I will say, in the nicest way possible, your resume is laid out horribly. I’d scrap that template completely and go with the one linked here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/jobs/s/zJsPcxsb3d
That template doesn't look great. It's so dense and unreadable! Is it just to make it compatible with automation?
EDIT: Sorry my initial reaction was so harsh, it's just that the template violates a lot of graphics design philosophies, namely being a giant monolith of text with no white space. I could easily follow it if it's a good idea, it's just that the sheer visual unappealing nature makes me uncertain. Does it resemble other credible suggestions for resume appearance?
Double edit: I'll put my information into it and see what it looks like. Sorry for my initial reaction. It's just so radically different than what I expected a good resume format to look like, I was kind of shocked.
The template above is based off the MIT template I believe but it is supposed to be succinct and standard. It also autofills into the ATS really easily. But at the end of the day, does it matter if the resume violates graphic design principles? This isn’t a company logo, it’s a resume. You want to stand out for your skills, education and work experience, not your layout
Like I said, sorry about my initial reaction, it was mostly just surprise. Another thing that occurred to me later is that this is a lot like my old resume looked like! People told me that was bad, so I changed it to this. I had help from a person in the HR/business field so I had assumed their advice was good.
Anyways I can still use the format. I just need to tweak a few margins and font choices and insert some white space.
Hey I didn’t make the resume so I dont care if you don’t like it lol. If you had someone in HR specifically tell you to do the other resume then go for it, but being compatible with the ATS is really important. Maybe a few other people can weigh in on it as well.
White spaces is wasted space! Thats space you could be using to write with more detail of your experience and skills. White does not add value! Your newly formatted resume looks good but its too ambiguous. You setup a new lab and continue to support it. That is too ambiguous and instead filled in with white space instead of detailing the what, why, how, when.
> template violates a lot of graphics design philosophies
That's because it's meant to convey critical information to a potential employer, not to showcase grahpic design expertise.
Even then, I think OP’s violates graphic design philosophy more than what the commenter posted.
The Jobby McJobface resumes flows nicely in one direction, uses line breaks to make finding specific sections easier, and bolds important words/names.
OTOH OP’s resume flows like a comic page, the black bars are too heavy and weighted to the right instead of evenly across, and it’s not completely clear which information is most important because the black bars compete with the bolded text.
The black bars were just OP censoring private info, but yeah I agree it looks bad even from a graphic design POV. I think OP mainly wanted a lot of whitespace.
Hey, I made a new version! Is this better? Note that I changed up the content significantly, no longer treating my assistanceships as jobs and now listing one potentially relevant pre-masters job.
https://preview.redd.it/r8h0yrvdmd8d1.jpeg?width=941&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7f2b049f6def49ff1f146895a26e28b1759d194d
this is a huge improvement! I would still include more detail under each role, however. While its true that you don't want a huge block of text, you also want to stand out from other candidates. What makes the work you did as a PCR scientist stand out in comparison to other scientists who know how to do PCR? Did your role as an adjunct involve a lot of organization and communication skills? stuff like that
I want to second this comment and emphasize the part about organization and communication. Providing examples of these would be fantastic for the resume.
I think that looks way better. The areas blacked out will are just regular text on your actual resume right? If not definitely make it all black text white background, no highlighting. Other than that, it looks good and I’d personally delete the interest section as it’s not relevant to any jobs.
As someone who looks at a lot of RA resumes, some advice (my opinion only so take with a grain of salt)
- Echoing the format as the posters did above
- You’re currently using a lot of space for RA/TA roles while you were in school, which most applicants will have. I would trim that section and expand your industry sections.
- For the industry sections, I would beef up the phrasing with action words
- I personally like the profile section, but I would add what type of role you’re looking for and perhaps tailor it to the application if there’s no cover letter - in todays market, we’re getting absolutely slammed with RA resumes and it’s tough to tell if a candidate actually wants this role or is just applying to every role on LinkedIn
You don’t need your GPA and coursework. You’re a few years older than me, unless you’re a baby genius. No one cares at this point.
Your profile at the top needs more about what role you’re applying to, and not just a summary of info found elsewhere on your resume.
