Mental Health Nurse CV Examples & UK Templates

With the demand for mental health nurses increasing, there’s a treasure trove of opportunities both in the NHS and beyond. 

In this role, you have the chance to support individuals who have mental health conditions and guide them through the recovery process. Once you’re qualified, you may have to apply using a mental health nurse CV. Read our guide to get started. 

CV guide for a mental health nurse CV

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This CV guide and accompanying mental health nurse CV example will cover the following:

• How to write a mental health nurse CV
• Choosing the right CV format for mental health work
• How to add your contact information
• Using summaries
• Adding your mental health nurse experience
• Listing education and relevant experience
• Picking the right CV design/layout
• What the mental health job market looks like, and what salary you can expect

How to write a mental health nurse CV

Before you can start applying for jobs, you need to know what to include in your mental health nurse CV. Here are the core elements you need to cover: 

• The CV header
• The CV summary (aka profile or personal statement)
• The employment history section
• The CV skills section
• The education section

When you are writing your mental health nurse CV, you need to ensure that you include each of the above sections. Chances are, you will be up against a wealth of other candidates. To set yourself apart from the crowd, you need to make sure that you weave a compelling narrative. You can do just that by taking the following steps: 

• Highlight your achievements. One of the biggest mistakes candidates make is simply outlining their former job duties. Instead, you need to cover your achievements. Focus your attention on how your actions directly impacted the patients you supported.
• Tailor your CV to the hospital. Read up about the hospital or institute, and make sure that you tailor your CV to meet its needs. You can look at the trust’s website or Google the name of the hospital to see what news there is surrounding it.
• Optimise your CV content. Many employers now use CV scanning software to vet incoming applications. If you want to give yourself the best chances of success, it’s smart to optimise your content and ensure that it hits the mark.

Choosing the right CV format for a mental health nurse

Now that we’ve covered the main points to consider, let’s talk about choosing your CV format. Getting the structure of your mental health nurse CV right is half the battle. 

In most cases, we recommend using a reverse chronological format. Start with your most recent achievements—e.g. work experience or education—at the top of each of these sections, and then work your way back as you move down. This is the layout managers expect to see. 

Of course, it is not the only option. If you are a career-changer or newly qualified nurse, you may prefer a functional or skills-based CV format. This approach emphasises your competencies over the experience you have.

Our tried and tested CV templates in our CV builder have a range of formats you can use. For more information on choosing the right structure, read our complete guide on CV formats now.

Avoid doing anything wild with the design. Instead, use a simple layout that is easy to digest.

Include your contact information

You should share your basic contact details in the header of your CV. While this may not be the most exciting part of the process, it is important. Here’s what you need to include:

• Full name & title. Your first name, last name, and the title of the job.
• Professional email address. Use a suitable-for-work email address. If in doubt, you should use an email that includes your first and last name.
• Phone number. The manager may want to call you, so it’s smart to include a phone number where you can be reached. Check you have a clear answer phone message.
• Location. Read the guidance on the job advert for this one. If it says to include your whole address, you should do that. Otherwise, you can use your city and county.

Don’t include:

• Date of birth: Unless otherwise specified, you don’t need to include your full date of birth. In some cases, this can lead to age discrimination.
• Personal details: You don’t need to include personal details such as your passport number or marital status on your CV.

Make use of a summary

If you want to stand out from the crowd, write a winning summary. This part of your mental health nurse CV is integral in differentiating yourself as a candidate. It is here that you can share your passion, drive, and enthusiasm for the sector. Don’t miss out on that opportunity. 

You only have 2-4 sentences to play with here. Make them count. Including action verbs is a quick way to highlight your value to the employer. For example, you may use words such as ‘delivered,’ ‘oversaw,’ ‘supported’ or ‘achieved.’ You should also be sure to quantify your results.

The last thing you want to do is regurgitate information that can be found elsewhere on your CV. For example, simply writing “Registered mental health nurse (RMN) with experience working in a caring environment and supporting patients” won’t turn any heads. It is a requirement of the role to support patients. Try to dig deeper and give the reader a reason to keep reading. 

You can find adaptable mental health nurse example summaries below:

Outline your mental health work experience

When listing your previous mental health work experience, use the reverse chronological order. You should include the basic details: the name of the hospital, the location, your role, and your dates of employment. Below these headers, you can bullet point your top achievements. 

Using results-based points will help you engage the reader. Rather than simply stating the duties you carried out, talk about what impact they had. For example, you might want to outline how your intervention supported a particular patient in their recovery program. Be specific. 

Space is valuable, so don’t waste it. To save yourself room on your mental health nurse CV, you can omit sentence openers, such as “I,” “I am” or “I did”. Leave them behind and get to the point. It’s smarter to go straight in there with the achievements you gained in the job role.

