Medical Assistant Resume

Here are our medical assistant resume writing tips and medical assistant cover letter examples to help you put your own top notch medical assistant resume together in just minutes...

It is important that you, when applying for various advertised medical assistant positions, to clearly express your desire to work hard and help the doctor run his practice efficiently and successfully in your resume and accompanying cover letter. Your claim and desire to be diligent should be supported by documentation that attests to your eagerness and qualifications and show that you are cut out for the job. Documentation of experience, credentials and a flawless track record, as well as letters of recommendation from previous employers and statements that confirm your motivation will certainly impress a potential employer enough to place your resume high on the list of possible candidates for available positions.

The Most Important Letter You Will Ever Write!

Employers who hire medical assistants look at your education, years of experience, any specialty training you have and professional certifications. Any of these added to your resume is like a blinking job magnet that says: "Look at me! Hire me!"

Therefore, it is very important that you highlight your years of job experience, current credentials and certifications and important qualifications such as specialty training in phlebotomy, IV therapy, ECG/EKG, spirometry, allergy testing, or taking X-rays. Start sentences with "I and I am" and present tense verbs, such as "type 35 wpm, answer telephones, trained in phlebotomy, CPR certified."

Since no one one wants to wade through verbose language in a cover letter or resume, below are tested and proven resume writing tips that cut right to the heart of the matter.

How to Write a Medical Assistant Resume

We recently spotted a typical medical assistant job ad on our affiliate partner site Indeed.com. This example is typical for most medical assistant job announcements. It included a list of expected duties, qualifications and benefits:

DUTIES INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:

· Provide overall support for physicians and office operations.
· Prepare patients for examination and treatment.
· Take patient histories and vital signs.
· Prepare exam and treatment rooms with necessary instruments.
· Give injections and assist with lab testing and phlebotomy.
· Prepare and maintain supplies and equipment for treatments, including sterilization.
· Assist physicians in preparing for minor surgeries and physicals.
· Assist with scheduling of tests and treatments.
· Screen telephone calls for referral to physician.

 EDUCATION:

· A high school diploma or GED is required.
· Graduation from a Medical Assisting training program is highly preferred.

So here you have it! Most doctors and facilities expect a certain amount of job experience when they hire someone new. Medical assistant job applicants should add into their cover letter, that they are able to schedule appointments, accurately take and record vital signs in patient’s chart, explain policies and procedures and include any medical office management software skills you have, such as MediTech and Microsoft Word and Excel spreadsheet experience. Also add in that you are highly organized, able to pay attention to detail, and very good at multi-tasking and computer skills.

Research the Position, Then Taylor Your Resume

Medical Assistant Resume Example

Try to tailor your medical assistant resume as much as possible toward the specific job as advertised. If you are trained in drawing blood, point out your phlebotomy experience. Highlight your knowledge in customer services and care of patients, patient flow and properly taking and routing telephone messages. These are all important medical assistant skills doctors value and expect since these are areas where things can quickly go wrong and become a headache for the rest of the staff. So, again, make sure this is clearly mentioned in your medical assistant job application, resume and cover letter.

Example Medical Assistant Resume Letter:

Here is an example resume you can print that summarizes the applicant's experience, qualifications, duties, and positions previously held. This medical assistant paid careful attention to what the job entails.

Essential Elements:

You can write your resume in chronological format, if you wish. If possible, have a few people review it before submitting your final version. Include your:

• Name
• Contact address and phone numbers
• Work history
• Education history
• Continuing professional development
• Professional certifications/credentials
• References

Optional Elements:

• Technical skills and qualifications
• Awards/Recognitions
• Certificates
• Languages
• Additional areas of professional interest
• Letters of recommendation

Objective Statement:

Immediately below the top section of your resume (containing your name, address, etc.) add a short section expressing one of these: your professional objective, resume capsule, or career goal. Make sure you don't miss it and what ever you write, make it meaningful and directly geared toward the job.

Examples:

• "To obtain a position as a medical assistant that offers both personal and professional growth."
• "To obtain a permanent position as a medical assistant in both, administrative and clinical areas."
• "To apply my versatile administrative and clinical medical assistant skills in all areas of the modern group practice."
• "To utilize my vast experience in assisting with patient care procedures, medical clerical duties, and other duties as assigned.

Job Related *OTHER* Experience

Many new medical assistant school graduates without any direct medical assistant job experience don't realize the value of related or co-related experience from prior jobs, before they became a medical assistant, such as typing, filing, running a cash register (yes, that can be considered related as it requires skills that can easily be transferred to he medical office), customer service desk with telephone skills, scheduling, routing messages, and highly valued traits such as effective communication, punctuality, dependability, compassion, "extra mile", and on goes the list.

A recent TechRepublic Career Management resume overhaul competition conducted by TechRepublic and analyzed by Jennifer Hays gives a step by step review and specific examples on how to make a resume stand out so that hiring managers and recruiters can relate to you as a person and professional, or rather, as a professional person. Jennifer chose one resume from a TechRepublic member for the make over and here are the results of the TechRepublic Resume Makeover!

How about a Medical Assistant Cover Letter?

Employers will certainly appreciate the effort and interest expressed in a well written medical assistant cover letter that was submitted along with a professional resume. Several career experts agree on the value of a cover letter. Susan Heathfield, About.com's Guide to Human Resources says, "Your cover letter is particularly important. It's the job searcher's opportunity to help the potential employer see that the applicant's skills and experience match what the employer seeks. In the current economic climate, with the scarcity of jobs, a well-written cover letter distinguishes your application."

More: Sample Cover Letters and Tips

• Medical Assistant Resume Writing Tips
  
  Don't overload your medical assistant resume with educational details, but do highlight the areas where you achieved good results...
• Example Medical Assistant Chronological Resume
  
  Medical assistant chronological resume example and step-by-step writing tips of how to write an effective medical assistant resume in chronological format.
• Print Sample Medical Assistant Cover Letters
  
  Write your medical assistant cover letter to stand out. Well written medical assistant sample cover letter you can print and use as an example to go by.
• Medical Assistant Thank You Letter Example
  
  Example medical assistant thank you letter with step-by-step tips on how to write an effective follow-up thank you letter after the medical assistant job interview.