What does a Dermatologist do?

Diagnose and treat diseases relating to the skin, hair, and nails. Day to day that includes work like conduct complete skin examinations and Diagnose and treat pigmented lesions such as common acquired nevi, congenital nevi, dysplastic nevi, Spitz nevi, blue nevi, or melanoma.

What skills should a Dermatologist put on a resume?

O*NET rates Critical Thinking, Active Listening, Service Orientation, Reading Comprehension, and Social Perceptiveness 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 Dermatologist list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Allscripts PM, athenahealth athenaCollector, Automatic Data Processing AdvancedMD EHR, Benchmark Systems Benchmark Clinical EHR, and Bizmatics PrognoCIS EMR. 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 Dermatologist work?

O*NET records 18 titles for this occupation, including Board Certified Dermatologist, Dermatologist Physician, MD, and Medical Doctor. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Dermatologist need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 56% reported their level of education as "Doctoral Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Dermatologist 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.

Dermatologist resume example

A resume for a Dermatologist needs to show the work itself: diagnose and treat diseases relating to the skin, hair, and nails. Day to day that means work like this: conduct complete skin examinations; diagnose and treat pigmented lesions such as common acquired nevi, congenital nevi, dysplastic nevi, Spitz nevi, blue nevi, or melanoma. 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.

Board Certified Dermatologist
Dermatologist Physician
MD
Medical Doctor
Mohs Surgeon
Dermatologist MD
Dermatologist Medical Doctor
Dermatopathologist
Doctor
Mohs Micrographic Surgeon
Pediatric Dermatologist
Practicing Dermatologist
Clinical Dermatologist
Dermatological Surgeon
Dermatology Physician
General Dermatologist
Medical Dermatologist
Procedural Dermatologist

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.

Conduct complete skin examinations.
Diagnose and treat pigmented lesions such as common acquired nevi, congenital nevi, dysplastic nevi, Spitz nevi, blue nevi, or melanoma.
Perform incisional biopsies to diagnose melanoma.
Perform skin surgery to improve appearance, make early diagnoses, or control diseases such as skin cancer.
Counsel patients on topics such as the need for annual dermatologic screenings, sun protection, skin cancer awareness, or skin and lymph node self-examinations.
Diagnose and treat skin conditions such as acne, dandruff, athlete's foot, moles, psoriasis, or skin cancer.
Record patients' health histories.
Recommend diagnostic tests based on patients' histories and physical examination findings.
Prescribe hormonal agents or topical treatments such as contraceptives, spironolactone, antiandrogens, oral corticosteroids, retinoids, benzoyl peroxide, or antibiotics.
Conduct or order diagnostic tests such as chest radiographs (x-rays), microbiologic tests, or endocrinologic tests.
Read current literature, talk with colleagues, and participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in dermatology.
Provide dermatologic consultation to other health professionals.

18 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.

Conduct complete skin examinations, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Diagnose and treat pigmented lesions such as common acquired nevi, congenital nevi, dysplastic nevi, Spitz nevi, blue nevi, or melanoma, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Perform incisional biopsies to diagnose melanoma, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Perform skin surgery to improve appearance, make early diagnoses, or control diseases such as skin cancer, 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.

Allscripts PM
athenahealth athenaCollector
Automatic Data Processing AdvancedMD EHR
Benchmark Systems Benchmark Clinical EHR
Bizmatics PrognoCIS EMR
Calendar software
CareCloud Central
Cerner PowerWorks Practice Management
Cisco Webex
doc2MD
eClinicalWorks EHR software
Email software
Encite Dermatology Electronic Health Records EHR Software
Epic Practice Management

32 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.

Aspiration guns
Automated external defibrillators AED
Biopsy containers
Biopsy punches
Cauterizers
Chalazion clamps
Cilia forceps
Cryo tweezers
Cryoguns
Cryosurgical units
Dermal curettes
Dermatological lasers

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.

prescribe medications

What this job rates as most important

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

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

Knowledge areas

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

Medicine and Dentistry
Customer and Personal Service
English Language
Administration and Management
Education and Training
Biology
Personnel and Human Resources
Psychology

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%Doctoral Degree
31%Post-Doctoral Training
6%Associate's Degree

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 Dermatologist do?: Diagnose and treat diseases relating to the skin, hair, and nails. Day to day that includes work like conduct complete skin examinations and Diagnose and treat pigmented lesions such as common acquired nevi, congenital nevi, dysplastic nevi, Spitz nevi, blue nevi, or melanoma.
What skills should a Dermatologist put on a resume?: O*NET rates Critical Thinking, Active Listening, Service Orientation, Reading Comprehension, and Social Perceptiveness 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 Dermatologist list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Allscripts PM, athenahealth athenaCollector, Automatic Data Processing AdvancedMD EHR, Benchmark Systems Benchmark Clinical EHR, and Bizmatics PrognoCIS EMR. 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 Dermatologist work?: O*NET records 18 titles for this occupation, including Board Certified Dermatologist, Dermatologist Physician, MD, and Medical Doctor. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Dermatologist need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 56% reported their level of education as "Doctoral Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Dermatologist 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.