Resolution
• Attentiveness
• Emotional Support
• Medical Terminology
• Administration of Medication
• Strength and Endurance

Professional Experience:

Mercy Hospital
Miami, FL | Certified Nursing Assistant | July 2017-Present

• Assist over 15 patients daily and ensure wellbeing
• Assess vital signs, perform lab draws, report to nursing staff
• Perform pre and post-op patient care
• Adhere to all relevant HIPAA and OSHA guidelines

Majestic Manor
Miami, FL | Certified Nursing Assistant | January 2015 – March 2017

• Provided daily care to residents, monitoring for complications
• Offered emotional support to residents and family when needed
• Participated in group activities and organized special events
• Assisted with daily care, including hygiene and meals

Coast Rehab Center
Miami, FL | Certified Nursing Assistant | June 2012 – December 2014

• Maintained both physical and digital patient records
• Took direction from resident RN on patient needs and evaluation
• Followed and enforced all OSHA guidelines
• Checked vital signs and modified patient charts as needed
• Contributed to outdoor/indoor recreational activities

Education/Certifications

High School Diploma – Honors Graduate
Miami Senior High School,
2010

Certified Nursing Assistant License
Active Health Institute, Miami, FL,
2012

CPR & First-Aid Certification (2019)

When writing a resume, most people start by thinking about what information they are going to include.

However, the best thing to consider before you begin writing your certified nursing assistant resume is actually how you want it to look – and that comes down to formatting.

The format is the first thing a hiring manager is going to notice when they look at your resume.

When it is estimated that hiring managers only spend about 6 seconds reviewing each resume, that first appearance makes a significant impact on whether or not you will get an interview.

If you want your resume to appear reader-friendly and professional, utilizing bullet points to separate information is necessary.

Always make sure that you are allowing for adequate spacing between bullet points and sections so that things appear structured and neat.

Assume that the person reviewing your resume isn’t going to give it much time at first glance and list your information in reverse chronological order so that your most recent and relevant information comes first.

While there are common traits associated with a proper resume, there is still a wide range of resume formats to choose from.

When it comes to font selection, there is flexibility as long as you choose a font that is legible and professional.

A well-structured resume should be easy to read and draw the reader’s attention to the most important information first.

For more info, here’s an in-depth guide on the 3 most common resume formats.

The first section of your certified nursing assistant resume is typically a three to five-sentence summary describing who you are as a CNA.

The best way to approach this section is to ask yourself, “what are the most important aspects of this job?”

Once you have a decent grasp on what you think the most important aspects are, start to list the various ways you fulfill and exceed those expectations.

The first example lends specific details and includes impactful descriptions of how the candidate cares for patients.

The second example uses weak wording and minimal description, leaving the candidate sounding basic and underwhelming.

PRO TIP: If you are having a difficult time narrowing down what the most important details are to include in your summary, it’s okay to skip this section. Write some other sections of your resume first and come back to this section after. Often writing the rest of your resume gets you into a better headspace to decide how you want to describe yourself in a brief paragraph.

In case you need to dive in deeper into the rules of writing a resume summary, check out this guide.

Including a section in your certified nursing assistant resume that lists out different areas of expertise and qualifications is vital to becoming a candidate of interest.

Often, hiring managers will have a few key details they are looking for in a candidate that they want to see at a glance.

In many instances, this section is made up of a simple list of notable skills and qualifications

Key Accomplishments/Areas of Expertise

• Documentation and Records
• OSHA Guidelines
• CPR & First-Aid Certified (2019)
• HIPAA Guidelines
• Time Management
• Organization
• Conflict Resolution
• Attentiveness
• Emotional Support
• Medical Terminology
• Administration of Medication
• Strength and Endurance

When writing your own list, make sure that you include both hard and soft skills.

Hard skills are often regarded as technical skills because they typically need to be taught and practiced to master.

Soft skills are more often referred to as people skills because they are more subjective, natural, and deal with personality traits.

While in the medical industry, hard skills are necessary and vital to include on your certified nursing assistant resume, don’t let that distract from including soft skills as well.

A well-rounded CNA should be able to follow HIPPA and OSHA guidelines, as well as have a pleasant bedside manner and work well with patients and family members.

PRO TIP: When you write your skills and qualifications on your resume, make sure that you are referencing the job posting you are responding to or researching the company you are looking to work for. Often, jobs will include skills and attributes they are looking for in a candidate, and including those details in your resume will get you noticed for your compatibility.

And if you need more tips, here’s a detailed guide on how to showcase your accomplishments.

The first few sections of your certified nursing assistant resume offer preliminary information concerning why you would be a good candidate for the CNA position you seek.

Your work experience section goes more in-depth by calling out specific references to previous experience to almost “prove” that you are everything you claim to be.

Since this position doesn’t always require previous experience in the medical field, it can draw candidates with many levels of experience.

If you have a lot to work with, your job is to narrow down what positions are most relevant and impressive.

Often, listing your experience in reverse chronological order is the best route to take so that you can begin by discussing your most recent and impressive work first.

Never include jobs that are unrelated to caretaking or nursing if you have more practical experience to discuss.

Once you have decided what experience is the most impactful, include a description for each job consisting of three to five bullet points.

You want to make your descriptions as relevant as possible while remaining concise.

The first example lends details to describe and support the knowledge and abilities required by the candidate to complete their CNA duties.

The second example lists out tasks performed with little to no detail, leaving the candidate sounding unenthusiastic and almost scant.

