Top 12 Laboratory Technologist Skills to Put on Your Resume
In the specialized world of lab technology, the right mix of skills on a resume isn’t window dressing—it’s leverage. Hiring managers skim fast. Clear, relevant capabilities stop the scroll and push your name into the short list. Below, twelve skills that help laboratory technologists stand out and perform with confidence.
Laboratory Technologist Skills
- PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction)
- ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay)
- HPLC (High-Performance Liquid Chromatography)
- GC-MS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry)
- Flow Cytometry
- Western Blotting
- Spectrophotometry
- Microscopy (Confocal, Electron)
- Cell Culture
- qPCR (Quantitative PCR)
- NGS (Next-Generation Sequencing)
- Bioinformatics Analysis
1. PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction)
PCR amplifies specific DNA sequences through cycles of denaturation, primer annealing, and extension by a thermostable polymerase. Tiny starting amounts become detectable. Sensitive. Specific. Fast when optimized well.
Why It's Important
PCR underpins precise diagnostics, genetic analysis, and pathogen detection—core tasks for many labs—by rapidly amplifying target DNA to measurable levels.
How to Improve PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) Skills
Boost efficiency, specificity, and yield by tuning key variables:
Template DNA Quality: Use clean, intact DNA. Remove inhibitors. Treat with RNase or perform cleanup when needed.
Primer Design: Match Tm, avoid secondary structures and dimers. Tools like Primer3 can guide selection.
Optimize Mg2+: Titrate magnesium (start ~1.5 mM) to balance enzyme activity and specificity.
Annealing Temperature: Use gradient PCR to pinpoint the sweet spot based on primer Tm.
Extension Time: Roughly 1 minute per 1,000 bp at 72°C; adjust to target length and polymerase used.
Hot-Start PCR: Reduce nonspecific amplification by activating polymerase at elevated temperature.
Additives: DMSO (1–3%) or betaine (up to ~1 M) can help with GC-rich or structured templates.
Cycle Number: Typically 25–35. Too many cycles inflate background and artifacts.
PCR Enhancers: BSA or glycerol can stabilize reactions in tricky templates.
Equipment Care: Keep thermocyclers calibrated for consistent temperatures.
Manufacturer guides and validated protocols offer practical optimization pathways for most use cases.
How to Display PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) Skills on Your Resume
2. ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay)
ELISA quantifies proteins, antibodies, hormones, and more using antigen–antibody binding on plates paired with enzyme-driven signal readouts. Specific, scalable, and great for routine testing.
Why It's Important
It provides sensitive, quantitative detection for biomarkers in clinical, research, and quality control settings—reliable, repeatable, and well-standardized.
How to Improve ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) Skills
Dial in each stage to tighten reproducibility and boost sensitivity:
Coating: Use high-quality capture reagents. Optimize concentration and buffer for firm, specific binding.
Blocking: Choose effective blockers (e.g., BSA, casein, serum) and optimize time/concentration to cut nonspecific signals.
Sample Preparation: Standardize collection, storage, and dilutions. Small changes alter outcomes.
Incubation Conditions: Optimize temperature and time at every step—coating, blocking, detection.
Washing: Robust, consistent washing reduces background. Validate buffer composition and cycle count.
Detection Strategy: Pick direct, indirect, or sandwich formats to match analyte abundance and required specificity. Tune substrate concentration and reaction time.
Data Analysis: Use validated curve-fitting, calibrators, and controls. Verify linearity and assay precision.
Reagent Consistency: Qualify new lots of critical reagents against legacy lots before adoption.
Equipment Maintenance: Keep plate readers and washers calibrated and clean.
Document your final protocol and lock in conditions for day-to-day consistency.
How to Display ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) Skills on Your Resume
3. HPLC (High-Performance Liquid Chromatography)
HPLC separates, identifies, and quantifies components in complex mixtures using high-pressure solvent flow through a packed column. Sharp peaks tell clear stories—when conditions suit the chemistry.
