With an aging population and a high demand for health services, there’s a continued need for the care and attention that healthcare assistants provide. However, are you bringing the same level of care to your healthcare assistant CV?
Every job application deserves the same attention you would give your patients. That is what a hiring manager will be looking for. Luckily for you, at cvapp.ie we know a thing or two about communicating your professional skills through the most important part of your job application: your CV!
A healthcare assistant is a crucial role in providing care and support to patients. Responsibilities include personal care, vital sign measurement, record-keeping, emotional support, and assisting healthcare professionals. Specialised training and healthcare settings can vary duties.
The very first step in writing your healthcare assistant CV is understanding what sections to include. Your CV should contain the following elements:
Optimise for the ATS
ATS stands for Applicant Tracking Systems. Most large organisations use an ATS software to filter only the best of the bunch. Only the top applications will be put in front of the hiring manager. You can make sure that yours makes the cut by including keywords that are important in the job description.
The best CV format for a healthcare assistant CV is almost always the reverse chronological format. This means your previous employment section takes centre stage. There are, however, some healthcare assistant roles that might work better with a functional CV format. This type of CV will focus on your skills section. If you have less work experience and would prefer to highlight your healthcare assistant skills, it may be best to use a functional CV format.
No successful healthcare assistant CV is complete without including important contact details. Be sure to include your:
Your CV summary is the place to summarise your most impressive accomplishments and key strengths as a healthcare assistant. You have just three to four sentences to wow the hiring manager – so it’s important to put your best foot forward! After all, this is the section that will be used to determine the relevance of your CV.
Our CV example summary below will give you some ideas on how you could position yourself as a healthcare assistant. However, your summary should always be informed by the job description of the role that you are applying for. Don’t forget to read over the job description!
Professional and experienced Healthcare Assistant with a proven track record of providing excellent support to patients. Compassionate, highly skilled, and adept in collaborating with other healthcare professionals. Committed to helping patients navigate difficult situations and ensuring exceptional health outcomes.
Once the hiring manager has decided your CV is worth reading, they will likely focus on your previous employment history in the healthcare field. Make it easy for them and present your relevant achievements from past positions in reverse chronological order. That means your most recent experience should be at the top.
Ensure your previous employment history showcases your potential as a skilled and accomplished healthcare assistant. Additionally, you can create a subheading for each previous role that includes the job title, employer, location, and dates of employment for each previous position. Under this subheading, list several bullet points detailing your responsibilities and the skills for each role that are relevant to a position as a healthcare assistant.
Remember, this section is a valuable opportunity to demonstrate your expertise, dedication, and accomplishments as a healthcare assistant. When you’ve finished, this section should look like this:
Healthcare Assistant at Celtic Way Clinic, Waterford
December 2021 - Present
Healthcare Assistant at St. Columba Residential Care Centre, Waterford
March 2019 - November 2021
Receptionist at Waterford Medical Solutions, Waterford
January 2016 - January 2019
Your experience as a healthcare assistant is enriched by a combination of hard and soft skills. It’s vital to include a balanced mix of both in the skills section of your CV.
Hard skills encompass the technical abilities specific to the healthcare field, such as proficiency in measuring vital signs or administering medications. On the other hand, soft skills, such as problem-solving, communication, empathy, and teamwork, are essential for effectively navigating various patient care scenarios. By presenting a comprehensive and well-rounded skills section, you strengthen your candidacy for healthcare assistant roles.
Prioritise your skills
Re-read the job description to remind yourself of the most important skills to the employer. Make sure to list the relevant skills only and in order of importance. Use the same language as the job description to appease the ATS and the hiring manager.
The ability to communicate in more than one language could also be a huge advantage for healthcare assistants. Be sure to include any additional languages you speak in your skills section!
Check out our CV sample content for more inspiration below:
In this section, you’ll want to list your qualifications from most recent to least recent. This allows potential employers to quickly grasp your educational journey and highlights your most recent and relevant accomplishments.
When presenting each qualification, ensure that you include essential details to provide a comprehensive overview. This should include the qualification title, the name of the institution where it was obtained, the location of the institution, and the dates of attendance.
By including these key pieces of information, you provide clarity and transparency to hiring managers, enabling them to assess the relevance and value of your educational background. While you don’t need super advanced qualifications to become a healthcare assistant, it’s important to include your qualification details in this section.
Need some more inspiration? We’ve got tips to help you write your career achievements to help get you started!
St. Brigid Secondary School, Waterford
Leaving Certificate
September 2010 - June 2016
There is no overlooking that the way that your healthcare assistant CV looks is important. You should use a simple colour scheme with headings that properly draw your attention to the correct section.
Unfortunately, a lot of tools are fiddly when it comes to creating the clear design needed from a professional-looking CV. If you prefer to skip this step altogether, you can consider using one of our field-tested CV templates on the cvapp.ie website.
Summary
Professional and experienced Healthcare Assistant with a proven track record of providing excellent support to patients. Compassionate, highly skilled, and adept in collaborating with other healthcare professionals. Committed to helping patients navigate difficult situations and ensuring exceptional health outcomes.
Employment History
Healthcare Assistant at Celtic Way Clinic, Waterford
December 2021 - Present
Healthcare Assistant at St. Columba Residential Care Centre, Waterford
March 2019 - November 2021
Receptionist at Waterford Medical Solutions, Waterford
January 2016 - January 2019
Skills
Education
St. Brigid Secondary School, Waterford
Leaving Certificate
September 2010 - June 2016
With an A.I powered CV builder and customisable layouts, we have all the tools you need to help you land your next healthcare assistant role. Save on stress and check out our online CV builder to create a job-winning CV that you can be confident in.