Pharmaceutical Chemist Resume Example & Writing Guide
Use this Pharmaceutical Chemist resume example and guide to improve your career and write a powerful resume that will separate you from the competition.
Pharmaceutical chemists are highly specialized scientists who use their knowledge of chemistry and drug development to create medications that are safe, effective, and affordable. They work in a variety of settings, including research labs and pharmaceutical companies, where they’re tasked with identifying new drug candidates, testing them for efficacy and safety, and creating formulations that will be ready for market.
Pharmaceutical chemists are vital members of any drug development team because they’re responsible for ensuring that every new drug is safe for human consumption as well as effective at treating its intended condition. They also play a key role in ensuring that medications are affordable for patients.
Here are some tips plus an example to help you write an outstanding pharmaceutical chemist resume that will get you noticed by hiring managers everywhere.
How to Write a Pharmaceutical Chemist Resume
Here’s how to write a resume of your own.
Write Compelling Bullet Points
Bullet points are the most effective way to showcase your experience and qualifications. And when it comes to pharmaceutical chemist bullet points, the more specific and detailed you can be, the better.
For example, rather than saying you “analyzed chemical compounds,” you could say you “analyzed chemical compounds using gas chromatography to identify unknown compounds and determine their chemical structure for use in new drug development.”
The second bullet point is much stronger because it provides more detail about what exactly you did and the results of your work.
Identify and Include Relevant Keywords
When you apply for a job as a pharmaceutical chemist, your resume is likely to go through an applicant tracking system (ATS). This program will search for certain keywords related to the position in order to determine whether you are a fit. If you don’t have the right keywords on your resume, the ATS might not rank your application as a top candidate.
The best way to make sure your resume contains the right keywords is to read through the job posting and take note of words or phrases that are repeated. You can then use those same words when you write your resume.
Here are some common pharmaceutical chemist keywords to get you started:
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry
- Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)
- Medicinal Chemistry
- Chemistry
- Quality Control
- Process Chemistry
- Analytical Chemistry
- Organic Chemistry
- Polymer Chemistry
- Analytical Testing
- Qualified Person
- cGMP
- Good Laboratory Practice (GLP)
- Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
- Formulation
- Medicinal Chemistry Research
- Manufacturing
- Research and Development (R&D)
- Molecular Modeling
- Synthetic Chemistry
- Chemistry Research
- HPLC
- Spectroscopy
- R&D
- Gas Chromatography
- Characterization
- Chemistry Teaching
- Organic Synthesis
- Polymers
- Laboratory Skills
Showcase Your Technical Skills
As a pharmaceutical chemist, you need to be proficient in a variety of software programs and systems in order to do your job effectively. This might include familiarity with laboratory management software, chemical databases, and scientific modeling software. Additionally, you need to be able to use technology to communicate with other members of the research team, including biologists and pharmacists.
Some of the programs and systems that pharmaceutical chemists are typically expected to be proficient in include: ChemDraw, ChemOffice, and Chem3D.