How to Write a CNA Resume
Your resume has one purpose: to get you interviews for the CNA job you want. You can ensure your resume serves that purpose if you focus on your most relevant skills and display them as clearly as possible. The section-specific tips below will help you give your resume the focus and clarity it needs to move your CNA job search forward.
1. Write a dynamic profile summarizing your qualifications
A strong Profile section draws the hiring manager’s attention, first and foremost, to your unique strengths. Use this section of your resume to briefly describe your overall experience and record of success. Also, consider using it to mention your communication style or other soft skills. For instance, the role of a CNA is often collaborative, working closely with RNs, LPNs, hospitalists, and other healthcare professionals. If this describes your CNA experience, consider developing collaboration as a key theme in your Profile.
(Note, it’s usually easier to write your Profile after you’ve built the other sections of your resume.)
Entry-Level Profile Example
Patient-focused CNA with 3+ years of experience. Recognized for strong empathy, diligence, and efficiency in helping patients carry out various ADLs. Naturally curious and committed to gaining and applying new healthcare expertise.
Senior-Level Profile Example
Lead CNA with 10+ years of experience delivering patient-centered care in high-volume surgical and intensive care units. Equally effective in a leadership or hands-on role. Recognized for treating patients with dignity and compassion while providing emotional support to family members. Adapt readily to new work challenges and conditions.
2. Add a results-driven professional experience section
It is important to note that each of the duties of a CNA contributes to the recovery of your patients, and the long-term success of your healthcare facility. Speak to that broader impact in your job descriptions. You’ll strengthen your resume and give the hiring manager a more accurate account of your work’s depth and influence.
When describing your work results, try to quantify them in terms of a specific number, ranking, or percentage. For instance, did you earn a high satisfaction rating from patients? Or assist a certain number of patients per day or week? Or rank high on your team for efficient or accurate health documentation?
Even if you can’t recall examples or data to quantify a work area, that doesn’t mean you have to word it as a basic duty. You can always state the general, intended result or value of the responsibility in question. Try simply adding the phrase “in order to” at the end of the duty statement, then jotting down whatever general purposes or outcomes you think of (and then delete “in order” from your final resume for brevity).
Entry-Level Professional Experience Example
— Achieved patient satisfaction ratings of 90%-95%
— Praised for diligent compliance with Covid-19 safety and infection prevention protocols
Mid-Career Professional Experience Example
— Assist therapeutic exercises during rehab to improve patients’ range of motion following major orthopedic surgeries
— Identified opportunities to enhance clinical operations and supported efforts to reduce patient wait times by 15%
3. Include relevant education and certifications
Your degree and certification are the basis for your CNA work experience and deserve a prominent spot on your resume. List each credential in a separate section right below your Experience section, and apply similar formatting. For instance, if in your Experience section you’ve italicized employer names, also italicize the school names appearing in your Education section.
Below, you’ll find templates and examples to help you format your education and certification details:
Education
Template:
[Degree or Program Name], [School Name], [City, ST] | [Year – optional]
Example:
Nurse Aide Training Program, Lackawanna College, Scranton, PA | 2017
Certification
Template:
[Certification Name], [Awarding Organization] | [Year – optional]
Example:
Registered Nurse Aide, Pennsylvania Nurse Aide Registry
4. List relevant key skills and proficiencies
You can give your resume a big boost by adding keywords. That’s because most hospitals and other healthcare employers now use an applicant tracking system (ATS), which scans each submitted resume for keywords relevant to the job opening at hand. When the ATS finds a resume with many relevant keywords, it flags the document for the hiring manager.
