In the healthcare field, the power of a good resume can’t be overstated. It’s how you communicate to employers that you’ve got the technical skills, qualifications, and attributes needed to excel in the fast-paced world of healthcare. This guide is designed to help you craft a standout healthcare technician resume that demonstrates to employers why you’re the best person for the job. 

In this guide, we’ll cover: 

• How to format your healthcare technician resume
• What to include in your contact section
• How to craft the perfect summary statement
• How to choose the right skills to highlight
• What to focus on in your experience section
• How to format your certifications and education
• Common resume mistakes to avoid

Let’s get started!

How to Format Your Healthcare Technician Resume

Best Healthcare Technician Resume Template

Most healthcare employees rely on applicant tracking software (ATS), automated tools that scan resumes to identify applicants who match the keywords, skills, and experience outlined in the job description. To ensure your resume gets noticed, it needs to be as readable for ATS algorithms as it is for human recruiters.

Use a template that’s clean, professional, and free from complex formatting that might confuse the system. Healthcare recruiters recommend a simple, straightforward template that passes ATS checks and makes it easy to identify your qualifications at a glance. As tempting as it is to use flashy colors, fonts, and graphics, it’s important to prioritize functionality. Use these tips to optimize your resume for ATS screening: 

• Font and color: Use a standard font like Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri in size 10–12. Stick to black text for key content; use color sparingly and only for section headings or your name. 
• Avoid images: Don’t include a photo or use graphics that get in the way of easy scanning.
• Use a common file type: Save your resume as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf file. Name the file something simple that includes your full name, such as “Your_Name_Resume.”
• Don’t use headers or footers: These elements can interfere with ATS parsing.

Anatomy of a Healthcare Technician Resume

Formatting is key, but the content of your resume is equally essential to passing the ATS checks and standing out to recruiters. First and foremost, review the job description and pick out keywords from the listed duties, skills, and qualifications to include naturally within your resume. Without them, the software might filter out your resume before a recruiter even has a chance to review it. 

For a healthcare technician or technologist role, aim for a concise, 1–2 page resume packed with relevant qualifications, technical skills, and professional achievements. Every section should work to showcase your expertise while painting a clear picture why you’re a fit for the role.

Here are the key sections you should include on your resume to be competitive: 

• Contact info
• Summary statement
• Skills
• Experience
• Education & certifications

What to Include In Your Contact Section

It’s no surprise that the top of your resume should be reserved for your name and contact information. Here’s what employers expect you to include: 

• Your full name in a prominent, bold font. 
• Your credentials, starting with your highest degree earned (if past high school), followed by your certifications and/or licensures.
• Your city and state—no need to list your full street address. If you’re planning to relocate, we recommend listing the city and state you’ll be moving to, otherwise recruiters may skip over your resume if they urgently need to fill the position.
• Your phone number including the area code. 
• Your email address where recruiters can reach you. Be sure to keep it professional!

How to Write Your Summary Statement

Healthcare recruiters recommend you include a 2–5 sentence summary statement under your contact section. Your summary should provide a brief but precise overview of your skills, experience, and qualifications so recruiters can quickly see why you’re a great fit for the role. 

Your summary statement should include: 

• The number of years of experience you have. If this is your first job, instead start with your highest degree earned (if past high school) and/or your professional objective as you enter the workforce. 
• Your certifications or licensure that are relevant to the role or organization.
• The most relevant technical tools, systems, procedures, or protocols that you are familiar with. Use keywords from the job description where possible.
• Key soft skills (i.e. personal attributes) you possess that are prominent in the job description.

How to Choose What Skills to Highlight

The skills section of your resume should feature a bulleted list of the top 5-15 skills you possess that demonstrate your ability to succeed in the role and on the team. Ideally, a recruiter should be able to scan your list of skills and immediately confirm that you possess the qualifications needed to perform the job’s core responsibilities.

