Research Assistant Resume: Real Examples & Template for download

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As a Research Assistant, you’re likely too inundated with collecting and logging data for your job to even think about revising your resume. So while you get on with investigating and maintaining files, why not let us help you get your resume in order for your next career move?

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ResumeGiants » Examples » Research Assistant Resume

Knowledge is power, and your know-how is what will make you a successful Research Assistant. 

However, you may not know what it takes to create a successful resume. But, don’t worry that’s normal, and we’re here to help! 

In this guide, we’ll cover all the essential parts of a winning Research Assistant resume:

• How to write the best possible resume for a Research Assistant position
• What to focus on in your resume objective or summary
• Adding relevant experience
• What to include in your resume if you don’t have Research Assistant experience
• Keywords to include in your resume

To make your job even easier you can use our online resume builder to go along with our helpful tips. That way you can get back to researching things that matter, not just pointers on how to create a good application.

So, keep reading to find out once and for all what goes into a job-winning resume.

Before we dive into the tips, let’s take a look at what a good research assistant resume sample looks like. Looking over different examples gives you a better idea of how formatting, layouts, and sections can help showcase your awesome skills and achievements. 

Keep it in mind as we go through the rest of the article, and think about how you should outline your own resume.

Resume Example

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[Sarah Data]

[Research Assistant]

Charlotte, NC 28105 | 555-555-5555 | sarah.data@randomemail.com

Summary

Investigative PhD in Molecular Biology with 4+ years of experience overseeing and assisting with research projects using techniques including PCR, nucleic acid quantification, and analyzing DNA, RNA, and proteins. Passionate about creating repeatable research methodologies and process improvements to maximize productivity for UNC’s Myeloma Research Team.

Experience

Research Assistant

Dr. McPherson’s Laboratory | Durham, NC

2021 – 2023

• Analyze between 7 and 10 case files and databases regarding nucleic acid quantification
• Utilize statistical tools to generate 96% confidence limits on the search data
• Maintain detailed lab records with 100% level of accuracy

Microbiology Undergraduate Teaching Assistant (TA)

University of North Carolina | Charlotte, NC

2020 – 2021

• Researched up to 10 project topics as instructed by professors
• Earned 3 professor commendations for research quality
• Maintained detailed records regarding student progress and grades
• Provided guidance and feedback to over 150 students

Education

M.Sc. in Biological Sciences

UNC Charlotte | Charlotte, NC

2019 

4.0 GPA

Preferred fields of study: Molecular Biology, Immunology, Computational Analysis

Extracurriculars and achievements:

• President of the Graduate Student Board 2017 – 2018
• Member of Alpha Sigma Kappa sorority

B.Sc. in Biology

University of North Carolina | Charlotte, NC

2017 

Skills

• Organization
• Collaboration
• Project management abilities
• Ethical Judgement
• Lab maintenance
• Data entry
• Statistical tool skills
• DNA and RNA analysis
• Library cataloging
• ECL Staining

Peer-Reviewed Publications

• “Biochemistry and the Process of Nucleic Acid Quantification”. Journal of Scientific Amazingness 3, volume 7 (2021) 27-52
• “Molecular Biological Methods in Plant Life”. ScienceDay.com

Interests

• Renewable Energy
• Writing
• Robotics
• Artificial Intelligence

Since you’re competing with the best of the best, it’s important to use a resume format that’s clear, concise, and easy to scan without leaving out any essential information. 

Depending on your level of experience or skill set you may want to choose one format over another. The 3 main types of resume formats you will choose from include:

• Reverse-chronological
• Functional 
• Hybrid

As a Research Assistant a hiring manager would love to see your work history above all else. 

In fact, a 2023 NACE survey demonstrated that candidates with experience had a more positive influence rating compared to candidates without experience. 

This means hiring managers in the field of research want to see that you have experience carrying out the following types of duties:

• Literature reviews
• Data collection
• Administrative tasks
• Writing reports

To do that you should use a reverse-chronological format. With this type of resume format you can immediately highlight your past duties starting from your most recent position. 

But, what if you have little to no experience as a Research Assistant?

