Writing Your CNA Job Descriptions

Attracting certified nursing assistants (CNA) to your home care agency or long-term care facility is harder than ever.

With an increased need for CNAs and other healthcare professionals, it has become more challenging to stand out from your competition. On top of this, today’s talent supply and demand imbalance means top candidates have plenty of options to choose from.

While it’s important to have a standout recruitment process, attracting great talent begins with your CNA job descriptions.

Here are some general guidelines to follow when creating an attention grabbing, search-friendly CNA job description. 

CNA job description requirements  

While CNA responsibilities are similar to home health aids (HHA), the distinction between the two roles is that a HHA helps with more basic tasks than required of the CNA, like laundry and running errands. A CNA is also allowed to provide more advanced medical care, as they function under the supervision of a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse.

CNA responsibilities are able to encompass advanced medical care compared to HHAs due to the additional programs and state licensures they must acquire. CNAs can become certified through a medical school or community college, and all CNAs require a state-issued license to practice. State by state, the level of training and experience required to do certain tasks may vary.

As with any job in the healthcare field, soft skills are of immense importance and should absolutely be requirements for filling your CNA roles. CNA responsibilities include being empathetic, flexible, positive, and possessing a strong work ethic. The job can be quite demanding and stressful at times, so these soft skills are just as important as the hard skills required.  

CNA job description outline and best practices

When constructing your job description, use direct and inclusive language, and highlight why working at your agency or facility is the right choice. Touch on your company culture and employer brand, share that you have career growth opportunities, and note any recent awards. These additions will make your CNA job descriptions more compelling.

Here’s what else should be in your job description:

Job: Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) 

CNA Benefits: 

• Base + bonus compensation
• 401K, medical and dental insurance, paid time off, etc.
• Company issued supplies and scrubs 
• Any other benefits that your agency may offer to employees

CNA Responsibilities: 

• Assist clients with daily activities, including but not limited to: bathing, dressing, serving meals, helping clients eat, turning clients and ambulating clients
• Check and record patient vital signs
• Examine clients for bruises, blood in urine or other injuries/wounds
• Collect information about conditions and treatment plans from caregivers, nurses, doctors and family members
• Provide and empty bedpans
• Lift clients into beds, wheelchairs, exam tables, etc.
• Clean and sanitize client areas, including changing bed sheets
• Stay up-to-date on CNA training, policies and procedures 

Requirements:

• High school diploma or GED
• Completion of a state-approved CNA certification training course
• Current CPR (American Heart Association) Certification
• Ability to think and work independently and with direction
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced and sometimes stressful environment
• Good communication skills and bedside manner with a compassionate personality
• Up-to-date identification
• Basic computer skills
• Excellent personal hygiene

Search engine optimization best practices

Many job seekers today begin their search for a new role on Google. So when writing your CNA job description, it’s also important to incorporate some search engine optimization (SEO) best practices, which will help your CNA job description appear higher in a job seeker’s search results.

Some job description SEO best practices include:

• At the top of your description, include a short summary of the job that includes the job title somewhere in the copy — this is likely what will show up first in Google search results
• Be sure to include keywords that top candidates today are searching for — including your policies around flexibility, your career growth opportunities, and your agency’s culture.
• Link back to your careers page somewhere within the job description
• Keep your description brief (between 400-800 words)
• Break the description up into bullet points for readability (as demonstrated above)
• Include an equal opportunity statement