Optician Resume: Job Description, Examples & Skills

You’re a professional in your field, and your job application must present a clear view of your career. If your optician resume paints a blurry vision of your experience and qualifications, it won’t attract great job prospects.

Don’t waste your time—learn how to make a 20/20 resume for optician jobs right now.

This guide will show you: 

• An optician resume example better than 9 out of 10 other resumes.
• How to write an optician resume that will get you more interviews. 
• Tips and examples of how to put skills and achievements on an optician resume.
• How to describe your experience on a resume for an optician to get any job you want.

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Looking into similar jobs? Read these:

• Optometrist Resume Examples
• Healthcare Professional Resume Examples
• Medical Doctor Resume Examples
• ER Nurse Resume Examples
• Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) Resume Examples
• Nurse Practitioner Resume Examples
• EMT/Paramedic Resume Examples
• Medical Assistant Resume Examples
• Medical Technologist Resume Examples
• Surgical Technologist Resume Examples

Optician Resume Example

That’s a sweet resume. See how to make an even better optician resume of your own now:

1. Pick the Right Optician Resume Format

Opticians specialize in fitting, dispensing, and verifying corrective eyeglasses and contact lenses. They also advise and guide eyewear selection, maintenance, and repair. Your optician resume must show a strong understanding of optics, vision science, and patient care.

If you don’t want every rejected application to sting as bad as pre-op anesthetic eyedrops, learn what your resume needs to actually include.

First, if your resume is an eyesore, they might even bill you—you’re an optician, after all.

To keep it readable:

• Divide your resume into sections
• Choose a clean and professional resume font.
• Opt for the reverse-chronological format to show off prowess in the optimal way.

Of course, there’s the question of resume length. One page is typically enough, but if you’re as much of an industry hero as Henry Ford or William Beecher, go with a two-page resume.

Pro Tip: Don’t write off the file format of your resume! It’s an important factor to consider, and from your perspective, there should be a clear winner—PDF resumes are easier to read (for devices, that is) and are better at preserving the layout of the resume, so if the clinic accepts them, go for it!

2. Write a Professional Optician Resume Profile

What’s a resume profile? It’s a quick highlight reel of your career meant to catch the recruiter’s eye in a few short sentences.

• Resume summaries are for pros with 2+ years of experience. Mention important achievements, and don’t forget to include numbers—they make a big difference and leave a lasting impression.
• Resume objectives are used by entry-level candidates to draw on their knowledge and drive rather than experience. Play off your passion for the job and any transferable skills you have to show you’d be just as good at picking out frames for patients as your senior colleagues.

Read more: List of Key Strengths You Need on Your Resume (Professional & Personal)

3. Write a Perfect Optician Job Description

Treat your optician resume like a pair of lenses. If you don’t take pupil distance, vertex distance, and whatever else into account, the hiring manager will think you’re a hack. Now swap those terms for “company profile” and “required optician skills” on your resume, and you’ll see clearly where we’re going.

Every resume for optician jobs needs to be tailored to the job, just as if you were fitting lenses to a patient.

Here's how to create a winning job description on your resume:

• Begin with your most recent experience and work your way backward using reverse chronology. Include the position title, company name, location, and dates worked.
• Use bullet points that start with resume action verbs to highlight your accomplishments, big or small. But stick to relevant experience only.
• Shine some light on your achievements. These look best with numbers attached to them, making this your chance to show how well you excelled in previous roles.
• Target your resume for each job instead of sending a generic one. It takes a little extra time but will make you stand out.

Read more: How to Write a Resume with No Experience

4. Mention the Education on Your Optician Resume

Did you know opticians will only see moderate growth in demand over the next decade? With just 2,800 new positions opening up, expect cutthroat competition.

One way to make it easier for yourself is to never drop education from your resume. Writing about it is not nearly as big a hassle as you might think.

Simply list the following:

• Your most recent or highest completed degree
• Name of your school
• Your graduation year

At this point, the hiring manager already has what they need. But, if you’ve got less than 5 years of experience, go into more detail about your education. Highlight relevant coursework, internships in optometry, or other activities that fit the job better than a perfectly crafted pair of glasses.

Read more: How to Put Your Degree on a Resume

Creating a resume with our builder is incredibly simple. Follow our step-by-step guide and use content from Certified Professional Resume Writers to have a resume ready in minutes.

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When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and our ATS resume checker will tell you exactly how to make it better.

5. Demonstrate Your Optician Skills

It’s simply not enough to say you’re skilled in vision science and optics. The recruiter has already seen that today on 150+ other resumes.

There is a much more profitable way to put skills on your optician resume:

• Start by brainstorming all of your hard skills, soft skills, and technical skills.
• Then, analyze the job posting and compare your skills to what the company seeks.
• Once you’re done, the top 7–10 skills that match the job requirements should wind up in your skills section. They’ll look and feel the best to the recruiter and will let you slip by their ATS.

Still curious about some actual great optician skills? Here’s a sample list:

Optician Resume Skills

• Optometric Equipment
• Optics
• Visual Science
• Lens Design
• Frame Styling & Fitting
• Interpreting Prescriptions
• Vision Testing
• Communication Skills
• Customer Service Skills
• Empathy
• Attention to Detail
• Problem-solving Skills
• Teamwork Skills
• EHR Software
• Insurance Plans
• Billing Procedures
• Current Industry Trends
• Educating Patients
• Eyewear Maintenance
• Sales Skills

Certain soft skills are especially nice to have in the post-pandemic wake. Display them right, and you’ll calibrate your resume with more precision than a laser eye correction.

Learn more: The Difference Between Hard and Soft Skills & Why You Need Both

6. Stand out with Extra Sections on an Optician Resume

Glasses aren’t just a tool to adjust your vision. They can be a great accessory to boost your look, or maybe they even be a fashion statement. You can replicate the same effect on your resume and get more bang for your buck.

How? Add extra sections to your optician resume to display some extra flair and personality:

• Volunteer work
• Side projects
• Licenses or certifications
• Foreign languages you speak
• Conference attendance
• Memberships in optician communities/organizations
• Hobbies and interests

Read more: Resume Traps:What Shouldn’t Be Included on a Resume

7. Attach a Cover Letter to Your Optician Resume

You heard that cover letters are a thing of the past. But that’s only partly true. In 40% of cases, cover letters are deemed necessary by hiring managers. You can’t just write it off as not worth it. You’d be shooting down lots of opportunities.

Here’s how to write a cover letter as an optician:

• Pick a cover letter format first to avoid making formatting mistakes.
• Add your contact details in the cover letter header, just like on your resume.
• Use a great cover letter opening that grabs attention and showcases your strengths.
• Make a strong argument for why you’re the perfect fit for the job and how you can help the company or clinic.
• End your cover letter with an offer demonstrating your willingness to make real change, both in their day-to-day and long-term success.

Pro Tip: Include a P.S. at the end! You’ll show you’re not just another optician, and they’ll be able to pick out your resume from 20 feet away.

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:

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See more cover letter templates and start writing.

Do you have questions on how to write a great resume for an optician? Not sure how to describe your skills or experience? Let’s talk in the comments. I’m always happy to help!

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