Crafting a compelling CV can be particularly challenging for nursing students, as they must effectively showcase both their clinical skills and compassionate qualities. Our guide provides clear, step-by-step instructions on how to balance the technical and personal aspects of your CV, ensuring you present yourself as a well-rounded candidate.
- Answer job requirements with your nursing student CV and experience;
- Curate your academic background and certificates, following industry-leading CV examples;
- Select from +10 niche skills to match the ideal candidate profile
- Write a more succinct experience section that consists of all the right details.
Do you need more specific insights into writing your nursing student CV? Our guides focus on unique insights for each individual role:
How complex should the format of your nursing student CV be?
Perhaps, you decided to use a fancy font and plenty of colours to ensure your nursing student CV stands out amongst the pile of other candidate profiles. Alas - this may confuse recruiters. By keeping your format simple and organising your information coherently, you'll ultimately make a better impression. What matters most is your experience, while your CV format should act as complementary thing by:- Presenting the information in a reverse chronological order with the most recent of your jobs first. This is done so that your career history stays organised and is aligned to the role;
- Making it easy for recruiters to get in touch with you by including your contact details in the CV header. Regarding the design of your CV header, include plenty of white space and icons to draw attention to your information. If you're applying for roles in the UK, don't include a photo, as this is considered a bad practice;
- Organising your most important CV sections with consistent colours, plenty of white space, and appropriate margins (2.54 cm). Remember that your CV design should always aim at legibility and to spotlight your key information;
- Writing no more than two pages of your relevant experience. For candidates who are just starting out in the field, we recommend to have an one-page CV.
One more thing about your CV format - you may be worried if your double column CV is Applicant Tracker System (ATS) complaint. In our recent study, we discovered that both single and double-column CVs are ATS-friendly . Most ATSes out there can also read all serif and sans serif fonts. We suggest you go with modern, yet simple, fonts (e.g. Rubik, Lato, Raleway) instead of the classic Times New Roman. You'll want your application to stand out, and many candidates still go for the classics. Finally, you'll have to export your CV. If you're wondering if you should select Doc or PDF, we always advise going with PDF. Your CV in PDF will stay intact and opens easily on every OS, including Mac OS.
PRO TIP
Incorporate a touch of colour in headers or section breaks, but keep it professional and ensure it doesn’t detract from readability, especially in more conservative industries.
The top sections on a nursing student CV
- Education and Qualifications: Showcases nursing-specific academic achievements and knowledge.
- Clinical Experience: Highlights hands-on patient care and relevant ward practices.
- Nursing Skills: Details proficiency in nursing procedures and patient support.
- Professional Registrations: Lists crucial licensing and nursing board memberships.
- Awards and Acknowledgements: Notes recognition for nursing excellence or leadership.
What recruiters value on your CV:
- Highlight clinical rotations and specific skills developed during your nursing education, such as patient care, administering medications, and observing patient confidentiality, to demonstrate your hands-on experience and readiness for practical nursing tasks.
- Include any nursing-related extracurricular activities or memberships in professional organisations like the Royal College of Nursing, which show your dedication and proactive approach to the field.
- Emphasise soft skills like communication, empathy, and teamwork, as they are crucial in nursing for providing quality patient care and collaborating effectively with healthcare professionals.
- Detail any volunteer work or healthcare projects you've participated in, particularly those that have a direct bearing on patient care or community health, to show your commitment to the healthcare sector beyond academic pursuits.
- Ensure your CV is concise, well-structured, and free of jargon, using clear headings for education, licensing, certifications, and professional experience while avoiding overly technical language that might confuse non-medical recruiters.
Recommended reads:
Tips and tricks on writing a job-winning nursing student CV header
The CV header is the space which most recruiters would be referring most often to, in the beginning and end of your application. That is as the CV header includes your contact details, but also a headline and a professional photo. When writing your CV header:
- Double-check your contact details for spelling errors or if you've missed any digits. Also, ensure you've provided your personal details, and not your current work email or telephone number;
- Include your location in the form of the city and country you live in. If you want to be more detailed, you can list your full address to show proximity to your potential work place;
- Don't include your CV photo, if you're applying for roles in the UK or US, as this may bias initial recruiters' assessments;
- Write a professional headline that either integrates the job title, some relevant industry keywords, or your most noteworthy achievement.
In the next part of our guide, we'll provide you with professional CVs that showcase some of the best practices when it comes to writing your headline.
