Medical Assistant Resume Examples & Writing Tips

Key sections to include in a medical assistant resume

A medical assistant resume follows the same foundational structure that other applications do: an informative header, a resume summary or objective, work experience, education, and skills. You can also enhance your resume with a few bonus sections, such as languages and volunteer experience.

Let’s take a look at how to build the ideal medical assistant resume structure with real examples for each section.

Header

Your resume header is the very first section of your resume and includes your personal details, including:

• Full name
• Job title
• Phone number
• Email address
• Location (city and state)
• LinkedIn URL

This gives the hiring manager a central location for your contact details so they can easily contact you if they’re interested. It also gives them options, whether they want to contact you via email, phone, or LinkedIn message.

Here’s an example of a resume header for a medical assistant:

Resume summary or objective

Resume summaries and objectives both accomplish the same goal: they quickly tell the hiring manager your top qualities and why you’re a great candidate.

The primary differences between them include:

• Summary: Describes your work experience and achievements. Usually used by professionals who have been in the field for a few years.
• Objective: Describes your skills and aspirations. Usually used by students and people undergoing a career switch.

Because this role is commonly entry-level, let’s take a look at a medical assistant resume objective:

Work experience

Your work experience is the number one qualification that hiring managers look for – every recruiter wants to see a relevant work history on your resume that correlates to their open role.

Start by providing your job title, and then list the company name, location, and date of employment. Finish each entry with three to four bullet points of your most impactful, relevant achievements.

Here’s an example work entry:

Education

Not every medical assistant role has strict educational requirements, but it’s still important to mention all the educational certifications you have. Some employers expect a Bachelor’s or Associate’s degree, and some simply like to see helpful healthcare certifications from a community college.

Keep this section short and informative – include your degree’s name, the institution where you got it, its location, and your graduation date.

Here’s an example:

Hard & soft skills

Medical assistants must provide high-quality patient care, which requires strong technical abilities like handling laboratory specimens, in addition to soft skills like empathy and communication. These capabilities are even more important to get right if you’re building a medical assistant skills resume – but we’ll talk about that in depth below in our tips.

Here are the top hard skills for a great medical assistant resume:

• Monitoring and recording vital signs
• Patient care
• Clinical operations
• Calendar management
• Patient management
• Pediatric care
• Patient relations

Here are the best soft skills for a medical assistant resume:

• Communication
• Empathy
• Patience
• Active listening
• Organization
• Collaboration and teamwork

Optional sections

The above elements are essential, these next ones are optional but can help reinforce your qualifications and make you stand out.

The usual optional sections are: 

• Languages
• Volunteer work
• Hobbies and interests
• Certifications
• Projects

Volunteer work is a great addition to a medical assistant resume. Add any experience you have working with people, especially in a healthcare environment, like volunteering at an elderly care facility.

Ensure these bonus sections fit gracefully into your resume – don’t stuff them in. It could look unnatural and push your resume into multiple pages. Take the time to find the resume template that accommodates your optional sections perfectly.

Tips for writing an MA resume

Let’s review a few tips and tricks for building a successful medical assistant resume. You’ve learned the essentials, but the following advice elevates your resume and makes it stand out from the crowd.

Tailor your resume for each application

It’s easy to send the same resume to every company, but it isn’t recommended. Take the time to thoroughly read the job description and tailor your resume to match, using the same terminology and mentioning relevant skills and achievements.

This shows the hiring manager that you understand their needs and you’re exactly what they’re looking for. It also helps you build an ATS resume that easily bypasses a company’s applicant tracking system (ATS).

Check out our large library of resume articles for even more tips on how to tailor your resume and what it can do for you. 

Quantify your achievements

Adding measurable metrics to your achievements gives them depth and shows the impact you made in your previous work. Simply listing responsibilities doesn’t show the hiring manager much, and it reads a bit like a “to-do” list.

Consider the outcomes of your work and quantify the accomplishments in your resume summary and work entries. Here’s an example:

Build a functional resume

Many medical assistant roles are entry-level, meaning that job seekers may not have extensive work experience. This isn’t a problem – simply use a functional resume structure.

A medical assistant skills resume focuses on skills over work experience, listing each skill like work history and giving a bullet list of how you’ve used it. This helps put focus on your abilities and transferable skills and how they make you an excellent fit for the role, regardless of experience.

Check out our nurse resume examples for ideas on which skills to showcase.

Showcase your compassion with a great medical assistant resume

An excellent medical assistant resume isn’t hard to make, and this guide is handy for both certified medical assistants and job seekers new to the field. Just remember our helpful tips:

• Quantify your achievements to show the outcome of your work
• Use a skills-based resume to emphasize your abilities
• Tailor your resume for each application
• Leverage optional sections to add extra depth to your qualifications
• Focus on your people skills, compassion, and empathy

Let’s put these tips to use while they’re fresh in your mind. Try CVwizard’s Resume Builder to craft a professional medical assistant resume today.