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Surgical Technologist resume example

A resume for a Surgical Technologist needs to show the work itself: assist in operations, under the supervision of surgeons, registered nurses, or other surgical personnel. Day to day that means work like this: maintain a proper sterile field during surgical procedures; count sponges, needles, and instruments before and after operation. 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.

  • Certified Surgical Technologist
  • CST
  • Operating Room Technician
  • OR Tech
  • Surgical Technician
  • Surgical Tech
  • Certified Surgical Technician
  • Operating Room Surgical Technician
  • OR St
  • Operating Room Technologist
  • Surgical Scrub Technician
  • Surgical Scrub Technologist
  • Surgical Scrub Tech
  • Surgery Tech
  • Travel OR Tech
  • Travel Surgical Tech
  • Operating Room Surgical Technologist
  • Scrub Technician

O*NET records 23 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.

  • Certified Surgical Technologist (CST)
  • Operating Room Surgical Technician (OR St)
  • Operating Room Technician (OR Tech)
  • Operating Room Technologist (OR Tech)
  • Surgical Scrub Technologist (Surgical Scrub Tech)
  • Surgical Technologist (Surgical Tech)

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.

  • Maintain a proper sterile field during surgical procedures.
  • Count sponges, needles, and instruments before and after operation.
  • Scrub arms and hands and assist the surgical team to scrub and put on gloves, masks, and surgical clothing.
  • Provide technical assistance to surgeons, surgical nurses, or anesthesiologists.
  • Prepare patients for surgery, including positioning patients on the operating table and covering them with sterile surgical drapes to prevent exposure.
  • Hand instruments and supplies to surgeons and surgeons' assistants, hold retractors and cut sutures, and perform other tasks as directed by surgeon during operation.
  • Prepare, care for, and dispose of tissue specimens taken for laboratory analysis.
  • Wash and sterilize equipment, using germicides and sterilizers.
  • Monitor and continually assess operating room conditions, including patient and surgical team needs.
  • Operate, assemble, adjust, or monitor sterilizers, lights, suction machines, or diagnostic equipment to ensure proper operation.
  • Prepare dressings or bandages and apply or assist with their application following surgery.
  • Clean and restock operating room, gathering and placing equipment and supplies and arranging instruments according to instructions, such as a preference card.

16 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.

  • Maintain a proper sterile field during surgical procedures, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Count sponges, needles, and instruments before and after operation, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Scrub arms and hands and assist the surgical team to scrub and put on gloves, masks, and surgical clothing, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Provide technical assistance to surgeons, surgical nurses, or anesthesiologists, 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.

  • Database software
  • Electronic medical record EMR software
  • Email software
  • Google Drive
  • Graphics software
  • Internet browser software
  • MEDITECH software
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Office software
  • Microsoft Windows
  • Microsoft Word
  • Nursing documentation software
  • Patient scheduling software
  • Patient tracking software

17 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.

  • Adjustable height instrument tables
  • Air driver drills
  • Anesthesia machines
  • Argon beam coagulators
  • Autoclaves
  • Autologous blood recovery systems
  • Autotransfusion systems
  • Blood/fluid warmers
  • Carbon dioxide CO2 lasers
  • Cardiac leg wedges
  • Cardiovascular stents
  • Cavitrons

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.

  • Electronic medical record EMR
  • Graphics

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. 01Monitoring
  2. 02Active Listening
  3. 03Operations Monitoring
  4. 04Coordination
  5. 05Critical Thinking
  6. 06Speaking
  7. 07Time Management
  8. 08Active Learning
  9. 09Complex Problem Solving
  10. 10Equipment Maintenance

Knowledge areas

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

  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Medicine and Dentistry
  • English Language
  • Education and Training

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.

  • 41%Associate's Degree
  • 31%Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school
  • 23%Some College Courses

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Medium Preparation Needed”. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Common questions

What does a Surgical Technologist do?
Assist in operations, under the supervision of surgeons, registered nurses, or other surgical personnel. Day to day that includes work like maintain a proper sterile field during surgical procedures and Count sponges, needles, and instruments before and after operation.
What skills should a Surgical Technologist put on a resume?
O*NET rates Monitoring, Active Listening, Operations Monitoring, Coordination, and Critical Thinking 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 Surgical Technologist list?
Software recorded for this occupation includes Database software, Electronic medical record EMR software, Email software, Google Drive, and Graphics 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 Surgical Technologist work?
O*NET records 23 titles for this occupation, including Certified Surgical Technologist, CST, Operating Room Technician, and OR Tech. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Surgical Technologist need?
In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 41% reported their level of education as "Associate's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Surgical Technologist 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.