What skills should a Microbiologist put on a resume?

O*NET rates Science, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Writing, and Active Learning 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 Microbiologist list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Assistant Software for Antimicrobial Susceptibility Interpretation ASASI, Basic Local Alignment Search Tool BLAST, BD Biosciences CellQuest, BD Biosciences CloneCyt, and Bruker Optics OPUS. 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 Microbiologist work?

O*NET records 22 titles for this occupation, including Bacteriologist, Clinical Laboratory Scientist, Clinical Lab Scientist, and Microbiological Analyst. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Microbiologist need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 64% 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 Microbiologist 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.

Microbiologist resume example

A resume for a Microbiologist needs to show the work itself: investigate the growth, structure, development, and other characteristics of microscopic organisms, such as bacteria, algae, or fungi. Day to day that means work like this: isolate and maintain cultures of bacteria or other microorganisms in prescribed or developed media, controlling moisture, aeration, temperature, and nutrition; provide laboratory services for health departments, community environmental health programs, and physicians needing information for diagnosis and treatment. 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.

Bacteriologist
Clinical Laboratory Scientist
Clinical Lab Scientist
Microbiological Analyst
Clinical Microbiologist
Medical Technologist
Public Health Microbiologist
Quality Control Microbiologist
QC Microbiologist
Research Microbiologist
Research Specialist
QC Microbiology Analyst
Cytologist
Electron Microscopist
Medical Microbiologist
Microbiology Analyst
Microbiology Scientist
Microbiology Specialist

O*NET records 22 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.

Clinical Laboratory Scientist (Clinical Lab Scientist)
Microbiologist
Quality Control Microbiologist (QC Microbiologist)

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.

Isolate and maintain cultures of bacteria or other microorganisms in prescribed or developed media, controlling moisture, aeration, temperature, and nutrition.
Provide laboratory services for health departments, community environmental health programs, and physicians needing information for diagnosis and treatment.
Monitor and perform tests on water, food, and the environment to detect harmful microorganisms or to obtain information about sources of pollution, contamination, or infection.
Examine physiological, morphological, and cultural characteristics, using microscope, to identify and classify microorganisms in human, water, and food specimens.
Supervise biological technologists and technicians and other scientists.
Use a variety of specialized equipment, such as electron microscopes, gas and high-pressure liquid chromatographs, electrophoresis units, thermocyclers, fluorescence-activated cell sorters, and phosphorimagers.
Investigate the relationship between organisms and disease, including the control of epidemics and the effects of antibiotics on microorganisms.
Prepare technical reports and recommendations, based upon research outcomes.
Observe action of microorganisms upon living tissues of plants, higher animals, and other microorganisms, and on dead organic matter.
Study growth, structure, development, and general characteristics of bacteria and other microorganisms to understand their relationship to human, plant, and animal health.
Study the structure and function of human, animal, and plant tissues, cells, pathogens, and toxins.
Develop new products and procedures for sterilization, food and pharmaceutical supply preservation, or microbial contamination detection.

14 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.

Isolate and maintain cultures of bacteria or other microorganisms in prescribed or developed media, controlling moisture, aeration, temperature, and nutrition, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Provide laboratory services for health departments, community environmental health programs, and physicians needing information for diagnosis and treatment, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Monitor and perform tests on water, food, and the environment to detect harmful microorganisms or to obtain information about sources of pollution, contamination, or infection, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Examine physiological, morphological, and cultural characteristics, using microscope, to identify and classify microorganisms in human, water, and food specimens, 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.

Assistant Software for Antimicrobial Susceptibility Interpretation ASASI
Basic Local Alignment Search Tool BLAST
BD Biosciences CellQuest
BD Biosciences CloneCyt
Bruker Optics OPUS
BtB Software Mycobacteriology Lab
Codon Usage Database
ComBase
Computer Service & Support CLS-2000 Laboratory System
Computing Solutions LabSoft LIMS Micro
Database management software
DM2 Bills of Lading
Email software
FindTarget

45 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.

8-channel electronic pipettes
Alcohol lamps
Anaerobic growth chambers
Analytical balances
Argon lasers
Autoclaves
Automated gram stainers
Automated microbial identification systems
Automatic cell sorters
Automatic coverslipper
Automatic pipetters
Bacteriological incubators

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.

Assistant Software for Antimicrobial Susceptibility Interpretation ASASI
Basic Local Alignment Search Tool BLAST

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

Knowledge areas

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

Biology
Chemistry
English Language
Computers and Electronics
Education and Training
Mathematics
Engineering and Technology

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.

64%Bachelor's Degree
14%Master's Degree
9%Associate'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 Microbiologist do?: Investigate the growth, structure, development, and other characteristics of microscopic organisms, such as bacteria, algae, or fungi. Day to day that includes work like isolate and maintain cultures of bacteria or other microorganisms in prescribed or developed media, controlling moisture, aeration, temperature, and nutrition and Provide laboratory services for health departments, community environmental health programs, and physicians needing information for diagnosis and treatment.
What skills should a Microbiologist put on a resume?: O*NET rates Science, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Writing, and Active Learning 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 Microbiologist list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Assistant Software for Antimicrobial Susceptibility Interpretation ASASI, Basic Local Alignment Search Tool BLAST, BD Biosciences CellQuest, BD Biosciences CloneCyt, and Bruker Optics OPUS. 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 Microbiologist work?: O*NET records 22 titles for this occupation, including Bacteriologist, Clinical Laboratory Scientist, Clinical Lab Scientist, and Microbiological Analyst. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Microbiologist need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 64% 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 Microbiologist 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.