Healthcare Assistant CV example and ATS keywords

Keywords employers screen healthcare assistant CVs for

Most employers use applicant tracking systems (ATS) that look for the words in their job advert. Use the ones that are true for you, in your skills section and in your experience. Always check the advert itself too, because each employer words things slightly differently.

Skills

• Patient observations
• NEWS2
• Personal care
• Pressure area care
• Fluid balance charts
• Venepuncture
• ECGs
• Blood glucose monitoring
• Infection prevention and control
• Manual handling
• Patient documentation

Qualifications and checks

• Care Certificate
• Level 2 or 3 Diploma in Health and Social Care
• Basic Life Support (BLS)
• Enhanced DBS
• Safeguarding adults and children

Personal qualities

• Compassionate
• Calm under pressure
• Team player
• Attention to detail
• Good communicator

Example healthcare assistant personal statement

Your personal statement (or profile) sits at the top of your CV. Keep it to 3 or 4 sentences: who you are, your experience, your strongest skills and what you're looking for. Make it your own: these examples show the shape, not words to copy.

Example experience bullet points

Start each bullet with an action verb and add a number wherever you can. Recruiters remember results, not duties.

• Recorded observations and NEWS2 scores for up to 12 patients per shift, escalating deteriorating patients to nurses immediately.
• Carried out venepuncture and ECGs for around 15 patients a day after completing trust competencies.
• Maintained accurate fluid balance and food charts, supporting safe discharge planning.
• Delivered pressure area care and repositioning, contributing to zero new pressure ulcers on the bay over 6 months.
• Supported newly qualified HCAs during their induction on ward routines and infection control.

Mistakes that get healthcare assistant CVs rejected

• Ignoring the person specification. NHS jobs score your application against it, so use its exact words in your CV and supporting statement.
• Writing "helped nurses" instead of naming clinical skills: observations, NEWS2, ECGs, venepuncture.
• Leaving out your band or setting. Say which ward or department and what type of patients you cared for.
• No mention of BLS or mandatory training being up to date.

How to lay out your healthcare assistant CV

1. Contact details: name, phone, email, town and (optionally) LinkedIn. No photo or date of birth needed in the UK.
2. Personal statement: 3 or 4 sentences, like the examples above.
3. Key skills: 6 to 10 skills from the keyword lists that are true for you.
4. Experience: most recent job first, with 3 to 5 bullet points each.
5. Education and training: qualifications, certificates and checks.

Use one column, standard headings and no tables, text boxes or graphics, so applicant tracking systems can read every word. Save it as a Word file unless the advert asks for a PDF.