Charge Nurse Resume Example
If you're hoping to start a career as a charge nurse, you'll need experience in supervising nursing staff and managing medical records. A professional resume for charge nurse applications will showcase your relevant skills and career achievements, to help you stand out from the crowd. In this article, we'll highlight tips and examples for creating a charge nurse resume that makes a winning impression on recruiters and hiring managers.
The aim of this article is to equip you with all the knowledge required to create a resume that positions you to succeed in your charge nurse applications. You'll find useful insights on constructing a resume that makes the most of your unique skills, experience and strengths. You'll also learn how to tailor your resume according to the job description, and depending on your experience levels. Read on to learn how to write a perfect charge nurse resume, from the advice of careers experts at Jobseeker.
Main elements of a charge nurse resume
The key sections to include in a charge nurse resume are similar to those for any role or profession.
If you're applying for an entry-level charge nurse role and have limited relevant experience, consider using a skills-based, or functional resume format. The layout emphasizes your skills and education above your work experience. Likewise, an entry-level resume might focus more on soft and transferable skills, as well as details about internships, voluntary work or relevant training you've completed.
Work experience is typically the most important resume section for charge nurse applicants with some prior experience. As such, it's best to use a traditional, reverse-chronological resume format. Use your work experience section to highlight your career achievements and show how you meet the job description. Offer evidence of the impact you had on successful outcomes for the company.
For senior charge nurse applications, concentrate on your work experience and any accolades or achievements that prove your status as a highly experienced candidate. Use a reverse-chronological resume format with additional sections. Senior resumes are often longer than resumes for junior roles. This is because you may choose to include extra sections, such as awards, professional memberships, publications, conferences or certifications on your resume.
You will have some choice over your resume layout and structure, but be sure to include these sections as the core of your document:
Resume Header
Your charge nurse resume header should contain your name and contact details. These include your email address and phone number. If you have a LinkedIn profile, you can also add that, to give employers the chance to learn more about your skills and experience. It's not necessary to include a photo or any other personal information. Be aware of the amount of space your resume header takes up. You don't want your contact details to take space away from the main content of your resume, so keep this section as brief as possible.
Make sure the email address you list in your header is professional-looking and doesn't contain any inappropriate content such as nicknames or unsuitable language. Opt for an email address based on your name or profession, or a combination of both. Finally, check your contact details before sending your resume, to ensure everything's up-to-date.
Kennedy Castillo
kennedy.castillo@example.com
(111) 222 33 444 55
280 South Verde Street, Los Angeles, CA
linkedin․com/in/kennedy–castillo123
Resume Summary
The next section is the resume summary. The section might also be called 'resume objective' or 'personal profile'. This is a brief introduction to you, your key skills and your career achievements and ambitions. While a resume summary focuses on your career achievements and experience, a resume objective typically focuses on your ambitions for the future. Furthermore, when writing your profile, focus on two or three key skills and achievements that showcase your suitability for charge nurse roles.
Alternatively, use this section to emphasize your career objectives and explain how and why this role is a suitable step for you at this stage of your career.
The best resume summaries reflect the job description and focus on qualities that are relevant to working as a charge nurse, while highlighting elements of your personality that make you an ideal candidate. They also quantify the information provided with evidence. You can see some positive examples of a resume summary for charge nurse jobs below.
Good example:
Experienced Charge Nurse with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and a proven background as a Clinical Nurse Manager. Demonstrates strong leadership skills, excels in team coordination, and ensures high standards of patient care. Proficient in managing clinical operations, staff training, and quality assurance to optimize healthcare delivery and foster a collaborative working environment
Bad example:
Nurse with some experience in healthcare and overseeing nursing tasks. Worked in roles where I helped coordinate teams and maintain care standards. Have been involved in managing operations and training staff. Focused on improving healthcare delivery and creating a supportive work environment
On the other hand, an unsuccessful resume summary is one that mentions irrelevant skills, qualities and achievements and fails to differentiate you from other candidates. The graphic above shows some of the pitfalls to avoid when creating your resume summary.