If that’s the case, no need to fear. Use a functional format to focus on your skills and how you’ve applied them during an internship or while working at a previous unrelated job. 

There are a few general resume formatting guidelines that’ll help you organize your countless achievements and experiences. Luckily, we use these formatting tips for our resume templates to make it easier for you to tailor your application.

Now that you know the sections that should go into your resume, let’s go over each part in more detail. First up is the resume summary or objective.

What’s the difference between a resume summary and an objective? Researching this answer will tell you exactly which will be best for you.

• Resume summary – A brief outline of the experience, skills, and knowledge
• Resume objective – A summary of your career goals

One opening statement is ideal if you are an experienced Research Assistant while the other is better for beginners. We’ll break that down below.

Research Assistant Resume Summary Example

A resume summary is just a rundown of your work history, with a few details about your skills and knowledge thrown in. It’s basically your entire resume in a few short sentences—preferably around two or three.

Think of your resume summary like the preview that plays before you pick a movie on Netflix. It gives potential employers a sneak preview of what’s coming. 

But just like a Netflix preview, if the employer doesn’t like what they see, they might not read any further. That’s why it’s so important to nail the summary.

The key is to provide plenty of specific experience to show the potential employer you know what you’re talking about, but not so much they get bored. You want to keep the information short, precise, and to the point. 

Avoid being generic like in this example, always remember to highlight your relevant achievements and skills.

How to Write an Entry-Level Research Assistant Resume Objective

Since you’re an entry-level candidate you’ll need to focus on something other than your experience.  In this case, you’ll want to provide a quick explanation of your career goals.

As an entry-level Research Assistant, it’s essential to add the following to your resume objective:

• Your career goals 
• Your motivation for working as a Research Assistant
• What you hope to contribute to the lab or the job setting
• Your skills

If you can add these elements to your objective you can win over an employer even if you haven’t worked full-time in a lab or other type of institution.

Entry-Level Research Assistant Resume Objectives

Now that you know what goes into writing a solid objective, let’s take a look at some examples. 

Since resume objectives are typically used by people without experience, it’s common for them to write something like this:

Yes, researching for your Ph.D. is a great start, but all the other graduate applicants applying to the position can likely say that. It won’t make your resume stand out.

If you want to write an awe-inspiring resume objective, it’s all about using concrete details and goals that are relevant to the position, just like this:

In this resume objective, the candidate’s goals are clear, they listed what their skills, and what they are passionate about.

Having years and years and years of research assistant experience is fantastic, but it doesn’t matter if you don’t know how to properly describe it to potential employers. 

Building out an experience section is essential if you want to score a job. Here are a few tips to help you create the perfect experience section:

• Use specific, concrete numbers and statistics
• Try to only use relevant experience
• Customize your experience section to fit the job
• Keep everything concise
• Include keywords that match the job description

For example, if the job description mentions that you’ll need to work with analyzing DNA, list a previous position that you held in which one of your responsibilities involved working with DNA.

The fact that your experience perfectly matches the job description will make you stand out even more from the rest of the applicants who may have left generic experience sections in their resume.

Research Assistant Resume Examples: Experience

As the age-old saying goes: It’s not about the years in your life; it’s about the life in your years. The same sentiment goes for your research assistant experience.

For example, what makes one of these sound better than the other?

Of course, the “right” and “wrong” headings give it away, but the second research assistant experience section is a much better option. It provides concrete details about the experience that employers would just eat up! 

Other applicants might have used statistical tools to boost search data confidence, but did they reach 96%? Those specific details are what make you stand out from the crowd.

Entry-Level Research Assistant Resume: Experience Section

Everyone has to start somewhere. What if you don’t have any professional experience to show off? 

Just because you don’t have professional experience doesn’t mean you don’t have experience.

You can still mention any history you have:

• Working as an intern
• Volunteering in a relevant position
• Studying for a Ph.D. 
• Conducting research

You can also mention previous employment experience if there are some skills you picked up from another job that are related to a Research Assistant’s responsibilities.

Before we check out a good one, let’s take a look at what not to do for an entry-level research assistant experience section:

With an experience section like this, it’s doubtful this candidate will get any calls about an interview. Not only do they not offer very specific skills or experience, but what they do include isn’t entirely relevant to the position. 

