
What is a Resume: Definition, Examples & How-to
Job hunting can be confusing. You know you need a resume, but what is it exactly, and how to even write one? Deep breaths. Read on to learn everything you need to know.
You can titrate to within a nanomole on autopilot and improvise analytical techniques in your sleep. Make sure your chemistry resume reflects your lab prowess. Here’s how.
Modern chemistry still has some of the magic of alchemy—
The ability to rearrange atoms and transmute matter is really something.
Just like writing the perfect chemist resume—
With the right elements properly arranged, your chemistry resume can turn a career as dull and gray as lead into a future as bright as gold.
You just need an effective method.
In this guide:
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Maryellen West
Chemist
Personal Info
Phone: 605-527-3159
E-mail: maryellen.west@reslab.com
linkedin.com/in/maryellenjwest
Summary
Meticulous chemist with 6+ years’ experience working directly with pharmaceuticals and their quality control. At Holden & Associates, performed quality control testing on 80+ products and reduced product costs by an average of 9% by changing existing formulations. Seeking to help maintain ZetaCeuticals’ high standards while boosting efficiency.
Experience
Quality Control Chemist
Holden & Associates
April 2018–present
Junior Chemist
Howard’s Laboratories
September 2016–March 2018
Education
BS in Chemistry, University of South Dakota
June 2012–August 2016
Key Skills
Certifications
Languages
A Chemist is a skilled professional who conducts laboratory experiments, analyzes results, and interprets data to quality check, or develop new products, processes, and technologies. They may further specialize in different field of chemistry, like organic, inorganic, or analytical.
Here’s the procedure for writing a chemist resume that’ll bump them up into an excited state:
You wouldn’t follow a lab manual that put procedures before equipment—
So don’t expect recruiters and hiring managers to follow a poorly formatted resume.
Clarity and order are important to your work—They’re important to getting work, too. Make your resume layout as clean and clear as pristine glassware. Here’s how:
Save your resume in PDF, unless you’ve been asked for something else. PDF will help preserve your layout across operating systems and programs.
You’ve got all your apparatus laid out—All that’s left to do is figure out how to start your resume.
Got some experience as a chemist?
Start with a resume summary statement—
Use:
These chemistry resume examples will give you a better idea:
Small tweaks—Big difference.
The first example is packed full of facts and figures: every claim is quantified. It’s also focused on what the candidate can do for the employer, not the other way around.
What if you don’t have the experience to saturate your chemistry resume?
If you're only jast starting out as a chemist, you'll need to create an entry-level resume. Start with a resume objective statement and focus on any relevant experience you do have, as well as your chemistry skills.
Does the second one pass the litmus test?
It’s the first one that shows what the candidate can bring to the table. The first resume objective is also loaded with resume keywords—scan the job ad to find the right keywords for your application.
These keywords are the crucial ingredients of a successful ATS resume.
Mentioning the name of the company and job title is another good trick that will help you pass the ATS screening. These small changes will help you target your resume.
Struggling?
Write your resume profile last—it’ll be much easier.
The best way to show you’re up to the task—
Is to show you’ve done it before, and done it well. This is where your resume work experience section comes in.
How to write a winning job description for your chemistry resume:
These chemist resume examples will show you what you’re aiming for:
Chemist
Holden & Associates
April 2018–present
Chemist
Holden & Associates
September 2018–present
Both do a good job of using resume power words, but—
The first one impresses with its concrete, quantified resume achievements. These achievements are all about bringing benefits to employers. Job descriptions won’t cover everything, though—So choose skills to put on a resume to fill in the blanks.
But don’t do the obvious thing:
Don’t just pack your chemist resume with all the skills you could find. The job ad will tell you what’s required—pick 5–10 of your skills that match those requirements.
Use the list below, but don’t just copy it verbatim—that’s an obvious move and tantamount to lying on your resume. Treat these chemistry lab skills to put on resume as a source of inspiration.
Include some soft skills in your chemistry resume—they’re often overlooked by scientific types.
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The days of having a career in chemistry without a formal education have gone the way of the top hat.
Keep your resume education section short and sweet. List the degree, school, and graduation date. That’s the minimum—
But then:
Add bonus bullets that speak to relevant achievements and key skills. Here’s a chemist resume example:
BS in Chemistry, University of South Dakota
June 2012–August 2016
Simple but effective.
Short on chemist experience?
Add more bullet points that go into projects, relevant coursework, and academic accomplishments.
There’s a way to make your case as strong as an ionic bond—
A lot can slip through the cracks of the usual resume sections.
Don’t let anything relevant slip through the Whatman No.12.
Add one or two additional resume sections:
These two chemistry resume examples show yay vs nay:
Certifications
Languages
Hobbies and Interests
Languages
The second example breaks the cardinal rule:
Anything and everything you add here has to be directly relevant to the job at hand. Even hobbies are fair game, but they have to be relevant.
One final step—
You’ll need a chemistry cover letter. You get a free pass only if you’ve been explicitly asked not to include a cover letter. Otherwise, you risk having your chemist resume sublimate unread. And remember, if the job ad doesn't mention a cover letter at all, the truth is they expetc your chemistry resume to come with one.
Double your impact with a matching resume and cover letter combo. Use our cover letter generator and make your application documents pop out.
Want to try a different look? There's 21 more. A single click will give your document a total makeover. Pick a cover letter template here.
For a chemist resume that yields interviews:
Got any niggling doubts as to how to get your chemistry resume to rise to the top? Leave any questions and comments down below and we’ll be sure to get back to you.
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Job hunting can be confusing. You know you need a resume, but what is it exactly, and how to even write one? Deep breaths. Read on to learn everything you need to know.
Thought that creating a resume in Word format is passé? Not if you use one of the top Word resume templates. The best part is that they're free. So come along!
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