Travel Nurse Resume Example

A step-by-step guide for writing a Travel Nurse resume that gets more interviews and job offers. Or, the option to have Leet Resumes write your resume for free.

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Written by Marc Cenedella
Leading expert on resumes
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Marc Cenedella

Marc Cenedella is a nationally recognized thought leader on careers, resume writing, job search, career management and recruiting, Marc is frequently sought out by national media organizations for his expert commentary on employment, resumes, the job search and the job market.

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Last updated on September 2, 2022
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A Travel Nurse Resume that Lands Interviews

Let’s be honest, there are some pretty great perks to being a Travel Nurse. You get to meet interesting “walkie talkies” from all over the country, see new places and the pay is pretty great, too. But there are definitely some placements that make you grateful it’s only temporary. And to land better placements, you need an updated resume.

You’re used to figuring things out on the spot with little to no orientation. With all the things you’ve managed and figured out on your own, writing a resume seemed simple enough. Until the questions came.

Do I put every Travel Nurse placement in my work experience? Which specialty do I list? Do I add my mailing address or the place I’m currently working?

Not to worry, we have the answers. We can also walk you through each step of your resume so you get more interviews and job offers from the placements you actually want.

The Travel Nurse’s Resume Template

In this step-by-step guide, you’ll learn how to create a resume template to use for any future placement. We’ve also included a resume example to reference along the way.

Instead of making a stock resume that a recruiter can blindly submit (yikes), a resume template allows you to customize each submission so you get the nice placements that make you proud to call home about.

Follow along through each step of the process and we’ll show you which parts to customize and which parts to keep so you never have to start a resume from scratch again.

Have the experts write your resume for you

If you’d rather skip the writing process altogether, the experts behind this resume example and guide will write yours for free. Hand off the work the Leet Resumes and they’ll give you a custom Travel Nurse resume that will have you packing for your next assignment, stat.

The Format of a Travel Nurse Resume

Your resume has five sections, plus your name and contact information. Here’s the outline of what to include in your resume (in this exact order):

  • Name + Contact
  • Professional Headline
  • Summary
  • Work Experience
  • Education
  • Keywords

Ready to get started? Let’s jump right in.

Name + Contact

First things first, let them know who’s responsible for the resume below and who to call for an interview.

Type your full name at the top center of the page in a font that’s professional, easy to read and slightly larger than the rest of the text.

Directly underneath, add your phone number, email address and location (current city and state, or a tax home if you have one). They know you’re traveling to them, but it’s helpful to know where you’re coming from (especially if there’s a travel reimbursement).

Don’t distract with additional methods of communication or social accounts. Just choose a number you’ll answer, empty your voicemail inbox and pick an email address that is professional (the safest bet is the standard firstname.lastname approach).

Professional Headline

The first goal is to capture a recruiter’s attention with your professional headline. With just three to five words, it needs to be packed with information that gives them an overview of who you are and what you do. No pressure.

Start with a slightly flattering adjective that puts you in a positive light: thorough, methodical, passionate, detail-oriented or proficient are some ideas.

Then add a word to describe your level of experience: entry-level, senior, lead, etc.

Finally, cap it off with your official title: Travel Nurse. If you have a nursing specialty, you can add it to your official title, too.

The final result should look something like this: Proficient Senior PICU Travel Nurse.

Professional Summary

Once your headline has their attention, your professional summary will make them think you were made for their open nursing position.

This section should be customized for every position you apply to. Writing this with a one-size-fits-all approach risks landing the dreaded Travel Nurse position of being floated through the worst assignments with a roster of PITAs, and lost in the back alleys of the hospital for weeks.

The best way to avoid that is to refer to the job description of the placement you’re targeting and use the information there to complete these four lines of lists:

Line One: list all the Travel Nurse roles you’d accept for your next placement including the exact title listed in the job posting.

Line Two: list the most relevant skills you have that qualify you for that position. If you’re applying for an ICU role, you might include CRRT, balloon pumps or intubation. Don’t forget the certifications you have that are required for this position.

The next two lines are optional. If you can’t think of anything to fill them, don’t worry about it. As long as your first two lines are targeted toward a specific role, they’re enough to get an interview.

If you have the experience, add your career highlights and achievements in line three, and any awards, promotions or recognitions you’ve received in line four.

Want someone else to do the writing for you?

That’s an option, too. The experts behind this resume example and guide can write your resume for you. Better yet, they’ll do it for free! (Tips for a job well done are much appreciated.)

Work Experience

This is the heart of your resume. It’s where you outline the success stories of your nursing, validate your qualifications with experience, and show any potential employer how you’ll create positive outcomes for their patients and their facility.

Start by listing your previous work history in reverse chronological order. This should include your total time as a Travel Nurse for each agency as a whole, as well as long-term positions you’ve held in specific departments.

For example:

  • Travel RN Nurse (February 2017–present), [Name of Agency]
  • Trauma ICU RN (April 2018–June 2019), [Name of Hospital]

Even though these experiences overlap, it shows a potential employer that you have the required year of ICU experience from extending your contract, as well as the established experience of being a Travel Nurse so you’re not a complete nursling.

What to Include in Your Work Experience

Under each previous position, create a bullet point list to highlight your achievements in that role. Avoid generic descriptions of the daily tasks and responsibilities in nursing. It’s kind of a given that you can provide patient care and dress wounds. What a potential employer is looking for is how well you do your job, and how you can bring success to their facility for the time you’re there. So here’s how to wow them:

Start every bullet point with a strong success verb.

Scrap generic tepid verbs like managed, operated, performed or provided and swap them out for actions that highlight the positive outcome of your work like improved, advocated, optimized, advanced, reduced or enhanced.

Include as many numbers as possible.

Numbers are specific. They help anyone from an agency recruiter, to hospital HR and the head nurse to immediately visualize your impact as a Travel Nurse. They want to know you’re skilled, efficient and accurate in your work and numbers help them objectively see your contributions to a facility.

Find numbers in the patients served, departments served (a.k.a. Floated between) on a placement, HCAHPS scores and anywhere else you can find numbers in your work that don’t violate HIPAA. If you get stuck, take a look at the resume example for more inspiration.

Add every promotion.

This goes for contract extensions, too. There’s a wide variety of Travel Nurses out there, and every promotion and extension you’ve been offered shows that people like your work and like keeping you around. That, alone, can get an employer calling you over the next Travel Nurse.

Education

Keep this section of your resume template brief. Your work speaks for itself, and the certifications you’ve obtained since college will be listed in the keywords section below.

Here, just list where you went to school, the dates of your attendance, the degree(s) you obtained and any awards or honors you received.

Leave out the extracurriculars, affiliations and incomplete degrees (unless you’re still pursuing them).

Travel Nurse Keywords and Skills for a Resume

To top off a stellar Travel Nurse resume, add a list of targeted keywords and skills at the bottom of the page that’s easy for any recruiter (or AI scanner) to read. (This is one of those highly-customized sections of your resume template.)

Here are some ideas to get you started:

Soft Skills:

  • Listening Skills
  • Empathy
  • Excellent Communication
  • Team-Oriented
  • Problem Solving

Technical Nursing Skills:

  • BLS
  • ACLS
  • Telemetry
  • EHR Proficiency
  • PPE

Additional Certifications:

  • AHA BLS
  • ACLS
  • NIHSS

With the final custom keywords in place, your resume is ready to send with your plane ticket soon to follow.

Can someone else write my resume for me?

Sure thing. Leet Resumes will take care of your Travel Nurse resume so you can stay focused on the quality patient care you provide. Try it out for yourself for free (tips are always appreciated).

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