Certified Nursing Assistant resume example

• Entry level

  Newly certified nursing assistant, listed on the state registry after a 120-hour course with 40 clinical hours on a long-term care hall. Passed the skills exam on the first attempt, including gait belt transfers, catheter care and manual blood pressure. BLS certified through the American Heart Association and available for evenings, nights and weekends at a skilled nursing or rehab facility.

• Mid level

  CNA with five years in skilled nursing and short-term rehab, caring for 10 to 12 residents a shift on a 40-bed hall. Skilled with Hoyer and sit-to-stand lifts, two-person transfers, catheter care and point of care charting in PointClickCare. Reports changes in condition to the charge nurse before shift end and has oriented 9 new aides as a peer mentor.

• Senior

  Lead nursing assistant and restorative aide with twelve years in long-term care and memory care. Schedules and coaches 14 aides across three shifts, runs the restorative walking and range-of-motion program, and audits ADL documentation every week. Helped the building cut resident falls with injury by a third through scheduled toileting rounds and bed and chair alarm checks.

• Writing "provided care to residents" with no assignment size

  Fix: Every aide provides care, so the scope is what sets you apart. Name the hall or unit, how many residents you had each shift and what they needed: total care, two-person assists, lifts or feeding help. "11 residents on a 44-bed long-term care hall, 4 on mechanical lifts" tells a scheduler exactly where you fit.

• Leaving out the registry state and status

  Fix: Your certification only counts in the state where you are listed, and employers must confirm it. Put the state, title and status in your header or a credentials line near the top. If you are mid-transfer to a new state, write that plainly, such as "Texas registry transfer submitted, September 2026."

• Hiding your observation and reporting work

  Fix: Aides often notice a change first: a new pressure area, a resident who stops eating or seems more confused. Show that you report it to the charge nurse during the shift and chart it in the facility's point of care system. One bullet with a count of changes you flagged reads as clinical value, not just tasks.

• Ignoring shifts, attendance and floating

  Fix: Long-term care runs on aides who show up and can cover more than one hall. List the shifts you work, the units you float to, such as memory care or rehab, and any record worth sharing: extra shifts picked up during a shortage or a year without a call-out. Keep it factual and short.

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• Cared for 11 long-term care residents per shift on a 44-bed hall, finishing bathing, dressing, toileting and meal help before afternoon report.
• Transferred dependent residents with Hoyer and sit-to-stand lifts on 600+ shifts without a lift-related injury to a resident or coworker.
• Flagged 14 changes in condition in one year using Stop and Watch cards, including new confusion that led the nurse to test for a urinary tract infection.
• Kept point of care documentation 99% complete on a quarterly audit by charting ADLs and meal percentages right after each task.
• Repositioned 6 bedbound residents every two hours on nights, helping the hall go nine months without a new facility-acquired pressure injury.
• Ran the restorative walking program for 18 residents, logging distance and assist level so the therapy team could adjust each plan.
• Measured vital signs for 25 post-surgical patients a shift on a hospital med-surg floor and reported out-of-range readings to the RN at once.
• Mentored 7 new aides through a three-shift orientation, pairing with each on lift transfers and incontinence care until they passed competency checks.
• Picked up 40 extra shifts during a staffing shortage, covering memory care and rehab halls with no missed care items on audit.
• Fed and watched 8 residents on modified diets and thickened liquids at each meal, following the speech therapist's swallow precautions.

• Match the setting and shift in each posting

  A memory care posting, a hospital float pool and a rehab unit look for different proof. Put the setting the employer runs in your headline, move the matching job to the top, and repeat their terms, such as two-person assists or PointClickCare, where they are true for you. State clearly which shifts and weekends you can work. Tailor your CNA resume to the posting

• Keep the cover letter short and concrete

  A director of nursing reads it for reliability and fit. Name the shift you want, your registry state and status, and one example of catching a resident's change early, with no names or identifying details. If you are moving from another state, say whether you have started the registry transfer. Three short paragraphs are enough. Draft a CNA cover letter

• Prepare for scenario and skills questions

  Expect questions like what you do when a resident refuses a shower, falls in the hallway or seems more confused than yesterday. Answer with what you saw, who you told and how you documented it. Some employers ask you to show a transfer or handwashing on the spot, so practice talking through each step out loud. Practice CNA interview questions

• Turn daily tasks into results

  Each bullet should show the size of your assignment, the type of care and one outcome. Start from a plain duty, such as answering call lights, then add a number and a result, like the response time on your hall or the audit score for your charting. A bullet generator can draft options; check every fact before you use one. Write stronger CNA bullets