There are over 60k medical technologists in America right now and with new technologies for testing being invented and brought into the market every day, the number of needed technologists is bound to steadily increase. A medical technologist collects samples from or performs tests on patients to help doctors make accurate diagnoses. You may be tasked with analyzing tissue, body fluids, organs, and other substances.
Though you can choose to be a general medical technologist and use various equipment to analyze samples, many technologists choose to specialize as their careers progress. Some specializations include MRI technology, CT technology, etc. You are more likely to find positions for specializations in larger health facilities where they can afford to have a large medical technologist team. Smaller facilities will normally need you to be able to use most of the equipment and perform a large range of tests. Recruiters will expect you to have a strong health background and experience in medical technology.
This resume guide was developed with top recruitment specialists in the medical field and gives an insight into what they are looking to see in your resume. We have included resume samples, recruiter tips, useful action verbs, and desired skills for your skills section.
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Medical technologists, otherwise known as medical laboratory scientists, perform tests on body fluids and samples that aid doctors in making diagnoses. You may choose to specialize in areas like immunohematology, immunology, and microbiology, but specialization is usually reserved for professionals working in large medical facilities; professionals working in smaller clinics are often required to be able to perform a broad number of tests across specializations.
As this is in the medical field, you must be well-educated in the field and appropriately licensed. Recruiters will expect to see at least a bachelor’s degree in medical technology, or a related field, and will expect you to be licensed in the state or country you are applying. It is crucial that you list your qualifications and licenses clearly to avoid being looked over. Here is a successful resume sample.
The introduction section of your resume is useful for highlighting the most important information about yourself and your career. If you specialize in an area of medical technology, state it clearly in your introduction, especially if the healthcare facility is looking for someone with your specific specialization.
Recruiters need to know that you are up to date with the most recent medical advancements in testing tools and procedures. So before you send out your resume, make sure the newest and most popular testing tools are included in your tools list. Do not include tools you are not trained in.
Surgical technologists are a crucial part of a surgical team. You serve as the custodian of the operating room. It is your job to keep the operating room sterile and organized and account for all equipment and tools used. Tasks you may perform include preparing the patient for surgery, sterilizing the room, handing tools to the surgeon, and disposing of any waste from the surgery.
First and foremost, recruiters will look at your resume to see if you are appropriately trained and educated. Many employers will require you to be certified or licensed to qualify for the job, or may only need to see that you have completed a relevant project. Beyond that, recruiters will want to see a history of working in healthcare and particularly of working in a high-stress and fast-paced environment. Take a look at this recruiter-approved resume sample.
Grab recruiters’ attention from the very beginning of your resume. Because they may not have time to scrutinize the hundreds of resumes they get, it’s advantageous to include impressive achievements and metrics in the introduction section as this applicant has done.
An MRI technologist operates and maintains MRI machines. You will be using an MRI to take pictures of patients’ bodies that will assist doctors in making diagnoses. Tasks you can expect include preparing patients for their scans, operating the MRIs, and maintaining the MRI equipment.
To qualify for this position you will need an associate’s or bachelor’s degree in something closely related to MRI technology. Recruiters would also prefer to see a history of using MRIs or any other experience in the healthcare field so include anything that may be relevant. Here is an example of a strong MRI technologist resume sample.
It is always a huge benefit for a facility to have a multi-talented professional who is skilled in tasks beyond what they were hired for. For this position, skills or experience with any other diagnostic machines like x-ray machines would be highly beneficial for prospective employers so make sure you list any extra skills and experience you have.
A CT technologist uses a computerized tomography (CT) machine to take scans of a patient's internal body to assist doctors in diagnoses. Tasks you can expect in this role include helping patients prepare for the scan, giving them contrast material where necessary, operating the CT machine, maintaining the machine, and making sure it operates correctly. Because CT machines emit radiation, it is extremely important that you and all patients follow all safety measures to protect yourselves from harm.
Recruiters will want to see an educational background in radiology as well as any experience in that field and in CT technology more specifically. It is fairly common for professionals to enter the field as general radiology technologists and then train and transition into a CT technologist specialization. Take a look at this recruiter-approved resume sample.
Your qualifications and certifications are of utmost importance and may be required to be considered so make sure you list all relevant certifications clearly. This applicant has 3 relevant certifications including ARRT certification and JRCERT certification.
We spoke with hiring managers at top medical research labs and clinical testing companies such as Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp to gather their insights on what they look for in strong Medical Technologist resumes. Based on their feedback and our analysis of successful resumes in this field, we've compiled the following key tips to help your resume stand out and land more interviews.
Hiring managers want to quickly see that you have the necessary technical qualifications for the role. Be sure to:
Avoid simply listing generic skills or certifications without providing specifics:
A resume summary for a Medical Technologist position is an optional section that can help provide additional context about your skills and experience. It's particularly useful if you're a career changer or have a lot of relevant experience to highlight. However, avoid simply repeating information already included in other sections of your resume.
When crafting your summary, focus on being objective and using metrics to showcase your accomplishments. Mention your target job title and incorporate relevant keywords to optimize for applicant tracking systems (ATS). Keep your summary concise, ideally no more than one paragraph. And while it's important to showcase your skills, avoid directly mentioning soft skills or using corporate buzzwords like "proven track record."
The work experience section is the heart of your resume as a medical technologist. It's where you show hiring managers how you've applied your skills and training in real-world settings. In this section, we'll break down key strategies to make your work experience section stand out.
Your education section shows hiring managers that you have the necessary knowledge and training for the medical technologist role. It also gives them a glimpse into your background and interests. In this section, we'll cover what to include and how to format your education section for maximum impact.
Action verbs shape an applicant's experience. For a medical technologist position, your action verbs should reflect the different functions of your job, which include preparing patients for tests, performing tests, analyzing results, and more.
You will also want to emphasize how efficient you are and how you have saved the hospital time and money from your efficiency. Action verbs that could work for this include, ‘streamlined’ and ‘saved’. Here is a list of effective action verbs for this position that you can use.
For more related action verbs, visit Healthcare Action Verbs.
For a full list of effective resume action verbs, visit Resume Action Verbs.
The skills section of a resume is where applicants can give a snapshot of what they know, what they have expertise in, and what tools they know how to use. This skills list is especially important for a technical position like medical technology. You want your skills list to include your areas of specialization, the tests you can do, and the tools you are trained to use. You want to make sure your skills list is thorough because forgetting to add an industry-standard skill may mean your resume does not get past the ATS filters recruiters put in place.
Take a look at this skills list for this position and include all those that resonate in your own resume.
You can include the above skills in a dedicated Skills section on your resume, or weave them in your experience. Here's how you might create your dedicated skills section:
This word cloud highlights the important keywords that appear on Medical Technologist job descriptions and resumes. The bigger the word, the more frequently it appears on job postings, and the more 'important' it is.
Thank you for the checklist! I realized I was making so many mistakes on my resume that I've now fixed. I'm much more confident in my resume now.
