How to Write a New Grad Nurse Resume With No Experience in 2026.

A complete resume guide with do’s and don’ts and ATS-Friendly tips for entry-level nurses.

Richard Shelton

Resume writing expert.

Starting to look for your first job as a nurse can feel overwhelming. The truth is, every registered nurse starts somewhere, and hiring managers fully expect new graduates to apply with limited exposure to work related to nursing.

According to HRSA, the U.S. is projected to face a shortage of 78,610 full-time RNs in 2025 and 63,720 in 2030. So there is a huge gap new grad nurses has to fill to reduce the shortage and provide care.

The biggest challenge is how to convey that you are a great fit for a job if you have not done that earlier in a full-time capacity. A well-written new grad nurse resume with no experience focuses on what you bring to the table:

• Clinical training
• Education
• Skills
• Certifications
• Professional behaviors that make you a safe, reliable nurse from day one.

This guide walks you step-by-step through how to create a new graduate nurse resume, new grad RN resume, or entry-level nursing resume that passes ATS systems and convinces recruiters you’re ready for the floor.

What Is an Ideal New Grad Nurse Resume With No Experience?

Your resume is the first impression you will make on your potential hiring manager. Few details which need to be checked are - Make sure to open your resume on a desktop and check any false formatting or any other issues. The recruiter will most probably check your resume on a desktop rather than mobile.

As per latest data from recruiting websites, new graduates are heavily using phones to apply for jobs instead of desktop. Many times a well done resume over the phone could look torn apart on the desktop.

An ideal New Grad Nurse Resume contains:

• Well crafted summary - Write a concise summary which reflects your personality, credibility, eagerness to learn. Always keep your summary brief and tailored for the job.
• Optimize with job description specific keywords - Make sure to add keywords present in the job description in your resume, so ATS can match it and rank higher. For example, if you are applying to work under a Dentist, add some dentist keywords to make your profile look relevant.
• Clean and simple template - It is necessary to use a clean and simple template which is easy for ATS (Applicant Tracking System) to scan and the human eye to read. If you add pictures, graphs and other creative objects, well that will make your resume look pleasing to a human eye but it will fail to pass ATS. As ATS cannot ready pictures, graphics and flags them a errors and bring your overall score abysmally low.
• Utilizing Nurse Resume Builder app to build your professional resume with AI assisted writing and clean template which are designed to pass ATS and please the human eye.

Minimal Template - Best for New Grads

Apt for new graduates and nurses with 1-3 years of experience.

Use this template

How to be a top 10% new graduate nurse applicant always!

Most new graduate nurses don’t get rejected because they lack experience. They get rejected because of their poor resume.

Follow these steps to rank your resume higher -

• Make sure your resume does not look like a student assignment instead of a professional nurse resume.
• Make sure your resume does not fail to pass ATS scans due to missing nursing keywords and irrelevant content.
• Never undersells clinical experience. Put your best foot forward with whatever armour you have.
• Avoid using vague language and instead use nursing-specific actions verbs, metrics and jargons.
• Your goal is to translate your education into employable nursing value.

Best Resume Format for New Grad Nurses With No Experience

The ideal format for a new graduate nurse resume with no experience is a reverse-chronological resume, with education and clinical experience placed above work history.

Recommended Order

• Contact Information
• Professional Summary
• Education
• Clinical Experience
• Skills
• Certifications & Licensure

This structure mirrors how recruiters scan resumes and works best with ATS software.

Take a look at our ATS friendly template -

Fully ATS-Optimized Template

Suitable for every type of nurse, from new grad to 15+ years of experience.

Use this template

Contact Information (Keep It Clean and Professional)

Your contact section should be simple and professional.

Include:

• Full name (as it appears on your license)
• Phone number
• Professional email address
• City and state

Avoid:

• Photos
• Nicknames
• Unprofessional email addresses
• Full home address

Professional Summary for a New Grad Nurse Resume

A strong summary is critical for a new grad RN resume with no experience. It tells the recruiter who you are and what you bring—within 3–4 lines.

How to Write a New Grad Nurse Summary

As mentioned above, a summary gives hiring managers an initial impression of yours and starting point for them to analyze whether you're the right candidate for the job or not. Write concise two or three sentences summarizing your training, future goals, enthusiasm and personality. As you are new grad, your resume should be focused on future perspective and not the past ( as you do not have much relevant experience). So always keep your summary future oriented. industry experience and achievements. Try to include personality nuances that may differentiate you from other candidates.

