Certified nursing assistant resume: what this week’s postings actually ask for.
We pulled live certified nursing assistant postings on Oct 19, 2026, read them line by line, and counted what employers asked for. Use it to check your resume against the real thing.
From live postings this week, Oct 19, 2026. A small sample, shown as listed. No made-up numbers.
| Asked for | Share | Count |
|---|---|---|
| State nursing assistant certification | 3/3 | |
| Working in long-term care or skilled nursing | 3/3 | |
| Patient-first, caring attitude | 3/3 | |
| Personal care and daily living help | 3/3 | |
| Safe lifting and patient transfers | 2/3 | |
| Reporting changes in a resident’s condition | 2/3 | |
| Documenting care | 2/3 | |
| Taking and recording vital signs | 2/3 |
Pay and titles in this week’s certified nursing assistant postings.
These are the ten postings one Indeed search returned on Oct 19, 2026. They are a snapshot, not the whole market, and pay is shown exactly the way employers posted it.
$32,512 to $61,172 a year on salaried nursing-assistant postings, the top end a VA listing; two imaging-tech listings in the results, not CNA work, reached $88,902 and are left out of the range.
9 of the 10 postings listed pay. Ranges are the lowest and highest figures we saw, not an average.
- Certified Nursing Assistant Day Shift
- Certified Nursing Assistant Evening Shift
- Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)
- CNA Assisted Living/Memory Support (FT)
- Certified Nursing Assistant 10PM-6AM
- Nursing Assistant
Titles from the same 10 postings. Search for more than one of them.
Same work. Said like it counts.
Most certified nursing assistant resumes describe the job. Hiring managers look for the scale and the result. Here is the move, on one line.
Provided care to residents and helped with daily activities.
Gave daily care to 12 residents per shift in a long-term care unit: bathing, feeding, repositioning and safe transfers. Reported changes to the charge nurse and charted vitals and care every shift.
Illustrative example. It shows the method; it is not a real person’s resume.
Use your own numbers. If you do not know a figure, leave it out. A guessed number can cost you the interview.
What recruiters scan for first.
A first pass on a resume is quick. These five things should be easy to find in that time, ideally in the top third of the page.
- Your certification and state, next to your name and not buried at the bottom.
- The setting by name: long-term care, skilled nursing, hospital or home care. All three postings we read in full were long-term care or skilled nursing.
- Hands-on tasks in plain words: personal care, transfers, repositioning, vitals.
- Scale: how many residents or patients you cared for in a shift.
- Charting. Two of the three postings asked you to document care or record vitals, so name the system you used if you know it.
Start with the kit. Add the Sundays if you want them.
Every option is paid once. Nothing bills you again, and if the kit isn’t right you have a week to tell us and we fix it.
The kit
- Your resume, rebuilt for the role
- Readiness Scorecard, with three next moves
- Interview prep for that exact job
- Seven days of free revisions
The bundle
- Everything in the Iron kit
- Plus four Sundays of The Range, from the same upload
- One form, one payment, $9 less than buying both
The weekly drip
- Four Sunday-morning emails
- Up to five roles a week, posted that week, in your area
- Each scored against your resume, with a cover letter written only from it
- Never a repeat; a week with nothing worth sending doesn’t use a Sunday
After you pay you go straight to one short upload form. Paid through Stripe. Your statement reads CADDIE* CAREER.
When your four Sundays are up, your last Range email offers four more for $15. It’s a link, not a renewal. Listings can close without notice, and we never promise interviews or offers.
Certified nursing assistant resume questions.
Is state certification required?
All three postings we read in full asked for it. Put your certification and the state beside your name. If it is pending or has lapsed, say that in plain words instead of leaving it off. Rules differ by state, so check your state’s registry for what yours requires.
I only cared for a family member at home. Does that count?
It can, if you say what it was. List what you actually did, such as bathing, meals, transfers and reminders, and call it family care. Do not present it as facility work. All three postings we read still asked for certification, so lead with that if you have it.
Should I put the shift I want on my resume?
A short line helps. Titles in this week’s results named the shift, such as day shift, evening shift and 10pm to 6am. If you can only work certain shifts, say so near the top so no one has to call to find out.
How do I describe patient care without private details?
Describe the task and the count, never a name or a condition that could point to someone. “Repositioned and fed residents on a 12-resident hall” says enough. Keep off the page anything you would not say out loud in a hallway.
Do I need a summary at the top?
Two plain lines are enough: your certification, the setting you have worked in, and the shifts you can cover. Skip words like compassionate or dedicated unless a fact sits next to them. All three postings asked for a caring attitude, and a fact shows it better than the word does.
Nearby roles.
Skills carry between jobs more than titles suggest. If you are weighing a move, the guides for registered nurse and medical assistant resumes use the same method on their own postings, and so do the ones for receptionist and warehouse associate roles. Every guide we have built is listed on the resume guides page.
Free tool: check your resume against a job ad. It runs in your browser; nothing is saved.