A nurse manager position is a demanding and challenging position in medical facilities. If you are applying to be a nurse manager, you must show your abilities to be a leader since you will be required to supervise and handle various management issues. The best way for you to highlight your professional aspects is by writing a resume.
A nurse manager’s resume is an official document that you should prepare to share your qualifications, experiences, skills, and other relevant information concerning your abilities as a nurse manager. Whether you are an experienced or an entry-level job candidate, this document is required as it is meant to easily communicate the reasons that make you unique and suitable for the nurse manager position.
Since nurse managers are an essential part of the healthcare system, they earn an average of $85,000 to $90,000 per year. However, this amount varies from State to State in the USA. To land such a well-paying position, you must craft an impressive resume. With this article, you can easily prepare an effective and job-winning resume by observing the mentioned practices and including the required information
Role of a Nurse Manager
A nurse manager is an essential position in the health care setting. A nurse manager must oversee and supervise all nurses to guarantee the staff’s satisfaction. From dealing with asset and resource allocation to financial management, a nurse manager must ensure that the nursing unit is properly functioning. In addition, they are tasked with staffing, gauging service quality, budgeting, and guaranteeing patient satisfaction.
Use the Best Format for a Nurse Manager Resume
Remember to use the standard format healthcare professionals use when writing your resume. In your resume, the content alone is not enough to entice a hiring manager to read it. You also must select a proper format that highlights your content appealingly and professionally.
Your nurse manager’s resume must include key elements such as resume objective, work experience and achievements, education, licenses and certifications, skills, and contact information. If you include any other details besides those mentioned, always confirm that the information is relevant to the position. In addition, you can include extra sections in your resume while maintaining the proper format, such as spoken languages, internships, volunteer/charity work, and notable seminars or conferences.
Did you know? The job title indicated on your resume must match the application for the role. Also, if you are an entry-level nurse manager with little to no work experience, focus more on your skills and your education by including the classes you took in school that are relevant to the role.
Writing Guide to Making a Nurse Manager Resume
Below is a guide you should use when crafting your nurse manager resume. The sections provided here align with the professional format you should use for a resume. With these details in your resume, you will have an appealing and effective resume for the nurse manager job.
Add contact information
Start writing your resume by adding your contact information. Your contact details should include the following:
- Full name: You must use the most prominent font to write your full official name at or near the top of your resume.
- Address: You can include your city and state details while avoiding your street name or house number.
- Email address: You should include a professional email for job searching. This makes it easier for communication to happen between you and your potential employer.
- Social media: It is essential to include your social media accounts, such as LinkedIn, as employers use them to learn more about you and your skill set.
For example:
Lois Clara
claralois@gmail.com * Entering, RE 01917 * https//linkedin.com/Lois
Write a resume objective/summary
The next step is to write either a resume objective or a summary that captures the hiring manager’s attention. A resume objective is a 2 to 3 sentences paragraph that informs the recruiter why you have applied for the job position.
In the resume objective, you should focus on the following:
- Where have you been as a nurse manager
- Where you intend to go as far as your career is concerned (career goals)
- The ambitions you have as a job candidate
Using a resume objective in your document is advisable if you are an entry-level job candidate or if the job you are applying for is a senior role compared to your current role.
For example:
Recently graduated nurse manager with proficiency in hospice care and palliative medicine. Through education, training, and internships, the goal is to improve the quality of life for people while making it easier for their caregivers with advanced and life-limiting illnesses. With the technology at your company, providing hospice care will focus more on treating the person and managing the symptoms of the disease without compromising the care, comfort, and dignity of the patient.
On the other hand, a resume summary is a 2 or 3 sentences paragraph that briefly explains who you are and what you intend to bring to the company or institution if hired. You must include your job title, years of experience (especially if it is more than three years), and one impressive accomplishment that will grab the reader’s attention. If you still have space in this section, you can include skills and experiences that are relevant to the job position.
For example:
Dedicated and target-oriented nurse manager with seven years of experience overseeing the nursing staff and ensuring patient comfort. Excellent when it comes to administrative duties, which improved communication among the nurses by 13%. Willing to work closely and as a team with the nursing staff to ensure that the proper medical procedures and processes are observed for patient satisfaction.