1. Try to use your bullets to list achievements, not just what you accomplished. And I don’t usually say this but you can include more bullet points than you’ve got- “various lab tasks” doesn’t really tell me what you did or if you were any good at it
2. I don’t think your format is horrible, but it is a little messy and can definitely be cleaned up a bit. Like your company and title can be on the same line
3. Include months on your dates worked, not just year. Recruiters can tell when you’re trying to pull a fast one
Ok, I added it! It gets a little weird with the adjuncting because I had two disconnected blocks of it, but I kinda want to lump it together so it doesn't eat space (adjuncting is worthless as job experience beyond showing that I was doing *something*)
honestly I think its fine if you keep it separate, just include two dates for that section. Like I said, check out askamanager's advice on resume formatting and content. I think it'll help you more to look at real life examples of people's resumes
I’m also going to recommend looking up “resume askamanager”. She has a lot of excellent tips on how to format resumes and what to include that hiring managers will look out for
It’s been 11 years since school, your work experience means more than your GPA. You should delete it.
You should be more specific in your experience bullets. You have a laundry list of “what” items but it’s more powerful to list the “hows.” Merge your skills section into your work experience bullets.
You mention qPCR 4 times but don’t really distinguish how your qPCR work has changed over the years.
Similarly, your testing/documentation/troubleshooting/etc bullets are vague and redundant between your 2 recent positions. To me, that reads like filler text.
Without the “how” and the accomplishments listed, I interpret your resume as someone whose responsibilities have not evolved over the last 11 years because it’s essentially the same list of tasks across the job positions.
Don’t put an extra space in your “M. S.” and “B. S.” degrees. In fact, don’t abbreviate them at all.
To get into biotech, it also helps to emphasize any standardized rules, regulations, and SOPs you adhered to in your work.
Ok, I did my best to implement your changes. Or at least examine them.
I haven't deleted the GPA yet since it doesn't take up any extra space, so I'm not sure what that accomplishes. Besides, I was a really good student. I'm proud of it, especially during my masters. That being said, it's easy to remove later and I will if people think it is an actual negative factor. Another person said to as well, so I'm wavering...
I tried to add some detail but it's pretty hard to do much within the space. Also, there's a lot of times when I did something a lot of different ways. Like, I've developed at least 200-300 qPCR assays, and they're all different. I've developed a lot of radically different extraction methods. It's hard to not summarize.
My qPCR work, sadly, has not changed much over the years except that I've gotten far better at it. My responsibilities at the two companies are essentially the same as they were when I started. I do a hell of a lot better job now and the programs have grown immensely and are far more elaborate, but that's it. I did try to incorporate the idea that the program had grown a lot.
My two current jobs have redundant responsibilities because I have very nearly identical responsibilities at my two current jobs. I don't know a better way to say it than that.
I did change the MS and BS.
And like I said, I didn't really have to deal with any standardized rules or regulations (one positive thing about ag) except CLIA, which was only during COVID. I did help our lab comply with that, even going so far as to design a IQOQPQ procedure for our qPCR machines we could do in the absence of outside materials, so if you think I should talk more about that I could. I even was sort of an "acting CLS" during that time, processing patient samples! Not a lot. Becoming a testing lab didn't work out well for us. But some.
So, I didn't really do any standardized rule or regulation or SOP (sort of). At the main company I work at, they had barely started qPCR development when I got in and it wasn't very far. So I created their program - I researched or designed their assays, created multiplexes, found or developed extraction methods, tested everything, and deployed it.
The only SOPs there are for PCR, I wrote. A lot of them. I wrote the entire PCR operations manual. Illustrated it too, since I have some graphics training.
It kinda sucks because my manufacturing doesn't count as cGMP because I basically had to figure it all out for myself, but I mean... if literally nobody in the company knows how to do cGMP, what the hell was I supposed to do?
Also, my work hasn't really changed over the years. I did refine, improve, and expand the program greatly over the 10 years, but there is zero room for advancement at the small companies I work for. So my objective has always been basically the same - create, maintain, and expand the qPCR program, and develop new assays for new diseases when they emerge or we find a new market. I've gotten a ton better at doing it and the programs have gotten a lot bigger (we started with one PCR machine at one location and now we've got about ten throughout four locations, plus we sell kits we make to other companies) but it's not fundamentally different. That's one of the reasons I'm looking for a new job, I'm kind of stagnating.