Focus on:

• Your degree and status (new graduate RN)
• Clinical exposure
• Core nursing skills
• Career intent

Example Summary

This section should include keywords such as:

• new graduate nurse
• registered nurse
• entry level RN
• patient care
• clinical training

Education Section (Your Strongest Asset)

For a new graduate nurse resume, education is more important than work experience. Inform hiring managers of your academic history and training. You can discuss your diplomas, certificates, licenses and degrees. Make sure to add start and end dates for each degree and expiry date of any license. When you mention a specific credential, include its name, the granting institution and, if you graduated within the past five years, the year you earned it.

What to Include

• Degree name (BSN, ADN, or Diploma in Nursing)
• Institution name
• Graduation date
• GPA (optional)
• Honors or academic recognition

Example

Clinical Experience: How to Show Experience When You Have None

Clinical rotations are real nursing experience. Treat them that way.

Nursing clinical rotations are scheduled real-world opportunities to apply your learning and skills into practice while under supervision, which are designed in a manner to give you real work experience. So that you can better prepare for your interview for your first nurse job.

In your clinicals, the aim is “learn by doing”. Showcase the same in your resume, that how well you used your class learning in real life scenario and how well you adapted to the situation.

How to Format Clinical Experience

Clinical Rotation – Hospital / Facility – Dates

Example

Repeat this format for each major rotation:

• Medical-Surgical
• ICU (if applicable)
• Emergency Department
• Pediatrics
• Obstetrics
• Mental Health

These bullets naturally include ATS keywords such as patient care, EMR, medication administration, infection control, and teamwork.

Skills Section for a New Grad Nurse Resume

Hiring managers use this section to evaluate your abilities and to determine whether they align with their needs. Include a combination of soft and hard skills in this section.

Hard Nursing Skills to Include in New Grad Nurse Resume

• Vital signs monitoring
• Patient assessments
• Medication administration fundamentals
• Infection control procedures
• EMR / EHR documentation
• IV preparation and care
• Foley catheter care
• Wound care basics

Soft Skills to Include in New Grad Nurse Resume

• Compassionate patient communication
• Time management in fast-paced settings
• Critical thinking
• Team collaboration
• Adaptability
• Attention to detail

Certifications and Licensure

Numerous studies show that nurses with certification are preferred. License and certificates not only gives employers confidence but also increases the chance of candidate to get hired. According to a 2002 poll, more than 73% of individuals pick a hospital that employs a more significant proportion of nurses with specialty certification.

This section reassures employers that you’re legally and clinically prepared. It is an additional assurance that you are competent, well-trained, professionals. Use clear labels and dates so there’s no confusion.

Include:

• Registered Nurse License (Active or Pending)
• NCLEX-RN (Passed or Scheduled) Include “Eligible for NCLEX test for RN on X date,” if your NCLEX is pending. It is wise to make your employer well informed about your NCLEX plans. There can be a delay between graduation and getting a date for your NCLEX test, and your employer completely understands that, so it’s okay to apply before you have taken your NCLEX test.
• Basic Life Support (BLS)
• Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) if applicable
• Certified Nurse Practitioner (CNP)
• Wound Care Nurse Certification
• Trauma Nurse Certification
• Emergency Nurse Certification

Optional Sections That Strengthen a No-Experience Nurse Resume

If you are observing too much white space and not able to completely fill the one page resume to its fullest capacity, then and only then go for volunteer or academic projects.

Submitting a half page resume does not look professional and there is always something to include to showcase your leadership skills, team player ability and positive attitude.

If applicable, include:

Volunteer Experience

The volunteer section in your resume mentions any unpaid work you’ve done that could be relevant to your application. In addition to being an effective way to showcase your character and professional skills, it also a good way to present that you are a purpose-driven person. If you have volunteer experience in the healthcare field, then do include.

Professional Memberships

If you are a member of any association where you have done leadership work and organised any event, it is a good idea to add it to your resume. Add membership like -

• Student Nurses Association
• Nursing councils or committees

Academic Projects

Any academic project which is in-line with the job description should be mentioned as ATS finds it useful with matching keywords.

• Evidence-based practice presentations

A gentle reminder, these are optional sections when you don’t have much experience to mention in your nurse resume as a new grad.

ATS Optimization Tips for New Grad Nurse Resumes

An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is a software platform designed to help HRs better manage job posting, track live status of ongoing hiring for multiple roles, and filter best application from 1000s of applications for a position. It helps HR teams and hiring managers stay on top of every aspect of the recruitment lifecycle, from job postings to the candidate selection process.

