When you begin searching for your next healthcare assistant job, you want to make a great first impression. This can be done by creating an engaging and professional CV that will help you to stand out and could lead to receiving an invite to a HCA interview.
In this article, we will cover the key elements of a great healthcare assistant CV, how to write your CV and show you an example CV to use as inspiration for your own.
Select from the below list to navigate to the relevant sections of this article.
What makes a great healthcare assistant CV?
A great healthcare assistant CV consists of a clear format, an engaging layout and design and concise information. Let’s take a look at each part in more detail below.
CV format and structure
The format and structure of your CV can help you to communicate and promote your skills and experience in an engaging, professional and persuasive way.
Your CV structure should follow a style like the below to ensure the person reading your CV can quickly digest all the key information about you and determine if you would be suitable for the HCA job you’re applying for.
- Contact information: Your name, phone number, email address and living address.
- Professional summary: A brief overview of you, your professional experience and skills and any key moments from your career you would like to highlight.
- Current and previous experience: In reverse chronological order, include your job history (starting with your current job) and summarise the role and responsibilities of each of your previous jobs.
- Education: Include your higher education and certificates from high-school, college and university/apprenticeships/internships. Referencing your education on your CV is entirely up to you, view our section on ‘What to include in your healthcare assistant CV’ to learn more.
- Core skills, qualities, interests: List any skills and qualities you would like to highlight to potential employers along with your personal hobbies and interests.
CV design
Recruiters receive hundreds of CVs a day so making your CV design stand out from the rest can help you to get an interview for the HCA role you’re applying for.
To get a recruiter’s attention you need to create an engaging CV that is visually appealing and also easy to read so they can pick-up key bits of information that showcase your healthcare assistant career, skills and qualities and experience.
Here are the key parts of your CV design to consider:
Font
When choosing your font, its best not to over complicate it and choose one that is easy to read, clear and looks professional. Fonts to consider are:
- Arial
- Calibri
- Georgia
- Helvetica
- Times New Roman
Bullet points
Bullet points are a great way to highlight responsibilities, achievements and any key information you want your potential employer to see.
As recruiters and employers have many CVs to look through, they will initially scan through lots of CVs to see which have the skills and experience they’re looking for. Using bullet points to summarise and highlight your HCA skills, clinical expertise and experience can make it easier to read.
Consistency
When designing your CV, keep it simple and consistent. Don’t go overboard with different fonts, colours and styles. Keep it simple. Sometimes less is more.
Use colours wisely
Colours help to draw the readers attention and highlight certain parts of your CV. Don’t overuse colours and try keep to a simple colour pallet.
The best colours to use on your CV are:
- Neutral colours
- Purple
- Black
- Dark shades of blue
- Dark shades of grey
Readability
A 2018 study from Ladders highlighted that a recruiter will spend on average 7.4 seconds reviewing a CV before determining whether its suitable for the job they’re recruiting for. This is why it’s crucial to consider the readability of you CV when it comes to creating or updating it.
Here are the 3 key areas to focus on to optimise your CV format and readability:
- Spacing
Utilise spacing correctly. Use spaces to split up each of your jobs from your HCA career and to help the reader determine your previous experience and roles and responsibilities. Using space on your CV can help it look clean, organised, and not overcrowded. As much as we want to put everything possible on CVs it’s not realistic. Try summarising key duties and achievements from each role and use space to spread out each of your jobs.
- Margins
Margins can help format your CV, especially if it’s going to be printed by a recruiter. Make sure your margins aren’t too big as the page can look very empty and if they’re too small, your CV may look very overcrowded.
- Titles and subheadings
Titles and subheadings can help draw the readers eyes to certain areas of your CV that you want to showcase. Use titles and subheadings to split up your CV and the roles and responsibilities and achievements for your current and previous healthcare assistant jobs.
CV length
There is a common misconception with CVs where people think it must be 1 page long. However there is no rule for this, and it really depends on your background, skills and experience. It’s important to still consider the length of your CV and not make it too long, but don’t limit yourself either.
How long should my CV be?