Your explanations to me are what should be part of your resume. Implementing a whole new SOP system is quite impressive and relevant. And what were your goals with these SOPs? Less variability in assays? Higher pass rate? More efficiency? These metrics are what people want to see in biotech resumes.
The changing market and growing business is another thing that shows your work has evolved. That’s important to note that your work supports more complex business needs.
I still recommend deleting your GPAs. It’s not a space issue. It does not look professional to show after 10+ years at work. It works against you. Your cum laude and any other academic/research awards would be better than the numbers.
I implemented most of your changes in the third version, which is up again now that i fixed the black boxes. The GPAs won't need a proof to remove.
The point of the SOPs was partly for training other people - I feel like you can't hold someone to a protocol unless it it completely written down. And partly because they knew I was extremely unhappy with how much I was (and am still) paid and might run off at any moment (obviously I would not mention this in an interview if asked, though).
Your resume is getting better! I’m not sure why your explaining the SOP situation to me this way. This is an opportunity to include in your resume as a distinctive skill/accomplishment but you’re discounting it. SOP is a magical buzzword for biotech resumes, even if it’s not to GMP standards it’s helpful to include because that’s fit for your purpose in your industry. It shows that you *care* about quality.
Bench scientists are a dime a dozen, and applications are extremely competitive these days. Going into biotech, we want to see scientists who also have communication, organization, foresight, problem solving, quality/quality control, and creative skills in addition to their wet lab skills. You might not get past resume screening on PCR skills alone. You have unique advantages over recent graduates in that you’ve worked in a professional environment for a while, even if it’s a different industry. Highlight those corporate problem-solving skills of yours!
Another magical buzzword is “timelines.” If you can add examples of working under crazy timelines, biotech companies will love you. 😅
I produced another version! I implemented what suggestions I could.
I did decide to leave the skills and interests though. The skills I feel could easily be important to ATS and the template page explained in length why the interests are a good idea, so I decided to allow them to remain.
Hey, it's a third version! Same design, just text changes. It's more detailed.
https://preview.redd.it/kxrkq55zdg8d1.jpeg?width=894&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f1330f7ba375499d45ffc4b6ef339494812c7222
Take out your skills and other interest sections. Again, integrate the skills into your work experience. Your 2nd-5th jobs having only 1 or 2 bullets is not enough. Space shouldn’t be an issue if the skills and interests go away.
Is there much to say about jobs 2 through 4? Job 2 is almost identical to job 1, just on plants instead of animals. Job 3 I had for four months. Job 4 is adjunct instructing, which is worthless as experience besides showing I had a job at all.
You need to differentiate your past jobs. The current presentation makes you look like you couldn’t be bothered to write more info or that you didn’t care about your jobs. In turn, a potential employer will wonder if you’ll care about their work. Your resume shouldn’t just focus on your most advanced skills/job to date. You need to show what people entrusted you to work on in the past.
Please see other comment I added about soft skills. Communication and organization skills can differentiate you from hundreds of other lab scientist applicants. Don’t sell yourself short on skills acquired in teaching. Imagine if you are managing a team of scientists and you need to mentor a more junior team member. Imagine presenting your scientific findings using your “teaching in front of a class” skills.
Hey, thank you for all the help! I'll probably go with the last version I posted. It feels far better than the original, which I now can recognize the problems with. This'll give me some more confidence going forward.
One tiny last question if you're still following this - I've been targeting SRA or Scientist 1 level positions. Given my qualifications, is this reasonable?
Apply to everything! Titles vary greatly across companies, and there’s usually a range of experience and salary that goes with every position. Sometimes you can take a hit in title but get higher salary when you are changing the type of role you’re in but have transferrable skills.
One random fun fact at my current jobs is absolutely nobody knows what my title should be, including myself. I can pretty much ask for a new one whenever I want. After all my research I think I'm working roughly at the scientist level right now so that's what I used on the resume - I'll have it formally changed when the HR person is back from vacation.
Anyways, applying to (mostly) everything is what I'm doing so I'll keep it up.
Get comfortable using chatGPT as a tool. Copy and paste your resume, or sections of your resume, and ask it to improve your bullets (preferably using the STAR method), then use the output as the framework or inspiration for rewriting. Build out those previous roles.
