First assistant resume examples from 2026
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How to write a first assistant resume
Craft a resume summary statement
Put a resume summary on the top of your resume to highlight your accomplishments. A resume summary sums up your experience and skills, making it easy for hiring managers to understand your qualifications at a glance. Here are some tips to write a strong, impressive resume summary:
Step 1: Mention your current job title or the role you're pursuing.
Step 2: Include your years of experience in first assistant-related roles. Consider adding relevant company and industry experience as relevant to the job listing.
Step 3: Highlight your greatest accomplishments. Here is your chance to make sure your biggest wins aren't buried in your resume.
Step 4: Again, keep it short. Your goal is to summarize your experience and highlight your accomplishments, not write a paragraph.
These four steps should give you a strong elevator pitch and land you some first assistant interviews.Please upload your resume so Zippia’s job hunt AI can draft a summary statement for you.
List the right project manager skills
Many resumes are filtered out by hiring software before a human eye ever sees them. A robust Skills section can let recruiters (and bots) know you have the skills to do the job. Here is how to make the most of your skills section:
- Look at the job listing and skills listed. You need to include the exact keywords from the job description to get your resume in front of an actual human. Do you have those skills? Fantastic! Be sure to list them.
- Include as many relevant hard or technical first assistant skills as possible for each job you apply to.
- Be specific with the skills you have and be sure you are using the most up to date and accurate terms.
Here are example skills to include in your “Area of Expertise” on a first assistant resume:
- Patients
- Patient Care
- Surgical Procedures
- Visualization
- Suturing
- CPR
- Catheter
- Rehabilitation
- Sterile Technique
- Sponges
- Cleanliness
- Plastic Surgery
- Wound Closure
- Retractors
- Knee
- Surgical Instrumentation
- Patient Education
- Emergency Room
- General Surgery
- GYN
- Electrocautery
- Physical Exams
- Resuscitation
- Ortho
- Discharge Summaries
- Surgical Cases
- ICU
- Medical History
- Pre-op
- Splints
Zippia’s AI can customize your resume for you.
How to structure your work experience
Your employment history is arguably one of the most important parts of your resume. It shows you have experience and foundation in your field to successfully master the first assistant position. Here is how to most effectively structure your work experience:
- List your most recent experience first, followed by earlier roles in reverse chronological order. Employers care about your most recent experience the most.
- Start with your job title, company name, city, and state on the left. Align dates in month and year format on the right-hand side.
- Include only recent, relevant jobs.
How to write first assistant experience bullet points
Remember, your resume is not a list of responsibilities or a job description. This is your chance to show why you're good at your job and what you accomplished.
Use the XYZ formula for your work experience bullet points. Here's how it works:
- Use strong action verbs like Led, Built, or Optimized.
- Follow up with numbers when possible to support your results. How much did performance improve? How much revenue did you drive?
- Wrap it up by explaining the actions you took to achieve the result and how you made an impact.
This creates bullet points that read Achieved X, measured by Y, by doing Z.
Here are great bullet points from first assistant resumes:
Work history example #1
Operating Room Technician
Centra
- Exposed me to a variety of work environments, Surgeons, Staff, Policies and Procedures.
- Scrubbed most specialties, including General/Gynecology/Urology, Thoracic/Vascular, Orthopedics, Neurology and Robotics.
- Scrubbed a portion of open heart cases as well as vascular retraction.
- Worked collaboratively with surgeons, anesthesiologist, and nursing staff in patients elective surgical procedures to achieve optimum patient outcomes.
- Provided assessment and interventions in emergent situations, including cardiac and respiratory arrest, and followed ACLS protocols.
Work history example #2
First Assistant Manager
University of South Florida
- Facilitated effective communication between hundreds of vendors and bookstore staff to ensure timely deliveries.
- Developed and coordinated administrative policies, procedures and standards for the departments accounting office.
- Developed and implemented policies and procedures to maintain regulatory standing and integrity.
- Established and documented release management procedures and policies.
- Reviewed census takers assignments and reviewed payroll records.
Work history example #3
General Practitioner
St. Barnabas Hospital
- Supervised physician assistants with examinations and documentations of results for XRAY, EKGS, and serum testing.
- Trained and certified in CPR and AED.
- Worked with EMR system, I am very comfortable with it.
- Received credit for psychiatry PGY-1 year from the APA for initial intern training in OB/GYN residency.
- Focused on providing care directed toward the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of childhood diseases and disability.
Work history example #4
First Assistant
maurices
- Worked weekly on the Maurices Business MBA Program (see Achievements/Training section).
- Produced, developed and maintained a solid returning customer base through building relationships and going beyond expectations.
- Opened Maurices Woodburn location as first assistant manager.
Zippia’s AI can customize your resume for you.
Add an education section to your resume
Here is the best way to format your education section:
- Display your highest degree first.
- If you graduated over 5 years ago, put this section at the bottom of your resume. If you lack relevant work experience, the education section should go to the top.
- If you have a bachelor's or master's degree, do not list your high school education.
- If your graduation year is more than 15-20 years ago, it's better not to include dates in this section.
Here are some examples of good education entries for resumes:
Bachelor's Degree in nursing
University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA
2009 - 2012
Highlight your first assistant certifications on your resume
If you have any additional certifications, add them to the certification section.
Include the full name of the certification, along with the name of the issuing organization and date of obtainment.
Here are some of the best certifications to have on first assistant resumes:
- Physician Assistant - Certified (PA-C)
- Certified Surgical Technologist (CST)
- Medical Assistant
- Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA)
- Certified SurveyTechnician Level I (CST)
- Certified Registered Nurse First Assistant (CRNFA)
- Certified Surgical Assistant
- Certified Surgical First Assistant (CSFA)
- Certified Phlebotomy Technician (CPT)