Enlist your nurse manager experience
Once you have the recruiter’s attention, proceed to enlist your experience. This is the most crucial section, as the recruiter will be interested in you if you are known as a nurse manager. Therefore, you should highlight your work experience from the most recent to the oldest.
For this section:
- Ensure you list your job or title at the top of each job entry.
- Proceed to include the details of your previous employer, such as company name, location, etc. This information should be brief and will provide the job recruiter with a basis for your work experience.
- Use bullet points to list your work experience entry, which should include achievements and responsibilities at your previous job.
Use complex numbers such as percentages and dollar figures when highlighting your achievements. This makes it more convincing and appealing to the hiring manager. Also, ensure that the work experience you include is relevant to the nurse manager position. You can use the keywords in the job description to make each bullet point more relevant.
For example:
Nurse Manager
La Bearing Medical Centre
- Trained new nurses and internees, which improved the delivery of nursing services and patient care quality
- Supervised 20+ nursing staff members for emergency and trauma cases on weekends
- Implemented better and streamlined protocol among the nurses, which improved patient satisfaction by over 45%
Note: When highlighting your work experience as a nurse manager, ensure that you portray your personality as empathetic and caring. You can achieve this by including any volunteer work you may have done, whether in the nursing field or not. Such traits are needed for a nurse manager position, and you must portray yourself as someone who can diligently care for patients. This personality aspect will increase your chances of getting an interview.
Highlight your educational background
For the education section, ensure that you include the following:
- School’s name, that is, the name of the university
- Your graduation date (month, year, or just the year)
- Name of your degree
You can also choose to include the following details in your education section:
- Academic awards
- GPA (if it is 3.5 and above)
- Extra certifications
- Academic projects such as thesis or dissertation
Note: When listing your education details, do not include the graduation date if you graduated more than 15 years ago to avoid age discrimination.
For example:
Bachelor’s in Science in Nursing (BSN)
Upper Hill University
Come Again, OW 120367
2016-2020
Graduated with a 3.7 GPA
Tip: As a recent graduate, ensure your education section is well-detailed and placed above your experience section. If you are a professional with lots of experience, make your education and experience sections shorter. It is essential to use the reverse-chronological order when listing your education details. That way, the hiring manager will spot your high-ranking and most recent degrees. If you are a job candidate still in school and yet to graduate, you can include the phrase “Expected graduation date” in your education section entry.
Highlight your hard and soft skills
The following section should be your hard and soft skills. Your skill set is essential as it will help the hiring manager decide whether to consider you. Ensure you list the most relevant skill set depending on the job description. However, you must not include a skill you do not have, even if it is mentioned in the job description.
When writing this skill section, ensure that you:
- Include about 6 to 12 skills in bullet point form with more hard skills than soft skills.
- List and emphasize the essential skills for the nurse manager job
When it comes to hard skills, it is about showing the manager you have the required knowledge to be a nurse manager.
Here are a few examples of hard skills:
- Excellent clinical skills
- Clinical programs and assisting clinical staff
- Advanced cardiac life support
- Quality improvement
- Critical care / Acute care
- Utilization management
- Case management
- Computer skills
- Electronic medical records
- Quality improvement initiatives
- Interdisciplinary team skills
- Patient education and general patient care
- Experience working in a clinical environment
- Disease processes
On the other hand, soft skills are those transferrable skills that represent your personality. They are essential as they determine if you are a good person who can work alongside others and manage such a leadership position.
They include:
- Diligence
- Punctuality and reliability
- Interpersonal skills
- Ability to act as a patient advocate
- Team building and staff development skills
- Management skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Empathy
Include awards and certification section
It is essential to include your honors, awards, and certifications in the resume. This section informs your potential employer that you have an excellent career. For this section, you should mention the award you received and the skills that helped you achieve it. Such details should be backed up with hard numbers and statistics to show the hiring manager that you are a result-oriented individual.
This section is meant to add credibility to your resume. You can even access your former employer, supervisor, or colleague to access the numbers that helped you win that award, honor, or certification. Ensure that this section is also relevant to the nurse manager position you are applying for. However, do not list every minor detail, as this will make your resume too lengthy.