Here are some of the basic tasks you may list on your CV: 

• “Supported patients with mental health conditions”
• “Facilitated therapeutic practices”
• “Safeguarded patients”

While all of the above may be accurate, it hardly paints a vivid picture. Give the reader more to go on by writing statements, such as:

• “Supported patients with mental health conditions including Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and depression”
• “Facilitated therapeutic practices including CBT and art therapy with 20+ patients”
• “Completed safeguarding training and used this as a framework when supporting patients”

Take a look at the mental health nurse CV sample below:

How to write a mental health nurse CV with no experience 

If you have recently completed your degree and registered with the Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC), you may be worried that you lack direct experience. However, most degrees include an element of clinical practice, so you will have some level of experience to draw upon. 

When writing your entry-level mental health nurse CV, focus on the transferable skills you picked up during your placements. You can list these in your skills section, but you should also aim to weave them into the main body of your document. Put each of the competencies into context, describing the circumstances in which you used them and why.

Should you have any experience prior to your degree—for example, voluntary experience —you can include it here. You should emphasise your person-first attitude towards nursing and highlight your passion for the field in general. Draw upon any experiences you have had in the past that have informed your work ethic, drive, and understanding of the mental health sphere.

Include the relevant key skills that make you a great mental health nurse

To become a thriving mental health nurse, you need to have a well-rounded skill-set. It’s important to strike a healthy balance between hard and soft skills on your CV. 

Hard skills are those that directly apply to the role of a mental health nurse. These competencies are technical. For example, they may include ‘therapeutic interventions’ and ‘safeguarding’. 

Soft skills deal more with how you interact with others. For instance, these may include ‘ communication’ and ‘ interpersonal skills,’ both of which are vital in this position. 

Our CV builder offers pre-selected skills to choose from. You can also input your own.

Here’s what the skills box looks like in our CV template for mental health nurses. 

Your skills section isn’t the only place you should include the above. You can also illustrate these points in other sections, such as your work experience or education section. 

When you do so, you will have more space to put the skills into context. For example, you might use the following approaches: 

• Highlight your therapeutic training when detailing your education
• Show off your good judgement when talking about career achievements
• Convey your strong empathy when writing your professional summary

If you are not certain what skills to include, return to the original job advert. Often enough, the manager will have outlined the main skills that you need to have there.

Detail your education & relevant mental health certifications

Before you can become a Registered Mental Health Nurse (RMN), there are plenty of hoops you need to jump through. You should detail these—along with any other training you have—as part of your education section. Once again, use the reverse chronological format. 

There are a few different routes into this field, and you should be clear about which one you took. Detail your education in order and show the hiring manager that you are fully qualified. Here are some of the qualifications that you should include on your CV: 

• Nursing degree. The most common option is to complete a pre-registered nursing degree from a NMC-approved education institution (AEI). These tend to last three years and include an element of hands-on clinical practice, too.
• Other degrees. Of course, not everyone’s career path is linear. In some cases, you may have received nursing accreditation of prior experiential learning (APEL). You can gain this by completing a degree in a related healthcare subject.
• Apprenticeships. Some employers, such as hospitals, now offer registered nurse degree apprenticeships (RNDAs). This is an alternative to traditional degrees.
• Registration. Before you can work as a mental health nurse in the UK, you will need to register with the Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC). Include this accreditation when you are writing your education section.

When you have covered the fundamentals above, you might want to add more detail. For instance, you could list any specialist training you have undertaken in the mental health space.

Pick the right CV layout and design for a mental health nurse CV

The look of your mental health nurse CV matters more than you might think. When it comes to the design of the document, keep it simple. Whether you are applying to a private or NHS institute, you need to showcase your professionalism above all.  

Put simply, gimmicky CVs won’t get you very far. You want the content of this document to outshine everything else. 

For that reason, you should avoid the use of too much colour or other creative elements here. Equally, you don’t need to include a headshot on your CV. 

Opt for a simple and formal layout. Use our selection of tried and tested CV templates to help you get started. The selection of professional designs is ideal for healthcare roles like this one. 

Mental health nurse text-only CV example

Mental health nurse job market and outlook

According to the British Medical Association, the NHS mental health nurse vacancy rate stood at 16% in December 2023. That is higher than at the start of the pandemic back in 2020. In simple terms, that means that there is an increased demand for professionals working in this role. 

Part of the reason for this is the rising rates of depression, anxiety, and other common mental health conditions across the country. Between the years 2000 and 2014, the percentage of adults facing these conditions rose from 17.5 to 18.9 percent. A new report on the state of mental health across the UK, the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey, is expected in June 2025.  

What type of salary you can expect as a mental health nurse

Mental health nurses can expect to make between £28,000 and £43,000, based on working 37 to 38 hours per week. This is a shift-based role, meaning that you will most likely be expected to work evenings and weekends. Your hours may be sporadic and change frequently. 

Key takeaways for building a mental health nurse CV

If you are applying for a mental health position, read the job guidance first. In some cases, you may need to submit a CV alongside your application. 

Be sure to write a clear, concise mental health nurse CV that ticks all of the boxes. Optimise it for the ATS and tailor it to the role. Following the expert advice we have outlined in this guide will help you win over the manager. 

Get started now by using our online CV builder to help you create a stellar application with ease.