Why It's Important
Pharmaceuticals, food, environmental monitoring, clinical labs—HPLC powers rigorous quantitation and purity checks where accuracy matters.
How to Improve HPLC (High-Performance Liquid Chromatography) Skills
Stability and resolution come from method discipline:
Column Care: Use guard columns, respect pH/temperature limits, follow proper storage, and monitor backpressure and efficiency.
Mobile Phase Quality: Use high-purity solvents/salts. Filter and degas. Consistency curbs drift.
Sample Preparation: Filter and, if needed, dilute. Keep particulates and incompatible matrices away from the system.
Gradient Optimization: Tune slopes and holds to improve resolution while containing run time.
Flow and Temperature: Adjust to shape selectivity and speed. Small changes can unlock separations.
Detector Settings: Select appropriate wavelengths, bandwidth, and response times. Confirm linear range.
Routine Maintenance: Replace worn seals, clean injector paths, and check pumps and detectors on schedule.
Always validate changes systematically—one variable at a time.
How to Display HPLC (High-Performance Liquid Chromatography) Skills on Your Resume
4. GC-MS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry)
GC-MS couples gas chromatography’s separation with mass spectrometry’s identification and quantification. Volatile or derivatized compounds get teased apart, then fingerprinted with precision.
Why It's Important
Toxicology, environmental testing, forensic work, flavor/fragrance analysis—GC-MS delivers high specificity and sensitivity for complex mixtures.
How to Improve GC-MS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry) Skills
Treat the system as a chain—each link matters:
Sample Preparation: Use clean extraction and cleanup methods to minimize matrix effects and contaminants.
Column Selection: Match phase, film thickness, and length to analyte volatility and polarity.
Carrier Gas Flow: Optimize linear velocity for resolution and speed; confirm with test mixes.
Temperature Program: Refine ramps, holds, and final temperatures for crisp separations.
Injection Technique: Choose split, splitless, or on-column appropriately. Validate volume and liner choice.
MS Tuning: Verify ion source cleanliness, ionization energy, detector voltage, and mass calibration regularly.
Data Processing: Use robust peak picking, deconvolution, and quantitation workflows. Verify with standards and QCs.
Maintenance: Clean injectors, replace liners, trim columns, and service ion sources routinely.
Training: Build method literacy—understand trade-offs and diagnose issues from chromatograms and spectra.
Record system suitability metrics to catch drift early.
How to Display GC-MS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry) Skills on Your Resume
5. Flow Cytometry
Flow cytometry measures physical and chemical characteristics of cells or particles in suspension as they pass through focused light. It counts, profiles, and sorts—fast.
Why It's Important
Multiparametric analysis enables deep cell profiling for diagnostics, monitoring, and research, all with speed and statistical strength.
How to Improve Flow Cytometry Skills
Better samples and cleaner signals mean stronger data:
Sample Preparation: Ensure single-cell suspensions and use suitable buffers to preserve viability.
Staining: Titrate antibodies. Use proper controls (FMOs, isotypes where appropriate) and compensation setups.
Instrument Setup: Calibrate routinely. Adjust voltages per fluorochrome to maximize signal-to-noise.
Data Analysis: Gate logically and consistently. Acquire enough events for statistical power.
Continual Learning: Keep up with new dyes, panels, and analysis strategies through workshops and courses.
Document panel layouts and instrument settings so good runs can be repeated.
How to Display Flow Cytometry Skills on Your Resume
6. Western Blotting
Western blotting separates proteins by SDS-PAGE, transfers them to a membrane, and detects targets with specific antibodies. A dependable workhorse for protein verification.
Why It's Important
It confirms protein presence and size, assesses post-translational modifications, and validates results from other methods—vital in research and diagnostics.
How to Improve Western Blotting Skills
Tight technique tames background and sharpens bands:
Sample Preparation: Use fresh or properly stored aliquots. Accurately quantify protein for consistent loading.
Gel Electrophoresis: Match gel percentage to protein size. Standardize buffers and run conditions.
