Perfecting Your Biomedical Science Resume

With so many people out of a job in the current economy, competition for open positions is stiff. To even get past the first line of evaluation to obtain an interview, you’ve got to make sure all your T’s are crossed and your I’s are dotted. Your resume is in many cases the only look at you a potential employer will get; you don’t want to sell yourself short by not having yours in top form. Science resumes will, in many cases, have special requirements. Here are some things to keep in mind for yours.

Resume Basics

When deciding the length of your resume, don’t worry about keeping it a certain number of pages. Include what you need to while still being concise. However, be wary of going beyond three pages unless everything you’ve included is truly necessary.

Common Headings

If you’re applying for a private research or academic science position, you’ll need to add some headings that aren’t included on a general resume. Here are the basics.

Heading: Name, address, telephone, email.
Education: College(s), degree(s), concentration, dates attended.
Honors and Awards: Include relevant fellowships, honor roll, research awards, thesis awards; include the date and a brief description if necessary.
Research and Professional Experience: Include dates, lab name, title of project, mentor/employer name, techniques used.
Teaching Experience: If the job position you are applying to won’t benefit from past teaching experience, you may choose to leave this out.
Research Techniques: This will give your employer a quick overview of your skill set. If your techniques vary in experience level, you may choose to title them “very experienced” and “moderately experienced.”
Publications: List both already published and in process publications; bold your name in the reference.
Presentations: List the title of the conference, your poster’s title, and the year.
References: List the name, department, address, telephone, and email of three professors or research advisors; this is only necessary for academic science resumes .

Do’s and Don’ts

Do bold each section heading to make them stand out.
Do use good resume-grade paper.
Do avoid using linking verbs, when possible.
Do tailor your resume to each position.
Do put dates next to every relevant category; without them, your resume won’t be taken seriously.
Don’t use a very fancy or difficult to read font.
Don’t use “I” in your descriptions.
Don’t include any personal information, photos, or any other superfluous documents.
Don’t include every job or experience you’ve ever had; unless your experience is very limited, leave off older positions.

Sample Science Resumes:

Sources:

Scientific Resumes. (2011) Scripps College.
Resumes Do’s and Don’ts. (2010) UC Berkeley.