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4 More Resume Strategies for Healthcare Professionals

Written by: Lisa A. Burke
Published on: Aug 13, 2020
Category:

4 More Resume Strategies

Continuing from our previous article, we review 4 more of the best strategies with regard to resume preparation so that your resume will best highlight your qualifications for a healthcare job.

4 More Strategies for Resume Preparation

The four steps below can greatly enhance the marketability of your résumé to potential healthcare employers.

1. Remove clutter

Aside from using bullet points and concise sentences, use a standard font and type size (most commonly Arial or Times New Roman with 12 pt), bold job titles, 1.5 spacing between sections of one heading (e.g. the bullet points under Job Experience) and double spacing between headings (e.g. from Employment Experience to Education).

a. Parentheses: these are typically used for employment dates. Rather than insert these marks, italicize dates of employment.

b. Omit such articles as “a,” “an,” and “the.” In most cases, résumés are not prepared will full sentences. Concise sentences have come to be accepted by employers as they make it easier to capture essential information.

c. “References available upon request” is optional. This statement most often signals the end of the resume and is optional because it is assumed that you will provide references if you are being seriously considered for the role.

2. Omit the word “Responsibilities”

Eliminate such terms as “Responsibilities included” or “Duties performed.” Your résumé should be focused on your relevant accomplishments not your past job duties. A list of job duties is not an effective marketing strategy while accomplishments sell your candidacy as they reflect the degree of success you achieved in prior employment and the benefits you can bring to the new company. It’s also a good idea to switch up the list of accomplishments based on role applied to. For example, if you are applying to a nurse supervisor role, you want to highlight your relevant background as a leader in the first two or three bullet points.

Resume and Pen

3. Limit the number of jobs you list. Commonly accepted practice is to go back no more than ten years with regard to employment experience. Unfortunately, age discrimination does exist, along with the fact that employers may think your salary demands will be too high if you list extensive professional experience. You also want to omit the date of your college graduation if it was more than 10 years ago.

4. Spell Check: Perhaps this is a given, but it bears repeating since spelling and grammatical errors can end of your candidacy very quickly. Don’t rely only on your computer’s spell check as it cannot pick-up many common errors (e.g. mistakes between “their” and “there”). The most effective strategy is to have a second pair of eyes review your résumé to ensure it is error-free.

Resumes are the first impression an employer will have of you. Since first impressions are lasting, it’s critical to ensure that your resume attractively highlights your relevant background and qualifications. This article discusses several strategies you can employ to ensure that your resume is viewed favorably by employers so that you are granted an interview.

For some great tips on interview strategy click here