Work Experience
Your resume work experience section is the chance to show your relevant previous jobs and career achievements as a charge nurse. Include any relevant jobs you've held in reverse-chronological order. Start with your current or most recent roles and work back through previous roles. For each job, list your title, the name of the company, its location and the dates you worked there.
Under each job entry, add several bullet points highlighting your responsibilities and achievements. Consult the job description for a list of the key requirements for the role and make sure your work experience section showcases how you meet these requirements.
The best resume work experience sections focus only on the most relevant previous jobs, and link each bullet point back to a skill or experience listed in the job description. It's also critical to provide evidence that shows the value you added to each role in a quantifiable way, such as project outcomes, key performance indicators or feedback from customers, colleagues or managers. See the examples below for some ideas of what a great resume work experience looks like.
Good example:
Clinical Nurse Manager, January 2022 - Present
MedCare Coordination Services, Richmond
- Implemented a comprehensive patient care protocol, reducing hospital-acquired infections by 25% within one year
- Led a multi-disciplinary team to achieve a 90% patient satisfaction rate, consistently exceeding national benchmarks
- Spearheaded staff training programs, resulting in a 30% improvement in clinical skills competency and patient care delivery
Bad example:
Clinical Nurse Manager, January 2022 - Present
MedCare Coordination Services, Richmond
- Improved patient care processes to enhance overall hospital performance and team efficiency
- Led team initiatives to boost patient satisfaction and care quality
- Developed training programs to elevate staff skills and service delivery
See above for some of the pitfalls to avoid with your resume work experience section. A poor resume work experience section would typically use vague descriptions of activities in previous jobs, while focusing too much on responsibilities rather than achievements. Failing to focus on the skills and experience that match the job description is likely to harm your chances of success.
Education and Qualifications
In your education section, include details of your most relevant charge nurse qualifications and educational achievements.
A charge nurse role tends to require candidates to have a university or college degree, so make sure you list yours in your resume. A Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree or similar is the most suitable for this job, but you could also include any other relevant qualifications that show your electronic health records or medication administration proficiency.
For each entry in this section, add the name and level of your qualification, the institution you studied at, its location and your dates of study. You can also add some bullet points outlining any high grades, awards you won or specialist subjects you studied. Adding this information will show the employer your dedication to learning and your areas of specialist knowledge.
Membership or leadership of any societies, clubs or causes while studying can also make a positive impression on hiring managers. Consider adding these to your education section for more insight into how you used your time as a student.
Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), 2017 - 2020
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
Skills
Listing your key skills can help to prove your suitability for charge nurse jobs. These could be medication administration proficiency, EMR proficiency or various other relevant skills. Once more, review the job description and pick out any key charge nurse skills listed that match yours. Focus on these skills and any other key transferable skills that make you a strong candidate for the job.
Highlighting your hard skills
Hard skills are the key technical skills required for charge nurse positions. They include specific industry knowledge and abilities that you could learn on the job, or through a specialist qualification. Furthermore, your list of hard skills provides a strong indication to the reader of your expertise in charge nurse roles, and how well you'll fit into the position. It's best to aim for four or five key hard skills that match the job description. These can really showcase your suitability for the job.
For an effective resume hard skills section, focus on the technical skills that are most essential in the job description, and that match your specific expertise. Some examples of the best hard skills for a charge nurse resume are listed below.
- Clinical nursing expertise
- Patient care coordination
- Electronic health records
Adding soft skills to your charge nurse resume
Soft skills are the personal skills and qualities that make you a good fit for the job. They include transferable skills and strengths that help you settle into the role, adapt to new challenges and build effective working relationships. Indeed, transferable skills are growing in importance in the modern world of work, so make sure you include several of these in your resume. It's best to aim for four or five soft skills that match the job description and reflect your strongest personal qualities.
The strongest resume soft skills sections include a mix of skills that match your best personal strengths, and that reflect the skills listed in the job description. See below for some examples of effective soft skills for a charge nurse resume.
- Leadership and management
- Effective communication skills
- Critical thinking abilities
Certifications and Training
Under this section, list any relevant certifications or licenses that are relevant to charge nurse jobs. You could list accreditations for certain professional roles or licenses for certain activities that help to make you a strong candidate. Therefore, include the details of any licenses and professional certifications required for charge nurse roles, along with completion dates so employers can see you're up-to-date.
