What skills should a Geneticist put on a resume?

O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Science, Active Learning, Active Listening, and Complex Problem Solving 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 Geneticist list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Basic Local Alignment Search Tool BLAST, Bioinformatics databases, C++, ClustalW, and Database software. 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 Geneticist work?

O*NET records 27 titles for this occupation, including Cardiovascular Geneticist, Medical Geneticist, Research Scientist, and Scientist. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Geneticist need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 36% reported their level of education as "Post-Doctoral Training". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Geneticist 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.

Geneticist resume example

A resume for a Geneticist needs to show the work itself: research and study the inheritance of traits at the molecular, organism or population level. Day to day that means work like this: supervise or direct the work of other geneticists, biologists, technicians, or biometricians working on genetics research projects; plan or conduct basic genomic and biological research related to areas such as regulation of gene expression, protein interactions, metabolic networks, and nucleic acid or protein complexes. 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.

Cardiovascular Geneticist
Medical Geneticist
Research Scientist
Scientist
Lab Geneticist
Academic Pediatric Geneticist
Behavioral Geneticist
Clinical Biochemical Geneticist
Clinical Cytogeneticist
Clinical Geneticist
Clinical Molecular Geneticist
Computational Geneticist
Crop Quantitative Geneticist
Genetic Scientist
Genomics Scientist
Laboratory Geneticist
Molecular Geneticist
Pediatric Clinical Geneticist

O*NET records 27 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.

Supervise or direct the work of other geneticists, biologists, technicians, or biometricians working on genetics research projects.
Plan or conduct basic genomic and biological research related to areas such as regulation of gene expression, protein interactions, metabolic networks, and nucleic acid or protein complexes.
Prepare results of experimental findings for presentation at professional conferences or in scientific journals.
Maintain laboratory notebooks that record research methods, procedures, and results.
Write grants and papers or attend fundraising events to seek research funds.
Search scientific literature to select and modify methods and procedures most appropriate for genetic research goals.
Review, approve, or interpret genetic laboratory results.
Attend clinical and research conferences and read scientific literature to keep abreast of technological advances and current genetic research findings.
Evaluate genetic data by performing appropriate mathematical or statistical calculations and analyses.
Analyze determinants responsible for specific inherited traits, and devise methods for altering traits or producing new traits.
Extract deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or perform diagnostic tests involving processes such as gel electrophoresis, Southern blot analysis, and polymerase chain reaction analysis.
Collaborate with biologists and other professionals to conduct appropriate genetic and biochemical analyses.

24 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.

Supervise or direct the work of other geneticists, biologists, technicians, or biometricians working on genetics research projects, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Plan or conduct basic genomic and biological research related to areas such as regulation of gene expression, protein interactions, metabolic networks, and nucleic acid or protein complexes, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Prepare results of experimental findings for presentation at professional conferences or in scientific journals, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Maintain laboratory notebooks that record research methods, procedures, and results, 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.

Basic Local Alignment Search Tool BLAST
Bioinformatics databases
C++
ClustalW
Database software
Deoxyribonucleic acid DNA sequence analysis software
Email software
Formula translation/translator FORTRAN
Git
GitHub
Golden Helix HelixTree
HapMap
Insightful S-PLUS
Linux

36 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.

Binocular optical microscopes
Capillary electrophoresis equipment
Desktop computers
Fast protein liquid chromatographs FPLC
Flow cytometers
Gas chromatography equipment
Gel electrophoresis equipment
High pressure liquid chromatograph HPLC equipment
Laptop computers
Mass spectrometry equipment
Micropipettes
Microplate readers

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.

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

Knowledge areas

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

Biology
English Language
Education and Training
Mathematics
Chemistry
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.

36%Post-Doctoral Training
32%Master's Degree
20%Doctoral 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 Geneticist do?: Research and study the inheritance of traits at the molecular, organism or population level. Day to day that includes work like supervise or direct the work of other geneticists, biologists, technicians, or biometricians working on genetics research projects and Plan or conduct basic genomic and biological research related to areas such as regulation of gene expression, protein interactions, metabolic networks, and nucleic acid or protein complexes.
What skills should a Geneticist put on a resume?: O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Science, Active Learning, Active Listening, and Complex Problem Solving 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 Geneticist list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Basic Local Alignment Search Tool BLAST, Bioinformatics databases, C++, ClustalW, and Database software. 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 Geneticist work?: O*NET records 27 titles for this occupation, including Cardiovascular Geneticist, Medical Geneticist, Research Scientist, and Scientist. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Geneticist need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 36% reported their level of education as "Post-Doctoral Training". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Geneticist 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.