How to Format a Resume for CTE Students

If you’re a high school student in KLR’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs , like our Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) course, your resume might look a little different than a typical one. You have a lot to showcase! You already have hands-on skills, certifications, and clinical exposure that many entry-level applicants don’t. The key is formatting your resume so those strengths stand out clearly and professionally.

Here’s how to build a resume that highlights everything you’ve worked hard for.

Professional Layout

Keep your resume simple and easy to scan. Employers have to sort through hundreds of applications. Be sure to focus on what matters to secure that job!

• Use a clean font. Arial, Calibri, and Times New Roman are the most common

• Keep font size between 10 - 12 pt

• Use bold headings, consistent spacing, and the same font type throughout

• Stick to 1 page

Resumes use sections to split up the vast information that makes up your professional journey. These include your header,, professional summary, education, certifications, work experience, and optional boosters such as volunteer experience, skills, and languages. Let's take a closer look at each section and how to format them to make it easy to read, professionally focused, and to help you stand out.

Keep the header simple. It is meant to be a quick look at your personal information. At the top of your resume, include:

• Full Name in a slightly larger font

• Phone Number

• Professional Email. Think back to our Formatting a Professional Email soft skill lesson. You want your email to be your name; avoid nicknames and silly names. The first email you made when you were a kid is not going to be the best option for your future boss to see!

• City & State, you do not need to include your full address

Professional Summary

This is a quick 1 - 2 sentence snapshot of who you are. Put this in the first-person perspective, but remove any “I” statements. This is a more professional format, while still referring to your experience.

Example:

Dedicated and compassionate Certified Medical Assistant with strong training in clinical competencies, laboratory procedures, and teamwork. Seeking a clinical position in a fast-paced practice to contribute to patient satisfaction and workplace efficiency while continuing to strengthen hands-on skills.

Certifications & Training

Put this near the top! This is one of your biggest strengths, so highlight it early. You can include this right below your education section in its own dedicated Certifications header.

Example:

Certifications

• KLR Medical Certification Training School - [Name of Certification - ex. Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA)- [Hours spent in clinicals]

• CPR Certification - American Red Cross - Effective: mm/dd/yyyy

If you have any additional certifications you have pursued outside of KLR, put them on your resume! See this example from our senior in rotations:

Skills Section

Break your skills into categories so employers can quickly see what you offer. This is especially helpful if you are applying for a clinical position in which certain skills are listed on the job description. If they are looking for an employee who already has experience in blood draws, be sure to add your phlebotomy training in this section.

Some clinical skills our KLR Medical Assistants head into the workforce with already are taking vital signs (blood pressure, pulse, temperature), phlebotomy (blood draws, order of draw), EKG administration (patient preparation, lead placement), patient intake & documentation, and infection control procedures.

On the other end of medical assisting, our MAs are familiar with navigating the Electronic Health Records (EHR), scheduling & patient check-in, medical terminology, and the basics of insurance verification.

When adding skills to your resume, this is your chance to list any additional languages you might know, and your proficiency level; are you a beginner with the basics? Do you have conversational skills you can apply to patients? Or have you been speaking a second language your whole life (fluent)? In this job market, knowing a second language boosts your application significantly.

Example:

• Languages

• English (Fluent)

• Spanish (Conversational)

• American Sign Language (Proficient)

Work Experience / Rotations

Even if you haven’t had a job yet, your clinical rotations count as real experience. You are in the clinic for a consistent shift, completing your responsibilities within the scope of your certification, and gaining valuable experience in both clinical and administrative tasks. Be sure to format it like a job, like this example from our senior in rotations with Indiana Neurology and Pain Center:

Put your job title first, and the name of the business. Then add the time you were at this job. This can be formatted just as a month and a year. If you are still employed there now, put the end date as “Present”.

Example:

Cashier - Retail Store

Month Year - Present

• Provided excellent customer service in a fast-paced environment

• Handled transactions accurately and efficiently

• Worked as part of a team to maintain store organization

If you’ve had a job - even outside healthcare - include it. Start each bullet with an action verb. Employers are looking for descriptions of your responsibilities in an action-oriented format. These include “Assisted, Performed, Observed, Maintained” and other verbs that show what your jobs were and what you did to contribute.

Avoid:

• “Helped with patients”

• “Did vitals”

Use instead:

• “Recorded and documented patient vital signs accurately”

• “Assisted with patient intake and prepared exam rooms”

The action verbs we see in our job description bullet points often coincide with transferable skills. These are the skills that we review in our Leadership soft skills module, where we discuss traits and skills that we see in anyone we consider a leader. Communication, empathy, teamwork, critical thinking, and concise decision-making skills are among the critical things we look for in a leader, and you can start showing your experience with these important traits as early as high school.

We provide several lessons on valuable soft skills in all our KLR courses. From time management to conflict resolution inside clinical settings, KLR students are equipped with the skills that are often most desired by employers.

• Communication

• Professionalism

• Time management

• Team collaboration

Applicant Tracking System

The Applicant Tracking System or ATS is actively looking for keywords.

In order to sift through an ever-growing workforce, many employers have switched to using an Artificial Intelligence (AI) filter. This AI application will scan through your resume to look for important keywords and information related to the job you are applying for. This means that before a human even sees your resume, you’ll have to beat the machine by using the most appropriate wording and phrases.

Final Tips for a Standout Resume

• Keep it neat and consistent

• Use bold strategically. It is very tempting to bold everything that you want to stand out. Use it sparingly, to help separate sections

• Double-check spelling, proofread your resume at least twice before handing it to your future employer!

• Save as a PDF when submitting

• Tailor it slightly for each job if possible

Conclusion

As a high school senior in a health science program, you already have a huge advantage - you’re not starting from zero. Your resume should clearly show:

• Your certifications

• Your hands-on clinical skills

• Your professional readiness

Your resume is a tool to use when introducing yourself at networking events, getting your foot in the door with potential employers, and it should summarize your journey and credentials efficiently.

You are young professionals heading into a very competitive market. Who you know is often as important as, if not more important than, what you know. Shoutout to our seniors Elizabeth R. (left) and Abigail B. (right), who are actively pursuing the job market working as an MA using the skills they have learned and trained in during their time with our KLR CCMA program!