Lab Assistant resume examples & templates

Your lab assistant resume is like a lab test order, it gets your journey started. A compelling lab assistant resume gets you the results you want: a new job. An average resume could slow your job search as your sample gets lost in the shuffle. Speed your way to an interview with a resume that shines.

How? Deliver a message of clarity, efficiency, and attention.

You’re a behind-the-scenes professional, but you need to break out your confidence and apply it to your job search. The lab director’s first contact with you is through your resume. Make the first impression a great one because you may not get a second look. Unlike lab work, where scientists carefully examine specimens, resumes typically get a quick scan of a few seconds, especially if they don’t look impressive from the start. Grab their attention with a resume that displays all your skills up front.

Resume guide for a lab assistant resume

Grab hold of the tools for success with Resume.io. With guides and resume examples for more than 500 professions, and our resume builder, you’ll get your resume out there in no time. 

This resume guide plus the lab assistant resume example will cover the following:

• How to write a lab assistant resume
• Choosing the right resume format for a lab assistant
• How to add your contact information
• Highlighting your career in summaries
• Adding your lab assistant experience
• Listing education and relevant experience
• Picking the right resume design/layout
• What the lab assistant market looks like and what salary you can expect

How to write a lab assistant resume

Lab work consists of specific steps in a specific order. So does resume creation. First, understand what sections to include. Your resume should contain the following elements:

• The resume header
• The resume summary (aka profile or personal statement)
• The employment history section
• The resume skills section
• The education section

Creating an impressive resume means putting your best self forward. In every line of this one-page document, answer the question: “Why are you the right person for the job?” To do that, research the lab, its needs, and the types of tests it performs. Speak directly to what your unique set of skills and attributes will bring to the functioning of the lab.

Whether you’re developing a chemistry lab assistant resume or are seeking work in a different type of lab, a dynamic resume follows a clear formula:

• Showcase your accomplishments, not your daily tasks, throughout your resume. Yes, you handle specimens, but how do you handle them? Have you had a hand in improving efficiency or have you created a better process for ensuring the lab environment is always sterile?
• Target each environment with a customized resume. A phlebotomy lab assistant resume will focus on different skills from a general medical lab assistant resume, but each medical lab is different as well.
• Present yourself professionally with a sophisticated resume template that remains easy to read.
• Account for the ATS filtering software in online applications by sprinkling appropriate keywords throughout your laboratory assistant resume. A template optimized for the ATS can help.

Choosing the right resume format for a lab assistant

Your resume needs to efficiently get to the point without missing a detail—the same qualities of a good lab assistant.

The most straightforward format for a lab assistant resume is reverse chronological. That’s because it provides the structure for telling the story of your career progress. This format emphasizes your employment history section, with your positions listed in reverse chronological order. Below is an example of this format.

If you are a recent graduate or have not worked in a lab before, an alternative format, such as the functional format may serve you better. That format gives you the flexibility to expand your skills or education sections and minimize your employment history.

Among the many resume templates in our resume builder, you will find versions of reverse chronological, functional, and hybrid formats available as resume examples. Choose the format and style that best reflects your professional personality and the culture of the lab.

Lab work is precise and organized, so we suggest a simple layout that shows the lab director that you hone in on the most important aspects of any task.

Include your contact information

Every lab worker knows that identifying information is of the utmost importance. The header of your lab assistant resume provides that data to the lab director to make reaching out a breeze.

Present all your contact information professionally and legibly.

• Full name and title. List your first and last name. Use the exact title of the role you are pursuing. Remember to check the title on the job listing and change this when appropriate.
• Professional email address. Use a format like firstname.lastname@gmail.com.
• Phone number. List a number where you can be readily contacted, with a professional voicemail greeting.
• Location. List only your city and state. Don’t list your street address or zip code. It’s both outdated and unsafe. Note 'Willing to Relocate' here if applicable.
• LinkedIn. If your LinkedIn profile is active and relevant, include it here.

Don’t include:

• Date of birth: Not necessary and could potentially lead to age discrimination.
• Personal details: Marital status, social security number, passport number, etc.

Make use of a summary

Lab results typically include a summary followed by the detailed findings. The summary serves as an introduction to the findings and blends the most important information into easily digestible sentences.

The summary of a lab assistant resume performs the same function. In 2-3 sentences, it  showcases the overarching abilities that make you excellent at your job and introduces you to the lab director. But more than that, it highlights what skills you will bring to the lab that make you the top candidate for the job.

Show your confidence with strong verbs such as collect, examine, sterilize, or analyze and follow them up with data-driven examples of the results of your actions whenever possible. 

The best summaries profile your career in one succinct sentence such as “Chemistry lab assistant with two-year track record of making significant contributions to research projects.” The summary should not repeat items from your work history, but provide an overview of your professional achievements.

Think carefully about the image you want to project, since this is your main opportunity to do so in your resume. Are you detail-oriented? Do you love science? Are you a problem-solver with a keen eye for improving processes? Put a laser focus on these aspects of your personality. The way you portray yourself makes a difference in your fit for the position.

You can find adaptable lab assistant resume examples summary below:

Outline your lab assistant work experience: an excellent sample

For experienced lab assistants, this will be the largest section of your one-page document. List each employer, beginning with the most recent. Populate your job listings with strong examples of your successes in all your lab assistant positions.