Transfer: Optimize voltage, time, and buffer composition. PVDF offers high binding capacity and durability; nitrocellulose often gives lower background—choose based on protein size and detection method.
Blocking and Antibodies: Select blockers (BSA or milk) based on antibody and target. Titrate primary/secondary antibodies and standardize incubation times.
Detection: Pick chemiluminescent, fluorescent, or colorimetric detection to match sensitivity needs. Optimize exposure or scan settings.
Reproducibility: Keep gel percentage, transfer time, antibody dilutions, and detection methods consistent. Log everything.
Troubleshooting: Address weak signals, nonspecific bands, or high background with systematic changes—one variable at a time.
Include proper controls (loading and positive/negative) to anchor interpretation.
How to Display Western Blotting Skills on Your Resume
7. Spectrophotometry
Spectrophotometry measures how much light a sample absorbs or transmits at defined wavelengths. From DNA quant to enzyme kinetics, it’s a daily driver.
Why It's Important
It enables accurate, quantitative measurement of analytes—central to diagnostics, quality control, and research reproducibility.
How to Improve Spectrophotometry Skills
Clean inputs, stable instruments, and validated methods are the trifecta:
Calibration and Maintenance: Calibrate with traceable standards and follow manufacturer cleaning schedules.
Sample Preparation: Use clean, matched cuvettes. Filter turbid samples when appropriate.
Method Validation: Verify accuracy, precision, detection limits, and specificity for each method.
Controls and Standards: Run controls alongside samples to track performance and drift.
Operator Training: Ensure proficiency with hardware and software, including basic troubleshooting.
Environment: Keep temperature and humidity steady to reduce baseline noise and drift.
Standard operating procedures and logbooks keep results defensible.
How to Display Spectrophotometry Skills on Your Resume
8. Microscopy (Confocal, Electron)
Confocal microscopy delivers sharp optical sections and 3D reconstructions with fluorescent labeling, while electron microscopy resolves ultrastructure at nanometer scale. Different tools, complementary insights.
Why It's Important
Seeing is understanding. These methods reveal structures and interactions invisible to the naked eye, powering accurate research findings and diagnostic judgments.
Confocal Microscopy
Laser and Scan Settings: Balance laser power and scan speed to reduce photobleaching while maintaining signal.
Sample Preparation: Use compatible dyes/fluorophores. Mount carefully to reduce autofluorescence and background.
Acquisition Parameters: Optimize pinhole size, averaging, and frame accumulation to improve resolution and reduce noise.
Electron Microscopy
Sample Preparation: Meticulous fixation, dehydration, embedding, and sectioning (TEM) or critical point drying (SEM) preserve morphology.
Imaging Conditions: Tune accelerating voltage, working distance, and aperture to balance contrast and resolution.
Detectors and Software: Use appropriate detectors and image processing to enhance signal and detail without introducing artifacts.
General Tips
Continuous Learning: Stay current on dyes, probes, and instrument features through workshops and community forums.
Routine Maintenance: Keep optics clean, align systems, and document service.
Collaborate: Consult core facilities or experienced colleagues when pushing the limits.
Good images start with good samples—prioritize preparation.
How to Display Microscopy (Confocal, Electron) Skills on Your Resume
9. Cell Culture
Cell culture grows and maintains cells under controlled conditions for studies in biology, pharmacology, and production processes. It’s delicate work with big payoffs.
Why It's Important
From drug screening to vaccine production and mechanistic research, reliable culture practice underlies countless lab workflows.
How to Improve Cell Culture Skills
Reproducibility thrives on sterility, consistency, and vigilant monitoring:
Optimize Conditions: Tailor media, temperature, CO2, and humidity to the specific cell line.
Aseptic Technique: Enforce strict sterility. Limit antibiotics; they mask problems and can alter cell behavior.
Cell Health Monitoring: Track morphology, confluence, and viability. Use mycoplasma testing routinely.
Incubator Control: Validate CO2, temperature uniformity, and humidity. Clean on a schedule.
Quality Reagents: Use consistent, in-date media and supplements. Record lot numbers.
