Best Practices For Building A Stand Out Clinician Resume

Applying to open roles on LinkedIn, Indeed, PracticeMatch and other job boards can be a time-consuming and stressful process for those in healthcare. However, having a well structured resume can set you apart and up for success when looking for employment opportunities in-person or remote. 

According to The Ladders Eye-Tracking Study, an employer looks at a resume for an average of seven seconds. That means you have seven seconds to either catch or lose an employer's attention. Additionally, employers don’t want to scroll through multiple pages of text to get to the essential information, that’s why it’s so important that your resume is clear, concise and tailored to the job you are applying for.  

Competition is tough when applying for a job in the healthcare industry. While telemedicine is relatively new, the application process is largely the same. In this blog, we’ll equip you with the knowledge, foundations and template to make your resume stand out above the rest. 

Resume best practices

“Above the fold”

A resume is made up of many parts but what is placed above the fold should always house the most important information. Unlike other fields, resumes in the healthcare industry demand a much simpler appearance and highly-specialized information. The first things an employer should see “above the fold” is your name, contact information, work experience, education and licensure/credentialing.

Keep it short and concise

Your resume should be one to two pages in length depending on your level of experience. Anything longer than that is going to be thrown away or not fully read. Remember, you only get seven seconds to impress.  

The most relevant experience first

It is important to keep a master list of all jobs, but pick and choose the experiences that are most relevant to the job you are applying for. An employer looking for a cardiovascular nurse practitioner doesn’t need to know that you taught swimming lessons in high school. 

When describing each of your experiences, highlight your relevant duties for each position and quantify your results or impact when possible. For example, instead of stating that you analyzed diagnostic test results say, “20 diagnostic tests analyzed a week.”

Education 

In reverse chronological order, state your degree earned, institution name and graduation date; if you graduated within the last three years. No need to list your GPA, instead highlight your honors and any continuing or online education.

Certification and licensure

An employer will need to verify your licensure through a credentialing process; without your full and correct name they are unable to do this. First name, middle initial, last name (maiden name if applicable). If you have a preferred name/nickname, inform them when meeting face-to-face. List all active licenses or certifications including the license number and the state it is issued.

Skills and additional information

While relevant; publications, presentations, skills, languages and rotations should be located below the fold. 

When you get to this portion of your resumé, review the job description and tailor your skills to the job you are applying. The requirements may vary between in-person and virtual care. Highlight both hard and soft skills such as; communication, remote clinical evaluations and video technology.

Make it easy to read

Avoid repetition, buzz-words, possessive pronouns and fancy fonts, this makes your resume look cluttered and unprofessional. The formatting should be consistent—follow the same spacing, indentations and bullets throughout the document. 

How to format:

• 0.5 inch margin or greater

• 1.15 point line spacing

• 11 point font

• Basic modern font styles such as:

  • Arial

  • Calibri 

  • Helvetica

Most importantly, keep your resume current. You may be adjusting your resume to each job, so be sure to check, double-check and triple-check. This is to prevent overlapping or irrelevant information and to make sure there are no errors.

Download template

What you name it matters

Last but not least, properly name your document (i.e. johndoe_resume), then convert your document into a PDF. This ensures easy accessibility and decreases the chances of an application error. 

This is important because some employers use an applicant tracking system (ATS) before even looking at a resume. ATS is a software application that helps employers organize candidates for hiring and recruiting purposes. An employer enters in specific job criteria for ATS to collect and scan for criteria such as:

• Board certification

• State licensure

• Years of experience

• Doctor of Medicine (MD) or 

• Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) 

Things to ditch

Above we gave you the tips and tricks you SHOULD include. In this next section, these are the common practices you should avoid when building your clinician resume.

The summary or objective statement

Just about every resume has a summary or objective statement these days—throw it in the trash. It takes up useful space and is repetitive. Your potential employer is not interested in reading a long summary. Instead, they want to be able to skim over your resume and find what they are looking for easily. 

Cover letters and references

Skip the unnecessary content such as a cover letter and “references available upon request”. If an employer is interested in you, he or she will assume you have them readily available and ask you for these documents (no need to state the obvious). 

Personal information

Whether you are introverted, extroverted or enjoy puzzles. This information is irrelevant to your employer during the hiring process. No need to waste limited space for unrelated facts. Always keep personal information like this out of your resume:

• Date of birth

• Ethnicity

• Nationality

• Religion

• Sexuality

• Political leanings

• Vaccination status

Note: An employer is not able to request proof of a vaccination card.

Powering patient care for clinicians  

Looking to put your resume to the test? OpenLoop, thoughtfully pairs leading clinicians with innovative healthcare organizations  providing virtual and in-person care in all 50 states. Our easy-to-use technology was designed with clinicians top-of-mind for seamless scheduling, efficient visits and note charting.  With over 6,000+ providers already in our clinician network, you’ll be in good company and able to tap into the OpenLoop advantage with:

• Nationwide connections

• Expansive patient network

• Sync & async options

• Flexible scheduling

• Competitive pay

• Work/life balance

Interested in expanding your reach as a provider? Apply to our clinician network!