Important Things to Quantify on a Healthcare Resume

While there are thousands of articles and books on crafting a great resume, there's no secret formula that works every time. But for a healthcare specialist actively involved in the job hunt, one of the keys to success is understanding how to quantify your experience, knowledge, and skills on a single sheet of paper. You also need to understand which areas to highlight, depending on your level and what healthcare career path you are traveling.

According to a CareerBuilder survey, 53 percent of employers will be hiring college graduates in 2013, and the percentage is likely higher for employers in specialty fields like medicine. Any doctor, nurse, or other healthcare specialist should ensure that all appropriate degrees are listed on a resume, but recent grads should also use education as a way to quantify knowledge and experience. Make sure to include volunteerism, internships, and any part-time work that applies to your chosen field. Employers want someone who has the right degree but who can also hit the ground running and be useful immediately.

No matter where you are in your career path, make sure your resume displays an in-depth knowledge of your niche. Healthcare specialists in biotech are going to have very different resumes than those in surgical or other fields. Use niche-related words in your resume, but make sure nonspecialist HR and recruiting staff will be able to understand the majority of your listings. Don't just throw your vocabulary around. Instead look at each item you list, asking yourself if you can use a more specific word in that bullet point or paragraph.

Another important thing to highlight for any healthcare career is accomplishment. It's one thing to list your nursing skills, but what have you done with those skills? As a healthcare specialist, have you been part of a project or team? Accomplishments might include working to develop new procedures or technology, participating on a hospital-based team that brought down error rates or increased survivorship, or mastering a new technical skill. If you have relevant statistics that demonstrate your accomplishments, include them. Don't just list things you've done, but think about your accomplishments in terms of benefits to a prospective employer. How will your experience help an employer provide better patient care or compete with other organizations in the medical field?

Make sure to highlight secondary skills that may be relevant to your job as a healthcare specialist, especially if you are seeking a promotion. The ability to manage people, participate in grant writing, research, teach, or work with regulatory bodies are important skills for healthcare management, administration, and other high-ranking occupations. Choose secondary skills that would be most beneficial for the job you are seeking and include them throughout your resume.

There is no formula for a perfect healthcare specialist resume. A good resume tells a story about your professional past; make sure you make the story interesting and pertinent to the organization where you are applying. If necessary, tweak your resume for each application, but always be honest and professional.

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