Check your healthcare assistant CV against the job advert
Healthcare assistant adverts, in the NHS or private hospitals, look for patient care experience, a few clinical skills, and someone who fits a busy team. Here's how to show each one.
Start with your advert
Every healthcare assistant advert is different. The list below is what adverts for this job usually ask for, not what yours does. So start with your advert:
- Read the advert and copy out every "must have" or "essential" line, then the "desirable" ones.
- For each one, find the line in your CV that proves it. If you can't point to a line, that's a gap.
- Fill the gap with something true: a duty, a setting, a qualification or a result you really have. If you don't have it, say what you have that's closest, or leave it out.
Our guide to matching your CV to a job description goes through this in more detail.
What healthcare assistant adverts usually ask for
Patient care experience
Why they askHCAs give hands-on care to patients. Employers want to know you've done personal care, or something close, and can do it with dignity.
How to show itName the setting (ward type, care home, community) and the care you gave. Care work counts and is often the route in.
Example lines: fill the gaps with your own facts- Gave personal care, help with eating and drinking, and pressure area care to patients on a [type of ward or setting].
- Supported [number] residents a shift with personal care in a [nursing or residential] home.
Clinical observations and recording
Why they askTaking and recording observations (temperature, pulse, blood pressure, breathing rate, oxygen levels) and spotting changes is a core HCA task. NHS adverts may mention NEWS2, the early warning score.
How to show itSay which observations you've taken, how you recorded them, and that you escalated changes. Only name NEWS2 or other tools if you used them.
Example lines: fill the gaps with your own facts- Took and recorded patient observations using [paper charts / NEWS2 / electronic system], and escalated changes to the nurse in charge.
- Kept accurate fluid balance and food charts for [type of patients].
Clinical skills
Why they askSome HCA roles, especially at Band 3, ask for skills like taking blood (venepuncture), ECGs, blood glucose monitoring or catheter care.
How to show itList each skill you're trained and signed off in, with where you use it. Don't list skills you've only watched.
Example lines: fill the gaps with your own facts- Trained and competent in [venepuncture / ECGs / blood glucose monitoring], carried out [how often] on [ward or clinic].
The Care Certificate and training
Why they askNew HCAs are expected to complete the Care Certificate. Adverts may also ask for a Level 2 or 3 health and social care qualification.
How to show itList the Care Certificate and any qualifications with years, plus mandatory training such as infection prevention and basic life support.
Example lines: fill the gaps with your own facts- Care Certificate ([year]); Level [2 or 3] [qualification name] ([year]).
- Mandatory training up to date ([month year]), including infection prevention and control and basic life support.
Teamwork and NHS values
Why they askNHS adverts often mention the NHS values (such as compassion, respect and dignity, and working together for patients). They want someone who works well with nurses and other staff.
How to show itShow it through what you did, not by listing the values. One line about how you helped the team or a patient is enough.
Example lines: fill the gaps with your own facts- Worked as part of a [number]-bed ward team, supporting nurses with admissions, discharges and [other tasks].
Only use a line if it's true for you. Swap each [gap] for your own detail: the setting, the number, the tool or the result. If you can't fill a gap honestly, cut that part of the line.
Mistakes that cost healthcare assistant applications
- Listing clinical skills you haven't been signed off in.
- Not naming the ward or setting. "Hospital experience" tells a reader much less than "acute medical ward".
- Writing a list of NHS values instead of showing them in a line.
- For NHS jobs, not reading the person specification. It is usually the real checklist.
Questions
What band is a healthcare assistant?
In the NHS, healthcare assistants are often Band 2, with Band 3 roles asking for more clinical skills or a higher qualification. Check the advert's person specification.
Is care home experience enough for an HCA job?
It often helps a lot, especially personal care and record keeping. Show the care and any observations you did, and be ready to learn clinical skills.
Do NHS applications use a CV?
Many NHS jobs use an application form with a supporting statement rather than a CV. The same rule applies: answer each line of the person specification with evidence.