PRO TIP: When describing your work history, try to quantify and qualify the job duties you discuss. Lend details concerning specific procedures you assisted with or how many patients you saw in a day. These details set you apart from the crowd and create a more impactful and memorable resume.

(If you lack work experience, see below for a helpful section.)

More About Bots

When writing your certified nursing assistant resume, it is essential to consider who will be reading it.

Depending on the situation, such information isn’t always available, but it is important to note that in some cases companies will sort through resumes even before a person reviews them.

Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), or bots, are systems designed to review resumes and narrow things down before a hiring manager takes a look.

Bots search resumes for specific keywords and power words (action verbs) associated with “good-candidate potential.”

When a bot finds a resume that makes the cut, it flags it and sends it along for further review. If a resume fails to impress a bot, the journey ends there.

Some resume experts believe that writing job descriptions in paragraph format instead of bullet points encourages candidates to include more keywords in their writing.

However, at Big Interview we believe that bullet points are essential in catching the eye of human readers – just make sure you include strong keywords.

Standard Bullet Point Format:

Majestic Manor | Miami, FL | Certified Nursing Assistant | January 2015 – March 2017

• Provided daily assistance to elderly residents in a long-term care facility
• Offered emotional support to residents and family members when needed
• Worked closely with facility staff to maintain resident well being,
• Assisted residents with daily care, including hygiene and meals

Paragraph Format:

Majestic Manor | Miami, FL | Certified Nursing Assistant | January 2015 – March 2017
Provided daily nursing assistance to elderly residents in a long-term care facility, including taking vital signs and monitoring for health complications. Offered comforting emotional support to residents and family members when needed. Worked closely with facility staff to maintain resident well-being, including checking rooms for cleanliness, participating in group activities, and organizing special events. Assisted residents with daily care, including bathing, hygiene, incontinence, peri and oral care, and meals.

Paragraph Format With Bullet Points:

Majestic Manor | Miami, FL | Certified Nursing Assistant | January 2015 – March 2017
Provided daily nursing assistance to elderly residents in a long-term care facility, including taking vital signs and monitoring for health complications. Offered comforting emotional support to residents and family members when needed. Worked closely with facility staff to maintain resident well-being, including checking rooms for cleanliness, participating in group activities, and organizing special events. Assisted residents with daily care, including bathing, hygiene, incontinence, peri and oral care, and meals.

• Medication Administration
• Cared for 15+ patients daily

There’s also a full guide on how to best write your work experience resume section.

The education section of your resume is more objective than the previous sections.

Include your degrees of education in order of impressiveness along with the title of your degree, the school you attended, and the year you graduated.

Always include your licenses and certifications in this section as well

Example:

High School Diploma – Honors Graduate
Miami Senior High School TN,
Class of 2013

Certified Nursing Assistant License
Active Health Institute, Miami, FL,
2012

CPR & First-Aid Certification (2019)

If you need more guidelines on how to write your education section, check out this in-depth guide.

Possible Sections to Include

Sometimes you might have relevant achievements that don’t fit into the more common resume sections.

If you have more information to include in your certified nursing assistant resume, consider adding a section to accommodate it.

Some additional sections to consider including are:

• Awards and honors
• Publications
• Noteworthy Projects
• Social Media Influence
• Speaking Engagements
• Hobbies/Interests
• Volunteer Work

What If You Have No Experience to Include on Your Certified Nursing Assistant Resume?

Becoming a CNA often means that you might not have prior experience in the medical field in general or this position specifically.

When this occurs, there are ways to tailor your certified nursing assistant resume to your needs and still land an interview.

Start by moving your education section to a more primary location below your summary.

Add more details to your education, if possible.

Did you graduate with a high GPA?

Did you earn additional honors, awards, or take specific unrequired courses that would improve your abilities as a CNA?

Adding extra details to this section shows a hiring manager that, despite a lack of CNA-specific experience, you are ready to work.

Also, consider adding in any additional sections to include internships, volunteer work, or experience related to caretaking.

Including experience, even if it wasn’t paid, shows companies that you are ahead of the curve for entry-level candidates.

Short and simple

Keep your certified nursing assistant resume concise and to the point. While it is important to be detailed, make sure that you are narrowing things down so that you can fit everything on one page. A two-page resume could very well get thrown out just for that detail alone.

Check your work

Make sure that you are taking the time to read over your resume (more than once) to ensure that you didn’t miss any typos or awkward sentences. If you have a friend who can read it over for you, even better.

Tailor-made

If you are responding to a job posting, always look for the skills and qualifications they have listed. Include those specific details in your own certified nursing assistant resume so that they know right away you are a good fit.

Don’t forget the time

If you are writing about a current job, make sure that you don’t write your description in past-tense, and if you are writing about a job that has ended, don’t write about it in the present tense. Keep things consistent and pay attention.

No “I” or “me” in CNA

Don’t include the words “I” or “me” in your certified nursing assistant resume. Even though you are talking about yourself, these words sound awkward to your reader.

Keep it simple

Don’t try to stand out by including a flashy font or by trying to incorporate a hard-to-follow format. Keep things straightforward and easy to follow.

(See below for a helpful table of some suggested power words.)

Power Words

• Administered
• Founded
• Adept
• Formulated
• Built
• Implemented
• Created
• Improved
• Consolidated
• Initiated
• Coordinated
• Launched
• Developed
• Pioneered
• Designed
• Organized

Skills List