Lab Technician Resume Example & Writing Guide
Use this Lab Technician resume example and guide to improve your career and write a powerful resume that will separate you from the competition.
Lab technicians are the backbone of many medical facilities. They’re the ones who perform the tests that help doctors diagnose patients and determine the best course of treatment.
Lab technicians use a variety of equipment and techniques to analyze blood, tissue, and other bodily fluids. They also collect samples from patients and work with doctors and other medical professionals to ensure that testing is done correctly.
Lab technicians work in hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities, as well as research labs and academia. And although the job can be highly specialized and focused on one particular area of testing, most technicians need to be able to perform a wide range of tasks.
Here are some tips and an example resume to help you write a fantastic lab technician resume that will get you hired.
How to Write a Lab Technician Resume
Here’s how to write a lab technician resume of your own.
Write Compelling Bullet Points
Bullet points are the most important part of your resume because they’re the first thing recruiters will see. And if they’re not compelling, you could be missing out on some of the best opportunities.
So it’s important to use them to your advantage by highlighting your most impressive accomplishments and skills. And the best way to do that is by using quantifiable details and examples.
For example, rather than saying you “managed lab equipment,” you could say you “managed lab equipment for 20+ experiments per day, ensuring timely results for 200+ undergraduate students.”
The second bullet point is much more specific and provides a clear picture of what you did and the impact of your work.
Related: What Is a Lab Technician? How to Become One
Identify and Include Relevant Keywords
When you apply for a lab technician job, your resume is likely to go 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 not forward it to a recruiter.
To increase your chances of getting an interview, use this list of common lab technician keywords as a starting point to help you identify the skills and experience you want to highlight on your resume:
- Laboratory Skills
- Laboratory Techniques
- Good Laboratory Practice (GLP)
- Chemistry
- Life Sciences
- Quality Control
- Wet Chemistry
- Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
- Molecular Biology
- High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)
- Cell Culture
- Cell Biology
- Biochemistry
- DNA Sequencing
- Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)
- Microbiology
- Scientific Writing
- Gas Chromatography
- Formulation
- Chromatography
- Organic Chemistry
- Solid Phase Microextraction (SPME)
- Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS)
- Laboratory Equipment
- Gas Chromatography (GC)
- Validation
- Research
- Polymers
- Testing
- Confocal Microscopy
Showcase Your Technical Skills
Lab technicians use a variety of programs and systems to complete their work, so it’s important to list any relevant technical skills you have. Programs like Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Google Suite (Gmail, Docs, Drive, Calendar), and social media platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter are all commonly used by lab technicians. Additionally, lab technicians may be called on to use specific software programs relevant to their industry, so it’s important to be familiar with as many programs as possible.
Related: How Much Does a Lab Technician Make?
Remember The Basics
As you’re crafting your resume, it’s important to keep a few basic guidelines in mind.
Create Easy-to Scan Sections
There are a few things you can do to make your resume more readable. First, try to use a standard font and left-align your text. You should also use bullets instead of paragraphs to list your experiences, and keep your bullets to no more than two lines each. Additionally, you can use bolding and italics to emphasize important information, but should avoid using all-caps or too much formatting variation. Finally, try to leave some white space on the page to make the document less overwhelming.
Be Concise
There is no set length for a resume, but generally it should be one or two pages long. One page is ideal for recent graduates or those with less than five to eight years of experience. Two pages is more appropriate for those with more than 10 years of experience. When trimming down a resume, remove irrelevant information and focus on the most relevant experience.
Check Your Work
Proofreading your resume is key to making sure it looks its best. Spelling mistakes, punctuation mistakes, and grammatical mistakes can all be easily corrected with a careful eye. Having someone else proofread your resume is also helpful, as they can catch mistakes that you may have missed.
Consider a Summary
When it comes to writing a resume, a summary statement can be an extremely effective way to introduce yourself and showcase why you’re the best candidate for the job. By highlighting your most relevant skills and experiences, as well as your future goals, you can show the recruiter that you’re a perfect fit for the role. Keep your summary brief and to-the-point, and make sure to target it specifically to the job you’re applying for.
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