New Grad Nursing (RN) Resume

Landing the first job in any occupation is more challenging than moving to a new workplace having prior experience. For new grad nurses, years of education and a high job outlook is not enough to succeed in the first job search. Success primarily depends on how correctly you compose your job application documents and how well you present your academic and practical achievements. Writing the first resume is no easy task. Most new-grads have no idea how to structure the resume or what recruiters expect to read. In our guide, you will learn how to create a new grad nursing resume to make you a no.1 candidate for the open position. Using our simple tips, you can significantly boost your chances to land your dream job.

The Best New Grad Nursing Resume Format

While the information in your resume is undoubtedly the most important part, don’t underestimate the format’s value. A resume’s first impression on a hiring person defines whether they will be read to the end or skip it. The way you format the entire look of the document tells a lot about your organizational skills, attentiveness, and intelligence. A perfect new grad RN resume format includes:

1. One-page size.
2. Minimum 1-inch margin from each side.
3. Decent line spacing (not less than 1.15).
4. A header with your contact information.
5. Clearly separated sections for personal details, summary, education, experience, and skills (add an extra space before each section).
6. Bullet points to list achievements during education, describing work experience and skills.
7. 11 - 14pt font size.
8. Readable font types like Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, etc.
9. White background.
10. Contrast colors for text content to ensure readability.
11. Avoid putting a portrait image into your RN resume unless your potential employer requires it.

Using a ready-made resume template from the GetCoverLetter library ensures consistent formatting throughout the document and compliance with all the rules above. All our templates are created to add a professional look to a resume with zero effort from your side.

New Grad Nursing Resume Template

We highly recommend thinking through your resume’s structure when you go to start writing it. There are 5 primary sections you need to fill out:

1. Personal details
2. Summary
3. Work experience
4. Education
5. Skills

You should follow a specific format for each to keep your resume compact yet informative and give a clear picture of your professional capabilities to the hiring person. Look through the following template to see what details are must-haves for a nursing new grad resume. It is a basic framework that you can adapt to a specific job application:

Let’s go through each section from the template above to give you ideas on how to emphasize your strongest sides in a new grad nurse resume and create a winning job application.

New Grad Nursing Resume Tips & Examples

There are specific standards on how to write a new grad RN resume to make the shortlist of candidates and get invited to an interview. Each word of the resume should bring a sense. You need to avoid any useless phrases, inaccurate expressions, or unprofessional words. To better understand what would be useful to write in a resume, check our tips for each section below.

1. Personal details

Right

Sample

Kylie Stevens
RN
Apuapu St. 196 Kaneohe Hawaii 96744
T: +1-808-932-1194
E: kylie.stevens@mail.com
Ln: linkedin.com/kyliestevens

Wrong

Sample

Kylie Stevens
Apuapu St. 196 Kaneohe
T: +1-808-932-1194
E: kylie_cutie_092@mail.com

At first glance, both samples are OK. However, the wrong block contains a few glaring mistakes:

• There is no position mentioned: recruiters need to see your profession at once, and without it, Automatic Tracking Systems may not recognize your resume as suitable.
• There is no state and zip code in the physical address. If hiring people need to send you some papers, they will need to call you and ask about these missing details. No one likes to put in any extra effort. Always provide the full physical address.
• There is a non-professional email address format. Most recruiters consider it inappropriate and would reject such an application without delving into your experience.

Writing a physical address and links to your social pages or website is optional. However, when applying for medical positions, it is better to mention a physical address, as often recruiters or employers prefer sending a contract or some forms in paper format. As per the links, list only pages with your professional information. They demonstrate your interest in medicine outside of your workplace and can uncover your capabilities better.

2. Summary and Objective

A summary precedes the standard new grad nursing resume objective and gives a better picture of your potential value to an employer. It should be a strong statement describing your best professional sides. Often an objective is included in a summary to tailor a resume to a specific job opening. This way, you show that it is not a bulk application.

The perfect summary should contain:

• Your current profession (a registered nurse)
• Years of experience (for most new-grads it is 1-2 years)
• Your specialization: mention units you worked in (ER, ICU, PACU, OR, etc.)
• Primary responsibilities (aligned with the target job requirements)
• Key achievements, better expressed in figures (success rate, preceptor’s marks, accuracy, patient satisfaction, etc.).

The summary should not exceed 5 lines. Try to outline the best facts from your professional profile in a few lines in this short intro.

Right

Sample

A dedicated RN with 2 years of experience in NICU and PICU units. Performed medical care for premature and low birth-weight babies under the precept’s supervision. Monitored 10+ patients per shift with a 99% accuracy rate for medical records and 95% positive marks from the precept.