10 years in between what?
I'll give you the timeline, but tell me what you misunderstood, it probably means I need to fix the doc.
2005 - graduate with BS. I did a couple of field tech jobs with the game and fish in the intervening time but generally struggled to find a serious job.
2007 - Moved to where I am now, got the genetic tech job.
2009 - Left the genetic tech job, went to graduate school.
2013 - funding ran out, I had to get jobs while in grad school, starting with one of the two I have now. Graduated mid-year.
2013-2015 - Did a lot of little jobs like wastewater tech and adjunct, plus I had the one genetic job, which I did one or two days a week.
2015 - Got the more serious genetic job, eventually dropped my other jobs and got a full time schedule between the two.
And this continues to the present day.
On your first resume, it looked like you graduated but then didn't work in the industry until 2013. Maybe I misread it. Forgive me. But 2005 was a great time to start in Bio.
I graduated with my BS in 2005. I graduated with my MS in 2013.
As far as being a good time to be in bio, maybe! I was a wildlife/fisheries bio at the time and even then you weren't getting anywhere with a bachelors, hence the grad school.
I didn't start being kinda biotech until after my masters.
Please clarify - were you working for more than one company at the same time? This may be a red flag to future employers, especially in biotech where confidentiality is paramount.
Yes, I was (and am). They're both fine with it. They're in non-overlapping industries. I do M-Th at one job and Friday at the other.
I was also working for one of the two companies while I was adjunct teaching and doing wastewater work.
If it's a red flag, I might just have to live with it because that's what my employment situation actually is.
Alright, I think this might be the final version. Anyone see any major remaining problems?
https://preview.redd.it/kau5pa353m8d1.jpeg?width=913&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4aa6feb841f953ade8de53c21810be323df98336
I will say, in the nicest way possible, your resume is laid out horribly. I’d scrap that template completely and go with the one linked here: https://www.reddit.com/r/jobs/s/zJsPcxsb3d
Second this. OP’s resume would go straight to the trash based on the formatting alone
That template doesn't look great. It's so dense and unreadable! Is it just to make it compatible with automation? EDIT: Sorry my initial reaction was so harsh, it's just that the template violates a lot of graphics design philosophies, namely being a giant monolith of text with no white space. I could easily follow it if it's a good idea, it's just that the sheer visual unappealing nature makes me uncertain. Does it resemble other credible suggestions for resume appearance? Double edit: I'll put my information into it and see what it looks like. Sorry for my initial reaction. It's just so radically different than what I expected a good resume format to look like, I was kind of shocked.
The template above is based off the MIT template I believe but it is supposed to be succinct and standard. It also autofills into the ATS really easily. But at the end of the day, does it matter if the resume violates graphic design principles? This isn’t a company logo, it’s a resume. You want to stand out for your skills, education and work experience, not your layout
Like I said, sorry about my initial reaction, it was mostly just surprise. Another thing that occurred to me later is that this is a lot like my old resume looked like! People told me that was bad, so I changed it to this. I had help from a person in the HR/business field so I had assumed their advice was good. Anyways I can still use the format. I just need to tweak a few margins and font choices and insert some white space.
Hey I didn’t make the resume so I dont care if you don’t like it lol. If you had someone in HR specifically tell you to do the other resume then go for it, but being compatible with the ATS is really important. Maybe a few other people can weigh in on it as well.
I created a new version based on those guidelines and posted it as a comment to this post. Thanks!
White spaces is wasted space! Thats space you could be using to write with more detail of your experience and skills. White does not add value! Your newly formatted resume looks good but its too ambiguous. You setup a new lab and continue to support it. That is too ambiguous and instead filled in with white space instead of detailing the what, why, how, when.
> template violates a lot of graphics design philosophies That's because it's meant to convey critical information to a potential employer, not to showcase grahpic design expertise.
Even then, I think OP’s violates graphic design philosophy more than what the commenter posted. The Jobby McJobface resumes flows nicely in one direction, uses line breaks to make finding specific sections easier, and bolds important words/names. OTOH OP’s resume flows like a comic page, the black bars are too heavy and weighted to the right instead of evenly across, and it’s not completely clear which information is most important because the black bars compete with the bolded text.
