Surgical Technologist Resume Examples That Work

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. 

 

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.”

 

 

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. 

 

 

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)

Do:

• Examine relevant job descriptions. Take note of required skills and qualifications as inspiration for your resume, and update your skill and work experience sections to fit the needs of the job.
• Use a cover letter. A cover letter will allow you to go further in detail about your relevant experience and skills.
• Make use of surgical tech resume samples for inspiration, and take advantage of resume templates to create the right structure for your resume.

Don’t:

• Forget to check your resume for any mistakes. Misspelling and grammatical errors can be the difference between securing an interview and not.
• Go too far in detail on irrelevant previous experience. Unless you can show that you used transferable skills, it’s best not to go in-depth regarding experience from a long time ago. 
• Use over-long sentences that are more difficult for human readers and applicant tracking systems (ATS) to scan. Employers often use ATS to screen applications through a digital server that refines the best applications due to relevant skills for the job.