Equipment Maintenance: Calibrate pipettes, service biosafety cabinets, and verify airflow and filters.
Good Cell Culture Practice: Standardize thawing, passaging, and seeding densities to curb variability.
Cryopreservation: Freeze with controlled-rate methods and proper cryoprotectants. Thaw quickly and recover promptly.
Keep detailed cell line histories—passage number, source, and behavior over time.
How to Display Cell Culture Skills on Your Resume
10. qPCR (Quantitative PCR)
qPCR, or real-time PCR, amplifies and simultaneously quantifies target DNA (or cDNA from RNA). It turns amplification curves into numbers you can trust—when controls and efficiencies are in line.
Why It's Important
qPCR is crucial for accurate diagnostics, gene expression analysis, pathogen load monitoring, and validation of high-throughput findings.
How to Improve qPCR (Quantitative PCR) Skills
Small optimizations add up to reliable quantitation:
Primer Design: Avoid dimers and nonspecific sites; validate amplicon length and Tm.
Template Quality: Use pure DNA/RNA. Confirm integrity and remove inhibitors.
Reaction Mix: Titrate primers, MgCl2, and dNTPs. Use master mixes to reduce pipetting error.
Instrument Calibration: Maintain accurate block temperatures and optical calibration.
Chemistry Choice: Pick SYBR Green for simplicity or probe-based assays (e.g., hydrolysis probes) for specificity.
Efficiency: Verify 90–110% efficiency with a standard curve. Investigate outliers.
Controls: Include NTCs, RT-minus (for RNA workflows), and reference genes where appropriate.
Data Analysis: Use validated normalization strategies (ΔΔCt when assumptions hold) and report MIQE-compliant details.
Replicates and transparent reporting keep results credible.
How to Display qPCR (Quantitative PCR) Skills on Your Resume
11. NGS (Next-Generation Sequencing)
NGS enables rapid, parallel sequencing of vast amounts of DNA or RNA. Whole genomes, exomes, targeted panels, transcriptomes—sequenced at scale.
Why It's Important
It supports high-throughput, accurate genetic analysis for diagnostics, personalized medicine, and modern genomics research.
How to Improve NGS (Next-Generation Sequencing) Skills
Control inputs, standardize libraries, and manage data rigorously:
Sample QC: Quantify precisely and assess integrity. Poor input quality sinks runs.
Library Prep: Use consistent kits and automation when possible to reduce variability. Minimize bias and optimize fragment size distributions.
Platform Fit: Select read length, chemistry, and throughput to match the application and budget.
Run Parameters: Tune cycle number, loading concentration, and balance index representation to maintain quality metrics.
Bioinformatics: Use validated pipelines. Keep software updated. Track versions for reproducibility.
Quality Management: Apply internal controls and participate in external proficiency testing when available.
Training: Stay current on chemistries, kit updates, and analysis methods via workshops and courses.
Document end-to-end workflows—traceability matters from sample to variant call.
How to Display NGS (Next-Generation Sequencing) Skills on Your Resume
12. Bioinformatics Analysis
Bioinformatics turns raw biological data—sequences, expression matrices, structural models—into insight through algorithms, statistics, and careful interpretation.
Why It's Important
It accelerates target discovery, variant interpretation, biomarker validation, and data-driven decisions across research and clinical settings.
How to Improve Bioinformatics Analysis Skills
Sharpen both computational practice and scientific judgment:
Keep Tools Current: Track updates to aligners, callers, and annotation resources. Version control your workflows.
Quality Control: Apply rigorous QC/QA to inputs and outputs—trim, filter, and verify assumptions.
Standardized Pipelines: Use reproducible, containerized workflows with clear parameters and documentation.
Community Engagement: Learn from forums, preprints, and peer discussions to resolve roadblocks quickly.
Continuous Learning: Build skills in statistics, scripting, and data visualization. Practice on real datasets.
Reproducibility is non-negotiable—log versions, seeds, and parameters every time.
How to Display Bioinformatics Analysis Skills on Your Resume
