Optometrist Resume Examples and Tips

Optometrists examine, diagnose, and treat patients’ eyesight, conducting vision tests, diagnosing sight problems, performing surgical procedures, and prescribing eyeglasses and contact lenses. To get a job in this profession, you must have a bachelor degree, along with a doctoral degree in optometry.

Land yourself the right optometrist job by using our expert resume examples and tips to create your own professional resume.

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Optometrist Combination Resume Template

Top 4 Characteristics of a Best-in-Class Optometrist Resume

  1. Summary Describe your skills, achievements, and work experience in your summary statement. Lead off with your most relevant skill, such as vision therapy or diagnosis of eye diseases, and pair up your abilities with related achievements. For example: “Seasoned optometrist with extensive background in performing vision therapy. Dependable Optometrist with years of experience in diagnosis of eye diseases.”
  2. Skills Scan the requirements for the job and note major work requirements, such as “patient counseling” or “preparing prescriptions for eyeglasses and contact glasses.” Feature job skills in this section that speak to these requirements. Make sure you also include useful soft skills such as attention to detail, problem-solving and patient interactions.
  3. Work history Focus more on your accomplishments than your daily tasks, and supply details that illustrate how you’ve excelled. For example, it’s better to write “Examined 12 patients daily, treating a full range of vision problems” than “Examined patients on daily basis, treating a full range of vision problems.”
  4. Education Along with your academic credentials (e.g. bachelor’s degree), feature your training or certification in optometry or related areas (e.g., an American Board of Certification in Medical Optometry (ABCMO), or Certified Ophthalmic Assistant (COA) training).

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Find the Right Template for your Resume

Make sure your resume look is as up-to-date as your content, using one of our professionally designed resume templates in our resume builder.

Emphasized

This organized template provides a distinctive look with a splash of color in the header, with colored resume fonts highlighting section headings.

Strong

The two-column layout makes it easy to showcase work history side-by-side with skills. The bold fonts and borders between sections create a visually powerful impact.

Standout

This eye-catching design “connects” every section of your resume together, from the professional summary to the skills section. The use of customizable colors for section headings drives attention to your most crucial credentials.

For a complete selection of layouts you can use, visit our resume templates page.

Do’s and Don’ts for Your Resume

  • DO customize your resume for each job. Every job will have different requirements, even if it’s within the same profession. Analyze the job posting carefully and take note of specific tasks and skills needed for the job, then update your resume to make sure you feature talents and experiences that fit these needs. For more tips on this topic, see our article How to Create a Targeted Resume.
  • DO highlight your work experience with metrics. Quantify your achievements and work experiences using metrics to give employers a better idea of the impact you can make on the job. For example, writing “Performed tests and maintained records for over 1,000 patients” provides more detail than just writing “Performed tests and maintained records for patients.”
  • DO give your resume a sharp focus with keywords. As they say, keywords are key for a resume. Analyze the job description for terms and phrases that spell out the job’s primary needs (e.g., “oral and written communication,” or “retinoscopy, subjective refraction and lensometry”), and then address these keywords throughout your resume. For example, you could write “oral and written communication” as a skill, or mention previous work experience with retinoscopy. How to Use Keywords Effectively feature further pointers on how to get keywords in your resume.
  • DON’T feature irrelevant hobbies or activities. Recruiters only take a few seconds to scan a resume on average, so make those seconds count by focusing on skills and successes related to the job. (While you may play a mean guitar, it’s unlikely that such a hobby will help you get the job.) If you lack work experience, highlight activities that focus on relevant skills. For example: “Maintained patient database during summer internship.”
  • DON’T forget to proofread your resume.  Optometry requires an eye for detail (no pun intended), so make sure your resume reflects that.
    Research shows that most employers will pass on a resume if it contains simple errors or typos. Take the time to review your resume before you submit it, and also take the opportunity to make sure your information is accurate and current. For extra help checking your document, use our free Resume Builder.
  • DON’T overload your resume. Opinions differ, but most agree that the ideal resume length is one to two pages. Make sure your document stays within these parameters by focusing on your most valuable skills and accomplishments, and keeping things succinct by using short, peppy bullet points and phrases.