From driving emergency vehicles to administering medication, paramedics do life-saving work every day.
But to work as a paramedic, it’s essential that you have adequate adaptability skills, stamina, and empathy – and it’s equally as important to be able to demonstrate these skills on your CV.
To help you get started, we’ve put together this useful guide to writing your CV, with a helpful paramedic CV example included.
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Paramedic CV example
This is a good example of a Paramedic CV which contains all of the information that a hiring manager will need to know, and presents it in a well- structured, easy-to-read manner.
Take some time to study and understand this CV, and refer to it throughout the writing of your own CV for best results.
Paramedic CV layout and format
First impressions count, so a sloppy, disorganised CV may cause your CV to be overlooked..
Instead, perfect the format and structure of your CV by working to a clear logical structure and applying some simple formatting tricks to ease readability.
Don’t underestimate the importance of this step; if your CV lacks readability, your written content won’t even be seen.
CV formatting tips
- Length: Whether you’ve got one year or three decades of experience, your CV should never be more than two sides of A4. Recruiters are busy people who’re often juggling numerous roles and tasks, so they don’t have time to read lengthy applications. If you’re a recent graduate or don’t have much industry experience, one side of A4 is fine.
- Readability: Recruiters appreciate CVs that they can quickly scan through without trouble. Ensure yours makes the cut by formatting your headings for attention (bold or coloured fonts should do the trick) and breaking up long paragraphs into smaller chunks or short, snappy bullet points.
- Design: It’s generally best to stick to a simple CV design, as funky or elaborate designs rarely add any value to your application. A clear, modern font and a subtle colour scheme work perfectly and allow your skills, experience and achievements to speak for themselves.
- Avoid photos: Ditch logos, images or profile photos. Not only do they take up valuable space, but they may even distract recruiters from your important written content.
Quick tip: Formatting your CV to look professional can be difficult and time-consuming when using Microsoft Word or Google Docs. If you want to create an attractive CV quickly, try our quick-and-easy CV Builder and use one of their eye-catching professional CV templates.
CV structure
For easy reading, write your CV to the following CV structure:
- Contact details – Make it easy for recruiters to get in touch with you by listing your contact details at the top of your CV.
- Profile – A short and snappy summary of your experience and skills, showcasing what makes you a good fit for the position.
- Work experience / career history – Note down all your work history, with your current position first, then working backwards.
- Education – A short list of your academic background and professional/vocational qualifications.
- Interest and hobbies – This is an optional section, which you can use to highlight any relevant hobbies or interests.
Now I’ll tell you exactly what you should include in each CV section.
CV Contact Details
Write your contact details in the top corner of your CV, so that they’re easy to find but don’t take up too much space.
You only need to list your basic details, such as:
- Mobile number
- Email address
- Location – Don’t list your full address. Your town or city, such as ‘Norwich’ or ‘Coventry’ is perfect.
- LinkedIn profile or portfolio URL – Remember to update these before listing them on an application.
Paramedic CV Profile
Your CV profile is basically a short introductory paragraph, which summarises your key selling points and highlights why you’d make a good hire.
So, write a well-rounded summary of what you do, what your key skills are, and what relevant experience you have.
It needs to be short, snappy and punchy and, ultimately, entice the reader to read the rest of your CV.
Tips for creating an strong CV profile:
- Keep it concise: Recruiters have piles of CVs to read through and limited time to dedicate to each, so it pays to showcase your abilities in as few words as possible. 3-4 lines is ideal.
- Tailor it: If recruiters don’t see your suitability within a few seconds, they may close your CV straight away. Your CV profile should closely match the essential requirements listed in the job ad, so make sure to review them before you write it.
- Don’t add an objective: Career goals and objectives are best suited to your cover letter, so don’t waste space with them in your CV profile.
- Avoid cliches: Cheesy clichès and generic phrases won’t impress recruiters, who read the same statements several times per day. Impress them with your skill-set, experience and accomplishments instead!
Example CV profile for Paramedic
What to include in your Paramedic CV profile?
- Summary of experience: Start with a brief summary of your relevant experience so far. How many years experience do you have? What type of companies have you worked for? What industries/sectors have you worked in? What are your specialisms?
- Relevant skills: Make your most relevant Paramedic key skills clear in your profile. These should be tailored to the specific role you’re applying for – so make sure to check the job description first, and aim to match their requirements as closely as you can.
