Surgical Technologist Resume Examples & Job Description

What to Highlight in a Surgical Technologist Resume

Surgical technologists are a vital part of hospital operating rooms and have a great deal of responsibility on their shoulders during operative procedures. If you want to occupy this highly skilled profession, then your resume will need to show off a strong array of healthcare skills. During your job search, you will also notice that a typical surgical tech job description will include the following skills: communication skills, ability to collaborate with your team members, troubleshooting during surgical procedures and an empathetic approach to patient care.

Structure of a Surgical Technologist Resume

When you create a resume, you should first select your format. The format you choose should reflect your best qualities, whether it’s your experience, the skills that make you suitable for this role, or both.

A popular resume format is the reverse chronological format, which goes in-depth about your work experience.

When you write your resume, make sure to include the following information in your resume to stand out:

• Contact information
• Summary
• Skills
• Work experience
• Education

Header

Your resume should always have a header as its first section. Your header should be brief and straightforward, consisting of  your contact information:

• Your full name
• Phone number
• Email address
• LinkedIn profile link (optional, but good to include if you have professional services on your website, etc.)
• Location (city and state)

Resume summary

A resume summary is a helpful way to communicate your top strengths and past achievements to recruiters in a few short sentences at the beginning of your resume. If you lack experience (e.g., if you are just about to start college), you can refocus your summary to explain your career goals. For example: “Aspiring surgical technologist looking for a role to gain experience assisting surgeons while studying for my associate’s degree.”

Skills

Featuring your best skills in your professional resume is crucial for hiring managers to see if you are suitable for this job. Even if you don’t have much professional experience, featuring important skills and training you already have can be a valuable way to overcome a lack of experience. Below are relevant skills that would be beneficial to note:

• Experience handling surgical instruments
• Knowledge of how to use surgical equipment such as; sponges, retractors and sterile supplies.
• Aseptic techniques such as gloving, sterile technique, draping and gowning.
• Knowledge of general surgery in a medical center
• Administrating surgical supplies and surgical cases
• Pediatric care
• Compassion
• Attention to detail
• Multitasking
• Patient safety

Work history

You should always cite this in reverse chronological order, with your most recent and relevant experience is at the beginning of your resume. Include dates of your work experience and 3-5 bullet points for each job highlighting top responsibilities and achievements.

Education

List your top academic credential here, such as:

• An associate’s degree or related degree
• Certifications that prove you are a certified surgical technologist (e.g., from National Board of Surgical Technology)