Dietitian Resume Example

This comprehensive guide will give you all the tools you need to craft a dietitian resume that positions you strongly against other candidates. You'll find valuable tips on writing a resume that best showcases your unique skills and achievements. There is also extensive guidance on how to structure your resume to match the job description, and to reflect your experience levels to impress HR specialists and employers. Continue reading to find expert tips and advice from Jobseeker that will help you with your dietitian resume.

What to include in a dietitian resume

The key sections to include in a dietitian resume are similar to those for any role or profession. If you're an entry-level candidate without much work experience, that section may be less prominent in your resume. You may focus instead on sections that showcase your skill set, such as education, projects, hobbies and hard and soft skills lists.

How you choose to present your resume is up to you. There are plenty of options for a professional resume layout and format, but every application should include the following:

Resume Header

A dietitian resume header contains your name and contact information. Add your first and last name, your phone number and your email address. Include your address or location, but avoid adding any other personal information. If you have a LinkedIn profile, you can add the URL to your header so the hiring manager can get a better understanding of your work history and experience. 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.

Only include professional, name-based email addresses in your resume header. If you have an old email address that uses nicknames, puns, references to your personal interests or anything else that could appear unprofessional, set up a new email just for your job applications. Finally, always double-check your contact details are correct and up-to-date before sending your resume.

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. In addition, your objective should highlight why you're an ideal candidate for dietitian roles by showing key skills and qualities that reflect the job description.

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 dietitian, while highlighting elements of your personality that make you an ideal candidate. They also quantify the information provided with evidence. See below for some great examples of what to include in your dietitian resume summary.

Conversely, an ineffective resume summary would include generic, unspecific information on your skills and experience, while failing to provide any useful information on what makes you a unique and interesting candidate. See above for some examples of things to avoid when writing your dietitian resume summary.

Skills

Listing your key skills can help to prove your suitability for dietitian jobs. These could be food safety protocols, teamwork and collaboration or various other relevant skills. Additionally, read the job description to make sure your skills match those required for dietitian positions. You could also include some unique skills that help you stand out as a candidate.

Listing hard skills on your dietitian resume

Hard skills are the key technical skills required for dietitian 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 dietitian roles, and how well you'll fit into the position. If possible, add four or five hard skills that reflect the requirements of the job description. These will boost your chances of success in your applications.

If you want to make a strong impression with your hard skills list, focus on hard skills that align with your specific industry expertise, and that reflect the job description. For inspiration on the right type of hard skills for a dietitian resume, see below.

How to list soft skills on your dietitian resume

Soft skills are your transferable skills and personal qualities that make you a good match for a dietitian position and the organization. Soft skills tend to be more universal than hard skills, and can often apply to multiple jobs and industries. In fact, you can develop soft skills throughout your career, and they tend to be suitable for various roles and professions. You should generally look to include up to five soft or transferable skills that match the job description.

A good soft skills section would include skills that match the job description, and also reflect your key strengths and qualities. See the graphic below for an indication of what to include in a strong soft skills section for a dietitian resume.

Education and Qualifications

Under education, add details of any degrees or professional qualifications relevant to dietitian roles.

If you're applying for dietitian positions you'll typically need to have a degree. A Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics will usually help your chances of success. You could also list any qualifications that demonstrate your medical nutrition therapy or meal planning strategies.

List your relevant qualifications in reverse-chronological order. Add the name and level of the award, the institution, its location (if this isn't obvious from the name) and your dates of study. If you have space, include some bullet points outlining any specialist areas of study, awards or high grades, so the employer can learn more about your unique skill set and knowledge.

Additionally, mentioning any leadership roles or any societies and clubs you participated in while studying shows proactivity and initiative.

Certifications and Training

Your certifications section is the place to mention any relevant professional dietitian certifications, licenses or qualifications. Add any official certifications or accreditations that increase your level of qualification and suitability for working as a dietitian. Therefore, make sure you list the dates of your certifications and licenses so employers can see they're up-to-date and valid.