Read on to see some relevant example certifications for a charge nurse resume:
- ACLS Certification, 2022
- BLS Certification, 2022
- PALS Certification, 2022
Optional Information
There are several additional sections you could add to a charge nurse resume, to improve your chances of success. Choose any optional sections that showcase essential or desirable skills or experience for charge nurse jobs.
Personal Interests
Adding your hobbies and interests is a legitimate way of showing off your skills and personal qualities. Your hobbies and interests are useful for a charge nurse resume if you want to show a different side to your personality, or to stand out among other candidates. They can also be valuable if you're a junior candidate without much relevant work experience. Think about adding hobbies and interests to your resume if they add some insight into your personality that you can't express elsewhere in your application.
Volunteer Work
Voluntary work can help you develop useful skills, so it's a valuable addition to your charge nurse resume. Add any voluntary roles, including your position, the name of the organization, the dates of your voluntary work and a brief explanation of your responsibilities and achievements.
References
References aren't a standard charge nurse resume section, but employers do sometimes ask for them. Check the job advert and only include them if requested. Only include referees that you've had prior approval from, and notify them to expect contact from the employer.
References can be provided upon request.
Best strong verbs for your a charge nurse resume
Using strong action verbs in your work experience bullet points can make a stronger impression on employers and show the value you added to your previous roles. Choose verbs from the suggestions below that highlight your key skills or those mentioned in the job description.
- Coordinate
- Supervise
- Manage
- Assess
- Implement
- Delegate
- Mentor
- Evaluate
- Facilitate
- Communicate
If you need help creating a resume that impresses HR managers, take a look at Jobseeker's professional resume templates. You can also access beautiful cover letter templates that help your application stand out.
Example resume for charge nurse applications
Using each of the sections above, we've created this example charge nurse resume, to help guide you when creating your own:
280 South Verde Street, Los Angeles, CA
•
kennedy.castillo@example.com
•
(111) 222 33 444 55
•
linkedin․com/in/kennedy–castillo123
Experienced Charge Nurse with a BSN and a proven track record as a Nurse Supervisor. Skilled in patient care management, staff coordination, and healthcare administration. Adept at maintaining high standards of patient care, implementing efficient workflow processes, and ensuring compliance with healthcare regulations. Strong leadership abilities with a focus on team collaboration, professional development, and quality improvement initiatives.
Nurse Supervisor
2020
-2022
Healthcare Horizons Ltd (Seattle)
- Successfully led a team of 50 nurses, improving patient satisfaction scores by 25% over two years
- Implemented a new electronic health record system, reducing documentation errors by 40%
- Spearheaded a staff training program, resulting in a 30% increase in nurse certification rates
Clinical nursing expertise
Patient care coordination
Electronic health records
Leadership and management
Effective communication skills
Critical thinking abilities
ACLS Certification
BLS Certification
English - Fluent
Spanish - B2
Tips for charge nurse resumes
Key tips to help you craft a strong resume
- Mention your key educational achievements, such as degrees and professional qualifications, along with grades such as your GPA, if they're high.
- Include key skills throughout your resume that reflect the job description, and include a dedicated skills section.
- Order your work experience in a reverse-chronological timeline, starting with your most recent position.
- Use strong verbs to help show the actions you've taken in different charge nurse roles (e.g. facilitate, communicate, coordinate).
- Proofread your resume to ensure it's free from spelling and grammar errors. Even minor errors can make a difference to your chances.
Steer clear of these common resume writing errors
- Don't list irrelevant work experience as it will likely do nothing for your chances of success.
- Don't forget to keep your header up-to-date with every application, to make sure you don't include old contact information.
- Don't lie or exaggerate about your charge nurse experience or achievements as it can harm your chances in the long term.
- Don't use passive language because it can switch off the reader. Adapt phrases like 'the work was completed' to 'I completed the work'.
- Don't write any unnecessary personal details on your resume. Details such as age, gender or nationality can lead to unintentional recruitment bias.
