Biologist Resume Examples & Writing Guide

This is a research biologist with seven years of bench work in a mid-size biotech. The name and the employers are invented. Notice that the techniques block sits high on the page. In life sciences hiring, that block is the resume; everything below it is evidence that you really can do those things.

Biology resumes are usually screened by the person who will supervise you, not by HR alone. That person has a bench or a field season to staff and a very short list of questions.

• Which techniques you have actually run, unsupervised. Not seen, not assisted with. Say so if a technique is one you were trained on but have not run alone; a lie here falls apart in week one.
• The scale you have worked at. Samples a week, plates a week, clones screened, sites surveyed, animals handled, libraries prepped. Scale tells them whether you can survive a production environment.
• The organisms and systems. Mammalian cell culture is not the same as zebrafish husbandry, and neither is the same as running mist nets for passerines. Name yours.
• Documentation habits. In industry, GLP or GMP documentation, electronic lab notebooks and audit history matter as much as technique. In field work, it is data sheets, permits and chain of custody.

"Biologist" covers jobs with almost nothing in common. The structure of your resume should change with the subfield, because the reader's checklist changes.

• Molecular and cell biology. Lead with techniques and instruments, then cell lines and model systems, then documentation standard (GLP, GMP, CLIA). Publications come after techniques unless you are applying to academia.
• Microbiology and QC. Lead with media prep, plating and enumeration, environmental monitoring, sterility and endotoxin testing, USP chapters if you work pharma, and organism identification methods such as MALDI-TOF or biochemical panels. Say whether you work under GMP.
• Wildlife and field biology. Lead with survey methods and permits: transect and point count surveys, mist netting and banding, radio and GPS telemetry, camera trapping, trapping protocols, plus your driving record, first aid, and whether you can carry a 40-pound pack in the field for ten hours.
• Marine biology. Add scientific diving status, vessel time, boat handling, small boat safety, and the specific gear you have used. An AAUS scientific diver authorization and logged dives are the credential that matters.
• Environmental and regulatory. Lead with the processes you have worked under, such as wetland delineation, protected species surveys and impact assessment, plus the GIS software by name.
• Bioinformatics-adjacent roles. Move R, Python and sequence analysis pipelines into their own block, and be specific: "RNA-seq analysis in R with DESeq2" beats "data analysis".

Most biology resumes list what happened in the lab. The good ones say how much, how well, and what changed as a result.

This is the part of the resume that gets read closest. Group by category, be honest about your level, and use the standard name for each technique, not a lab-specific nickname.

• Nucleic acids: DNA and RNA extraction, PCR, RT-qPCR, digital PCR, cloning and plasmid prep, Sanger sequencing, NGS library preparation, gel and capillary electrophoresis, CRISPR guide design and editing
• Proteins: Western blot, ELISA, immunoprecipitation, SDS-PAGE, protein purification by chromatography, BCA and Bradford quantification, mass spectrometry sample prep
• Cells and tissue: mammalian and insect cell culture, primary cell isolation, transfection and nucleofection, cryopreservation, mycoplasma testing, histology and sectioning, immunohistochemistry
• Instruments and imaging: flow cytometer, plate reader, confocal and fluorescence microscope, fragment analyzer, HPLC, MALDI-TOF, biosafety cabinet
• Microbiology: media preparation, aseptic technique, plating and colony counting, gram staining, antimicrobial susceptibility, environmental monitoring, bioburden and endotoxin testing
• Field methods: transect and point count surveys, mist netting and banding, small mammal trapping, radio and GPS telemetry, camera trapping, water quality sampling, chain of custody
• Data and software: R, Python, GraphPad Prism, FlowJo, ImageJ, Benchling or another electronic lab notebook, ArcGIS Pro or QGIS
• Compliance and safety: BSL-1 and BSL-2 practice, GLP, GMP, CLIA, IACUC and IRB processes, dangerous goods shipping

Most biologist jobs are gated on the degree, not on a license. A bachelor's gets you to research associate or technician level, a master's speeds up the move to scientist, and a doctorate is usually required for independent research leadership. There are real certifications in some subfields, though, and they are worth listing when they apply.

• Wildlife: The Wildlife Society offers Associate Wildlife Biologist and Certified Wildlife Biologist status, based on coursework and documented experience. Federal or state permits, such as a bird banding sub-permit or a scientific collecting permit, belong on the resume with the issuing agency.
• Microbiology: the American Society for Clinical Pathology offers a Technologist in Microbiology credential, and the American Society for Microbiology runs the National Registry of Certified Microbiologists. Both are recognized and neither is mandatory for most industry roles.
• Laboratory animals: AALAS runs a tiered technician certification (ALAT, LAT, LATG) that matters if you will work with animal models.
• Training records: CITI Program modules on responsible conduct of research, IACUC and human subjects research are standard in US institutions. IATA dangerous goods shipping training is worth a line if you ship biological samples.
• Marine and diving: an American Academy of Underwater Sciences scientific diver authorization and logged dives belong at the top of a marine biology resume.
• Clinical labs: if you will test human samples in the US, the role may fall under CLIA and some states license clinical laboratory personnel separately. Check the state where the job is rather than assuming.

This is the most searched version of the question, and the honest answer is that you almost certainly do have experience. Undergraduate lab courses are hands-on work, and most hiring managers for entry-level roles know that.

1. 1Put a Techniques section above your work history. List what you did in upper-level lab courses and any research project, with the technique names spelled properly.
2. 2Give your senior thesis, capstone or independent study its own entry with a title, a supervisor's lab, dates and three bullets. It is research experience, so present it as a job.
3. 3Count your lab hours. "400 hours of aseptic technique and cell culture across two upper-level courses" is a real, checkable claim.
4. 4Add non-biology jobs that show reliability and hands-on care: veterinary assistant, farm work, food production. Frame them around precision and following a protocol.
5. 5List posters and conference presentations even if they were departmental, with title and year.
6. 6Apply for research associate, laboratory technician, quality control and field technician titles rather than "scientist". The first job is the hard one.

For an industry job, a government agency or a consultancy, write a resume: one page early career, two pages after about five years, techniques high, publications trimmed to a line or two.

For a graduate program, a postdoc, a fellowship or a faculty post, write an academic CV: no length limit, full publication list with proper citations, conference presentations, teaching, grants and funding, service, and references named. Nothing is trimmed for space. If you are applying to grad school in biology, the CV is what the committee expects, alongside your statement of purpose.

• One page up to about five years of experience, two pages after that. Federal jobs on USAJOBS are the exception: those resumes run long by design and require hours per week, supervisor contact details and specific series and grade wording.
• Mirror the posting's technique names exactly. If it says "RT-qPCR", write RT-qPCR, not "real-time PCR". Filters match strings, not concepts.
• Spell out an abbreviation the first time and put the short form in parentheses, then use the short form. NGS, IHC and FACS all need it.
• No photo, no date of birth, no marital status on a US resume. Include your work authorization status only if the posting asks, and then in one line.
• Name the model organisms and cell lines you have worked with. "HEK293, CHO, primary human PBMCs" matches keywords and it is honest.

“I skip straight to the techniques block. If someone tells me they run flow panels and I see FlowJo and a panel size, I believe them. If it says "proficient in a wide range of laboratory techniques" my assumption is that they have never run any of them alone, and that assumption is usually right.”