Add a keyword-rich Skills or Expertise section to make your resume ATS-friendly. In most cases, you should add this section right below your Profile summary, as in the resume examples on this page. Here are some common keywords for CNA resumes:
| Key Skills and Proficiencies | |
|---|---|
| Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) | Assistive Devices |
| Basic Life Support (BLS) | Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) |
| Clinical Operations | Cross-Functional Collaboration |
| Disease & Infection Prevention | Electronic Health Records (EHR) |
| First Aid | Healthcare Safety Protocols |
| HIPAA | Patient & Family Relations |
| Patient Advocacy | Patient Assessment |
| Patient Mobilization | Patient-Centered Care |
| Phlebotomy | Physical Examinations |
| Physician Support | Vital Signs Monitoring |
How to Pick the Best CNA Resume Template
For CNAs, a straightforward resume template is usually best. Choose a template that lets the hiring manager quickly and easily take in relevant information about you and your background. Your resume template should highlight your career details only and not call undue attention to itself with elaborate visual elements.
CNA Text-Only Resume Templates and Examples
Years of Experience
- Entry-level
- Mid-career
- Senior-level
Sandra Mason
(123) 456-7890 | [email protected] | San Diego, CA 12345 | LinkedIn
Profile
Patient-focused CNA with 3+ years of experience. Recognized for strong empathy, diligence, and efficiency in helping patients carry out various ADLs. Naturally curious and committed to gaining and applying new healthcare expertise.
Key Skills
— Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)
— Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
— Disease & Infection Prevention
— First Aid
— Patient & Family Relations
— Patient Transportation
— Vital Signs Monitoring
Professional Experience
CNA, UC San Diego Health, San Diego, CA | September 2021 to Present
- Deliver compassionate care to patients with acute conditions and injuries
- Ensure optimal patient comfort during bed rest and transport
- Help nursing staff provide wound care and change dressings as needed to improve circulation and reduce risk of infection
- Monitor patients’ pulse, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation level
Highlights:
- Achieved patient satisfaction ratings of 90%-95%
- Praised for diligent compliance with Covid-19 safety and infection prevention protocols
CNA, Maple Grove Nursing Home, San Diego, CA | March 2020 to September 2021
- Assisted patients with ADLs (such as eating, bathing, and toileting) in this long-term care facility with 130 beds
- Monitored patients’ condition and symptoms and reported changes to RN as needed
- Supported medical procedures by providing equipment and positioning patients
- Ensured safe transfer of patients between beds and wheelchairs
Education
Nursing Assistant Training Program, San Diego Medical College, San Diego, CA | 2020
Certification
CNA, California Department of Health
Amy Lovett
(123) 456-7890 | [email protected] | Scranton, PA 12345 | LinkedIn
Profile
CNA with 6+ years of experience delivering quality healthcare services to diverse patients. Ready collaborator who builds positive relationships with RNs, LPNs, hospitalists, and other members of the healthcare team. Bilingual: Fluent in English and Spanish.
Key Skills
- Disease Prevention
- Patient Mobility
- Team Collaboration
- Patient-Centered Care
- Vital Signs Monitoring
Professional Experience
CNA, Community Medical Center, Scranton, PA | March 2020 to Present
- Deliver care to surgical patients in this 300-bed community hospital
- Reduce risk of infection by ensuring compliance with health and safety protocols
- Assist therapeutic exercises during rehab to improve patients’ range of motion following major orthopedic surgeries
- Provide mouth care to patients on life support, monitor vital signs, and alert RNs and physicians of changes in patient condition
Highlight:
- Identified opportunities to enhance clinical operations and supported efforts to reduce patient wait times by 15%
CNA, Geisinger Medical Center, Wilkes-Barre, PA | January 2017 to February 2020
- Assisted oncology and orthopedic patients with various ADLs while offering emotional support
- Retrieved and organized supplies to help nurses dress wounds caused by radiation treatment
- Supported physicians during bone-marrow biopsies by safely repositioning patients and setting up medical equipment
Education
Nurse Aide Training Program, Lackawanna College, Scranton, PA | 2017
Certification
Registered Nurse Aide, Pennsylvania Nurse Aide Registry
Language
Fluency in Spanish
Ashley Brooks
(123) 456-7890 | [email protected] | Atlanta, GA 12345 | LinkedIn
Profile
Lead CNA with 10+ years of experience delivering patient-centered care in high-volume surgical and intensive care units. Equally effective in a leadership or hands-on role. Recognized for treating patients with dignity and compassion while providing emotional support to family members. Adapt readily to new work challenges and conditions.
