Check your nurse CV against the job advert
Nursing adverts check a few things straight away: your registration, your field, your clinical experience and whether you're ready for the band. Make each one easy to find.
Start with your advert
Every nurse 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 nurse adverts usually ask for
NMC registration
Why they askRegistered nurse roles need you to be on the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register. It's usually the first thing checked.
How to show itPut your registration near the top: your field of nursing and that your registration is live. Many nurses include their PIN; it's your choice, as employers will check it anyway.
Example lines: fill the gaps with your own facts- Registered Nurse ([Adult / Mental Health / Children's / Learning Disabilities]), NMC registered since [year].
Clinical experience in the right setting
Why they askEmployers want to know you've worked in a similar specialty and with similar patients, or that you have transferable skills.
How to show itFor each role, give the ward or service, the kind of patients, and the skills you used daily.
Example lines: fill the gaps with your own facts- Staff nurse on a [number]-bed [specialty] ward, caring for patients with [conditions or needs].
- Managed a bay of [number] patients, including medicines administration, wound care and discharge planning.
Clinical skills and medicines management
Why they askAdverts often list skills such as IV drug administration, cannulation, venepuncture, catheterisation or managing deteriorating patients.
How to show itList the competencies you're signed off in. Say how you use them, not just that you have them.
Example lines: fill the gaps with your own facts- Competent in [IV administration / cannulation / venepuncture], used [how often] on [ward].
- Recognised deteriorating patients using [NEWS2 or another tool] and escalated to the [team].
Leadership, supervision and band readiness
Why they askBand 5 adverts may ask for supervision of HCAs and students. Band 6 adverts ask for shift leadership, mentoring and service improvement.
How to show itShow what you've led: shifts, students, audits, teaching sessions. Name the role you held, for example practice supervisor.
Example lines: fill the gaps with your own facts- Practice supervisor for [number] student nurses; coordinated the ward as nurse in charge on [how often].
- Led a [topic] audit on [ward], which led to [change you made].
Documentation and systems
Why they askNurses spend a lot of time recording care. Adverts may name an electronic patient record or ask for good documentation skills.
How to show itName the systems you've used.
Example lines: fill the gaps with your own facts- Documented care and medicines using [electronic patient record system].
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 nurse applications
- Leaving your registration and field until page two.
- Lists of duties with no setting, patient group or scale.
- For newly qualified nurses: not using your placements. Each one is experience; list where and what you did.
- For Band 6 applications: not showing leadership or improvement work.
- Forgetting the person specification. On NHS forms, answer every essential line in your supporting statement.
Questions
Should I put my NMC PIN on my CV?
Many nurses do, and it saves a step, but it's your choice. Your registration status and field are the important part.
How do I write a nursing CV as a newly qualified nurse?
Lead with your registration (or expected date), then list each placement with the setting and the skills you used. Add your dissertation or any project if it relates to the advert.
How long should a nursing CV be?
Two pages is usual. Senior nurses may need a little more, but keep older roles short.