What skills should a Biologist put on a resume?

O*NET rates Science, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, and Speaking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Biologist list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Photoshop, Agilent Technologies GeneSpring GX, Basic Local Alignment Search Tool BLAST, BioKin PlateKi, and BLAT. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Biologist work?

O*NET records 28 titles for this occupation, including Research Biologist, Research Scientist, Scientist, and Aquatic Biologist. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Biologist need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 57% reported their level of education as "Master's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Biologist role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Biologist resume example

A resume for a Biologist needs to show the work itself: research or study basic principles of plant and animal life, such as origin, relationship, development, anatomy, and functions. Day to day that means work like this: prepare technical and research reports, such as environmental impact reports, and communicate the results to individuals in industry, government, or the general public; develop and maintain liaisons and effective working relations with groups and individuals, agencies, and the public to encourage cooperative management strategies or to develop information and interpret findings. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Research Biologist
Research Scientist
Scientist
Aquatic Biologist
Aquatic Scientist
Biological Scientist
Botanist
Horticulturist
Marine Biologist
Bioanalytical Scientist
Biology Scientist
Cell Biologist
Clinical Laboratory Scientist
Clinical Researcher
Computational Biologist
Dolphin Researcher
Endangered Species Specialist
Entomologist

O*NET records 28 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Prepare technical and research reports, such as environmental impact reports, and communicate the results to individuals in industry, government, or the general public.
Develop and maintain liaisons and effective working relations with groups and individuals, agencies, and the public to encourage cooperative management strategies or to develop information and interpret findings.
Collect and analyze biological data about relationships among and between organisms and their environment.
Program and use computers to store, process, and analyze data.
Supervise biological technicians and technologists and other scientists.
Identify, classify, and study structure, behavior, ecology, physiology, nutrition, culture, and distribution of plant and animal species.
Communicate test results to state and federal representatives and general public.
Prepare requests for proposals or statements of work.
Represent employer in a technical capacity at conferences.
Study basic principles of plant and animal life, such as origin, relationship, development, anatomy, and function.
Review reports and proposals, such as those relating to land use classifications and recreational development, for accuracy, adequacy, or adherence to policies, regulations, or scientific standards.
Develop methods and apparatus for securing representative plant, animal, aquatic, or soil samples.

21 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Prepare technical and research reports, such as environmental impact reports, and communicate the results to individuals in industry, government, or the general public, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Develop and maintain liaisons and effective working relations with groups and individuals, agencies, and the public to encourage cooperative management strategies or to develop information and interpret findings, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Collect and analyze biological data about relationships among and between organisms and their environment, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Program and use computers to store, process, and analyze data, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Adobe Photoshop
Agilent Technologies GeneSpring GX
Basic Local Alignment Search Tool BLAST
BioKin PlateKi
BLAT
Blue Tractor Software DNADynamo
C++
CUBIC
Deoxyribonucleic acid DNA sequence analysis software
EMBOSS
EnzymeX
ESRI ArcGIS software
Excavator
FASTA

57 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Agar plates
Automated microscopes
Automatic pipetters
Benchtop centrifuges
Benchtop lyophilizers
Bioreactors
Biosafety cabinets
Bunsen burners
Carbolite ovens
Centrifugal evaporators
Conductivity meters
Deoxyribonucleic acid DNA sequencers

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

Python
R

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Science
02Active Listening
03Critical Thinking
04Reading Comprehension
05Speaking
06Writing
07Active Learning
08Complex Problem Solving
09Mathematics
10Judgment and Decision Making

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Biology
English Language
Mathematics
Chemistry
Law and Government
Administration and Management
Customer and Personal Service
Computers and Electronics

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

57%Master's Degree
32%Bachelor's Degree
10%Post-Baccalaureate Certificate, awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Extensive Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

Common questions

What does a Biologist do?: Research or study basic principles of plant and animal life, such as origin, relationship, development, anatomy, and functions. Day to day that includes work like prepare technical and research reports, such as environmental impact reports, and communicate the results to individuals in industry, government, or the general public and Develop and maintain liaisons and effective working relations with groups and individuals, agencies, and the public to encourage cooperative management strategies or to develop information and interpret findings.
What skills should a Biologist put on a resume?: O*NET rates Science, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, and Speaking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Biologist list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Photoshop, Agilent Technologies GeneSpring GX, Basic Local Alignment Search Tool BLAST, BioKin PlateKi, and BLAT. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Biologist work?: O*NET records 28 titles for this occupation, including Research Biologist, Research Scientist, Scientist, and Aquatic Biologist. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Biologist need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 57% reported their level of education as "Master's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Biologist role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.