New graduate nurse resume example

What recruiters look for

• Licensed, or when you will be: NCLEX-RN result and license state, or your test date if you have not tested yet.
• Your capstone or preceptorship: the unit type, hours and how close you came to a full assignment.
• Healthcare work during school: nursing assistant, PCT, unit secretary or EMT roles show you know how a unit runs.
• Fit with the specialty: your capstone, a job or a project that matches the residency’s unit.
• Something extra: a language, an honor society, a leadership role or a previous career.

Writing the summary

Say you are a new RN (or graduate nurse awaiting licensure), your degree and date, your capstone unit and hours, and what kind of residency you want. Name a language or past job if it helps you stand out.

Bullet points that work

Strong lines for this role, beyond the ones in the example. Borrow the shape and put in your own numbers.

• Completed a 180-hour capstone in a Level I trauma ICU, caring for 2 ventilated patients by the final week.
• Passed the NCLEX-RN on the first attempt in June 2026.
• Built a fall-risk teaching handout during my capstone that the unit now gives to every new admission.
• Took a 5-patient assignment on a medical-surgical unit for the last 4 shifts of my preceptorship.
• Earned the “Excellence in Clinical Practice” award, given to 2 of 90 graduating students.
• Led a 6-student evidence-based practice project on early mobility, presented to 40 nurses at the clinical site.
• Worked 24 hours a week as a patient care tech during the final 2 years of school.
• Gave 250 flu shots at community clinics with the school’s public health course.
• Served as president of the Student Nurses’ Association chapter, growing membership from 40 to 110.

Skills to list

Certifications and licenses worth listing

• RN license from your state board of nursing: list the state, and say “multistate” if it is. If you are still waiting, write “NCLEX-RN scheduled for July 2026” or “Graduate nurse, licensure pending”.
• Basic Life Support (BLS): required.
• ACLS or PALS: not required for most new grads, but useful for cardiac, critical care, emergency or pediatric residencies.
• Specialty certifications (CCRN, CEN, CMSRN): not yet; they need clinical hours as an RN. Do not list them as in progress.

Length and format

One page. Order: summary, education (GPA if it is 3.5 or higher, honors, a single line of rotations), capstone and work experience, license and certifications, skills, languages. Earlier non-healthcare jobs can stay as one line each if you have room.

Common mistakes

• Giving every clinical rotation its own entry. Put the capstone in full and the rest on one line.
• Writing “new grad” with no license status. Say if you are licensed, testing or awaiting results.
• Generic skills (“compassionate”, “team player”) instead of clinical ones the residency needs.
• Leaving out healthcare work during school because it was “only” aide work. It is one of the strongest things on the page.
• Using the same resume for every residency. Move the capstone and skills that match each unit to the top.