If you’re new to the working world as a graduate or you have some professional working experience, a one-page CV is the perfect length. You can showcase your qualifications, work experience, any volunteer work you have done and also sell yourself in your personal statement.
If you have several years of experience and have developed your healthcare assistant career by working at a few companies over the years, a two-page CV is a reasonable length to work towards.
It gives you enough space to provide an overview of each role, highlighting key roles, responsibilities and achievements along with including your personal statement and showcasing any training or additional certifications you have completed in your HCA jobs.
What to include in your healthcare assistant CV
Based on the information you include in your healthcare assistant CV can determine if you make it to interview stage.
Organising your CV in a clear and concise format can inform the potential employer or recruiter whether you’re suitable for the job you’re applying for. Let’s take a look at the key areas to include in your HCA CV.
Contact details
At the top of your CV, include your full name, email address, the address you are living at and a suitable phone number to contact you on. This gives the recruiter all the information they need to get in touch with you to arrange an interview.
Personal profile introduction
Your personal profile or professional summary is a short self-introduction to grab the readers attention and show them you’re a suitable candidate for the healthcare assistant job you’re applying for.
It’s best to keep your summary short and to the point by covering off key areas of your career, personal and professional skills and any moments from your HCA career that you believe are worth highlighting. The rest of your CV will then provide the recruiter with all of the additional information about you and go into more detail about your current and previous jobs.
Work experience
The work experience part of your CV is the most important section and is what sells your CV to the potential employer.
Include your work experience in reverse chronological order, starting with your current or most recent position. Use headers for your job title, location and duration of the role then use bullet points and spaces to format your roles and responsibilities at each of your jobs.
If you’re looking for some inspiration on how to write your C.V., view our healthcare assistant CV example below.
Skills and qualities
The skills and qualities you obtain throughout your career can make a strong impression on the potential employer and can give them a good idea of the type of HCA you are and how you would be a good fit for their company.
When listing your skills and qualities, choose ones that you believe you excel in and demonstrate daily in your current healthcare assistant role.
This section doesn’t need to be too big on your CV. It’s essentially a small segment to highlight the type of person you are.
Achievements
You may have had some memorable achievements throughout your career or in your personal life. You can choose to include these in your CV too, or, if you would prefer to focus more on your experience and skills and qualities, they will both make great contributions to your CV.
Education
In some instances, employers ask for your education in addition to obtaining your CV. Some people choose to leave this information off to save space, however it’s entirely up to you. If you choose to leave this information off your CV, it would be worth noting down your education and qualifications on a piece of paper or online document to refer to if this information is needed when you begin your new healthcare assistant job.
How to write your healthcare assistant CV
You can choose to your write CV in three different formats. Let’s take a look at each method and how they can help you create the perfect healthcare assistant CV.
Chronological order
Writing your CV in chronological order is the most common method and focuses on your education and professional achievements. For writing in chronological order, you firstly cover off your education history, then follow with your professional working history. This method can help with showing your potential employer the path you have taken from beginning your education to where you are today.
Reversed chronological order
Reversed chronological order is slightly different to the traditional method and is becoming a popular format for CVs. Essentially you will work your way backwards from the top to the bottom of your CV, starting with your current role and ending with either your first job or education (depending on whether you choose to leave your education on your CV). This layout can give the potentially employer all the information they need very quickly to determine your current experience and how similar your current job is to the job you’re applying for.
Functional layout
Writing your CV in a functional format puts focus on your skills, qualities, awards and achievements. This format prioritises your successes and achievements over your professional working experience. This method works well if you have just begun your career or changing your career to a different field entirely.
Healthcare assistant CV example
Here’s an example of a healthcare assistant CV to use as inspiration for your own.
Now you have all the information and tips you need to create an engaging healthcare assistant CV, check out our latest HCA jobs near you.
View our latest HCA jobs near you
Healthcare assistant CV key takeaways
We’ve covered a range of things to consider when planning, writing and updating your healthcare assistant CV. Here are the key takeaways to remember.
Healthcare assistant jobs with Thornbury Community Services
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If you’d like to join TCS, complete the form below or contact our dedicated Resourcing Recruitment Team via phone: 0333 323 3762 or click the button to email them.
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