Keep these tips in mind when selecting what skills to highlight:

• Pull keywords directly from the job description. This is the best way to pass ATS checks, but it also indicates to human readers that you have done your due diligence and possess the abilities required to do the job.
• List both hard and soft skills. Tech roles require a balance of technical expertise (“hard skills”) and interpersonal abilities (“soft skills”). Don’t over-index on one or the other. 
• List skills in priority order. What skills and responsibilities do you believe are most essential to success in the role? List those first and foremost so the recruiter can’t miss them. 

How to Craft a Strong Experience Section

The contact, summary, and skills sections of your resume act as the TL;DR (too long, didn’t read): a quick scan should convince recruiters that you have the skills and qualifications required to do the job. The experience section, on the other hand, is your opportunity to go beyond the basics to illustrate how your past experiences and accomplishments make you the candidate they’ve been waiting for. 

Here are some tips to help you present your experience in a clear, compelling, and concise way: 

• How to format: List your experiences in reverse chronological order, starting with the most recent. For each position you’ve held (or if you’re new to the job market, each volunteer position or training opportunity), include the following info:
  
  • Job title
  • Company name
  • Dates you worked there, including month and year 
  • 2–5 bullets outlining your experience in the role
• Quantify your impact: Your experience section shouldn’t read like a laundry list of tasks you did in previous roles. Instead, it should paint a tangible picture of your contributions to efficiency, collaboration, organizational goals, and patient outcomes. Be specific and detailed about the ways you made a difference, and use real numbers when possible. 
• Tailor to the job description: For each role you apply for, you should edit your experience to reflect the most relevant technical proficiencies listed in the job description. If it’s listed in your skills section, it should be detailed further somewhere in your experience section.

How to Organize Your Education & Certifications

The final component of a well-rounded resume is the education and certifications section, which showcases the qualifications that make you eligible for the job. This is especially crucial for tech positions, where specific certifications are often mandatory for consideration. 

Here’s how to make sure this section highlights the right information:

Certifications

List your certifications and/or licenses in reverse chronological order, starting with your most recent. It’s best to do your own research to determine what each certifying board requires to verify your credentials. In general, you should include the following information: 

• The full name of the certification, followed by the acronym
• The date you received the certification and its expiration date
• Your personal certification number

Education 

List your education starting with the highest degree you’ve earned and working backward. Include the degree you received, your major or concentration, and the name and location of the school. If your GPA was above a 3.5, include it on your resume. Include your year of graduation if you earned your degree in the last ten years; otherwise, we don’t recommend including it. 

If you’re a recent graduate with limited experience to showcase in the experience section, you can expand your education section by including relevant coursework, internships, or specialized training you completed during your studies.

Common mistakes to avoid

Following the advice above already puts you head and shoulders above the rest when applying to healthcare technician or technologist jobs. But even the best resumes can fall victim to common mistakes that hurt your chances. Here are some common mistakes to avoid: 

• Don’t use too much technical jargon. While demonstrating your technical proficiency is essential for a tech role, the first person to read your resume is often a recruiter who may not possess the same level of fluency in medical language as a hiring manager. Avoid any miscommunications by simplifying to the most commonly understood terminology. However, if a specific procedure or piece of equipment is listed in the job description, be sure to include that exact term.
• Tailor your resume to each job. It can be tempting to mass submit the same resume for any and every open job. But employers appreciate when you’ve taken the time to customize your resume to the specific job, as it demonstrates genuine interest and alignment with the role. Incorporate keywords taken directly from the job description throughout your resume.
• Proofread, proofread, proofread! Attention to detail is a critical skill for any healthcare role, so typos or grammatical errors may be dealbreakers to some employers. Take the time to carefully look over your resume before submitting to make sure it’s polished and professional. 

And there you have it: your blueprint to a job-winning resume. With these strategies in place, you’re one step closer to landing your dream job.

If you’re ready to start putting your new resume to work right away, sign up for Incredible Health’s AI-powered healthcare career marketplace to get matched with open jobs waiting for you to apply. 

Best of luck!