What to Include on a PA Resume for a New Grad
A new graduate PA is going to have a very different resume compared to an experienced PA. I’ve seen bad resumes get through recruiters, and applicants were still able to get an interview. The resume is what gets you into the door, and putting relevant information on it can help you land an interview.
I don’t think it’s good to have a highly formatted resume. By highly formatted, I mean a lot of editing – columns, tabs, etc. Try to keep the formatting as basic as you can. The problem with complex layouts is that some job application programs don’t recognize the format, so when you upload your resume to an application system, all the formatting looks different than what you did.
One way to avoid the changes in the formatting is to save it as a PDF and send it in a PDF format. It works great if you’re emailing your resume to a recruiter or hiring manager, but if the employer has an online application system that you upload your resume, then it probably will not be able to read a PDF file and will require a word document.
As a new graduate, you don’t have a lot of experience as a PA, and you will want to highlight the experiences that you do have, mostly from clinical rotations. For a new graduate, I recommend including your clinical rotations on your resume. Try to make it relevant to the job you are applying to. If you are applying for a position in surgery, highlight your surgical rotations. If you did an extra rotation in surgery, it helps to highlight the extra experience. Although you might not have a lot of experience in the specific specialty, showing that you have an interest in that specialty can be helpful. Did you choose to do an elective rotation in a specific area? Be sure to highlight that on your resume.
Also, be sure to include any past healthcare experience you might have. If you’re applying for a job in primary care and worked as a medical assistant before PA school, that experience will help you transition to a role as a PA. Did you previously work as an EMT and are now interested in working in the ER? The experience you have as an EMT can help separate you from someone else who had a different type of patient care experience before PA school.
Your first job is the only time that you should use a format like this. Once you have work experience as a PA, you no longer needed to include your clinical rotation experience. You can move your PA experience to the top of your resume and put your education below your experience. Employers will be more interested in your current work experience than your educational experience.
