Mental health nursing assistant CV example

How to write a CV for a mental health nursing assistant

Stuck on how to write a CV that’ll supercharge your prospects? You’re in the right place. The following sections break everything down, so you don’t waste time scratching your head. On top of sharing insider tips, we’ll answer your most common CV writing questions towards the end. Let’s explore:

• Adding contact details to your mental health nursing assistant CV
• Mental health nursing assistant CV personal statement
• Adding experience section to your mental health nursing assistant CV
• Mental health nursing assistant CV skills
• Outlining education on a mental health nursing assistant CV

Adding contact details to your mental health nursing assistant CV

Imagine – you’ve spent hours creating an outstanding CV, only to hear crickets every time you send it out. What’s going on? The answer might be as simple as you’ve forgotten to add your most up-to-date contact details at the top of the page. We suggest highlighting the following information in a slightly larger or bolder font to make it stand out:

• Name – first name and surname
• Location – including country and postcode
• Phone number – the best one to reach you on
• Email address – keep it work appropriate

Example of contact section for a mental health nursing assistant CV

Mental health nursing assistant CV personal statement

You only have a few seconds to convince the employer you’re the right person for the job, which is tricky for the most talented CV writers. One way you can do this is via a persuasive personal statement that presents your most valuable qualities in a bite-sized chunk. You only have three to four sentences to get your point across, so every word counts!

The first sentence explains who you are, including your years of experience and career focus – for example, you might work for the NHS or an adult care home. Next, explain what you can achieve backed up by a statistic. You might have “managed a caseload of 100 patients” or “designed an exercise programme that boosted wellbeing by 90%”. Keep it specific, and we promise you’ll stand out. The final sentences underline your skills and areas of expertise.

You won’t go wrong with the above formula, but here are some extra tips you might find useful:

• Write in the third person to sound more professional
• Use positive adjectives like “caring”, “empathetic”, and “patient”
• Keep it concise – between 50 to 100 words is ideal
• Avoid jokes, slang, and idioms – the tone should be formal
• Don’t copy text from the job specification – think about what gives you the edge over other candidates

Example of personal statement for a mental health nursing assistant CV

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Adding experience section to your mental health nursing assistant CV

The work history section is a deep dive into your most impressive strengths and achievements. Employers learn what tasks you’re most comfortable with and whether you’ve received any promotions or awards. Additionally, they can see how long you usually stay with an organisation – flitting between jobs without a good reason rarely fills decision-makers with confidence!

Start from your current or most recent role and note three to six duties for each. Above all else, don’t skimp on the details. The more specific you can be, the better. Include the following information:

• Job title
• Employment start and end dates
• Company name
• Company location
• Brief list of responsibilities
• Workplace achievements

Like the personal statement, jazzing your work up with figures is the surest way to attract the hiring manager’s attention. Let’s say you “developed strategies for discussing mental health issues” – can you expand on this? You might have created a programme that destigmatised mental health in schools. Perhaps the strategies are now used to train other nursing assistants. Remember, specificity is the key to success.

Every job seeker’s worst fear is boring the employer, so we suggest using plenty of positive adjectives and action verbs to uplift the tone. However, don’t play it safe with boring descriptors – think outside the box. You might be “articulate”, “diplomatic”, or “tactful”. Action verbs are excellent alternatives for “responsible for”. Some of our favourites for mental health nursing assistants include “oversaw”, “fostered”, and “guided”.

Finally, avoid repetition to demonstrate the scope of your talents. If you’ve discussed “visiting patients at home” underneath one position, mention “supervising community trips” in another. Basically, cover as many duties as possible to prove you’re multi-talented and worth the investment!

Example of work experience for a mental health nursing assistant CV

Mental health nursing assistant CV skills

CV skills reassure the employer you possess the practical and transferable knowledge to thrive. Alongside painting a clearer picture of your talents, having everything in one place helps CV scanning software function properly. As a rule, you should include up to 12 aptitudes, split equally between hard and soft skills.

What’s the difference? Hard skills are technical and learnt on the job or through education. For instance, “creating mental health treatment plans”, “assessing high-risk patients”, and “dispensing medication”. On the other hand, soft skills are personality-based and much harder to learn, therefore like gold dust to hiring managers. Examples include “dependable”, “trustworthy”, and “adaptable”.

Many candidates go wrong by only focusing on hard skills. However, you must also convince the employer you have the right character to succeed. It doesn’t matter how technically experienced you are if you can’t handle the emotional demands of the job.

Essential skills for a mental health nursing assistant

Outlining education on a mental health nursing assistant CV

Education underpins experience, confirming you have the fundamental knowledge to surpass expectations. Qualifications can set you apart from equally skilled candidates, so it’s worth exploring courses before job-hunting. You can talk about school, college, and university, extracurricular training, accreditations, and anything else that might be relevant.

How do you become a mental health nursing assistant? Assistant roles don’t demand the same level of education, so you might not need as many qualifications as you think. Nevertheless, most employers prefer a BTEC or diploma in “Health and Social Care”.

Many assistants hope to become fully qualified one day. If this resonates, pursue a university degree in “Mental Health Nursing” or “Social Work” approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Alternatively, study a health-related subject, such as “Psychology”, and then transfer to nursing in your second year.

When talking about your education, list the following:

• Name of school, college, university, or other awarding body
• Study start and end dates
• Subject title
• Qualification level – e.g. BTEC or degree
• Qualification result

Example of education for a mental health nursing assistant CV