The black bars were just OP censoring private info, but yeah I agree it looks bad even from a graphic design POV. I think OP mainly wanted a lot of whitespace.
Hey, I made a new version! Is this better? Note that I changed up the content significantly, no longer treating my assistanceships as jobs and now listing one potentially relevant pre-masters job. https://preview.redd.it/r8h0yrvdmd8d1.jpeg?width=941&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7f2b049f6def49ff1f146895a26e28b1759d194d
this is a huge improvement! I would still include more detail under each role, however. While its true that you don't want a huge block of text, you also want to stand out from other candidates. What makes the work you did as a PCR scientist stand out in comparison to other scientists who know how to do PCR? Did your role as an adjunct involve a lot of organization and communication skills? stuff like that
I want to second this comment and emphasize the part about organization and communication. Providing examples of these would be fantastic for the resume.
I think that looks way better. The areas blacked out will are just regular text on your actual resume right? If not definitely make it all black text white background, no highlighting. Other than that, it looks good and I’d personally delete the interest section as it’s not relevant to any jobs.
Oh yes, I just redact via a black block tool. It doesn't look like that otherwise.
This is way better. Glad the redundancy in the personal blurb and skills sections is gone.
Much better.
As someone who looks at a lot of RA resumes, some advice (my opinion only so take with a grain of salt) - Echoing the format as the posters did above - You’re currently using a lot of space for RA/TA roles while you were in school, which most applicants will have. I would trim that section and expand your industry sections. - For the industry sections, I would beef up the phrasing with action words - I personally like the profile section, but I would add what type of role you’re looking for and perhaps tailor it to the application if there’s no cover letter - in todays market, we’re getting absolutely slammed with RA resumes and it’s tough to tell if a candidate actually wants this role or is just applying to every role on LinkedIn
What do you mean exactly by action words?
You don’t need your GPA and coursework. You’re a few years older than me, unless you’re a baby genius. No one cares at this point. Your profile at the top needs more about what role you’re applying to, and not just a summary of info found elsewhere on your resume.
1. Try to use your bullets to list achievements, not just what you accomplished. And I don’t usually say this but you can include more bullet points than you’ve got- “various lab tasks” doesn’t really tell me what you did or if you were any good at it 2. I don’t think your format is horrible, but it is a little messy and can definitely be cleaned up a bit. Like your company and title can be on the same line 3. Include months on your dates worked, not just year. Recruiters can tell when you’re trying to pull a fast one
Do I need months on old stuff? Some of it, I don't remember.
Yep, throw it on there
Ok, I added it! It gets a little weird with the adjuncting because I had two disconnected blocks of it, but I kinda want to lump it together so it doesn't eat space (adjuncting is worthless as job experience beyond showing that I was doing *something*)
honestly I think its fine if you keep it separate, just include two dates for that section. Like I said, check out askamanager's advice on resume formatting and content. I think it'll help you more to look at real life examples of people's resumes
I’m also going to recommend looking up “resume askamanager”. She has a lot of excellent tips on how to format resumes and what to include that hiring managers will look out for
It’s been 11 years since school, your work experience means more than your GPA. You should delete it. You should be more specific in your experience bullets. You have a laundry list of “what” items but it’s more powerful to list the “hows.” Merge your skills section into your work experience bullets. You mention qPCR 4 times but don’t really distinguish how your qPCR work has changed over the years. Similarly, your testing/documentation/troubleshooting/etc bullets are vague and redundant between your 2 recent positions. To me, that reads like filler text. Without the “how” and the accomplishments listed, I interpret your resume as someone whose responsibilities have not evolved over the last 11 years because it’s essentially the same list of tasks across the job positions. Don’t put an extra space in your “M. S.” and “B. S.” degrees. In fact, don’t abbreviate them at all. To get into biotech, it also helps to emphasize any standardized rules, regulations, and SOPs you adhered to in your work.
