Conservation Biologist Resume Example & Writing Guide
Use this Conservation Biologist resume example and guide to improve your career and write a powerful resume that will separate you from the competition.
Conservation biology is a field that focuses on protecting biodiversity and natural resources like air, water, and soil. Conservation biologists work to protect species and habitats from destruction or overexploitation. They conduct research to identify environmental issues, develop solutions, and devise long-term plans to ensure the health of the planet.
Conservation biologists often work in remote locations, so you’ll need to be comfortable in remote locations with little human contact. And since conservation is such a large field, there are plenty of opportunities for specialization. If you want to work in marine conservation or wildlife conservation or endangered species preservation, there’s probably a job out there for you.
Here are some tips plus an example to help you write a fantastic conservation biology resume that will land you interviews with employers who value your expertise in protecting the planet.
How to Write a Conservation Biologist Resume
Here’s how to write a resume of your own.
Write Compelling Bullet Points
When you’re writing bullet points, it can be tempting to focus on the tasks and responsibilities of your job. But that’s not enough to make a strong impression. Instead, you should focus on the results of your work.
For example, rather than saying you “conducted wildlife surveys,” you could say you “conducted wildlife surveys in collaboration with state wildlife agency to identify population trends of endangered species.”
The second bullet point is more specific and provides more detail about what exactly you did. It also ties in the
Identify and Include Relevant Keywords
When you submit your resume for a conservation biologist role, it’s likely that it will be scanned by an applicant tracking system (ATS) for certain keywords. The ATS will scan the resume for terms related to the job, like “endangered species” or “conservation.” If your resume doesn’t include enough of the right keywords, your application might not make it past the initial screening.
To increase your chances of getting an interview, use this list of common conservation biologist keywords as a starting point:
- Conservation Biology
- Conservation
- Wildlife Conservation
- Wildlife Management
- Ecology
- Wildlife Rehabilitation
- Field Conservation
- Endangered Species
- Environmental Education
- Environmental Education
- Environmental Conservation
- Conservation Medicine
- Wildlife
- Natural Resources
- Environmental Policy
- Land Conservation
- Science
- Ecosystem Services
- Remote Sensing
- Forest Conservation
- Herpetology
- Research
- Fisheries Management
- Environmental Management
- Biology
- Aquatic Ecology
- Environmental Impact Assessment
- Water Quality
- Nature Conservation
- Nature Reserve Management
Showcase Your Technical Skills
As a conservation biologist, you need to be proficient in a variety of software programs and systems in order to effectively do your job. This might include familiarity with GIS software, statistical analysis software, and modeling software. Additionally, you need to be able to use technology to communicate with other members of the conservation team, including field biologists and ecologists.
Some of the programs and systems that conservation biologists are typically expected to be proficient in include: ArcGIS, R, SAS, and Python.