Research associate resume examples from 2026
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How to write a research associate resume
Craft a resume summary statement
Your resume summary sums up your experience and skills, making it easy for hiring managers to understand your qualifications at a glance. Here are some tips to writing the most important 2-4 sentences of your resume:
Step 1: Mention your current job title or the role you're pursuing.
Step 2: Include your years of experience in research associate-related roles. Consider adding relevant company and industry experience as relevant to the job listing.
Step 3: Highlight your greatest accomplishments. Here is your chance to make sure your biggest wins aren't buried in your resume.
Step 4: Again, keep it short. Your goal is to summarize your experience and highlight your accomplishments, not write a paragraph.
Hiring managers spend under a minute reviewing resumes on average. This means your summary needs to demonstrate your value quickly and show why you are the perfect fit for the research associate position.Please upload your resume so Zippia’s job hunt AI can draft a summary statement for you.
List the right project manager skills
Many resumes are filtered out by hiring software before a human eye ever sees them. A robust Skills section can let recruiters (and bots) know you have the skills to do the job. Here is how to make the most of your skills section:
- Look at the job listing and skills listed. You need to include the exact keywords from the job description to get your resume in front of an actual human. Do you have those skills? Fantastic! Be sure to list them.
- Include as many relevant hard or technical research associate skills as possible for each job you apply to.
- Be specific with the skills you have and be sure you are using the most up to date and accurate terms.
Here are example skills to include in your “Area of Expertise” on a research associate resume:
- Patients
- Research Projects
- Data Analysis
- Data Collection
- Cell Culture
- Chemistry
- Laboratory Equipment
- Lab Equipment
- RNA
- Python
- PowerPoint
- Flow Cytometry
- Analyze Data
- Excellent Interpersonal
- PI
- Research Data
- Statistical Analysis
- Research Studies
- Work Ethic
- CRISPR
- Excellent Organizational
- Elisa
- DNA
- Data Management
- C++
- Extraction
- R
- Clinical Trials
- Technical Support
- Experimental Design
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How to structure your work experience
A work experience section is a vital part of your resume because it shows you have the experience to succeed in your next job.
- Put your most recent experience first. Prospective employers care about your most recent accomplishments the most.
- Put the job title, company name, city, and state on the left. Align dates in month and year format on the right-hand side.
- Include only recent, relevant jobs. This means if you're a fairly experienced worker, you might need to leave off that first internship or other positions in favor of highlighting more pertinent positions.
How to write research associate experience bullet points
Remember, your resume is not a list of responsibilities or a job description. This is your chance to show why you're good at your job and what you accomplished.
Use the XYZ formula for your work experience bullet points. Here's how it works:
- Use strong action verbs like Led, Built, or Optimized.
- Follow up with numbers when possible to support your results. How much did performance improve? How much revenue did you drive?
- Wrap it up by explaining the actions you took to achieve the result and how you made an impact.
This creates bullet points that read Achieved X, measured by Y, by doing Z.
Here are examples from great research associate resumes:
Work history example #1
Equity Analyst
Goldman Sachs
- Hosted client meetings and conveyed investment ideas to institutional clients, equity sales team and traders.
- Pitched numerous trade ideas, in cash credit, equities, CDS, and equity derivatives.
- Considered investments in context of overall portfolio objectives and constraints .
- Compiled Volatility Proprietary P&L for Equity Derivatives desk.
- Prepared documentation after financial transactions; collected and distributed information on weekly transactions.
Work history example #2
Laboratory Researcher
University of North Carolina
- Created a user-friendly DNA database for my group, later used by the entire department.
- Implemented use of ion/molecule reactions in quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer for charge state determination and structural analysis of proteins.
- Misfolded proteins aggregate in non-native, toxic oligomers to trigger signifucant neurodegenation in patients with ALS.
- Worked as a laboratory research assistant for Dr. Thomas Schmedake, Professor of Chemistry.
- Worked up reactions using various separation techniques and used proton NMR to determine the identity and the purity of the product.
Work history example #3
Laboratory Associate
Lens Crafters
- Verified received materials and handled troubleshooting of manufacturing defects from within the lab and from outside vendors.
- Resolved conflicts or problems in the lab.
- Maintained, repaired, and handled the cleaning of expensive, delicate machinery.
- Monitored and verified other technician's procedures to ensure accuracy in a prescribe eye lens.
- Created and processed lenses to fit customer prescription
Work history example #4
Laboratory Researcher
High Point Regional High School
- Performed RNA clean-up and prepared cDNA.
- Collaborated closely with graduate students, postdoctoral associates, and faculty.
- Administered protein qualification and quantification using ELISA and Western Blot techniques.
- Prepared media and performed instrument sterilization.
- Gained experience in applying pressure sensitive paint for complex high fidelity experiments.
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Add an education section to your resume
The education section should display your highest degree first.
Place your education section appropriately on your resume. If you graduated over 5 years ago, this section should be at the bottom of your resume. If you just graduated and lack relevant work experience, the education section should go to the top.
If you have a bachelor's or master's degree, do not list your high school education. If your graduation year is more than 15-20 years ago, it's better not to include dates in this section.
Here are some examples of good education entries from research associate resumes:
Master's Degree in biology
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
2018 - 2019
Highlight your research associate certifications on your resume
If you have any additional certifications or education-like achievements, add them to the education section.
Include the full name of the certification, along with the name of the issuing organization and date of obtainment.
If you have any of these certifications, be sure to include them on your research associate resume:
- Certified Clinical Research Professional (CCRP)
- Clinical Research Assistant
- Certified Phlebotomy Technician (CPT)
- Project Management Professional (PMP)
- Professional Researcher Certification (PRC)
- Clinical Trial Investigator (CTI)
- Laboratory Animal Technician (LAT)
- Certified Economic Developer (CEcD)
- Certification in General Surgery
- Certified Clinical Research Coordinator (CCRC)