Key Skills
- Basic Life Support (BLS)
- Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Disease Prevention
- Healthcare Safety Protocols
- Patient-Centered Care
- Team Leadership
Professional Experience
Lead CNA, Emory Healthcare, Atlanta, GA | March 2018 to Present
- Assist surgical ICU patients with ADLs such as bathing, eating, mouth care, and foot care
- Carefully sanitize surfaces and handle hazardous materials to ensure compliance with disease prevention regulations
- Coordinated with RN to supervise and train 15+ CNAs on standard procedures, Covid-19 safety protocols, and patient-centered care standards
CNA, Select Specialty Hospital, Atlanta, GA | January 2013 to February 2018
- Provided compassionate care to patients undergoing hemodialysis and other treatments for chronic renal failure
- Measured and recorded patients’ vital signs in EMR system
- Monitored patients on restricted fluid intake for edema and signs of fluid retention
Education
Nurse Aide Certificate, Atlanta Technical College, Atlanta, GA | 2013
Certification
Registered Nurse Aide, Georgia Nurse Aide Registry
Frequently Asked Questions: CNA Resume Examples and Advice
What are common action verbs for CNA resumes?+
The CNA role typically focuses on monitoring and helping patients while working closely with members of the healthcare team. You can capture these, and your other work areas on your resume by referring to the verbs list below. Consider using any of these as the first word of your bullet points in your resume’s Experience section:
| Action Verbs | |
|---|---|
| Administer | Analyze |
| Collaborate | Communicate |
| Conduct | Coordinate |
| Create | Deliver |
| Develop | Engage |
| Enhance | Evaluate |
| Generate | Identify |
| Implement | Improve |
| Lead | Manage |
| Monitor | Oversee |
| Partner | Perform |
| Provide | Record |
| Resolve | Support |
NOTE: The above verbs are all in the present tense. Use the present tense to describe your current job duties. But use the past tense (e.g., “Generated,” “Improved”) to describe any completed projects or achievements in your current job. Also, use the past tense to describe both duties and achievements in all your previous jobs.
How do you align your resume with a job posting?+
The Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts that jobs for nursing assistants and orderlies will increase by about five percent between 2021 and 2031. This growth rate is roughly the same as the average for all U.S. vocations.
ou can get more interviews in this growing field if you tailor your resume for each job application you send. For example, if the healthcare facility is seeking a CNA with a strong collaborative streak, you may want to highlight that aspect of your experience more prominently in your Profile and Experience sections. Or say the facility has many ESL patients. You may want to highlight your foreign language skills both in your Profile and as a separate section farther down the document.
With adjustments like these, you can make your resume much more relevant to each opportunity in your job search.
What is the best CNA resume format?+
In nearly all cases, you should opt for a Combination or Hybrid resume because they are the easiest for hiring managers to learn about your relevant skills and experience — it’s also easiest for you to modify based on your job goals.
With the Combination format, you highlight your most relevant skills and experience in your Experience or Work History section and an intro section. (This combination of work history and intro content is where the format gets its name.) Your resume intro may take the form of a Profile summary, Key Skills section, and/or Career Highlights section. By carefully choosing the details for these sections, you can (a) position yourself for your target job and (b) give hiring managers a clear, quick view of what you offer them.
Expert Advice: Include a cover letter with your resume
Craft a strong cover letter to increase your chances of landing an interview. The key to optimizing your cover letter is to customize it based on each employer you apply to. Read our Certified Nursing Assistant cover letter guide to learn how. See our Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) and Nursing cover letter guides for other related examples.