Wrong

Sample

Experienced RN, worked as a precept pediatric nurse. I am a detail-oriented, attentive, and passionate professional with excellent feedback from my preceptor. I am looking for an RN position in your hospital to continue with my career.

Often a career objective is included in a summary to tailor a resume to a specific job opening. The objective seems pretty clear: you are looking for a job. But it is not enough to indicate that you just want to get hired. You also need to add a couple of words about how you can be useful to the hiring organization and the patients.

Wrong

Sample

I am looking for an RN position in your hospital.

Right

Sample

Seeking an ER nurse position at St.James Hospital’s NICU unit to perform high-quality medical care for newborns.

3. Work History

Technically, most nursing new grads have no RN work experience, as they cannot start working without getting a license. However, you passed preceptorship and/or clinical rotations during your education. You should include them in the work experience. Such programs usually give a wide range of skills: you perform a decent range of nursing duties under the precept’s supervision or experienced nurses’ control. See how preceptorship is listed in this new grad nursing resume sample:

Right

Sample

Precept Nurse
Saint James Hospital, Denver CO / 2019/10 - 2020/10

• Performed nursing care in an OR unit with 10 beds.
• Monitored and recorded vitals for 5+ patients per shift.
• Scored 99% accuracy rate in medical recordings by internal checks.
• Performed dressing, injections, IV, and other manipulations under the preceptor’s control.
• Ensured patients’ comfort and safety during the post-surgical period.
• Performed patient education.
• Completed preceptorship program with a 97% positive mark.

Wrong

Sample

Precept Nurse
Public Hospital, 2018

• I performed nursing care under the preceptor’s supervision.
• I performed injections, diagnostics, and health records.
• I was highly stress-resistant and patient during my work.
• My preceptor gave me a 90% score.
• I paid much attention to the patient’s comfort.

Reading the wrong sample, a recruiter will have no idea what hospital the candidate worked in and where it is located. It means it will be impossible to call there and enquire any feedback. It is unclear if the person worked the whole 2018 year or started in 2018 and still works there.

Never write your resume in the first or third person. Avoid pronouns. It is understood that everything in your resume is about you and your experience. Writing about your past jobs, be maximally precise in describing what exactly you did and how you succeeded. If some non-nursing past job relates to the employer’s requirements, mention it in your past jobs. For instance, a nanny experience for a pediatric nurse will be a plus.

4. Education

The education section should contain information about your degree, major, college, or university where you studied. Include your license number and the RN licensing program’s name, relevant certifications, and other achievements during your study related to your future career.

Right

Sample

Bachelor of Science
UAA School of Nursing, University of Alaska Anchorage - Nursing
2015/09 - 2019/07

• Excellent inpatient care and post-operational recovery coursework.
• Red Cross volunteer.

Registered Nurse

Alaska Board of Nursing, License #92283362

Wrong

Sample

Bachelor of Science
UAA School of Nursing

• Winner of Annual Students Olympiad.
• Good in anatomy, virology, and chemistry.
• Got a nursing license.

The second new grad nursing resume example misses important details and contains irrelevant facts.

5. Skills

Your resume's skills section is a great place to list your personal and professional qualities that help you succeed in the nursing job. While you cannot boast a long track record of past employment, do your best to create an effective skillset that corresponds to the employer’s expectations. Here is the list of most wanted new grad nursing resume skills:

• Proficiency with EMR software
• Urgent care
• Emergency care
• Patient safety
• Patient and family education
• Time management
• Multi-tasking
• Effective communication
• Critical thinking
• Problem-solving
• Empathy
• Compassion
• Attention to detail
• Stress-resistance
• Physical fitness
• Cultural awareness

When filling the Skills resume section, always ask yourself how this or that skill helps perform your nursing duties. Avoid adding good qualities you have if they don’t weigh your professional capabilities. To help your resume pass the ATS check, your skills in a resume should coincide with the ones from your target job requirements. List about 10 of your best hard and soft skills that match the job requirements.

New Grad RN Resume Sample

To sum up this tutorial and get some inspiration, check the sample new grad nursing resume that utilizes all the tips from above:

Final Thoughts

While getting the first job after graduation can be challenging, you can boost your chances of winning the desired position by preparing an impressive new grad resume. Employers who accept recent grads and entry-level specialists realize the lack of practical experience and evaluate candidates’ education, skills, and preceptorship results. The best way to qualify for the open position is to prepare a decent presentation of these details in your resume, according to the industry’s standards and demands. To keep the correct order of things and not miss any important points, use our resume builder. It is a very straightforward and time-saving option to build a powerful new grad resume for a successful career start.