Even for an entry-level resume, you want to be specific and try to use data. Your experience section should look more like this:

Using real, concrete numbers and facts, you can impress any employer, even if you don’t technically have years of professional experience.

In an academic field like research assisting, education is important. Just about every single candidate has at least an undergraduate degree, and most have advanced degrees including master’s or Ph.D.’s. Because education is so essential to the position, it’s also critical to show it off on your resume.

Research Assistant Resume Education Section

There are three essential pieces of information you have to include in your education section:

• Degree received
• Where you went to school
• The dates you attended

Since most research assistants have advanced degrees, your education section might contain multiple pieces of information. For example, if you have an advanced degree, you should add it above your BSc degree (reverse chronological). 

If you lack work experience (or if you want to show off), you can also go into a bit more depth about your education. For example, you could include relevant coursework on your resume, or some relevant extracurriculars or specialized fields of study.

Take a look at how you can write a descriptive education section:

Master of Science in Biological Sciences

University of California, Berkeley, CA — August 2021

• Relevant Coursework: Advanced Molecular Biology, Statistical Methods in Biology, Research Design
• Extracurriculars: Vice President, Biological Sciences Graduate Student Association
• Achievements: Awarded the Dean’s Scholarship for academic excellence

Bachelor of Science in Biology

University of California, Los Angeles, CA — May 2020

• Relevant Coursework: Genetics, Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Data Analysis in Biology
• Extracurriculars: Member, Undergraduate Research Club; Volunteer, UCLA Science Outreach Program
• Achievements: Graduated Summa Cum Laude; Published undergraduate research paper in “Journal of Experimental Biology”

You can also add your GPA, but only if it’s impressive (3.50 or over). 

Adding skills is an essential part of your resume, and a recruiter will want to know that your scientific and organizational abilities are up to their standards. You can do that by adding soft and hard skills to your skills section.  

Your hard skills should include your abilities related to IT and software used within your research, along with your abilities to analyze data or use AI in your work processes.

So, before you fill your resume skills section, make sure each one that you add to your resume is relevant to being a Research Assistant like the examples below.

You should also make sure you keep your skills section nice and concise. You’re probably a very skilled person, but no employer wants to read through dozens of bullet points. Stick with only the most impressive and relevant skills that you have, and don’t lie about skills that you don’t have.

Try to research the facility or company you are applying to before you start this section. Looking at the company culture might help you understand better which skills you should focus on.

It’s hard to fit your entire life onto a single sheet of paper. If there are other aspects you think an employer would want to know, that’s what the “other” sections are for.

While every resume, no matter the industry, needs essential sections like experience and education, other sections are basically your way to spice up your resume with a little personalization. It’s where you display special skills about yourself that might separate you from the pack.

That’s why you should mention:

• Certifications
• Achievements
• Your academic or industry-related publications
• Interests

As long as you can provide meaningful and relevant information in these sections you can go ahead and add them in. They can give your application the boost it needs to help you land your interview.

Research Assistant Extra Sections

The word “extra” isn’t very specific. If you’re not sure what kind of other sections you’d like to add, here are some examples that would fit your resume:

Academic Achievements

• 4.0 GPA from University of Dayton Master’s Program
• Member of Alpha Sigma Kappa sorority
• President of the graduate student board

Peer Reviewed Publications

• “Biochemistry and the Process of Nucleic Acid Quantification.” Journal of Scientific Amazingness 3, volume 7 (2021) 27-52
• “Molecular Biological Methods in Plant Life.” ScienceDay.com

Interests

• Renewable Energy
• Writing
• Robotics
• Artificial Intelligence

Now that the research about your resume is complete, it’s time to make it your career! The best way to create a research assistant resume that’s guaranteed to impress any employer is to follow these proven tips:

• Customize your resume to fit the job description 
• Provide specific details and metrics that demonstrate your experience and skills
• Ensure all experience and skills included are relevant to the job
• Use the resume format that best fits your level of experience and skills

Armed with these tips and using our tools you’ll have no trouble knowing exactly how to update and structure your resume.