New Grad Nurse Resume Templates
A new-grad nursing resume has a different first third than an experienced RN's: NCLEX status and license (or eligibility date), then clinical rotations written like jobs — unit, hours, patient population, skills performed — then BLS/ACLS and any tech or CNA work. These four templates are built in that order: the New Grad RN layout, two BSN-student designs with rotation-hours tables for residency and senior-year applications, and a new-CNA layout for students working while they finish.
Four layouts for the first nursing job.
New Grad leads with NCLEX and education; the BSN-student designs carry a clinical-rotations table with hours; the new-CNA layout is for students earning while they learn. All one page, all license-forward.
What goes on a new grad nurse resume.
Nurse recruiters and residency coordinators screen new grads on eligibility first and clinical exposure second — and they read rotations the way they’d read a job history. The layout puts it in that order:
- NCLEX and license status, by name. ’RN, NCLEX-RN passed Aug 2026’ or ’NCLEX-RN scheduled Oct 14’ — with the state. This line is the screen.
- Rotations written like work. Unit, facility, hours, patient population, skills performed (med pass, IV starts, wound care, charting in Epic). A table with hours is the strongest format.
- Certifications, all of them. BLS, ACLS, PALS, NIH Stroke Scale — as a block. Residency programs sort on these.
- Tech, CNA, and volunteer work. Patient care tech, CNA, hospital volunteer — real patient contact, written with the same specificity as rotations.
Once you’re licensed and on a unit, the experienced nursing templates (ER, med-surg, ICU) are the next resume. Working as a CNA while finishing school? The CNA set has a full new-graduate CNA layout. The nursing cover letter is built license-first too.
Writing clinicals like experience.
Weak:“Completed clinical rotation in medical-surgical nursing.”
Strong:“Med-Surg Clinical — Riverside Regional, 4 South (135 hrs): managed care for 3–4 adult patients per shift under RN supervision; med pass, IV starts and maintenance, wound care, Foley insertion; charted in Epic; participated in interdisciplinary rounds.”
Do that for each rotation — the unit, the hours, the patient load, the skills — and the rotations table becomes the experience section a residency coordinator is looking for.
Three steps.
- Pick New Grad RN (licensed or NCLEX-scheduled) or a BSN-student design (still in school).
- Fill NCLEX and license status by your name, then each rotation with unit, hours, and skills.
- List every certification, add CNA or tech work, and export a PDF.
New grad nurse resume FAQ
How do I write a new grad nurse resume with no experience?
Should I put NCLEX on my resume before I pass?
How do I list clinical rotations on a nursing resume?
What should a nursing student resume include?
Is a new grad nurse resume one page?
Are these templates free in Word and Google Docs?
New Grad Nurse Resume Templates · Updated September 2026