Stop Dietitian Resume Mistakes From Holding You Back
Identify and correct the most common errors to get noticed by hiring managers and nutrition recruiters.
Common Mistakes That Kill Your Chances
Each mistake includes why it hurts, how to fix it, and before/after examples
- Recruiters can’t gauge your hands‑on expertise
- ATS may miss keywords like 'patient counseling'
- Add a dedicated 'Clinical Experience' section
- Include specific settings, populations, and outcomes
Clinical Experience: Hospital, 2019‑2021
Clinical Experience: - Hospital Nutrition Services, Boston, MA (Jan 2019 – Dec 2021) • Provided nutrition counseling to 150+ cardiac patients, improving diet adherence by 30%
- Objective reads like a cover letter
- Takes up valuable space
- Replace with a concise professional summary highlighting specialties
Objective: Seeking a dietitian position where I can use my skills.
Professional Summary: Registered Dietitian with 4 years of experience in clinical nutrition, specializing in diabetes management and weight loss programs, delivering measurable patient outcomes.
- ATS may not parse dates
- Hiring managers may think of gaps
- Use month-year format (MMM YYYY) consistently
2018‑2020
Jan 2018 – Dec 2020
- Dilutes focus on nutrition expertise
- ATS keyword match drops
- Include only nutrition‑related hard skills and relevant soft skills
Skills: Microsoft Office, Customer Service, Cooking
Skills: Medical Nutrition Therapy, Dietary Assessment, Food Safety (ServSafe), Patient Education, Interdisciplinary Collaboration
- Use a professional email address
- Include RDN or LD certification
- Quantify patient outcomes
- List relevant software (e.g., EPIC, Food Processor)
- Tailor keywords to the job description
- Keep formatting consistent with bullet points
- Proofread for spelling and grammar
- Save as PDF with searchable text
- Standardize date format
- Add quantifiable metrics
- Replace generic objectives with summary
- Optimize skill keywords