One thing ATS does really well is match the job description with the resume of applicants who have applied for a certain job. ATS can scan thousands of resumes at once and give top 10% to HR, so they can proceed with lining up the interviews. So it is important to match the exact keywords given in the job description to rank your profile in top candidates.

To ensure your nurse resume passes applicant tracking systems:

• Use standard headings (Education, Clinical Experience, Skills)
• Avoid tables, columns, and graphics
• Match keywords from job descriptions
• Use bullet points instead of paragraphs
• Save as PDF or Word unless stated otherwise

Keywords to naturally include:

• new grad RN
• entry level nursing candidate
• registered nurse
• patient care
• clinical experience
• EMR documentation

Common Mistakes New Grad Nurses Make

Best way to make high impact resume is not to add high impact keywords but first avoid basic nurse resume mistakes. If the foundation is solid, you can create better results from your resume. There could be high chances that - don’ts are overpowering your do’s in your resume and acting as a spoiler and getting rejected by ATS, stopping your application from ever reaching a real person.

Here are some common mistakes to avoid for new grad nurse resume –

• Including irrelevant experiences - Mentioning your Starbucks summer job is a distraction from your nursing credentials. Unless these roles highlight specific transferable skills like leadership or crisis management, skip.
• Writing vague bullets like “helped patients” - Start bullet points using action verbs with clear, result oriented points. Avoid vague, generic bullet points.
• Using outdated or generic resume templates - Avoid using old resume formats with chunky lines, graphics and multiple columns to confuse ATS.
• Skipping the summary section - Summary is the protagonist of your resume, write a crisp, clean and goal oriented summary.
• Spelling mistakes, and grammatical Errors - In a profession where a small documentation error can have serious consequences, typos on a resume suggest a lack of attention to detail. A clean, error-free nurse resume is the first way to prove you are a precise and safe practitioner.

You’re More Prepared Than You Think

Writing a new grad nurse resume with no experience isn’t about pretending you’re an expert—it’s about clearly showing that your education and clinical training have prepared you for safe, effective patient care.

Hospitals don’t expect perfection from new graduates. They look for:

• Strong fundamentals
• Willingness to learn
• Safe practice habits
• Professional communication

Writing your first nurse resume doesn’t have to mean starting from a blank page.

Start Your New Graduate Nurse Resume With a Professional Template.

Let’s Go

Turning a No-Experience Resume Into a Nursing Career Start.

Finishing nursing school and entering the job market as a new graduate can feel intimidating, especially when your resume doesn’t include paid nursing experience. If you slightest doubt, then remember this: even without paid work, you have valuable experience to share. Your education, clinical rotations, and passion for patient care all matter. If you use a reverse-chronological resume, the goal is the same – help a potential employer see why you’re ready to start your career.

A strong new graduate nurse resume reframes your education and clinical training as real, valuable experience. When written clearly and confidently, your resume showcases that you understand patient care fundamentals, follow protocols, communicate effectively, and can function as part of a healthcare team.

Another key factor in today’s hiring process is applicant tracking systems. We already discussed about ATS above, do’s and don’ts but even the most qualified new graduate can be overlooked if their new grad RN resume is not ATS-friendly. Even if the perfect 4.0 GPA grad missed ATS tips, they might be the last one to get the job among the entire graduating class. It is so important. This is especially important for high-volume roles where resumes are screened electronically before reaching a nurse manager.

Additionally, confidence in summary sets the tone. Many new graduates unintentionally weaken their resumes by downplaying their experience or labeling themselves “just a student.” In reality, you were a supervised clinician learning evidence-based nursing care. Be confident and stand for all what you have written in the resume.

It’s also important to remember that your resume’s primary purpose is to secure an interview—not to tell your entire story. Once you’re in front of a recruiter or nurse manager, your communication skills, attitude, and willingness to learn become just as important as what’s on paper. Hence, preparing for the interview is a crucial task, prepare yourself with the resume so what you say and what you have written in the resume goes hand in hand.

Most importantly, remember that every experienced nurse once started exactly where you are now—with a first resume, a first application, and uncertainty about the future. Nursing is a profession built on growth, learning, and resilience. Your new grad nurse resume with no experience is not a limitation—it is the first professional document of a long, meaningful career.

When structured correctly and written with clarity, your resume becomes proof that you are ready to take the next step. Not perfect. Not finished. But prepared—and that is exactly what employers are looking for.