Chemistry Resume Examples and Templates for 2023

Chemistry Resume Examples

Years of Experience

Common Key Skills and Action Verbs for Chemistry Resumes

Incorporating appropriate key skills and action verbs that align with the job description will help you differentiate yourself from the competition during your job search. Employers value candidates with skill sets that match the needs of their organization. To secure interviews, you’ll need to optimize your document for the Applicant Tracking Software (ATS). By tactically integrating keywords directly from the posting into your professional profile, skill section, and work experience, you’ll ensure that your resume is properly equipped to comply with ATS requirements and make a positive impression on the hiring manager. Below, you’ll find a list of keywords that you may encounter during your job search.

Tips for Writing a Better Chemistry Resume

Quantify your chemistry experience

Integrating numbers and metrics into your resume can help to provide valuable insights and context for the hiring manager as they evaluate your professional experience. Although some achievements can be difficult to quantify in a chemist position, numbers can be a valuable tool to enhance the impact of your bullet points when leveraged effectively. Below, we’ll review a bullet point from the mid-career resume example:

Lead the characterization of polymer for ink formulations in a high-volume lab environment for the development of a new ink product line valued at $5M and partner with manufacturing teams to improve production capacity by 15%

This bullet point is effective because it showcases the job seeker’s industry expertise in polymer formulations and uses numbers to establish a sense of scope for their professional achievements. By showcasing the value of the product line and the results of their efforts to improve production capacity, the candidate can position themselves as a value creator for prospective employers.

Showcase your leadership abilities

As a chemist, you’ll be interfacing with a wide variety of interdisciplinary teams to perform experiments and product development activities. Employers want to see tangible examples from your career that showcase your ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional groups. By highlighting your technical expertise and leadership capabilities, you’ll be branding yourself as a dynamic professional with the interpersonal skills and scientific knowledge to succeed. Below, you’ll see a bullet point from the senior-level example:

Oversee 15+ large scale drug discovery projects valued at up to $30M and coordinate with cross-functional teams of 100+ biologists, medicinal chemists, SMEs, pharmaceutical scientists, and healthcare professionals to perform toxicology studies

In this bullet point, the job-seeker has established context and scope for the drug discovery projects they worked on and provided insights into their cross-functional leadership experience. Rather than simply stating they worked with various departments and groups, the candidate draws attention to the specific types of personnel they were interfacing with. Employers within the pharmaceutical industry value job seekers who can interface with dynamic matrixed teams during product development. This bullet point brands the job-seeker as a versatile leader.

How to Align Your Resume With the Job Description

Aligning your resume with the job description is an essential aspect of the resume-building process. By incorporating specific keywords from the job posting in your document, you’ll optimize your application for the Applicant Tracking System (ATS). This strategy will also help hiring managers to see how your professional background and experience match their organization’s needs. Be sure to craft bullet points that capture the nuances of your own professional experience rather than copying and pasting from the description.

When determining what skill sets to feature on your resume, you should carefully analyze how the information is being presented within the job posting. Key terms that appear within the opening paragraphs tend to carry more weight. In addition, you should prioritize any keywords that are repeated more than once within the description. Below, you’ll find an example to help you optimize your application for the job posting.

According to the job description, the ideal job applicant should have the following qualities and/or experience:

• Chemistry
• Chemist
• Chromatography
• R&D
• New Product Development (NPD)
• Laboratory Operations
• Cross-Functional
• Data-Driven Decision Making
• Laboratory Safety
• OSHA Standards
• Mass Spectrometry
• Data Analysis
• Project Management
• Formulation
• Characterization

Next, take what you highlighted from the job description and include your experience and skills that match. Below is an example of how to incorporate them into your resume to your advantage: