Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) Resume Sample & 20+ Tips

It’s not just your patients that require professional care and attention.

Your LPN resume needs this too—

If you want to land a good job, that is.

One that pays $65K and offers a bucketload of opportunities.

Don’t worry.

You’re about to learn how to give your LPN resume proper treatment.

This guide will show you:

• An LPN resume better than 9 out of 10 other resumes.
• How to write an LPN resume that will land you more interviews.
• Tips and examples of how to put skills and achievements on LPN resumes.
• How to prepare the best LPN resume job description section to get any job you want.

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Sample resume made with our builder—See more resume samples here.

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• Professional Resume Samples for All Jobs

1

What’s the Best Format for an LPN Resume?

The best format for your LPN resume?

The chronological resume format.

Why?

It puts your work history, achievements, and skills in the spotlight.

Plus—

Most recruiters are familiar with it, so your resume will be easy to navigate and readily accessible.

Just like a well-organized hospital ward.

When writing a resume for LPN positions remember:

• Embrace white space.
• Don’t cram in too much.
• Choose a resume-friendly font.
• Write reader-friendly headings.

Export your LPN resume as PDF. This way its formatting will stay intact on all computer systems and mobile devices.

Now—

Let’s move on to the first section of your LPN resume.

Still in doubt what’s the best format for your LPN resume? Read our guide: Best Resume Format for a Job: Which to Choose?

Here’s the thing:

LPNs know where to look on a patient’s health record to learn as much as possible in as little time as possible.

The same is true about recruiters.

They only spend seconds scanning LPN resumes to learn as much as possible about the candidate.

First, they glance upon your LPN resume objective or summary.

Here’s how the two differ:

• LPN resume objective puts your skills in the limelight and explains why you’re a great fit. Resume objectives work best for candidates with limited professional experience.

• LPN resume summary, as the name suggests, is a summary of your professional life and key achievements. Resume summaries are best for LPNs with at least a couple of years of experience under their belt.

LPN Resume Sample—New Graduate Objective

The first candidate is much better at showing off their hard skills.

Their LPN resume objective starts with strong character traits, gives an overview of their educational background and academic achievements.

Plus—

It identifies the employer by name, says what the candidate can offer, and mentions their relevant skills.

In contrast—

The other candidate’s LPN resume objective looks like a generic text that could be easily pasted into any kind of resume.

LPN Resume Summary—Examples

Again—

The wrong example doesn’t communicate much.

In short—

It fails to show the candidate’s motivated enough to even write a compelling opening section.

Try this proven formula to nail your LPN resume summary every time:

1. Begin with adjectives describing your strong traits.
2. Focus on your track record.
3. Specify your experience and skills.
4. Show off your biggest achievement(s).

And:

5. Quantify what’s possible.

Not sure you really know how to nail your LPN resume objective or summary? Read our dedicated articles that will guide you step by step.

• 20+ Career Objective Examples
• Professional Resume Summary

Do you know what makes you stand out from the crowd of 250+ applicants for the same position?

Your experience.

So let’s make sure your LPN job description delivers like a shot of epinephrine.

First, take a good look at the LPN jobs available online.

Find one that matches your level of experience and qualifications. And once you do, format your resume following these guidelines:

• Start with your latest position, follow it with the previous one, and so on.
• Put your job title, company name, and dates worked.
• List up to 6-7 bullet points for each position.
• Try to present your responsibilities as achievements and be specific.
• Quantify what you can. Numbers speak louder than words.
• Tailor your resume to the job.

Here’s what your LPN job description for a resume could look like:

LPN Job Description—Resume Example

To make a great impression on the recruiter, you must show you’ve got exactly what it takes to succeed in the role.

So use the original job ad as a reference point for your experience section.

Use the phrasing from the original job in case the employer uses the Applicant Tracking System (ATS).

When describing your experience use resume action words—they will highlight your LVN skills.

If you find it hard to put a number on each and every LPN resume bullet, fret not.

Simply pick out 1-3 achievements you’re proud of and list them under a key achievements heading below your responsibilities.

Just like you can see in the example above.

Finally—

Here’ s a wrong example for you to see what your LVN job description should not look like:

Remember: a hypoventilated job description will effectively depress the recruiter.

What about an LPN resume with no experience?

In resume writing, there’s only one rule.

Leave no section empty.

If you’re applying for an LPN position you must have some experience. Think of your:

1. Internships,
2. Voluntary work,
3. Student practice.

Plus—

Think of all the activities that let you develop your interpersonal skills.

Not sure how to go about creating your entry-level LPN resume? Read our guide on how to make your First Resume with No Work Experience

When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional resume template here for free.

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When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and tell you exactly how to make it better.

4

How to Put LPN Skills on a Resume

It’s no secret—

Your skills are just as vital as your experience.

The good news is—

If your LPN job description is done as it should, you’ve already presented quite a number of skills.

Let’s give your job description one more look:

Sample LPN Resume—Skills in a Job Description

Once we remove all the extra parts and focus on the essence, this is what we’re left with:

Sample Resume for LPN—Skills

• Post-surgical patient care
• Basic patient care (incl. taking temperature, pressure, catheterization, etc.)
• Patient monitoring
• Administering medications
• O2 treatment
• Organizational skills
• Teamwork
• Communication skills

In short—

The skills the hiring manager is looking for are already on your LPN resume.

But you can give them more prominence.

Cherry-pick the skills you really take pride in, then take another look at the job offer to see if there are other skills the employer lists as crucial to the role.

Note them down.

Now, look at the entire list, identify your strongest LPN skills and put them in a separate key skills section.

Pro Tip: List a maximum of 10 skills and stick to the ones you’re great at to avoid the so-called presenter’s paradox.

Let the list below be your source of inspiration:

LPN Skills for Resume—List

• Wound care
• Tracheostomy suction and care
• Stages I-IV pressure sore care
• Admitting and discharging
• Meditech documentation
• Patient/family education
• Communication
• Collaboration
• PICC Line care
• GI feeding and tubes
• Care plan assessment
• Pre-death monitoring
• Acute and rehabilitative care
• Glucose checks and blood pressure monitoring
• PEG tube
• Nebulizers

• Cooperation
• Multitasking
• Organization
• Teamwork
• Oral communication
• Adaptability
• Troubleshooting
• Interpersonal skills
• Perseverance
• Resilience

Remember:

To present your LPN skills on your resume in the most effective way:

• Sprinkle your entire LPN resume with them.
• List up to 10 of your best skills.
• Focus exclusively on relevant skills.

Not sure what skills would work best on your resume? Read our guide: 99 Key Skills for a Resume (Best List of Examples for All Types of Jobs) and Nursing Skills for Your Resume

Here’s the thing:

Education matters.

Without it, you wouldn’t even have considered applying for an LPN job.

So—

Make sure to include all relevant schools, licenses, and certifications:

LPN Resume Template—Education

LPN Resume Sample—Licenses and Certifications

• Licensed Practical Nurse—Licence #34587610
• CPR and Basic Life Support Certification
• IV Certification

Fresh out of college? Not sure how to go about the education section on your LPN resume? Read our guide: How to List Your Education on a Resume [Tips & Examples]

Cover letters still matter.

About 50% of recruiters expect your resume to be accompanied by a cover letter.

Why?

A well-written cover letter proves your communication skills and introduces the person behind the achievements on the resume.

To make your LPN resume cover letter stand out:

1. Keep it short and sweet.
2. Use it to fill in the gaps left out in your resume.
3. Organize it well and write it clearly.

Simple.

The problem begins when you sit down to writing it.

Don’t panic.

Read our guide on how to write a perfect cover letter.

If you need super-detailed advice, head straight to one of our specialized guides:

• How to Address a Cover Letter
• How to Start a Cover Letter
• How to End a Cover Letter

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

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See more cover letter templates and start writing.

Key Takeaway

There’s more to writing an LPN nurse resume than listing your LPN duties and skills.

To write a Licensed Practical Nurse resume that land jobs:

1. Choose an elegant LPN resume template.
2. Start with a snappy resume objective or summary.
3. Craft a great LPN job description section.
4. Focus on your achievements.
5. Pick out your strongest skills.
6. Tailor your LPN resume to the job offer.
7. List all your relevant licenses and certifications.
8. Write a captivating cover letter.

And—

Prepare for the interview.

Are you a new graduate writing your first LPN resume with no experience? Or perhaps you’ve written a couple of LPN resumes and you’re eager to help the freshers out? We’d love to hear from you, leave your comment below!