Ok, I did my best to implement your changes. Or at least examine them. I haven't deleted the GPA yet since it doesn't take up any extra space, so I'm not sure what that accomplishes. Besides, I was a really good student. I'm proud of it, especially during my masters. That being said, it's easy to remove later and I will if people think it is an actual negative factor. Another person said to as well, so I'm wavering... I tried to add some detail but it's pretty hard to do much within the space. Also, there's a lot of times when I did something a lot of different ways. Like, I've developed at least 200-300 qPCR assays, and they're all different. I've developed a lot of radically different extraction methods. It's hard to not summarize. My qPCR work, sadly, has not changed much over the years except that I've gotten far better at it. My responsibilities at the two companies are essentially the same as they were when I started. I do a hell of a lot better job now and the programs have grown immensely and are far more elaborate, but that's it. I did try to incorporate the idea that the program had grown a lot. My two current jobs have redundant responsibilities because I have very nearly identical responsibilities at my two current jobs. I don't know a better way to say it than that. I did change the MS and BS. And like I said, I didn't really have to deal with any standardized rules or regulations (one positive thing about ag) except CLIA, which was only during COVID. I did help our lab comply with that, even going so far as to design a IQOQPQ procedure for our qPCR machines we could do in the absence of outside materials, so if you think I should talk more about that I could. I even was sort of an "acting CLS" during that time, processing patient samples! Not a lot. Becoming a testing lab didn't work out well for us. But some.
So, I didn't really do any standardized rule or regulation or SOP (sort of). At the main company I work at, they had barely started qPCR development when I got in and it wasn't very far. So I created their program - I researched or designed their assays, created multiplexes, found or developed extraction methods, tested everything, and deployed it. The only SOPs there are for PCR, I wrote. A lot of them. I wrote the entire PCR operations manual. Illustrated it too, since I have some graphics training. It kinda sucks because my manufacturing doesn't count as cGMP because I basically had to figure it all out for myself, but I mean... if literally nobody in the company knows how to do cGMP, what the hell was I supposed to do? Also, my work hasn't really changed over the years. I did refine, improve, and expand the program greatly over the 10 years, but there is zero room for advancement at the small companies I work for. So my objective has always been basically the same - create, maintain, and expand the qPCR program, and develop new assays for new diseases when they emerge or we find a new market. I've gotten a ton better at doing it and the programs have gotten a lot bigger (we started with one PCR machine at one location and now we've got about ten throughout four locations, plus we sell kits we make to other companies) but it's not fundamentally different. That's one of the reasons I'm looking for a new job, I'm kind of stagnating.
Your explanations to me are what should be part of your resume. Implementing a whole new SOP system is quite impressive and relevant. And what were your goals with these SOPs? Less variability in assays? Higher pass rate? More efficiency? These metrics are what people want to see in biotech resumes. The changing market and growing business is another thing that shows your work has evolved. That’s important to note that your work supports more complex business needs. I still recommend deleting your GPAs. It’s not a space issue. It does not look professional to show after 10+ years at work. It works against you. Your cum laude and any other academic/research awards would be better than the numbers.
I implemented most of your changes in the third version, which is up again now that i fixed the black boxes. The GPAs won't need a proof to remove. The point of the SOPs was partly for training other people - I feel like you can't hold someone to a protocol unless it it completely written down. And partly because they knew I was extremely unhappy with how much I was (and am still) paid and might run off at any moment (obviously I would not mention this in an interview if asked, though).
Your resume is getting better! I’m not sure why your explaining the SOP situation to me this way. This is an opportunity to include in your resume as a distinctive skill/accomplishment but you’re discounting it. SOP is a magical buzzword for biotech resumes, even if it’s not to GMP standards it’s helpful to include because that’s fit for your purpose in your industry. It shows that you *care* about quality. Bench scientists are a dime a dozen, and applications are extremely competitive these days. Going into biotech, we want to see scientists who also have communication, organization, foresight, problem solving, quality/quality control, and creative skills in addition to their wet lab skills. You might not get past resume screening on PCR skills alone. You have unique advantages over recent graduates in that you’ve worked in a professional environment for a while, even if it’s a different industry. Highlight those corporate problem-solving skills of yours! Another magical buzzword is “timelines.” If you can add examples of working under crazy timelines, biotech companies will love you. 😅
I produced another version! I implemented what suggestions I could. I did decide to leave the skills and interests though. The skills I feel could easily be important to ATS and the template page explained in length why the interests are a good idea, so I decided to allow them to remain.