Begin each bullet item with a strong action you took: processed, organized, solved, mentored, documented. Follow it up by quantifying your achievement in as great a detail as you can.

A lab assistant resume work history section that sounds like the one below needs improvement:

• “Collected data for experiments.”
• “Maintained lab equipment.”
• “Adhered to safety standards.”
• “Prepared samples.”

These basic items provide no detail and don’t differentiate the applicant’s skills from anyone else’s. They could be taken directly from the job ad itself. A great lab assistant resume will detail the value you added to the lab in every position you held. Have you improved a procedure? Streamlined data collection? Solved a problem with a process or piece of equipment? Taught other lab assistants? These are the successes to document in your resume.

These descriptions tell the director how you will improve the function of the lab:

• “Validated the accuracy of all data collected through enhanced two-person, double-entry protocol.”
• “Created system for checking all equipment to maintain optimal working level.”
• “Cleaned and sterilized equipment, and organized supplies, to guarantee adherence to all safety standards.”
• “Assisted chemist in preparing samples, conducting experiments, and recording data.”

Take a look at the lab assistant employment history resume sample below:

How to write a lab assistant resume with no experience

Key qualities for a lab assistant include attention to detail and collaboration. While you may never have worked in a lab before, you have performed tasks—either at a different type of job or in life or school—that demonstrate you have these attributes.

Focus on these and other transferable skills in your resume for a lab assistant with no experience. For example, did you take a chemistry class in high school or college? Then you collected data and analyzed it. 

Did you have a part-time or summer job as a shop assistant or camp counselor? You displayed organization, communication and customer service skills. 

These attributes, combined with your education, illustrate your suitability for the job, even though you have no direct experience on your resume.

If you have an associate’s or bachelor’s degree in a science field, consider highlighting your education section over your work experience.

Include the relevant key skills that make you a great lab assistant

A skills list functions as more than a collection of your attributes. It gives the lab director a quick method of deciding whether your combination of skills fits their needs. 

The best lab assistant resume presents a balanced list of hard and soft skills that present the full picture of your professional expertise. Hard skills such as data collection, operation of lab equipment, preparation of test samples, and an understanding of all safety protocols make you a desirable candidate. 

Although you work mostly behind the scenes, interpersonal skills, or soft skills, such as communication, leadership, and collaboration are also pluses.

To get you started, our resume builder offers skills suggestions, and includes the opportunity to rank you proficiency in each. You may also write in your own choices.

Here’s what the skills box looks like in our car sales resume template. 

While the skills box presents an overview, the lab director will want to know how you use your skills on the job. Demonstrate this using specific examples and achievements throughout your lab assistant resume.

For example, you have the opportunity within your work history and summary sections to highlight your:

• Problem solving with details of a time you created a better system for tracking inventory
• Mentoring and leadership by explaining how you train junior lab assistants and guide them through new projects
• Data collection and analysis by describing your part in an experiment run by a scientist in your lab

You’ll find clues as to which skills the lab director finds most important within the job listing.

Detail your education & relevant lab assistant certifications

The bar for entry into the lab assistant field is a high school diploma or GED, however, many employers prefer at least an associate’s degree with a science major. The education section of your lab assistant resume is a simple listing of your academic achievements.

To bolster your application, you may also list any other related professional activities including:

• Training and certification. While specific training is not necessary, if you have completed an accredited program or received certification as a CMLA, list that here.
• Internships. Any real-world work experience from a college or training program that demonstrates your ability to function in a lab aids your candidacy.
• Professional development. Memberships in organizations related to biology, chemistry, health or any other science tells the lab director that you are eager to learn and stay up-to-date in your field.

Pick the right resume layout and design for a lab assistant resume

Precision and attention to detail are hallmarks of any good scientist. You wouldn’t show up at a job interview with a stain on your clothes or with a bag bursting with personal items. When you make your first impression at a job interview, you look neat, clean, and professional. 

The layout of your lab assistant resume provides the lab director with a first impression before you ever meet. Choose a design that projects the same qualities you aim for when you meet in person. Keep it professional and reader-friendly.

Bear in mind that you want to garner attention, but without resorting to visual gimmicks such as graphics and images. If you choose color, keep it to a minimum and make sure it doesn’t interfere with the text.

For a lab assistant, where organization and cleanliness are of great importance, we suggest a simple template that maintains clear section separation, ample margins, and easy-to-read fonts.

Using a predesigned layout such as our field-tested resume templates, will ease your entry into the job market by eliminating the boring tasks of formatting and structuring your resume.

Lab assistant text-only resume example

Lab assistant job market and outlook

Lab assistants, also called clinical laboratory technologists or technicians, may work in several different fields, and the outlook varies. For the greatest number of opportunities, train as a medical lab assistant, since the healthcare market is booming.

What type of salary you can expect as a lab assistant

The average salary for a lab assistant is $17.44 an hour, or $36,285 annually. Entry-level jobs start at $30,175, while experienced lab assistants can earn up to $49,978.

Key takeaways for building a lab assistant resume

Any science career requires detail-orientation, organization, and a knowledge of data collection and analysis. A great lab assistant resume showcases these skills as well as the ability to communicate, collaborate, and solve problems with experiments, procedures, and equipment specific to each lab by customizing every application.

Utilizing our online resume builder can streamline the application process, making it more efficient and less daunting for aspiring car sales professionals.