Dietitian CV (ATS-Optimised) — UK, Australia & New Zealand Career Guide

Open with a targeted summary that states your regulated status (for the UK: “HCPC registered dietitian”), your dietetics qualification, and the settings you work in (for example acute wards, community clinics, care-home caseloads, and outpatient services). Include the clinical tools you use day-to-day—explicitly name MUST for malnutrition screening and SNAQ/SNAQ-C where your service applies it—then connect them to your practice for nutritional assessment and dietetic care-plan creation. Recruiters want to see you can move from screening to clinical decision-making, so mention how you translate risk results into energy/protein targets, micronutrient considerations, and practical therapeutic diet recommendations. Add one measurable caseload detail such as average referrals per week, typical review intervals, or clinic capacity, so your profile reads like clinical impact rather than generic experience.

To improve ATS matching without copying job advert text, mirror the wording found in UK NHS-style descriptions in a market-neutral way: nutritional assessment, therapeutic diet formulation, food modification/fortification, and robust clinical documentation. If you support nutrition support pathways, clearly state how you contribute—e.g., supporting enteral feeding monitoring, adjusting advice based on tolerance, and ensuring follow-up is scheduled. Show governance and safety awareness by mentioning MDT nutrition reviews and discharge planning contributions, including how you ensure recommendations are communicated to nursing teams, carers, and other clinicians. Where possible, add a brief compliance line covering confidentiality, safeguarding awareness, and adherence to evidence-based local dietetic guidelines and service protocols.

In your experience section, use structured, ATS-friendly bullets that reflect the clinical workflow: screen with MUST (and SNAQ/SNAQ-C where used), assess nutritional requirements, set goals, implement therapeutic diet or nutrition support, then review outcomes. For example, you can describe energy and protein requirement calculations, dysphagia-related texture modification, and how you document risk and recommendations in patient records. Include practical documentation evidence: mention updating dietetic care plans, recording malnutrition screening outputs, and maintaining clear follow-up dates so interventions are not lost between settings. Where you have it, add a KPI such as improving care-plan completion rates, reducing time-to-assessment for high-risk referrals, or increasing consistency of follow-up for patients flagged by screening.

Quantify your caseload by stating the setting and volume: acute ward rounds, oncology/diabetes outpatient clinics, community caseload work, rehabilitation teams, or care-home follow-ups. If your work involves enteral feeding, show process-based competence: contributing to diet prescriptions, monitoring tolerance, documenting adjustments, and coordinating review with the MDT and clinical team. Highlight interdisciplinary collaboration by referencing MDT nutrition reviews and referral/triage responsibilities, including how you communicate with nursing, medical teams, speech and language therapists (for dysphagia), and pharmacists when medicines and nutrition may interact. If you used electronic patient records or dietetic documentation systems, name them (e.g., EMIS Web / SystmOne in the UK, or Best Practice / Medtech Evolution in AU/NZ where applicable) to strengthen credibility and ATS keyword matching.

Add a dedicated achievements section (or weave achievements into each role) using outcomes that match what Dietitian screening criteria usually tests: safe identification of nutritional risk, documentation quality, and timely intervention. Relevant metrics include malnutrition screening completion rates, audit findings related to MUST/SNAQ usage, referral turnaround time for high-priority patients, and documented review frequency for at-risk groups. Patient-facing outcomes can also be used credibly, such as improved adherence to therapeutic diets, reduced unplanned escalation for nutrition-related deterioration, or measurable improvements in weight stability in follow-up periods. Keep claims specific to the pathway you worked in—acute, community, care home, outpatient—so recruiters can map your contribution to their service needs.

Demonstrate governance and continuous improvement thinking by mentioning standardising referral pathways, contributing to audit or service evaluation, and supporting staff education on evidence-based guidance (for example malnutrition recognition, dysphagia-friendly eating strategies, or diabetes nutrition principles). If you supported nutrition support pathways, note how you improved consistency across teams through clear documentation templates, structured handovers, or MDT-based review cycles. Where you have evidence of CPD or clinical training, mention it (e.g., completing internal training on nutrition screening tools, enteral feeding competency frameworks, or accredited professional learning) without overclaiming. Pair quality outcomes with practical tools: electronic documentation, structured care-plan updates, and use of screening and assessment terminology that ATS can reliably detect.

Create a skills section that reflects how dietitians work in reality: nutritional assessment, malnutrition risk management, therapeutic diet planning, and nutrition support delivery. Explicitly list MUST and SNAQ/SNAQ-C and include risk-based prioritisation language, because ATS systems often detect these tool names as hard-skill markers. Add documentation competence—clinical documentation, dietetic care-plan updates, and producing clear patient instructions—because continuity of care depends on accurate record keeping and shared understanding across the MDT. If you have experience with food fortification, texture modification, and dysphagia-related diet adaptations, name them, and link them to assessment outcomes and follow-up reviews.

Balance clinical competence with patient-centred communication. Recruiters want evidence you can deliver education that patients can follow for diabetes self-management, oncology nutrition during treatment, or frailty/older adult nutrition and hydration needs, using goal-setting and behaviour change techniques that are consistent with your scope of practice. If you use motivational interviewing or other counselling methods, mention them carefully and tie them to outcomes such as improved adherence or reduced barriers to dietary change. Finish the skills section with professional compliance and safety markers: confidentiality, safeguarding awareness, consent for nutrition discussions where relevant, and working within evidence-based local and national guidance.