Economist Resume Guide + Tips + Example
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As an economist, you gather data to create reports. An economist resume is no different; you must gather your experience and skills to create a professional document and present your findings: you’re the candidate your potential employer needs!
In this guide, we aim to help you write an economist resume with sections optimized to the role you are seeking. Our guide helps you evaluate your career and with the help of our Resume Builder, you can create your resume in minutes.
Start by editing this economist resume sample template or explore our 40+ resume templates to find the best one for you.
Economist resume example (text version)
JESSICA CALDERON
Charlotte, TX 78011
(555) 555-5555
example@example.com
Professional Summary
Accomplished economist with experience gathering, analyzing and forecasting data. Strong verbal and written communication skills with a proven ability to break down technical information. Looking for a new professional challenge.
Work History
July 2016 – Current
Austin Economic Development
Regional Economist
- Translate economic evidence-based findings into comprehensible narrative to communicate policy and project development.
- Analyze factors that affect economic growth and leverage information to achieve city-wide development plans.
- Resolve conflicts and negotiate mutually beneficial agreements between parties.
- Achieve a 10% increase in the accuracy of economic forecasts through the implementation of advanced modeling techniques.
February 2012 – October 2015
Accounting Principals – Prairie, TX
Economist
- Applied advanced IT and analytical skills, economic trends and business and industrial sector research to impact corporate decision-making.
- Forecasted production and consumption of renewable and non-renewable resources and supply.
- Developed market, economic and sector analysis to inform business strategy.
- Utilized effective public speaking skills to explain complex economic concepts to a broad range of audiences of up to 200 participants.
July 2008 – January 2012
Sighinolfi Industries
Associate Economist
- Gave presentations to community organizations, schools and other groups to educate the public about different resources.
- Collected and analyzed personal and financial information to make appropriate determinations.
- Developed team communications and information for data processing meetings.
- Used mathematical formulas, statistical models and analytical techniques to assess information and communicate findings to staff and 12 policymakers.
Skills
- Statistical techniques
- Market monitoring
- Forecasting skills
- Pricing structures
- Proposal development
- Organization
- Regional customer demographics
- Equity portfolios
Education
Texas A&M University College Station, TX
Master of Science Commerce, Business and Managerial Economics
Texas A&M University College Station, TX
Bachelor of Arts Economics
5 essentials of a top economist resume
Contact details
Create a heading with your full name, city, state and ZIP code. Include a phone number and email address. Verify you have your latest contact information and, if you have a website or professional networking profile, link its latest version in this section.
Personal statement
This is your professional summary. In no more than five sentences, let a hiring manager know how many years you’ve been in the industry, present an important professional accomplishment or two and include your strongest skill.
Skills
Showcase what you bring to the table in the skills section. Create a bulleted list with your hard skills, like Python and econometric model development, and soft skills, such as collaboration and relationship building. If possible, match your skills to those from the job description.
For your first counseling job, use transferable skills from other employment.
Work history
Write a work history section to showcase your experience and professional accomplishments. Start by listing your current or most recent role and work your way backward. On each entry, include the name of the employer, dates of employment and location.
Underneath, list three professional quantifiable achievements:
- Prepared economic growth forecast with 92% accuracy rate for board of directors and investors resulting in a 32% business increase.
- Implemented new financial modeling process with 12% productivity improvement.
- Communicated quarterly findings to department heads in layman terms.
If this is your first job, you can include other relevant work experience, like volunteer experiences, community services, professional projects and more.
Education
Start with your highest level of education; include your institution’s name, degree and graduation date. For example:
Master of Arts in Economics
University of South Florida. Tampa, FLIf your graduation date was 10 years ago or more, skip it. If you did not attend college, list your high school and any other post-high school courses you’ve completed.
See why My Perfect Resume is a 5-star resume builder
Action words for a standout economist resume
Your accomplishments need action words. These verbs powerfully showcase what you can do. For example, “Researched and produced forecasting model for biannual board meeting” is stronger than “Helped with forecasting model twice a year.”
These are a few examples of action verbs for an economist resume:
- Lead
- Provide
- Conduct
- Produce
- Identify
- Manage
- Serve
- Research
- Prepare
- Administer
- Communicate
Our Resume Builder can help you build a work history using strong action verbs to combine with your quantifiable accomplishments. Check out our 800+ resume examples to help you create the perfect economist resume.
Top skills for an economist resume
Grab the recruiter’s attention by creating a skills section with your best ones. Use the job description to match the required skills to the ones that fit you.
