An eye-catching medical assistant resume will help you stand out from other applicants. But to get invited to an interview, you’ll need to do more than just attract a recruiter’s attention. You’ll also need to show that your skills, certification, and career experience make you the perfect candidate.
That’s where medical assistant resume templates come into play. These easily customizable templates provide the ideal resume structure, ensuring you don’t leave out anything important.
Keep reading to discover what you should include on your medical assistant resume, along with essential tips for customizing it.
General Tips for Medical Assistant Resumes
Before we go over the medical assistant resume section by section, let’s cover some resume best practices.
Make sure your resume is well-formatted and attractively laid out. A medical assistant resume sample can be an excellent base for your own resume. However, make sure it has:
- Plenty of white space
- Standard margin sizes
- A conservative font, such as Times New Roman or Arial (size 11 or 12)
- Bullet points so that recruiters can quickly find the information they’re looking for
Your resume must be tailored to the job posting. Use the exact keywords from the job description so that your application isn’t discarded by an applicant tracking system.
When crafting an experienced medical assistant resume, you might struggle to fit your entire career history on one page. Cut information from older and less impressive roles. Instead of listing all your past responsibilities, focus on the ones mentioned in the job posting.
Essential Components of a Medical Assistant Resume Template
Let’s break down a medical assistant resume sample.
Anne Example anne.example@gmail.com (123) 456-7890
Objective Statement
Certified medical assistant with three years of experience and excellent administrative skills looking to specialize in cardiology.
Skills
- Vital signs measurement
- Computer skills — competent with EHR software, Excel and Word
- Communication skills
- Empathy
Experience
Medical Assistant, Northside Hospital Atlanta, February 2020–present
- Update patients’ Electronic Health Records
- File insurance reports
Education
South College Atlanta, Associate of Science in Medical Assisting, 2019
Certifications and Licenses
Certified Medical Assistant (CMA), American Association of Medical Assistants, January 2020–January 2025
Volunteer and Extracurricular Activities
Blood Service Volunteer, American Red Cross, June 2022–present
- Confirm donors’ identities
- Provide donor aftercare
Tips for Writing Each Section of the Medical Assistant Resume Template
Medical assistant resume examples will give you a solid framework that you can adapt. Here’s how to optimize each section of your medical assistant resume.
Medical Assistant Resume: Objective Statement
Your medical assistant resume objective statement tells employers who you are. Recruiters spend fewer than 8 seconds on average reviewing a resume, so focus on the most important details, such as:
- One or two skills
- Your level of experience
- Your career goal
When writing your medical assistant summary for resume, skip your personal pronouns. Write “Experienced in…” instead of “I am experienced in…” or “She is experienced in…”
Some applicants write a headline for medical assistant resume above their objective statement. This is an even shorter description of who you are. However, providing your objective statement is sufficiently to the point; a separate headline isn’t necessary.
Medical Assistant Resume: Skills Section
This section allows you to highlight four to eight skills that might otherwise get overlooked.
Start by reviewing the medical assistant job description for resume inspiration. Any skills mentioned there must be included in your resume if you want to increase your odds of making it past the applicant tracking system and into the recruiter’s inbox.
After selecting your medical assistant resume skills, format them as a bullet-point list. Use keywords and provide supporting evidence where possible. Medical assistant resume templates will help you with this. Our resume writer comes with recruiter-approved phrasing for key skills.
Medical Assistant Resume: Education Section
If you’re writing an entry level medical assistant resume, your education section should sit above the experience section. However, if you’ve already got several years of experience as a medical assistant under your belt, move it below the experience section instead.
When listing your education, include:
- Your school
- The degree or certificate title
In nearly all cases, you can skip your GPA and your graduation year.
Medical Assistant Resume: Experience Section
Whether you’re writing a resume for medical assistant with no experience or an experienced medical assistant resume, this section should demonstrate that you possess the necessary skills for the job.
Under each role, include a brief bullet-point list of your achievements and responsibilities. Skip your pronouns and, where possible, start each point with a powerful verb, such as “delivered” or “aided.”
Hot tip: use a medical assistant resume sample from Rocket Resume to help you structure this section.
Medical Assistant Resume: Certifications and Licenses
This is where you should include your medical assistant certification and any other relevant certificates. Add your certificate title, the awarding body, when it was awarded, and when it will expire.
Medical Assistant Resume: Volunteer and Extracurricular Activities Section
This section is optional, so only add it if you have examples that are relevant to the job you’re applying for. Again, detail your achievements and responsibilities with action-oriented bullet points.
Customize your medical assistant resume now with Rocket Resume’s resume builder.
How to Customize Your Medical Assistant Resume Template for Specific Jobs
Medical assistant resume templates are an excellent starting point for building a polished resume. However, you’ll need to customize them to win over recruiters and be invited to an interview.
Tailor your objective statement, skills, and experience sections to the specific role and health center you’re applying to. For a cardiology medical assistant resume, for example, you should emphasize your experience supporting cardiologists. Alternatively, for a pediatric medical assistant resume, you could include your year-long experience as an au pair in France.
Pay attention to whether you’re applying for a clinical or administrative role, too. A front office medical assistant resume should highlight your people skills, while essential back office medical assistant duties for a resume include updating medical records.
