Tips To Write A Research Assistant Resume (With Examples)

By Indeed Editorial Team

Updated 2 December 2022

Published 14 May 2022

The Indeed Editorial Team comprises a diverse and talented team of writers, researchers and subject matter experts equipped with Indeed's data and insights to deliver useful tips to help guide your career journey.

Research assistants can work for market research firms, public interest groups, research centres, colleges and universities. Candidates who want to become research assistants can increase the chances of getting hired by effectively explaining their skills, experience and training through a well-formatted resume. Learning some helpful tips and reviewing a few samples can help candidates move forward in the job searching process. In this article, we discuss some helpful tips to create an effective research assistant resume, learn some research assistant skills and keywords for the resume and review a helpful resume sample.

Tips for creating an effective research assistant resume

A research assistant resume is a document that allows hiring managers to learn about your qualifications, skills and experience when applying for a research assistant position. Research assistants provide support to research teams in gathering information, analysing data and conducting experiments. They manage and handle daily routine tasks that involve research. While creating a research assistant resume, keep the duties and responsibilities of the job role in mind. Showcasing the skills and qualities relevant to these duties can help you catch the attention of hiring managers.

Here are some effective tips to consider while writing a resume for research assistants:

Use the correct format

The first thing a recruiter may see in your resume can be the format. Before reading all the information in your resume, they may notice how everything looks on the resume. Many candidates use a reverse chronological order format for writing their resumes. A reverse chronological order is also known as a traditional resume format, which allows job candidates to include a lot of information on a single page. You can use different font sizes and title designs while sticking to the traditional format.

Introduce yourself in an effective way

After writing a suitable header, introduce yourself professionally in the next block through a resume summary or a personal statement. You can add brief information about your previous job experience, skills relevant to the job and accomplishments. Showcase your work ethic and commitment through a professional introduction.

Focus on tailoring your resume according to the job role and write the exact title of the job. Introduce your skills by using your achievements. Mention a few technical skills in the summary section. Adding only relevant information can allow you to make the resume brief and effective.

Focus on your research skills

When applying for a research assistant job role, showcase all the important skills in your resume. Include and focus on specific researching skills relevant to the job role. You can include skills that show efficiency in preparing documents, researching and collecting necessary data.

In the skills section of your resume, include the keywords mentioned in the job description. It can help your resume to get selected during the resume filtering process. Presenting your skill sets in a clearer way can help you get selected for the interview round.

Use strong action verbs

Starting every section of the resume with strong and effective verbs can attract the attention of employers. You can use verbs like design, develop or research, as these words may reflect the relevant qualities for the job. You can also use these words to highlight your achievements, making it easier for recruiters to analyse the resume. Candidates with previous work experience can include their past job roles and responsibilities using strong action verbs.

For candidates with less previous work experience, it can be helpful to use action words throughout the resume. Use action words to represent your skills and responsibilities instead of using generic phrases. Here are some common action words that you can use:

Maintained
Determined
Managed
Designed
Drafted
Formulated
Launched

Highlight your education

A research assistant is a job role in which individuals can gain experience and advance their careers to become research scientists. After completing higher secondary education, many freshers apply for this job role. Employers may also get applications from candidates without any experience. Candidates without some relevant experience can list the details about their internships and volunteering works in the field of research.

Add relevant certifications that reflect your research skills. You can highlight your certifications more clearly by creating a separate section for them. Include the names of the colleges along with the start and end date and the name of the degree.

Use hard numbers and metrics

Using hard numbers and metrics in your resume can help you showcase the outcome of your work. Try using accurate numbers for your accomplishments such as mentioning the exact increase in accuracy, decrease in processing time and the number of researches made. Using bullet points with accurate numbers can help employers to analyse your resume easily and get a quick understanding of your previous accomplishments.

Research assistant resume skills and keywords

Whether you are an undergraduate looking for your first job in the field of research or a professional who already has some experience, the resume skills section can be an effective way to tell employers about your capabilities. Through your resume, focus on highlighting your skills and experience, which can contribute to the research assistant job role.

Many recruiters use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to make the recruiting process easy. These systems can help in filtering and selecting applications based on certain keywords. Including such keywords in your resume can get your resume selected for the interview process. Here are some common research assistant skills or keywords that you can include in your resume:

Written and verbal communication skills
Problem-solving skills
Experimental skills
Graphical and statistical analysis
Database management
Lab maintenance skills
Safety protocols
Maintaining and controlling quality
Data entry and keeping records
Teamwork and leadership skills
Attention to details

Sample resume for research assistants

Here is a sample resume that research assistants can use to craft their own resumes:

Example 1

Here is an example of a resume for candidates with some experience as a research assistant:

Header
Rahul Singh
New Delhi
Mobile: +912233445566
Email: rahulsingh@email.com

Summary
Research assistant with four years of experience in gathering and analysing data in multiple research projects. Assisted and supported teams of 10-12 people in different fields of science, writing and designing departments.

Education
University of Delhi
MSc Biology (June 2012 - May 2016)
Professional experience
Star Private Limited
Senior research assistant (June 2021 - current)
Job duties:

Designed plans with all the required procedures to complete projects on time
Ensured that all the procedures were according to the plan
Helped in increasing the overall work efficiency by 40%
Helped junior researchers by assisting in 8-10 projects and handled the record files after completion of each project
Conducted regular analysis of gathered information to log experimental data

Moon Laboratories
Graduate research assistant
Job duties:

Assisted in conducting research on genetically modified food items
Helped the team with finding side effects associated with genetically modified food items
Designed plans to help the team complete the project 5 days ahead of schedule
Organised several surveys on the field that helped in providing a ton of data
Attended project meetings and answered emails related to the project

Skills

Knowledge of python and linux
Lab maintenance skills
Teamwork and coordination
Proficiency in Microsoft tools
Volunteering
Problem-solving attitude

Example 2

Here is a sample resume for research assistants without any experience:

Header
Vikram Kumar
Hyderabad
Mobile: +916634678881
Email: vikramkumar@email.com

Summary
Highly professional and dedicated research assistant with a bachelor's degree in biology. Committed to achieving the objectives with knowledge of data entry and a strong understanding of lab maintenance strategies.

Education
University of Mumbai
BSc in Biology (June 2015 - May 2018)

Internship history
Infinity Labs
Research assistant intern (June 2018 - April 2019)
Job duties:

Assisted coordinators and managers in researching, organising and collecting information and data
Worked on different software to create reports
Worked on creating checklists to make analysing data easy
Assisted many lab workers to develop and learn important laboratory procedures
Assisted in leading projects by volunteering 25 hours per month