Lab Assistant Resume: Free Templates, Tips & Samples

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You’re trained to perform laboratory tests and handle laboratory equipment, in addition to other essential tasks. Now you are feeling ready to get involved in scientific testing and work your way up through the ranks in the lab.

This guide will aid you in creating a strong Laboratory Assistant resume, providing you with:

• Expert knowledge of best practices that not all candidates are aware of
• Tips for properly detailing your work history, with examples
• The best way to write a resume summary or objective that stands out

Writing a Laboratory Assistant resume can be difficult because hiring practices and recruitment trends are evolving so quickly. Our free resume builder tool will help you save valuable time.

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Before writing your own resume, it’s always a good idea to review a sample. The following Lab Assistant resume example can help you decide which sections and details to add to your own document:

resume Example

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[Trisha Bastin]

[Lab assistant]

[Tucson, AZ 85712  |  965-582-113  |  bastin.trisha@email.com]

Summary

Lab Assistant with 5+ years experience specializing in OSHA safety standards and DNA testing. Skilled at performing sample testing and extractions in compliance with ISO 9001 quality standards

Experience

Lab Assistant

Microbiot Labs | Tucson, AZ

2020 – Present

• Improved data automation that resulted in a reduction of 15 work hours per month
• Collected and gathered laboratory specimens for patients in a clinical setting
• Trained a team of 6 lab assistants in OSHA safety standards and disinfection techniques for laboratory equipment

Lab Assistant

Techlabs, INC | Tucson, AZ

2017 – 2019

• Conducted testing following ISO 9001 standards, including analyzing reagents and reporting on lab results
• Handled DNA specimen data entry, labeling, and storage for medical testing in compliance with lab safety rules and quality assurance guidelines
• Performed tests and maintained equipment to guarantee accurate results

Education

BS in Chemistry

University of Arizona | Tucson, AZ

2013 – 2017

• Achieved a 3.5 GPA

Skills

• Analytical thinking
• Problem-solving
• ISO 9001 and OSHA standards

Certifications

• Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (NHA), 2013

Publications

• Part of the team of assistants who contributed to Lab Best Practices When Working With Yeasts, Braithkins et al, Clinical laboratory Science Journal, November 2020.

>> Hobbies and Interests <<

• Chemistry news blogging

You can also check out the Bureau for Labor Statistics occupational page for Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians which has up to date info on the career expectations (as well as the job outlook, which can give you some motivation!).

You should take some time to consider the institution or corporation you’re applying to, the industry, and your present employment situation before selecting a resume format.

Whatever structure you decide on, keep in mind that you’ll be giving your prospective employer a crucial first impression.

The reverse-chronological format is the best choice if you are a candidate with prior relevant experience. In this kind of resume, you start by including your most recent experience and education.

A reverse-chronological resume should encompass the following sections:

1. A header (contact details)
2. Professional title 
3. Employment history
4. Training and credentials
5. Skill set

Take a look at some other resume examples to learn how to format your own.

Because first impressions are difficult to reverse, crafting an effective Laboratory Assistant resume summary is critical to your success as a candidate. 

For seasoned Lab Assistants, resume summaries are more appropriate as they summarize your work experience. 

An effective summary should showcase your professional achievements and competencies. It should contain:

• 1 to 3 notable achievements
• Your professional title and years of experience
• Any expertise that’s pertinent to the job

This is your best opportunity to attract the attention of employers, so take the time you need to draft it carefully. You might find it easier to write when you have finished the experience section.

A resume objective is a brief statement of your goals within the company. 

If you’re applying for a career as a Lab Assistant, and you have limited experience, a resume objective is more appropriate as it outlines your future goals.

You could include:

• Your abilities and education that will be beneficial to the job
• Relevant years or months of experience
• How you’ll contribute to the company’s goals

Successful resume objectives, like resume summaries, should be short and succinct.

Lab Assistant Resume Objective Example

Let’s look at some good and bad examples of resume objective in case you need some guidance:

What makes this a bad example? Let’s look closely:

• Not accurate enough. What does “above average” mean exactly? Mention numbers and percentages to tell your story.
• Hardly relevant. A “successful institution” says nothing relevant about the organization the applicant is hoping to work for. It includes pretty much all institutions that can financially survive.
• Too short.

Let’s see a more compelling Lab Assistant resume objective:

This resume objective is much stronger. Why?