Look for more specialist medical assistant resume examples, such as a dermatology medical assistant resume or an ob gyn medical assistant resume. These will help you identify essential skills for your speciality.
Additional Tips and Tricks for Crafting a Strong Medical Assistant Resume
By now, you should have an excellent first draft of your medical assistant resume. But before you press “send,” do a final round of edits.
Look for ways to include proof of your skills. Data-based evidence is the most convincing, so add details such as “99% positive patient feedback” or “managed a team of four medical assistants.”
You can find flashy medical assistant resume examples online, but for this career, it’s better to be professional than quirky. On your final read-through, make sure your fonts are consistent. Use different font sizes for headings. Don’t use different color text: many recruiters print applications in greyscale.
Next, proofread your resume. Don’t rush this step. Typos look sloppy and can even lead to keywords being missed by applicant tracking software. You don’t want to miss out on a role because you mentioned your “attention to detial” instead of “attention to detail.”
Finally, consider following up after submitting your resume, when appropriate. Doing so shows recruiters that you have the people skills and enthusiasm the job requires, plus it can make you more memorable in a sea of candidates.
How to Apply for Medical Assistant Jobs
Begin by finding medical assistant jobs on platforms such as LinkedIn or healthcare-specific portals like MedJobs. Check local healthcare provider websites for direct job postings, too. Networking within your professional circles or through medical assistant associations can also lead to job opportunities.
Whether you're writing a medical assistant externship resume or you've got several years of experience, a resume template will help you. Our medical assistant resume templates include recruiter-approved phrasing, plus our resume builder will suggest the ideal structure for you based on your experience level.
You should also draft a persuasive cover letter for resume medical assistant that emphasizes why you’re the ideal fit for the advertised role.
Review medical assistant interview techniques and questions so you can prepare compelling answers to the most common questions. Having done this, you’ll be able to walk into your job interview with confidence.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How to Write a Resume for Medical Assistant
Using a medical assistant resume template will help you write a polished and professional resume. Start by selecting a recruiter-approved template, and then tailor it to your background. Make sure to include all the skills and traits mentioned in the job description.
What is a Good Objective for a Medical Assistant Resume?
An eye-catching medical assistant objective statement will outline your professional goals and describe key skills and traits. Keep it short and sweet, so recruiters read the entire statement. Two to three sentences is best, even for a highly experienced medical assistant resume.
What to Put on a Resume for Medical Assistant
When writing a medical assistant resume, include your name and contact information, a professional summary or objective statement, skills section, education section, experience section, and certifications and licenses section. You can also include a volunteer and extracurricular activities section if you have relevant experiences or interests.
What Skills to Put on Resume for Medical Assistant
Essential medical assistant resume skills include interpersonal skills, such as empathy and communication skills; clinical skills, like taking vital measurements; and administrative skills, including attention to detail and technology savvy.
What Do Job Recruiters Look for in a Medical Assistant Resume?
Job recruiters will review your medical assistant resume for evidence that you’re a good fit for the health center and role in question, in addition to possessing all the skills and traits mentioned in the job description. That’s why it’s important to customize your resume for each application.
What to Put Under Experience on Resume If Never Had a Job as a Medical Assistant
If you’re applying for your first medical assistant role, you should demonstrate your transferable skills in the experience section of your resume. Even an entry level medical assistant resume can be impressive if you can show your administrative and interpersonal skills.
How to Describe Job Duties as a Medical Assistant on Resume
When describing previous job duties on your medical assistant resume, use a concise bullet-point list. Start each point with the verb. If the job posting mentions these job duties, make sure to use the exact same phrasing. This will help you get past the computer screening stage.
What Kind of Resume is Best for a Medical Administrative Assistant?
Most applicants will find a hybrid structure allows them to show off their skills, experience, and certification on their administrative medical assistant resume. Add a skills section directly below your objective summary, and then add your education, experience, and certifications and licenses sections.
How Do You Close a Resume for Medical Assistant?
You can close a medical assistant resume with a volunteer and extracurricular activities section. However, we only recommend this if your experiences are relevant to the role or health center, e.g. having worked as a Blood Service Volunteer or Volunteer Health Educator.
What Do I Put on My College Resume for a Medical Assistant?
Make the most of your medical assistant experience on your college resume by stressing your excellent organization, dedication to serving the community, and strong interpersonal skills. If you’ve held a management or training position, emphasize your leadership experience too.
How to Put Medical Assistant Certificate on Resume
When writing a certified medical assistant resume, make your certification stand out by placing it in a dedicated certification and licenses section. Include your certificate title, the awarding body, when you achieved it, and when it will expire, where applicable.
Where to Add Medical Assistant Certification on Resume
Create a certification and licenses section and add your medical assistant certification there. If you want to draw more attention to it, you can also mention that you’re a certified medical assistant in your objective statement.
How to Start a Resume as a Medical Assistant
Begin writing your medical assistant resume by choosing a recruiter-approved medical assistant resume template. Customize it to your background and the medical assistant job description, paying close attention to your objective statement and skills section.
Stand out when applying for jobs with a professional medical assistant resume. Rocket Resume’s resume builder tool can help you create a clean, appealing resume in just minutes! Get started today.