Research Assistant resume example

If you’re hoping to land a position as a research assistant, you’re going to be up against some tough competition. But don’t worry, with a good resume, you can beat them all!

But how do you create a great resume?

Well, you can start by using our research assistant resume example and step-by-step guide below.

 

 

 

Research Assistant Resume Example

 

This Research Assistant resume example shows you the most effective layout for a modern resume, along with the type of content you need to include.

Stick closely to these guidelines as you write your own resume, to maximize your chances of getting responses, interviews and job offers.

Now lets dive into the details of how you write your own eye-catching resume…

 

 

Research Assistant resume layout and format

Your resume layout and format will play a big role in helping hiring managers to take notice of your resume and stay glued to it.

Shoot for a simple yet professional look to ensure you make a strong first impression, and organize the page in a way that is easy for readers to digest the information.

The following formatting tips should help.

 

 

Resume formatting tips

• Length: Think that submitting a 10 page resume will impress recruiters? Unfortunately it won’t… Even if you’ve got tons of experience to brag about, recruiters don’t have time to read essays, so keep it brief – around 2 pages is the sweet spot.

• Font and text: Complex fonts are a readers’ worst nightmare and will leave recruiters struggling to understand your message. Use a clear simple lean font in a color that stands out against the page, and break your text up with bullet points to make the content easily digestible.

• Design & structure: Allow recruiters to skim through your resume with ease, by dividing the page into clear sections with headings and borders. The design of your resume should be eye-catching but not overly complex – keep the style and color scheme simple and clean.

• Photos and images: In the USA adding a photo to your resume is optional – you don’t have to do it, but it can be a nice way to get your personality across.

 

Quick tip: Formatting a resume to look professional can be difficult and time-consuming. If you want to create an attractive resume quickly, try our partner’s Resume Builder and use one of their eye-catching resume templates.

 

 

 

Resume layout

When you write your resume, include the sections below.

• Name and contact details – Pop these at the very top to ensure recruiters know how to contact you.
• Resume summary – An eye-catching paragraph which summarizes your most valuable attributes – placed near the top of your resume
• Skills section – A bullet pointed list of your most in-demand skills, enabling recruiters to see your suitability from a glance.
• Work experience – List some or all of your previous jobs in reverse chronological order – voluntary work and college placements can be included if you have no paid experience.
• Education – A summary of your professional training and academic qualifications.
• Additional info – An optional section for anything that may boost your application, such as relevant hobbies and interests

Now here’s exactly what you should include in each of these sections in your resume.

 

Resume Contact Details

 

Make it easy for hiring managers to contact you by adding your contact details to the top of your resume.

Keep this section small to save space and include the following.

• Name and profession title
• Telephone number – Ideally your cell phone so you can answer quickly.
• Location – Add your general location such as LA or New York
• Email address – Use a professional looking one with no nicknames.

You can add a link to your LinkedIn profile if you have one – you do not need to include personal details like date of birth or marital status.

 

Research Assistant Resume Summary

Now it’s time to get into the real content of your resume, starting with the summary.

Your resume summary is a short paragraph at the top of the document, and its jobs is to catch the eye of hiring managers by summarizing all your skills and knowledge that are most important to the roles you are applying for.

 

 

Tips for creating an strong resume summary:

• Keep it brief: Your summary is intended to be a high-level introduction to hook readers’ attention, so keep it brief (4-7 lines) – save the details for later in your resume.

• Tailor it: Tailor your resume to your target jobs by studying the job description and adding as many matching skills as you can.

• Avoid cliches: You may be a “team player who always give 110%” but generic phrases don’t tell employers much about you in reality – stick to factual information.

 

Example resume summary for Research Assistant

 

What to include in your Research Assistant Resume summary?

• Summary of professional experience: What type of organizations have you worked at? What types of roles have you done and what have you contributed to previous employers?

• Relevant skills: Scatter your most in-demand Research Assistant skills through your summary to ensure they are noticed quickly by hiring managers.

• Essential qualifications: Showcase your level of education with a quick mention of any qualifications that are essential for the Research Assistant roles you are applying to.

 

Quick tip: Choose from hundreds of pre-written summaries across all industries, and add one to your resume with one click in our partner’s Resume Builder. All written by our recruitment experts and easily tailored to suit your unique skillset.

 

Core skills section

Next, you should create a bullet pointed list of your core skills, formatted into 2-3 columns.

Here, you should focus on including the most important skills or knowledge listed in the job advertisement.

This will instantly prove that you’re an ideal candidate, even if a recruiter only has time to briefly scan your resume.

 

 

Best skills for your Research Assistant resume

 

Quick tip: Our partner’s Resume Builder contains thousands of in-demand skills for every profession that can be added to your resume in seconds – saving you time and greatly improving your chances of landing job interviews.

 

 

Work experience section

Now that you’ve reeled recruiters in with your awesome summary, it’s time to delve into your work experience.

Here you’ll list your previous jobs (starting with your most recent and working backward) and showcase how you apply your skills in the workplace.

Provide lots of detail in recent jobs, and less in older roles.

If you have no relevant paid experience, you can include voluntary work and placements – but if you have lots of experience, you can leave out some of the really old jobs.

 

 

Structuring your job descriptions

Resume job descriptions contain lots of information, so its crucial to structure them well.

Use the structure below to ensure hiring managers can consume the information easily.

 

 

Job outline

Begin each job with a short summary of who the organization is, where you sit within it, and what the main goal of your position is.

 

Key responsibilities

Next, write up a punchy list of your daily duties and responsibilities, using short bullet points.

Describe how you apply your skills and contribute to the running of the employer’s business – highlighting skills which are applicable to your target jobs.

 

Key achievements

Finish each role by highlighting some impressive achievements you made whilst in the role.

Anything that benefited the employer can be included from making financial savings, to winning new customers.

Quantify your achievements with facts and figures if you can, e.g. “reduced call wait time by 10%”

 

Example job for Research Assistant resume

 

Quick tip: Create impressive job descriptions easily in our partner’s Resume Builder by adding pre-written job phrases for every industry and career stage.

 

 

Education resume section

Towards the bottom of your resume, add your education section.

Here you should list your professional qualifications and academic record, such as high school diplomas or college degrees.

If you have lots of work experience, you can keep this section brief because recruiters will be more interested in your career. If you have little/no experience then you should bulk this section up with plenty of detail.

 

Additional info for your resume

The additional info section is optional but can be useful if you have anything else to add that could benefit your application.

For example ,you may have some hobbies and interests that are relevant to your job – or you might have awards or publications to shout about.

 

 

Writing your Research Assistant resume

A winning Research Assistant resume should look great, read well, and sell your skillset to hiring managers.

If you follow the steps above, you should be able to bag yourself a top job in no time.

And don’t forget you can use our partner’s Resume Builder if you want to save time and ensure your resume contains the very best content.

Good luck with your job search!