How to Write a CV for Healthcare and NHS Jobs

Two pages, in the order the reader wants

A healthcare recruiter spends under a minute on a first read, and at larger employers the first read is done by software. Both are looking for the same thing: does this person match the advert? Write for that.

Section 1

Name and contact details

Phone, email, town. No date of birth, photo or full address.

Section 2

Profile, three lines

Who you are, what you want and why this role. Written fresh for each application.

Section 3

Key skills

Six to eight bullet points using the words in the advert: communication, working under pressure, record keeping, safeguarding, infection control, driving.

Section 4

Experience

Most recent first. Two or three bullets per role on what you did and the result, not a list of duties. Unpaid work, caring for a relative and volunteering all count.

Section 5

Qualifications and training

GCSEs with grades, any first aid or care certificates, your driving licence and whether you hold C1.

Section 6

References

“Available on request” is enough.

Use the person specification

Most NHS and healthcare adverts come with a person specification: a list of essential and desirable criteria, each marked as assessed at application, interview or both. The first sift is a tick list against it. If an essential criterion is not evidenced in your CV or supporting statement you will not be shortlisted, however good the rest is.

Step 1

Read it line by line

Make a two-column list: each criterion, and where in your CV or supporting statement you show it.

Step 2

State how you meet each one

For every criterion, say how you meet it, with an example. Use the same words as the specification. “Experience of working with the public” becomes one line on what you did and where.

Step 3

Or how you intend to meet it

If you do not meet a criterion yet, say how you will: a course booked, a C1 test date, planned volunteering. Honest intent beats silence, and some criteria can be met during the apprenticeship.

Step 4

Follow its order

Write your supporting statement in the same order as the specification, with a short heading for each criterion, so the shortlister can tick down it.

Supporting statement

On NHS Jobs and Trac applications the supporting statement carries more weight than the CV. Treat it as your answer to the person specification: one short paragraph per essential criterion, evidence first, and the desirable criteria after.

What healthcare employers look for

Values

NHS and ambulance employers recruit against the NHS values: working together, respect and dignity, compassion, commitment to quality, improving lives, everyone counts. Show one or two with an example rather than listing them.

Reliability

Shift work needs people who turn up. Attendance, a clean driving record and length of service all say this without you having to.

Evidence

“Dealt with difficult customers” says little. “Handled complaints on a busy till, including de-escalating an aggressive customer, with no formal complaints in two years” says a lot.

Fit with the role

Mirror the job description. If it asks for “patient-centred care” and your CV says “customer service”, the software may not connect the two.

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Six rules

Rule 1

Keep it to two pages

One if you are early in your career.

Rule 2

Use the advert’s words

Screening software matches keywords. Read the person specification and make sure each essential criterion appears somewhere.

Rule 3

Plain format

A simple Word or PDF file with standard headings. No tables, columns, graphics or headers and footers; screening software often cannot read them.

Rule 4

Write it yourself

AI tools can help you tidy wording, but employers now recognise generic AI-written profiles and some ask about it at interview. Your CV has to sound like you, and you have to be able to talk about every line in it.

Rule 5

Check it twice

Spelling and grammar errors are the most common reason a healthcare CV is rejected at the first sift. Read it aloud, then ask someone else to read it.

Rule 6

Keep it current

Update it every time you complete a course or change role, not the night before a deadline.

Supporting statements for NHS applications

NHS Jobs and Trac applications ask for a supporting statement instead of, or as well as, a CV. Treat it as your CV’s profile section written long: work through the person specification point by point, with an example for each. Keep paragraphs short and use the headings from the specification so the shortlister can tick them off.