Neuroscientist Resume Example & Writing Guide
Use this Neuroscientist resume example and guide to improve your career and write a powerful resume that will separate you from the competition.
Neuroscientists are at the forefront of research into how the brain works, using their knowledge of biology, psychology, and computer science to unravel mysteries like how we perceive the world around us, how we learn and remember information, and how we make decisions.
Because neuroscience is such a young field—it only emerged as its own discipline in the late 1970s—there’s still so much that hasn’t been discovered yet. Neuroscientists are constantly making new discoveries about how our brains function, which means there’s always room for growth in this field.
But what makes a great neuroscience resume? How do you highlight your most relevant experience and skills in a way that will get hiring managers excited about what you can bring to their organization? And how do you write a compelling cover letter that will make hiring managers want to interview you?
Follow these tips and resume example to write an outstanding neuroscience resume that will land you interviews with top employers.
How to Write a Neuroscientist Resume
Here’s how to write a neuroscientist resume of your own.
Write Compelling Bullet Points
Bullet points are the most effective way to showcase your experience and qualifications. But rather than simply listing your responsibilities, you can make your bullet points much more interesting by using them to tell a story about your work.
For example, rather than saying you “conducted research on Alzheimer’s disease,” you could say you “conducted research on Alzheimer’s disease and identified a new gene mutation that could lead to new treatments.”
The second bullet point is much more interesting and compelling because it provides more detail about what exactly you did and the results of your work.
Identify and Include Relevant Keywords
When you submit your resume for a neuroscience role, it’s likely that it will go through an applicant tracking system (ATS). This system 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 neuroscience keywords as a starting point to help you identify the skills and experience you want to highlight on your resume:
- Neurobiology
- Neuroscience
- ImageJ
- Cell Culture
- Neuroscience Research
- Western Blotting
- Molecular Biology
- Cell Biology
- Primary Cells
- Immunohistochemistry
- ELISA
- Flow Cytometry
- Research
- Cell Counting
- Cell Differentiation
- Data Analysis
- Cell Physiology
- Life Sciences
- Immunofluorescence
- Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
- Animal Research
- Microscopy
- Neurochemistry
- Molecular Cloning
- Cell Signaling
- High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)
- Biochemistry
- Western Blotting
- Neuroscience Education
- Chemistry
Showcase Your Technical Skills
Neuroscientists use a variety of technology in their work, from microscopes to brain scanners. They also need to be familiar with data analysis software, like MATLAB and SPSS, as well as with programming languages like C++ and Python. So if you have experience with any of these programs, be sure to list them in your technical skills section.