Top research director sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
A research director resume experience section to be proud of
Writing a strong experience section for your research director resume:
- List your previous jobs in chronological or reverse-chronological format;
- Use no more than 4-6 bullets per position;
- Mention only relevant work experience;
- Describe the tasks you were responsible for and how you managed to exceed expectations;
- Show you’re able to take charge by choosing action verbs over buzzwords.
Looking for real-life examples of what a strong experience section looks like? Check out our suggestions below!
- Scope: regional and global accounts with major international manufacturers - Mondelez, P&G, Novartis, Duracell, Coty, etc.
- Account Development: leading relationship with C-level clients to define and deploy account strategies, secure and develop partnerships, win new businesses
- Research Management: leading strategic market research and consultancy projects on product innovation and consumer insight
- Revenue Achieved in 2019: USD +2.5 MM revenue / Objectives overachieved by 20%
- Strengthened partnerships with an average Client Satisfaction of 8.5/10 (100% of projects >8/10)
- Penetrated 2 new strategic Mondelez teams: SnackFutures team and Global Brand team
- Won pilot projects with Digital and Agile-focused dedicated clients teams
- Working closely with the leadership team across all the business units (Discovery Chemistry, Discovery Biology, Chemical Development) to offer integrated solutions to our clients
- Working with the commercial and finance team to develop multi-tiered service offerings that improve value to customers by enabling flexibility
- Working closely with the commercial and legal team to onboard new clients and expand existing business relationships
- Focused on establishing new drug discovery platforms (PROTACs and small molecules) and specialized chemistry services (fuel-additives, fragrances & Ingredients) for our clients
- Leading a team of science and business leaders responsible for a diverse set of functions supporting research including: competitive intelligence, business development, budgeting, strategic planning, resource planning, hiring and training
- Working with finance and lab operations team to optimize the infrastructure, cost of consumables and profitability
- Currently, leading a multidisciplinary team of 180+ experienced chemists
- Established business relationships with several pharma and biotech companies through my efforts and contacts, including one of the top-ten pharma clients and built a team of 150+ FTEs
- Worked closely with the Vice President and other senior leaders to provide high-quality strategic leadership, and involved in the 1-3-5-year planning for the Discovery Chemistry business unit
- Directed, organized and monitored implementation of all operational excellence initiatives for greater efficiency in the business process
- In a redesigned and scalable working model consisting of a team of 90 FTEs, the staff efficiency was enhanced by 60% by removing process redundancies, non-scientific activities and creating specialized roles
- Worked with cross-functional team to secure the new chemistry building at MN Park-Hyderabad and established two PROTAC collaborations (102 FTEs) in the new building, including hiring and training
- Contributed to increased revenue by improving productivity
- Responsible for building capabilities, business expansion, cost optimization, profitability, hiring and staff retention
- Leading business development by coordinating a dedicated team, supporting offer innovation and targeting new sectors
- Activation of partnership agreements and support to communication activities and public events
- Presentation of desk researches, market and consumer trends
- Key account for global research projects; strategic consultancy on market, consumer and shopper understanding
- Scope: regional and global brands with major international manufacturers - Mondelez, P&G, Duracell, Coty, etc.
- Leading strategic marketing research and consultancy projects
- Owning the relationship with C-level clients to influence and deploy strategies, secure and develop partnerships
- Responsible for a yearly research budget of USD >2 MM
- Average project & client satisfaction of ~9/10 (100% of projects >8/10)
- Partnering with 2 new Agile Mondelez teams to develop new Digital solutions and Agile ways of working
PRO TIP
Include quantitative data throughout your Research Director resume to impress the hiring manager. Real facts and figures that show off your competency as an audit manager go a long way. Did you reduce the costs of audits? Manage a large team? Boosted efficiency? Show off the real numbers!
Action verbs for your research director resume
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Taking Control of Your Research Director Resume’s Skills Section
A skills section that shows what you’re capable of includes:
- Keywords from the job advert to help you pass ATS;
- Both hard and soft skills, incl. technical skills and people skills;
- Skills that are relevant to the position you’re applying for;
- No more than 15 skills – to keep your resume readable.
Top skills for your research director resume
Database skills
Computer languages
Data Processing
Laboratory experience
Conducting research
Statistical Analysis
Teamwork and communication
Creative problem solving
Analystical thinking
Owning up to errors
Self-learning
Time management
PRO TIP
Don’t feel obliged to spend a separate section for your soft skills - you can weave them throughout your job experience or career summary. But, don’t just write empty words - back them with examples.