- Essential qualifications: If the jobs you are applying to require candidates to have certain qualifications, then you must add them in your profile to ensure they are seen by hiring managers.
Quick tip: Struggling to write a powerful profile? Choose from hundreds of pre-written profiles across all industries, and add one to your CV with one click in our quick-and-easy CV Builder. All written by recruitment experts and easily tailored to suit your unique skillset.
Core skills section
In addition to your CV profile, your core skills section provides an easily digestible snapshot of your skills – perfect for grabbing the attention of busy hiring managers.
As Paramedic jobs might receive a huge pile of applications, this is a great way to stand out and show off your suitability for the role.
It should be made up of 2-3 columns of bullet points and be made up of skills that are highly relevant to the jobs you are targeting.
Top skills for your Paramedic CV
Vital sign monitoring – utilising equipment to measure key physiological parameters such as heart rate, pulse oxygen saturation, respiration rate and body temperature.
Patient assessment – gleaning information around the health and wellbeing of the patient including the patient’s physical development, body structure, skin signs and any age-specific findings.
Life support techniques – understanding and appropriate use of a variety of life support techniques to maintain human life.
Use of ambulance equipment – utilising a variety of complex and technical equipment to care for patients.
Regulatory compliance – understanding and adhering to all laws and regulations surrounding emergency healthcare in the UK.
Quick tip: Our quick-and-easy CV Builder contains thousands of in-demand skills for every profession that can be added to your CV in seconds – saving you time and greatly improving your chances of landing job interviews.
Work experience/Career history
Now that recruiters have a good overview of your skills and abilities, you need to jump into the detail of your career history.
Give them a more thorough insight into what you can do by creating a detailed list of your relevant experience.
Start with your current role, and work backwards through all the relevant positions you’ve held.
This could be freelance, contract or voluntary work too; as long as it’s related to the role you’re applying for.
Structuring your roles
If you don’t pay attention to the structure of your career history section, it could quickly become bulky and overwhelming.
Get in recruiters’ good books by creating a pleasant reading experience, using the 3-step structure below:
Outline
Firstly, give the reader some context by creating a punchy summary of the job as a whole.
You should mention what the purpose or goal of your role was, what team you were part of and who you reported to.
Key responsibilities
Using easy-to-read bullet points, note down your day-to-day responsibilities in the role.
Make sure to showcase how you used your hard sector skills and knowledge.
Key achievements
Lastly, add impact by highlight 1-3 key achievements that you made within the role.
Struggling to think of an achievement? If it had a positive impact on your company, it counts.
For example, you might increased company profits, improved processes, or something simpler, such as going above and beyond to solve a customer’s problem.
Example job for Paramedic CV
Outline
Execute NHS trust ambulance operations by responding to emergency situations for 8M+ people across London.
Key Responsibilities
- Respond to urgent calls concerning traumatic injuries, chest pain discomfort, loss of consciousness, psychotic episodes, drug ingestions, poisoning, and hypoglycaemia.
- Perform cardiac support, carry out respiratory procedures, administer medication via IV infusions, and dress wounds due to building collapses, sudden illness, and natural disasters.
- Employ oxygen masks, defibrillators, ventilators, traction splints, and long boards to stabilise patients on-scene.
- Collaborate with law enforcement and firefighting units to avoid medical errors and assure patient safety.
Quick tip: Create impressive job descriptions easily in our quick-and-easy CV Builder by adding pre-written job phrases for every industry and career stage.
Education section
After your work experience, your education section should provide a detailed view of your academic background.
Begin with those most relevant to Paramedic jobs, such as vocational training or degrees.
If you have space, you can also mention your academic qualifications, such as A-Levels and GCSEs.
Focus on the qualifications that are most relevant to the jobs you are applying for.
Interests and hobbies
This section is entirely optional, so you’ll have to use your own judgement to figure out if it’s worth including.
If your hobbies and interests could make you appear more suitable for your dream job, then they are definitely worth adding.
Interests which are related to the industry, or hobbies like sports teams or volunteering, which display valuable transferable skills might be worth including.
Writing your Paramedic CV
When putting together your Paramedic CV, there are a few key points to remember
Always tailor your CV to the target role, even if it means creating several versions for different roles.
Additionally, remember that the structure and format of your CV needs just as much attention as the content.
Good luck with your job search!