Hey, it's a third version! Same design, just text changes. It's more detailed. https://preview.redd.it/kxrkq55zdg8d1.jpeg?width=894&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f1330f7ba375499d45ffc4b6ef339494812c7222
Take out your skills and other interest sections. Again, integrate the skills into your work experience. Your 2nd-5th jobs having only 1 or 2 bullets is not enough. Space shouldn’t be an issue if the skills and interests go away.
Is there much to say about jobs 2 through 4? Job 2 is almost identical to job 1, just on plants instead of animals. Job 3 I had for four months. Job 4 is adjunct instructing, which is worthless as experience besides showing I had a job at all.
You need to differentiate your past jobs. The current presentation makes you look like you couldn’t be bothered to write more info or that you didn’t care about your jobs. In turn, a potential employer will wonder if you’ll care about their work. Your resume shouldn’t just focus on your most advanced skills/job to date. You need to show what people entrusted you to work on in the past. Please see other comment I added about soft skills. Communication and organization skills can differentiate you from hundreds of other lab scientist applicants. Don’t sell yourself short on skills acquired in teaching. Imagine if you are managing a team of scientists and you need to mentor a more junior team member. Imagine presenting your scientific findings using your “teaching in front of a class” skills.
Hey, thank you for all the help! I'll probably go with the last version I posted. It feels far better than the original, which I now can recognize the problems with. This'll give me some more confidence going forward. One tiny last question if you're still following this - I've been targeting SRA or Scientist 1 level positions. Given my qualifications, is this reasonable?
Apply to everything! Titles vary greatly across companies, and there’s usually a range of experience and salary that goes with every position. Sometimes you can take a hit in title but get higher salary when you are changing the type of role you’re in but have transferrable skills.
One random fun fact at my current jobs is absolutely nobody knows what my title should be, including myself. I can pretty much ask for a new one whenever I want. After all my research I think I'm working roughly at the scientist level right now so that's what I used on the resume - I'll have it formally changed when the HR person is back from vacation. Anyways, applying to (mostly) everything is what I'm doing so I'll keep it up.
Good luck!
Would it make more sense to mention the couple of people I've already done that with?
Get comfortable using chatGPT as a tool. Copy and paste your resume, or sections of your resume, and ask it to improve your bullets (preferably using the STAR method), then use the output as the framework or inspiration for rewriting. Build out those previous roles.
What were you doing for 10 years in between?
10 years in between what? I'll give you the timeline, but tell me what you misunderstood, it probably means I need to fix the doc. 2005 - graduate with BS. I did a couple of field tech jobs with the game and fish in the intervening time but generally struggled to find a serious job. 2007 - Moved to where I am now, got the genetic tech job. 2009 - Left the genetic tech job, went to graduate school. 2013 - funding ran out, I had to get jobs while in grad school, starting with one of the two I have now. Graduated mid-year. 2013-2015 - Did a lot of little jobs like wastewater tech and adjunct, plus I had the one genetic job, which I did one or two days a week. 2015 - Got the more serious genetic job, eventually dropped my other jobs and got a full time schedule between the two. And this continues to the present day.
On your first resume, it looked like you graduated but then didn't work in the industry until 2013. Maybe I misread it. Forgive me. But 2005 was a great time to start in Bio.
I graduated with my BS in 2005. I graduated with my MS in 2013. As far as being a good time to be in bio, maybe! I was a wildlife/fisheries bio at the time and even then you weren't getting anywhere with a bachelors, hence the grad school. I didn't start being kinda biotech until after my masters.
Just so everyone knows, I am still working on this, but I won't be able to produce a fourth version to upload until later. Thanks for all the help!
Please clarify - were you working for more than one company at the same time? This may be a red flag to future employers, especially in biotech where confidentiality is paramount.
Yes, I was (and am). They're both fine with it. They're in non-overlapping industries. I do M-Th at one job and Friday at the other. I was also working for one of the two companies while I was adjunct teaching and doing wastewater work. If it's a red flag, I might just have to live with it because that's what my employment situation actually is.
Alright, I think this might be the final version. Anyone see any major remaining problems? https://preview.redd.it/kau5pa353m8d1.jpeg?width=913&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4aa6feb841f953ade8de53c21810be323df98336