Tips on creating an ATS-optimized resume
An applicant tracking system (ATS) is just one of the tools employers and recruiters can use to streamline their hiring practices. This typically includes screening candidates by scanning and ranking their resumes based on their likely suitability for any vacancy. When drafting your charge nurse resume, there are a few guidelines to follow to give you the best chance of passing the ATS screening stage and progressing with your application.
Follow these simple rules when writing your resume, to make sure it's ATS compliant:
- Use a traditional resume layout, such as a reverse-chronological or functional format. This will mean your resume includes all the necessary sections, in the expected order.
- Use of job description keywords throughout your resume will help it rank higher in the ATS scanning stage, as it will more closely match the requirements laid out in the job description.
- Include clear headings that make it easy to identify each section of your resume. This will help any ATS software navigate your resume during the scanning process.
- Adopt a resume design that uses clear, professional design principles and leaves white space for your content to breathe. Use the most readable fonts and incorporate subtle design elements to enhance the readability of your document.
- Use simple, concise language to keep your resume to a maximum of one to two pages in length. This will make it easier for ATS software to read.
For tips and ideas to help you draft a professional resume to get noticed by employers, read our expert career articles and check out our detailed resume examples.
Frequently Asked Questions for a charge nurse resume
Now that you know how to write a professional charge nurse resume, you might also want to learn how to write an accompanying cover letter that makes a similar impact.
Firstly, choose whether you're going to write a full cover letter, or whether a brief email confirming your application and drawing attention to your resume will be sufficient.
For a full, traditional cover letter, follow formal letter-writing conventions with your header, address line and greetings. The main text of the letter tends to be split into three short paragraphs. Firstly, introduce yourself, confirm the role you're applying for and explain why you're applying for the charge nurse role. In the second paragraph, highlight your skills and experience that are most relevant to the job description. The third paragraph gives you the opportunity to express your enthusiasm for the role and your gratitude to the employer, while leaving a call to action which encourages them to make contact with you.
For help creating an eye-catching cover letter that impresses recruiters and hiring managers, use Jobseeker's professional cover letter templates.
Even if you have little or no relevant work experience, it's still possible to write a charge nurse resume that makes a strong impression on employers. Opt for a skill-based resume format instead of a traditional layout. This places your skills and education in a more prominent position on your resume. Additional resume sections such as volunteer work, hobbies and interests, certifications and internships can all help you showcase your relevant skills. These can be more prominent in your resume if you haven't got a lot of work experience.
You can use a resume headline to introduce your document and set the tone for your charge nurse applications. A well-written resume headline is also a way to increase your chances of passing the ATS resume scanning stage, by referencing keywords that match the job description. Write a few words to set the tone for your resume, including the job title, your experience or track record and one or two key skills that make you stand out.
You can use this example resume headline as a template for creating your own:
- Junior Charge Nurse in Training
- Experienced Charge Nurse Leader
- Experienced Senior Charge Nurse Leader
The best format for your resume depends on two key factors. Firstly, the amount of relevant work experience you have. Secondly, the type of role and its level of seniority. For applicants without much relevant work experience, a functional resume format tends to be best. This places the emphasis on your key skills and relevant qualifications. If, however, you have relevant work experience in the industry, it's typically best to use a reverse chronological resume format. This highlights your achievements in work, which is probably the most important factor for hiring managers to consider.
Key points for your charge nurse resume
An effective resume is a concise, professional summary of your relevant skills and career achievements, showcased through a chronology of your career history. Choose the most suitable resume format for your experience levels, and focus on tailoring your resume based on the requirements listed in the job description.
Jobseeker has a wealth of resume tools, including resume templates and examples, to help you create a winning job application. Sign up today to get started. Jobseeker's expert-designed cover letter generator can help your applications make a strong first impression on hiring managers. Find detailed cover letter examples to complement your resume and get your application noticed.
Sources:
(1) Tips for Writing a Federal Resume, U.S. Department of Labor: https://www.dol.gov/general/jobs/tips-for-writing-a-federal-resume
(2) Resume Tips, Duke University: https://careerhub.students.duke.edu/resources/resume-tips/