Examples of good CV headlines for nursing student:
- Nursing Student | Acute Care Placement Experience | BSc Nursing Candidate | Infection Control Enthusiast
- Aspiring Paediatric Nurse | Final Year Student Nurse | Volunteer Health Assistant | Passionate about Child Health Advocacy
- Compassionate Nursing Student | Mental Health Placement | Pursuing RGN Status | Advocate for Holistic Care
- Dedicated Student Nurse | Adult Nursing Rotation | Proficient in Patient-Centred Care | BLS Certified
- Future Oncology Nurse | BSc Honours Nursing | Clinical Research Volunteer | Committed to Cancer Care Excellence
- Nursing Undergraduate | Community Health Intern | Aspiring Theatre Nurse | Emergency Care Proficient | ACLS Trained
Choosing your opening statement: a nursing student CV summary or objective
At the top one third of your CV, you have the chance to make a more personable impression on recruiters by selecting between:
- Summary - or those three to five sentences that you use to show your greatest achievements. Use the CV summary if you happen to have plenty of relevant experience and wish to highlight your greatest successes;
- Objective - provides you with up to five sentences to state you career goals and aspirations
CV summaries for a nursing student job:
CV objectives for a nursing student job:
- To leverage my comprehensive understanding of evidence-based nursing practices and exemplary patient care skills to contribute effectively to the healthcare team at St. Maria's Hospital and support the delivery of superior medical services.
- Bringing my strong foundation in clinical procedures, acute patient care, and compassionate communication to enhance the quality of nursing care provided at Health Bridge Medical Center.
- I am eager to apply my in-depth knowledge of pharmacology, patient assessment, and care plan development to streamline patient treatment processes for the elderly at Serenity Retirement Community.
- As a dedicated nursing student with a consistent track record in medical-surgical and pediatric care, I aim to support the outstanding oncology department at the Regional Cancer Center with my technical expertise and empathy.
- Seeking to integrate my solid grasp of advanced nursing concepts, patient education, and interprofessional collaboration into the fast-paced environment of City General Hospital’s emergency department.
- Determined to bring a strong commitment to patient advocacy, ethical medical practice, and continuous learning to the dynamic team of healthcare professionals at Riverside Health System’s Intensive Care Unit.
Writing your CV without professional experience for your first job or when switching industries
There comes a day, when applying for a job, you happen to have no relevant experience, whatsoever. Yet, you're keen on putting your name in the hat. What should you do? Candidates who part-time experience , internships, and volunteer work.
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
If you have received professional endorsements or recommendations for certain skills, especially on platforms like LinkedIn, mention these to add credibility.
Mix and match hard and soft skills across your nursing student CV
Your skill set play an equally valid role as your experience to your application. That is because recruiters are looking for both:
- hard skills or your aptitude in applying particular technologies
- soft skills or your ability to work in a team using your personal skills, e.g. leadership, time management, etc.
Are you wondering how you should include both hard and soft skills across your nursing student CV? Use the:
- skills section to list between ten and twelve technologies that are part of the job requirement (and that you're capable to use);
- strengths and achievements section to detail how you've used particular hard and soft skills that led to great results for you at work;
- summary or objective to spotlight up to three skills that are crucial for the role and how they've helped you optimise your work processes.
One final note - when writing about the skills you have, make sure to match them exactly as they are written in the job ad. Take this precautionary measure to ensure your CV passes the Applicant Tracker System (ATS) assessment.
Top skills for your nursing student CV:
Clinical Skills
Basic Life Support (BLS)
Patient Assessment
Wound Care
Infection Control
Phlebotomy
Medication Administration
Charting and Documentation
Vital Signs Monitoring
Patient Education
Communication
Empathy
Teamwork
Problem-solving
Adaptability
Time Management
Attention to Detail
Resilience
Stress Management
Cultural Competence
PRO TIP
Order your skills based on the relevance to the role you're applying for, ensuring the most pertinent skills catch the employer's attention first.
CV education and certificates: your academic background as proof of your skill set
A common misconception about your nursing student CV education is that you only need it, if you have less professional experience. That is completely false. The CV education section serves to back up your technical (and sometimes personal) capabilities, fill in gaps in your work history, and show you have the initial industry background and know-how. When creating your education section:
- List your degrees in the reverse chronological order, starting with the most recent (and relevant) ones first;
- Include your degree and university names, start and graduation dates. It's optional to also denote you received a "First-Class Honours" for diplomas that are more relevant to the role;
- Curate your relevant university coursework, projects, or thesis work if you happen to have less professional expertise and need to integrate more job keywords and skills.
Your professional qualifications don't need to stop at your academic background. It's advisable to also select up to three of your most noteworthy (and relevant) industry certificates and feature them in a dedicated section. Once more, include the certificate name, the institution that issued it out, and the date you obtained it on. You could feature both hard skills and soft skills certificates, as in the examples below:
PRO TIP
If you have received professional endorsements or recommendations for certain skills, especially on platforms like LinkedIn, mention these to add credibility.
Recommended reads:
Key takeaways
Here are five things you need to remember about writing your nursing student CV for success:
- Sort your experience based on the reverse chronological order, starting with your most recent career items, to showcase how you've grown your career;
- Include within your CV header your relevant contact details, a headline that could spotlight your unique value, and a photo - if you're applying for roles outside the UK or US;
- Decide to use the CV summary, if you happen to have more professional experience, and an objective, if you want to showcase your career goals;
- Within the experience section, write your bullets using action verbs, skills, and success, instead of just merely listing your on-the-job responsibilities;
- Prove your technical skills, using your education and certificates, and your soft skills, with your achievements and strengths sections.
