If you want to improve your chances of getting the best interviews for the most prestigious positions, a solid curriculum vitae is key. When a job in science is available, many applicants may flood the pool to demonstrate their qualifications.
Hiring managers rely heavily on a detailed CV to give them information about a candidate’s potential to be successful on the team. Smart jobseekers use sample documents, such as the biology CV example below, to guide them into creating a job application that gets results quickly.
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Skilled and knowledgeable biologist with a proven record of accurate and reliable results in the lab for the past 14 years. Experience with collecting data and conducting experiments for studies in a variety of industries. Respected author of many publications on research and development of biological materials in highly respected papers and journals. Expertise with high-tech tools and scientific instruments in all aspects of the job. Strong background in a supervisory role for research assistants, interns, and those who are new to the field.
- Excellent attention to detail and incredible organizational skills, which keep me focused on the small parts of each experiment.
- Strong computer and data entry skills with experience in software such as C++, Perl, Excel, Access, SQL, and LabVIEW.
- Expertise with scientific tools and instruments for data collection and experiments, such as pipettes, microscopes, centrifuges, and more.
- Dedicated to performing experiments safely and following all of the proper regulations to ensure reliability.
- Excellent written communication skills when preparing proposals, grant requests, study summaries, and research papers of my work.
- Gather data through the use of controlled experiments, and keep materials organized in order to study changes or trends.
- Use computers to keep track of results and input information about potential studies, materials used, and information learned from experiments.
- Supervise and train a team of 15 other scientists, research assistants, interns, and students in the science lab setting.
- Conducted research on specific marine biological populations by collecting samples from the field and creating conditions for an experiment.
- Published reports detailing findings after years or months of research, and indicated conclusions learned from the data.
- Published four peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals about some of the progress being made in the field of sea life biology.
- Attended industry conferences and events throughout the country to represent the organization and its goals.
- Supervised a team of student interns throughout their work in a biological lab as they used experiences to earn college credit.
- Collaborated with community members and leaders about the nature of the lab’s work, and reached out to show some of the lab’s benefits.
When I am not in the lab, I enjoy going out and seeing the world. I have backpacked and hiked all over the North American continent and visited many national parks. For the past several years, I have been slowly working on hiking various trails in and around Europe. Each summer, during my vacation time, I work on a new trail and hiking adventure trip.
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Biologist CV Questions
As meticulously as you would conduct an experiment. Just like with biology experiments, writing a good CV is all about applying a combination of expertise and proper procedure to produce the desired outcome. You can write an effortless CV with industry-specific text examples using our CV builder, or you can take a look at the example in our biologist CV sample before taking a crack at your own.
Start with your basic sections ” €œ your header, professional summary, list of skills, work history, and education ” €œ and build on those basics with action-driven language that describes your professional qualifications, top talents, job duties, and accomplishments. Use a bullet-based format in neatly organized blocks, and you have the foundations for a top quality CV.
Unless you’re entry-level, you don’t really need an objective statement. Objective statements have value for new jobseekers who can’t spotlight relevant work experience in their professional summary of qualifications, and instead need to state what they’re looking for and what personal qualities make them a great hire.
More experienced candidates instead use a professional summary. This summary includes three sentences or bullet points describing your value as a prospective employee, centering on the unique benefits you can bring to an employer.
The term “ATS” doesn’t refer to a new type of peptide or protein chain. Instead, it refers to an applicant tracking system, the software employers and recruiters use to manage and screen potential candidates. Applicant tracking systems use algorithms to weed out unqualified candidates by checking for keyword matches for particular skills. If your CV doesn’t have those skills, you may not pass the algorithm.
Scan target jobs for relevant terms, and work them into your CV organically throughout your work history and professional summary. Scatter a few into your list of skills, too, as we did in our biologist CV sample. This should help you improve your match scores and pass that ATS.
In the sciences, your schools can sometimes carry as much weight as your employment history. That may tempt you to list your education first, such as in more old-fashioned CV formats, but that’s an outdated practice.
List all schools you attended in your education section. Attach them to the degrees you attained there, listing them in reverse chronological order with degree name, year of completion, and school name. If you graduated from an institution with particular cachet, you can also mention in your opening summary that you’re a graduate of [school].
It may be useful to include the references of any notable professors or researchers in the field that you’ve worked with, but for the most part, there’s no need to list this section. It takes up unnecessary space. Employers will request references if they want them, but unless specifically stated you can omit them as we did in our biologist CV sample.
Biology CV Must-Haves
What Does Biology Do?
People who work in the biology field spend most of their time running experiments in a lab setting, like demonstrated in the biology CV example. There also may be opportunities for biologists to work in a field setting, such as on a boat, in an animal’s habitat, or in a place where plants thrive.
Biologists study information about plants or animals. They may work with a government organization and run experiments to find new ways to conserve plant or animal life. They may also work for private industry to discover new products or procedures for an organization. In the lab, biologists use a variety of scientific equipment on the job. Once an experiment has concluded, they usually write up a report or analyze the data.
Tips for Creating a Great Biology CV
To get your career in biology off to a good start, you’ll need a highly detailed CV that gets your skills and knowledge noticed. Here are some ideas:
– Detail your comfort with common biological or scientific tools and instruments in the lab when discussing your skills for the job.
– Include information about how you’ve supervised or led others in your work to show off your potential to be an effective leader.
– Mention any published material you’ve written to convey your most noteworthy achievements to a hiring manager.
– Make sure your CV is written in a professional tone; avoid including any details about your religion, personal views, or complaints about previous employers.
– Sell yourself as the perfect candidate in your professional summary; take advantage of this prime space in your CV and indicate why you’d be a great asset to any organization.