Your skills might include the following:
- Strategic thinking
- Mathematical skills
- Market monitoring
- Pricing structure
- Equity portfolio
- IMPLAN
- Stata
- SPSS
- Outstanding verbal and written communication
Certifications for an economist resume
Create a section to list your economist certifications in a special section. Depending on your niche, these are a few economist certifications to consider:
- Certified Chartered Economists
- Certificate in Computational Economics and Data Analytics
- Certificate in Public Policy Economics
- Certificate In Quantitative Economics
- IMPLAN Certified Economist
- Certified Economic Policy Analyst
- Certificate in Economic Theory
- Certificate in Financial Economics
- Certificate in Global Economics
Include the issuing organization and, if applicable, the expiry date. If you’re still working toward the certification, you can include it with the expected completion date.
Pair your resume with a matching cover letter
Economist resume FAQ
1. How to write a resume for an economist position?
To write an economist resume, use the job description as a guide. It will help tailor your resume to the particular role. Then, follow this guide to optimize each section.
Start with the essentials:
- A header with your name and current contact information.
- A professional summary to highlight your strongest skill and achievement.
- A thoroughly balanced skills section, with 6-12 skills.
- Work history to showcase your quantifiable achievements.
- An education section with your highest level of education completed.
Make sure the information is accurate and then move on to additional sections, like:
- Certifications and licenses
- Professional memberships or associations
- Volunteer experience
To help make the process easier, save or screenshot the job description. Use it as a tool to tailor your resume to what the employer is seeking. Remember, you can also create an effective resume quickly and easily with our Resume Builder. It provides step-by-step guidance and editable content suggestions.
2. What skills do you need for an economist resume?
An economist resume needs a combination of hard and soft skills. You must match the skills from the job description — not necessarily all, but as many as possible. Include technical skills, like software expertise, financial modeling and economic analysis.
Add soft skills to showcase your ability to work well with others, like collaboration, risk management and analytical thinking. Excellent written and verbal communication is a must-have soft skill for economists, particularly those who work with noneconomists.
Include other skills you’ve deemed useful for the employer. For example, if you learned the company is expanding to foreign countries, include any foreign language and your level of proficiency.
Do’s and don’ts for building an economist resume
- Use measurable achievements to describe your economist skills and experience.
- Use action words to make an impact on your economist resume.
- Tailor your resume to your target economist job.
- Use keywords from the job description throughout your economist resume.
- Format your economist resume so that it is easy to read by ATS software and human eyes.
- Lie about your economist experience and skills.
- Boast about your “incomparable” economist abilities.
- Include irrelevant personal information such as your ethnicity and age.
- Add skills and experience that do not pertain to an economist.
- Forget to proofread. An economist resume with errors is unprofessional and will be discarded.
Top 4 tips for acing an economist interview
Research the potential employer.
As you start to work on your application, start research on your potential employer. Use their official web channels, media and current or previous employees you might know. This research will help you answer questions during the interview and prepare your own.
Practice at home.
Prepare by practicing an interview with the help of a friend or relative. Start by reviewing the most common interview questions, such as:
- Describe a Time When You Needed to Cope With a Stressful Scenario
- Why Should We Hire You Over Other Candidates?
- Good Judgement & Logic in Problem Solving
- Experience with Suggesting Process Improvements
- Using Fact-Finding Skills to Solve a Problem
Look for other interview questions examples and practice with your interview partner. You can write down your answers or jolt down a few points as you prepare. Ask your partner for feedback and work to improve.
Practicing in front of a mirror will help you work on your body language.
Be proactive and ask questions.
You are also interviewing the employer. Your questions will help you determine if they’re the right fit for you and if this role and company align with your career goals. Create smart questions to find out more. For example:
- What made you choose this employer?
- What is the day-to-day like?
- What is the career path for this role?
- How do you support learning and development for this role?
- What is the onboard process like?
- What are your expectations for this role in the near and far future?
Use open-ended questions (Why, How, What) and give the interviewer enough time to answer them. Remember, you can bring a small notebook or piece of paper to remember everything you want to ask and write down their answers.
Gather your references.
Round up your references before the interview. Contact former managers and colleagues who can vouch for your work ethic and skills. If this is your first full-time job as an economist, you can request a reference from a mentor, former professor, someone who can vouch for you and your skills.
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Sources
Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Economists”
University at Buffalo. “What Do Economists Do?”
Charter Economist. “Institute of Certified Chartered Economists“
Rutgers University. “Certificates in Economics“