• Computable data. It provides specific information regarding the accuracy percentage achieved.
• Relevant expertise. The applicant is aware of the responsibilities of the position and knows the value of a specialization area like documentation management.
• Clarity. There are no trendy terms or overused, meaningless adjectives. The description is unambiguous and objective.

Sort your experiences in order of importance. Also, include statistics, numbers, and percentages, and be as descriptive as you can. 

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• How many experiments or lab tests have you analyzed in your average work week?
• Have you created regular date reports and to what standard/for what audience?
• Does the job include assembling, maintaining, calibrating, cleaning, and testing laboratory equipment? If it does, and you have this experience, highlight it!

Specify in the role description if you improved data automation that resulted in a reduction of 15 work hours per month. Name the exact number of saved hours and put this in the first bullet point if it was your greatest success in that position. 

Finally, remember to keep it brief and tailor your experience to the position you’re applying for. Look at the job description and add things from your experience that match it. 

Lab Assistant Resume Examples: Experience

Review the following examples to make sure you grasp how to create the experience section of your Lab Assistant resume:

As you can probably guess if you’ve been paying attention, the reasons why the first example is a bad one are self-evident:

• It’s highly ambiguous. No explanations are provided for how anything was accomplished. What, for instance, does the applicant mean by “to improve lab processes”?
• Amounts, figures, and statistics are missing.

The narrative and accuracy have been optimized in this case:

• Achievements have numerical values. Because the applicant provides precise numbers to explain accomplishments, recruiters can understand them right away.
• This applicant uses storytelling techniques. For example, how did the candidate boost lab productivity by 9%? By automating data entry procedures.

The way you list your education on your resume is just as crucial as how you describe your experience, even though the latter is where most applicants focus their attention. 

Include the following points in this section of your resume:

• Science-related degrees. An Associate’s or Bachelor’s in subjects like chemistry or biology is frequently demanded by employers in this sector.
• Certificates. If you want to differentiate yourself from the competition, additional qualifications like National Certified Phlebotomy Technician (NCCT) or Clinical Laboratory Technician (CLT) are ideal. 
• Academic honors. Any awards you’ve received while pursuing your education.

Lab Assistant Resume Education Section

To be sure you’re on target, check this education section example for a Lab Assistant resume:

University of Nebraska| Lincoln, NE

Bachelor of Science in Chemistry

2011 – 2015

• Graduated Summa Cum Laude 
• Vicepresident of the Chemistry Club
• GPA 3.8

List your graduate degrees from most recent to least recent.

Landing a job as a Laboratory Assistant requires more than just education and experience. You’ll need to show you are analytical, scientific, a problem solver, and up to date on lab safety measures.

The following list includes some of the most in-demand Lab Assistant skills:

Place your top 3 hard and soft skills near the top of your resume to make a bigger impact.

To stand out, Laboratory Assistants may want to include additional sections to their resumes.

Some common ones that can work to your advantage are:

• Awards. This section is very powerful for those who have won professional or academic honors or awards. Especially Lab Assistants who are proud of their prior achievements should add it. Pick a maximum of 3 to highlight here.
• Publications / Research. If you contributed to any scientific research, studies or papers which were published, you can list them here.

Including these extra sections correctly can be tricky. Although you want them to be noticeable, be careful not to overshadow essential parts, like experience and education.

A well-written resume says a lot about an applicant’s qualifications. Bear in mind the following to make the right impression on potential employers:

• Tailor your resume according to the job posting. Apply and emphasize the same terms the recruiter does in the ad. Commonly, job ads for lab assistants will include keywords like Quality Control, Monitoring, Recording and Analyzing. Illustrate your skills with these.
• Keep it short. Remove anything that isn’t relevant to the position and get down to the point quickly.
• Catch readers’ attention with your summary and header. This is your chance to persuade employers to keep reading your resume.
• Listing responsibilities is not enough. Don’t merely enumerate your duties in past jobs. Illustrate your achievements by using numbers and explain how you reached your goals.
• Describe accurately. Name any tools (MEDITECH, LabVIEW, EMR software, etc) or processes (using microscopes or automatic analyzers) to demonstrate your familiarity with them and to detail your approach.

With these tips and examples you should be well on your way to creating your resume, securing that interview, and nailing that job as a Laboratory Assistant!