Below you can find several examples of certifications for a dietitian resume:

Work Experience

Under your work experience section, add any jobs you've had in the past that are relevant to the position of a dietitian. 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.

In addition, include a few bullet points under each job, highlighting your key achievements so the hiring manager can see how they led to successful outcomes. Back up each point with evidence to show how you meet the job description.

A successful resume work experience section will always showcase skills and experience relevant to the job description, and how you put each to good use in your previous roles. Offering quantifiable evidence in a dietitian resume proves you're a strong candidate for the job, such as client feedback, project outcomes, KPIs or financial results. Take a look at the examples below for some guidance on what works best for your work experience section.

The example above can give you some idea of what not to include in your resume work experience section. Poor examples of resume work experience sections tend to be vague and fail to quantify your achievements and the impact you've made in your career to date. They may also focus on responsibilities above relevant skills and how you've used them.

Optional Resume Sections

In addition to the core sections of a dietitian resume, there are several optional sections you could include to enhance your chances. Take a look at the sections below and add any that help you show how and why you're right for the job.

Hobbies and Interests

Hobbies and interests can be a useful way of showing your skills and experience beyond your work and education. These are particularly useful for your resume if you're short of work experience and need to showcase a particular skill or experience. Don't include hobbies and interests in your resume unless they showcase a specific interest or aspect of your personality. You'll want them to add something to your application that you can't add elsewhere.

Voluntary Work

If you're lacking relevant dietitian work experience, volunteer work can help to show you still have the relevant skills. Include the title of your volunteer role, who you volunteered for, as well as the dates you carried out the work. Provide brief details of your responsibilities and the impact you made.

References

It's not typical to include references in a dietitian resume, but some employers might ask for them. Don't add references unless requested by the employer. Before adding any referees to your resume, ask them for their assistance and prepare them for contact by the employer.

Best words to use in a dietitian 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 from the list of words below to make the best possible impression.

Jobseeker's resume templates were created by careers experts to help you produce a professional resume in minutes. You can also find cover letter templates to complete an eye-catching job application that gets you noticed.

Example resume for dietitian applications

Using each of the sections above, we've created this example dietitian resume, to help guide you when creating your own:

Guide to making your resume ATS-friendly

Applicant tracking systems (ATS) are increasingly taking responsibility for the management and processing of job applications, helping hiring practices to become more efficient. This can include screening resumes by scanning and ranking each application according to how closely it matches the job description. When you're writing your dietitian resume, there are several things you can do to make sure your resume stands the best chance of passing the ATS stage.

Follow these guidelines to create the best ATS-friendly resume:

• Adopt a traditional structure for your resume, such as a reverse-chronological format or a functional format. These are likely to be the easiest layouts for ATS software to scan.
• Use keywords throughout your resume that reflect the job description, so ATS resume scanners can recognize a strong connection between your skills, and those in the job description.
• Include clear headings in each section that match the traditional resume structure and format. This will make it easier for the ATS software to scan your resume.
• Utilize a clean, clear resume design that helps make your content more readable. Use simple fonts and subtle color accents and design elements that don't detract from the written content.
• 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.

Takeaways for a winning dietitian resume

The best resumes focus on your skills and the value you've added to previous roles, rather than focusing on your duties and responsibilities. Use a suitable resume format and tailor your resume for every application you submit.

HR-approved resume templates and other tools by Jobseeker are the easiest way to create a winning job application. Sign up and follow the simple instructions to complete a resume that stands out from the crowd. To make the best possible impression with your applications, write a cover letter with the help of Jobseeker. You can also find plenty of expert-designed cover letter examples for inspiration.

Sources:

(1) Writing a Resume, California Department of Human Resources: https://www.calhr.ca.gov/employees/Pages/resume-tips.aspx

(2) Resumes, Cover Letters and Job Applications, New York State Department of Labor: https://dol.ny.gov/resumes-cover-letters-and-job-applications