Clinical Research Associate Resume Example & Writing Guide
Use this Clinical Research Associate resume example and guide to improve your career and write a powerful resume that will separate you from the competition.
Clinical research is a fast-growing field with high demand for qualified professionals. Clinical research associates work with healthcare companies to design and implement clinical trials—the process of testing new drugs, devices, or other therapies in humans. They also monitor the progress of these trials and analyze the data they generate, which helps guide future research efforts.
If you’re ready to break into this exciting field or make a career switch, you’ll need a resume that showcases your relevant experience and skills. Follow these tips and resume example to write a great clinical research associate resume that will get you hired.
How to Write a Clinical Research Associate Resume
Here’s how to write a clinical research associate resume of your own.
Write Compelling Bullet Points
When you’re writing bullet points, it can be tempting to simply list your responsibilities. But that’s not enough to make a strong impression. Instead, you should use your bullet points to demonstrate your value by highlighting your accomplishments, skills, and results.
For example, rather than saying you “conducted clinical trials,” you could say you “conducted Phase I clinical trial for new drug, resulting in FDA approval and $1 billion in revenue for company.”
The second bullet point paints a much clearer picture of what the job entailed and the outcome of your work. And that’s what hiring managers want to see—so make sure to include that kind of detail in your bullet points!
Identify and Include Relevant Keywords
When you apply for a clinical research associate (CRA) position, your resume goes through an applicant tracking system (ATS). This program will scan your resume for specific keywords related to the job opening. If your resume doesn’t include enough of the right terms, the ATS might automatically reject your application.
To increase your chances of getting an interview, use this list of commonly used clinical research associate keywords:
- Good Clinical Practice (GCP)
- Clinical Trials
- Clinical Research
- Clinical Data Management
- Clinical Monitoring
- Clinical Development
- CRO Management
- Electronic Data Capture (EDC)
- Protocol
- Oncology
- Biotechnology
- Life Sciences
- Protocol Development
- Clinical Operations
- Regulatory Affairs
- Protocol Review
- Hospitals
- Regulatory Submissions
- Data Management
- Statistics
- Data Analysis
- SAS
- SPSS
- Clinical Trial Management System (CTMS)
- Institutional Review Board (IRB)
- Electronic Data Processing (EDP)
- Microsoft Access
- Good Clinical Practice Regulations
- Validation
- Laboratory Skills
Showcase Your Technical Skills
As a clinical research associate, you are responsible for designing, conducting, and reporting on clinical trials. In order to do this effectively, you need to be proficient in the use of technology. This might include experience with clinical research databases, data analysis software, or presentation tools. Additionally, clinical research associates need to be familiar with Good Clinical Practice (GCP) and other regulatory guidelines.
If you have experience with any of these programs or platforms, be sure to list them on your resume. And if you’re not familiar with them, now is the time to learn them!