A medical technologist resume should include information about the technologist’s education, including clinical training, internships, area of specialization, work experience outside of internships, skills, and publications. She should also show her licenses and certifications, as well as the reference numbers for each. Multilingual status and agency affiliations are optional but important details to include.
A basic piece of information that should be included on a medical technologist resume is the school attended and the degree earned. Technologists are distinguished from technicians in the United States the fact that technologists must have a bachelor’s degree in medical technology or a life science, whereas technicians must have a certificate or associate degree. If a person cannot demonstrate that they have completed at least four years of formal medical technology training, they may be ineligible for a technologist position, though some employers will consider individuals with less education if they have extensive hands-on experience in the field.
Medical technology programs provide formal clinical training, but graduates can also pursue internship work after graduation. Any internships a technologist has completed should be listed, as this is valuable field work that distinguishes candidates from those who have not had the additional supervised training. She should list the name of the institution where she completed the internship, as well as the name of her direct supervisor. A candidate should identify key responsibilities handled during the internship period, similar to the information included in the work experience section, preferably using verbs to describe what the candidate did.
It is not uncommon for a medical technologist to specialize in a particular field. Clinical chemistry, hemotology, microbiology, toxicology, urinalysis, immunohemotology, and blood banking are just a few of the fields where technologists work. Candidates should demonstrate their area of expertise, as this may not be apparent from previous work experience. The technologist can do this identifying the certification number they obtained from a certifying agency in their specialty area under the education section or identifying the certification number they obtained from a certifying agency in their specialty area.
In most cases, medical technologists must be licensed their respective jurisdictions. The technologist should also provide their license number in addition to their certification numbers. This allows the employer to check the license with the issuing agency to ensure that it is valid. Employers value this not only to comply with current regulations, but also because licensure indicates that the candidate has met specific educational and skill requirements for safe and satisfactory patient care.
The medical technologist resume should then go over the candidate’s work history. Internships can be substituted for this section if a candidate is very new to the field, as employers understand that recent graduates have not yet had the opportunity to work outside of educational programs. The hospitals, clinics, laboratories, or other facilities where the candidate worked should be listed, as well as the dates of employment and the most important duties and accomplishments.
The skills and qualifications a medical technologist possesses are the last important data set to include on a resume. They might say they know clinical microbiology, lab equipment calibration, lab testing and reporting, and quality control, for example. Time management, organization, and the ability to discern details are examples of additional skills, but they must be quantifiable if possible to avoid being perceived as generic the employer. Individuals can indicate the skill’s level, the last time they used the skill, and how much experience they have in the skill area.
Publications are an optional section to include on a medical technologist resume. Although not all technologists have bylines to include, this is applicable to any technologist who has participated in research studies related to medical technology. Publications demonstrate that the technologist has actively pursued additional knowledge in the field, that they have collaborated with other industry professionals, and that they have been able to produce new data in accordance with industry standards.
On their resumes, technologists may also include information such as their agency affiliations. Other information, such as additional languages spoken, is also acceptable. These details aren’t as important in landing a medical technologist job — the most important factors are education, experience, skills, and qualifications — but they could give a candidate an advantage depending on the employer’s and work environment’s specific circumstances.