Some examples of awards and honors concerning a nurse manager include:
- Awarded scholarships
- Receiving leadership or mentorship awards
- ‘Employee of the Month’ award
- Any academic achievement awards
- Being on the Dean’s list of honor roll
- Receiving a research grant for your research project at the university
With this final section, take your time to boast about your character. For example: explain how your diligence or proper time management skills helped you become the nurse of the month. This section summarizes the professional and personal details that make you a great nurse manager and the perfect candidate for the job.
For example:
November 2021 ‘Nurse of the Month Award
- Through team building and staff training, the nursing staff was able to provide exemplary direct patient care, hence reducing the waiting time by 29%
- Based on my disease processes skills, I helped to identify COVID-19 patients quickly, hence, preventing the further spread of infection
Free Templates of a Nurse Manager Resume
As a job candidate applying for the nurse manager position, you must include a resume with your application document. The idea is to ensure that you stand out among other candidates while increasing your chances of landing an interview. That means you need to write an appropriately detailed and structured resume. You can achieve this by using a resume template.
With a nurse manager’s resume template, you can save time, include all the required information, and have an appealing structure for your resume. This website allows you to access free downloadable, easy-to-use, customizable resume templates for a nurse manager position. These templates will guide your resume writing and make the entire writing process more manageable.
Do’s and Don’ts to Consider for a Job-Winning Resume
There are do’s and don’ts that you need to consider if you wish to prepare a professional and job-winning resume. They include the following:
Do’s
Here is what you should do when writing a resume for the nurse manager position:
Carefully read the job description
Ensure that you read through the job posting before writing your resume. This enables you to spot those specific requirements your potential employer is looking for in a nurse manager. That means you are more likely to be considered if you incorporate the requirements mentioned in the job description in your resume.
Use bullet points
To break the monotony of your content, ensure that you use bullet points in your resume. This makes it easier for the hiring manager to spot essential details about your qualifications as a nurse manager. Also, having compelling bullet points regarding your roles and responsibilities helps to create a good impression on the hiring manager. You can do this by including hard numbers and quantifiable results.
Use keywords from the job description
For your resume to check out all the application boxes, ensure that you use keywords provided in the job description. Terms such as patient care should be incorporated when writing about your skills and work experience so that your resume matches what your potential employer is looking for. You must review the job description to find the keywords to increase the chances of your resume passing the initial screening process. With such keywords, you will significantly increase your chances of getting the job as your resume will reach the hiring manager.
Create an ATS-friendly resume
Finally, ensure that your resume is ATS-friendly. An ATS is software employers use to go through the various applications submitted by applicants and select the most relevant ones. That means your resume should be written in an ATS-friendly manner to ensure it gets past the ATS screening process. You can create an ATS-friendly resume using keywords in the job posting.
Don’ts
On the other hand, do not do the following if you want to write a professional and job-winning nurse manager’s resume:
Do not give references
Do not give references in your resume as a nursing manager. The nursing world agrees that references are not required during this initial screening stage. However, the hiring manager might request references from you after they have reviewed your resume and are interested in knowing more about you.
Do not cram everything into one page
Do not try and include every single detail on one page. Cramming everything, shrinking margins, and reducing the font size to ensure you fit every detail into one page will make your resume hard to read. It is better to go for a two-page resume than to make a wrong first impression with a hard-to-read resume.
Avoid using fancy fonts and blocks
When writing your resume, do not use fancy fonts as they are challenging to read compared to conventional fonts, such as Times New Roman. Also, using giant blocks of text instead of splitting your content into sections and bullet points will make your resume dull and unattractive. Instead, you need to use a format and structure that will interest the hiring manager in reading your resume.
Frequently Asked Questions
When writing an entry-level nurse manager resume, you should focus on your volunteer work, training, and experience from your internship to show your management ability. This is because you lack direct work experience as a nurse manager.
A nurse manager’s resume should be one page long, especially if you are an entry-level nurse manager. However, if you have a lot of experience, you can use a two-page resume format.
The best way to list your certifications in your resume is by creating a separate section or listing them using bullet points under the education section. Certifications may include CPR, first aid, RN, LPN/LVN, and other critical medical specializations. Therefore, it is vital to list them in reverse-chronological order.
For your accomplishments, focus on the successes you have had in your previous workplaces. Ensure that the items you list as accomplishments are exceptional actions that led to great success. For example, replacing equipment and resources to improve the quality of surgery can be considered an accomplishment. Accomplishments are also situations where you exceed the expectations of those around you.
About This Article
