Chemists discovered penicillin, fertilizers, plastics, and radiation. You’ll make your mark too, but first you’ll prove your skills with your professional chemist resume.
Here’s a chemist resume sample that makes things happen.
But press pause—
Getting a chemistry job is terrifying.
There are 22,000 new graduates per year, and only 95,000 jobs. Getting hired in chemistry is harder than working with super-heavy elements.
Companies get mols worth of chemistry resumes. They don’t even read most of them.
Yours has to shine like Alain Aspect in a crowd of lab techs.
How can a flimsy piece of paper do that?
It comes down to a few Linus-Pauling-style achievements in the right format.
You’re about to see a chemist resume example you can change to fit any chemistry job. You’ll also get simple steps to write a resume for chemist jobs that’ll catalyze 10x more interviews than any other.
Here’s a chemist resume example made with our builder.
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Sample Chemistry Resume to Inspire You (Text Version)
Linsey Bash
Chemist
641-325-4026
linseyzbash@gmail.com
linkedin.com/in/linseyzbash
twitter.com/linseyzbash
Detail-oriented chemist with 6+ years of experience in process chemistry and organic synthesis. Eager to provide innovative process & product development at QGIP Inc. At Johnson Mahoney, led team to rework production process for 25% efficiency boost.
Experience
Chemist
Johnson Mahoney
October 2016–January 2020
Key Qualifications & Responsibilities
Developed innovative processes and products for a key player in the food industry, using practical and theoretical knowledge.
Used organic synthesis to develop 40+ new flavors. Seven were adopted by top brands selling multi-nationally.
Implemented process chemistry to create scalable procedures for mass production of 30 new flavor ingredients.
Collaborated with engineers to ensure smooth flow with upstream & downstream processes.
That starts with an experience section that bonds to the job description.
Include:
Job title (Analytical Chemist, Process Chemist, etc.)
Company name
Work dates with months
Short chemist job description
Successes that prove you’ve used skills in the new company’s job description
A key achievement that pops like hydrogen fluoride
Also, target your resume so it fits each job you apply to. Last, use the PAR (Problem-Action-Result) formula and resume action words for interesting reading.
See these chemist resume samples:
Chemist Resume Job Description
Right
Experience
Chemist
Johnson Mahoney
Oct 2016 to Jan 2020
Developed innovative processes and products for a key player in the food industry, using practical and theoretical knowledge.
Used organic synthesis to develop 40+ new flavors. Seven were adopted by top brands selling multi-nationally.
Implemented process chemistry to create scalable procedures for mass production of 30 new flavor ingredients.
Collaborated with engineers to ensure smooth flow with upstream & downstream processes.
Operated & maintained rotovaps, vacuum pumps, and sonicators.
Key Achievement:
Led team of 10 chemists, lab technicians, and process engineers to redesign cell layout, realizing a 25% increase in efficiency.
Wrong
Improved processes and formulas for better efficiency.
Wrote reports and technical papers.
Developed new experimental design techniques.
Created innovative laboratory processes.
That’s almost ionic.
Can you see why the first of those chemist resume examples works best? It proves success again and again.
But that wrong example is just basically a chemist job description. It doesn’t show you did a good job.
Operated centrifuges, microscopes, agitators, and other equipment and maintained with 100% adherence to laboratory policy.
Tested materials for purity, stability, density, and gas chromatography.
Wrong
Cleaned and sterilized laboratory equipment.
Tested materials for melting and flash point.
Prepared chemical solutions by following standard formulas.
That first sample is BASF-worthy. To show experience with no experience—
List chemistry achievements from non-chemist jobs.
When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building your resume here.
The next of our chemist resume examples shows how:
Chemist Resume Example [Education]
Right
Education
BS in Chemistry
Drake University
2009–2013
Excelled in organic & process chemistry.
Recipient, Margaret Phials Award for Academic Excellence.
That example is anything but plain ‘ol “BS.”
Pro Tip: If you got your degree 5 years ago, a single chemistry degree achievement is enough. If it was last week, you can also list extracurricular activities or GPA on your resume.
Organizing blood drives or helping with disaster relief efforts looks great on a resume. If your resume is on the inert side, heat it up with volunteer work.
Do you have certifications or licenses that’ll make the hiring team sit up and notice you? List those in a dedicated section near the bottom of your resume. See these examples:
The sample chemistry resume sections below show how.
Chemist Resume Examples [Other Sections]
Right
Certifications
Certified Professional Chemist — NCCCCE
Toxicological Chemist — NRCC
Member, American Chemical Society
Teach annual classes on organic synthesis to groups of 20+
Mentor 50+ chemists
Wrong
Volunteer work
Dedicated mother of 2
The first of those chemist resume examples nails it. The certifications and ACE activities add punch.
The other one is dead as argon.
Pro Tip: How long should a resume be for chemist jobs? One page is enough, but if you’ve got pages of Niels-Bohr-worthy achievements, don’t be afraid to go longer.
6. Write a Chemist Resume Objective or Resume Summary
Nightmare time.
You’ve written a great chemistry resume. But the hiring manager, Steve, barely glances at it.
He misses your best achievements. You’re the best pick for the job, but he hires someone else.
You know this happens all the time.
The culprit?
You didn’t write a strong enough chemist resume objective or resume summary.
Those are like the abstract for your resume. Both show your best properties. But a resume objective is for entry-level chemists.
These two examples give the formula:
Chemist Resume Summary
Right
Detail-oriented chemist with 6+ years of experience in process chemistry and organic synthesis. Eager to provide innovative process & product development at QGIP Inc. At Johnson Mahoney, led team to rework production process for 25% efficiency boost.
Wrong
Working chemist, expert in organic synthesis and process chemistry. Looking for full-time work with a food service or fragrance firm. Skilled in teamwork, lab equipment operation, calibration, and maintenance, and product and process development.
So different.
That first sample gets the right reaction. It’s got your years of experience, and the “25%” is skills proof.
But—
Can you do that in an entry-level chemistry resume?
See these entry-level analytical chemist resume examples:
Chemist Resume Objective
right
Chemist with 1+ year of experience as a lab technician in a high-volume test facility. Set up 20+ analytical processes and operated and maintained centrifuges, agitators, and microscopes with 100% policy adherence. Collaborated with 3 chemists to design 5 new processes.
Wrong
Entry-level chemist skilled in analytical chemistry, process chemistry, and operating laboratory equipment like centrifuges, microscopes, spectrophotometers, colorimeters, agitators, and other equipment. Haven’t yet worked full time as a chemist but am a fast learner.
The second of those chemist resume examples is as common as SiO2. The other one shows real-world work experience.
Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:
Tom Gerencer, a Certified Professional Résumé Writer (CPRW), is a career expert who has published over 200 in-depth articles on Zety. Since 2016, he has been sharing advice on all things recruitment from writing winning resumes and cover letters to getting a promotion.
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