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Chemist resume example

A resume for a Chemist needs to show the work itself: conduct qualitative and quantitative chemical analyses or experiments in laboratories for quality or process control or to develop new products or knowledge. Day to day that means work like this: develop, improve, or customize products, equipment, formulas, processes, or analytical methods; analyze organic or inorganic compounds to determine chemical or physical properties, composition, structure, relationships, or reactions, using chromatography, spectroscopy, or spectrophotometry techniques. 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.

  • Analytical Chemist
  • Research Chemist
  • Scientist
  • Air Quality Chemist
  • Chemical Lab Scientist
  • Chemical Laboratory Scientist
  • Forensic Chemist
  • Product Development Chemist
  • QC Chemist
  • Quality Control Chemist
  • R and D Chemist
  • Research and Development Chemist
  • GCMS Analyst
  • Lab Chemist
  • QC Scientist
  • Agricultural Chemist
  • Analytical Scientist
  • Astrochemist

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

What people in this job call themselves

Titles reported by people actually doing this work, which is often not the title on the job posting.

  • Chemical Lab Scientist (Chemical Laboratory Scientist)
  • Chemist
  • QC Chemist (Quality Control Chemist)
  • R and D Chemist (Research and Development Chemist)

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.

  • Develop, improve, or customize products, equipment, formulas, processes, or analytical methods.
  • Analyze organic or inorganic compounds to determine chemical or physical properties, composition, structure, relationships, or reactions, using chromatography, spectroscopy, or spectrophotometry techniques.
  • Induce changes in composition of substances by introducing heat, light, energy, or chemical catalysts for quantitative or qualitative analysis.
  • Conduct quality control tests.
  • Write technical papers or reports or prepare standards and specifications for processes, facilities, products, or tests.
  • Maintain laboratory instruments to ensure proper working order and troubleshoot malfunctions when needed.
  • Prepare test solutions, compounds, or reagents for laboratory personnel to conduct tests.
  • Compile and analyze test information to determine process or equipment operating efficiency or to diagnose malfunctions.
  • Confer with scientists or engineers to conduct analyses of research projects, interpret test results, or develop nonstandard tests.
  • Evaluate laboratory safety procedures to ensure compliance with standards or to make improvements as needed.
  • Direct, coordinate, or advise personnel in test procedures for analyzing components or physical properties of materials.
  • Purchase laboratory supplies, such as chemicals, when supplies are low or near their expiration date.

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.

  • Develop, improve, or customize products, equipment, formulas, processes, or analytical methods, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Analyze organic or inorganic compounds to determine chemical or physical properties, composition, structure, relationships, or reactions, using chromatography, spectroscopy, or spectrophotometry techniques, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Induce changes in composition of substances by introducing heat, light, energy, or chemical catalysts for quantitative or qualitative analysis, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Conduct quality control tests, 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.

  • Accelrys Cerius2
  • Accelrys DeCipher
  • Advanced Chemistry Development ACD/1D nuclear magnetic resonance NMR processor
  • Agilent ChemStation
  • Apple iWork
  • Apple iWork Keynote
  • Apple iWork Numbers
  • Apple iWork Pages
  • Bruker BioSpin TopSpin
  • C
  • C++
  • CambridgeSoft ChemOffice Ultra
  • Chem2Pac
  • Chemical kinetics software

73 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.

  • Air dryers
  • Airfree/waterfree solvent purification systems
  • Alcohol lamps
  • Analytical balances
  • Annealing ovens
  • Atomic absorption AA spectrometers
  • Automatic peptide synthesizers
  • Autotitrators
  • Beakers
  • Benchtop lyophilizers
  • Box furnace ovens
  • Bunsen burners

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.

  • Accelrys Cerius2
  • Accelrys DeCipher
  • Microsoft Access
  • Microsoft Excel

What this job rates as most important

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

  1. 01Science
  2. 02Critical Thinking
  3. 03Reading Comprehension
  4. 04Speaking
  5. 05Active Listening
  6. 06Mathematics
  7. 07Writing
  8. 08Active Learning
  9. 09Complex Problem Solving
  10. 10Monitoring

Knowledge areas

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

  • Chemistry
  • English Language
  • Mathematics
  • Production and Processing
  • Administration and Management
  • Computers and Electronics
  • Administrative
  • Physics

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.

  • 56%Bachelor's Degree
  • 30%Doctoral Degree
  • 10%Master's Degree

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Considerable Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Common questions

What does a Chemist do?
Conduct qualitative and quantitative chemical analyses or experiments in laboratories for quality or process control or to develop new products or knowledge. Day to day that includes work like develop, improve, or customize products, equipment, formulas, processes, or analytical methods and Analyze organic or inorganic compounds to determine chemical or physical properties, composition, structure, relationships, or reactions, using chromatography, spectroscopy, or spectrophotometry techniques.
What skills should a Chemist put on a resume?
O*NET rates Science, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, and Active Listening 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 Chemist list?
Software recorded for this occupation includes Accelrys Cerius2, Accelrys DeCipher, Advanced Chemistry Development ACD/1D nuclear magnetic resonance NMR processor, Agilent ChemStation, and Apple iWork. 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 Chemist work?
O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Analytical Chemist, Research Chemist, Scientist, and Air Quality Chemist. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Chemist need?
In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 56% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Chemist 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.