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Research director resume header: tips, red flags, and best practices
Checklist for your research director resume header
- Your name and surname in a legible and larger resume font
- The job title you’re applying for or your current job title as a subheading to your name
- Link to your portfolio or online profile, such as LinkedIn
- Address (City and State for the US; just your city for rest of the world)
- Email address
- Headshot (required or welcomed in the EU; not required and sometimes frowned upon in the US)
Stick to popular email providers such as Gmail or Outlook. And use these professional formats to create your username:
- first.last@gmail.com
- last.first@gmail.com
- firstlast@gmail.com
- f.last@gmail.com
- first.l@gmail.com
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PRO TIP
Include a link to your portfolio in your Research Director resume header. Most companies will require that you include one in your resume, and even if they don’t, it’s an excellent opportunity to directly show them your proudest projects.
A research director resume summary that spotlights your achievements
Checklist: a strong Research Director resume summary:
- Use adjectives that highlight the character traits you’re most proud of;
- Mention 1-2 of your biggest achievements;
- Add keywords from the job advert to increase your chances of passing ATS;
- Keep the recruiter’s attention by going for short sentences.
Resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
Include a link to your portfolio in your resume header. Most companies will require that you include one in your resume, and even if they don’t, it’s an excellent opportunity to directly show them your proudest projects.
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Creating an impressive education section for your research director resume
The education section: checklist
- List your degrees in reverse-chronological order;
- Include your degree subject, place of study, name of institution, and year of graduation;
- Add a line or two about your relevant certifications;
- Mention some classes and projects that have helped you gain additional skills.
Top certifications for your research director resume
Directors Working with Actors
Learn how to expertly work with actors from casting sessions to blocking the scene and giving feedback.
Research Methodology
Academic Research | Business Research | Thesis & Dissertation Report | Research Paper / Journal
Research Methodology: Complete Research Project Blueprint
Research Methodology From A-Z. A Step-by-Step Guide Through Research Design, Data Collection, Analysis, & Interpretation
Become a Film or TV Casting Director
Become a Film or TV Casting Director - Working Closely with the Director, the actors and their agents.
Stress management for business owners, directors & managers
Reduce & manage stress at work & in business & build stress resilience, with 50+ practical stress management strategies
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PRO TIP
If you hold a certain major and a minor, your majors should be mentioned first.
A professional format for your research director resume
There are some aspects worth taking into consideration when choosing the format of your Research Director resume. These include the position and company you’re applying for, your total years of experience, whether you’ve been through some employment gaps, and so on.
Generally speaking, there are three basic resume formats for you to choose from:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional skills-based resume format;
- Combination (or Hybrid) resume format.
The reverse-chronological resume format is just that: all your jobs listed in a reverse-chronological way, starting from the most recent and moving backward. It’s great for highly experienced professionals with over 10 years in the industry behind their backs. The reason for this: it’s almost entirely focused on experience and achievements.
The functional skills-based resume format, on the other hand, is just the opposite. It’s based on your skills, personality, and expertise. It highlights what you’re capable of even when you don’t have sufficient work experience. This makes it great for students, recent graduates, or people with larger career gaps.
If neither of these sounds like you, go for the combination resume format. It’s a combination of the best characteristics of other formats, which makes it great for showcasing different aspects of your career and education. It also gives you plenty of options to choose from – in terms of colors, structure, and sections.
Check out our additional tips on perfecting your Research Director resume’s style and layout:
- Choose traditional 1-inch resume margins;
- Go for a serif or sans serif resume font that’s easy to read yet looks professional (e.g. Arial, Verdana, or Calibri);
- Keep your Research Director resume short: one-page template are preferable, but if you have over 10 years of experience, you can also go for a two-page format;
- Save your resume as PDF and choose a suitable name, e.g. NameSurnameResume;
Tired of looking for ways to make your resume stand out? Read this article!
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PRO TIP
If you feel that you don’t have high chances in a particular company, due to lack of relevant experience, then you can still consider using a creative layout. That might help you get noticed and invited for an interview, as most of the other applicants will have boring resume designs.
Additional sections for your research director resume
After drafting the required sections of your Research Director resume, it’s now time to move to something a bit more fun. There are a number of sections you can add to your resume depending on the company, the position, and how you’re feeling in general:
Adding the right kind of creativity to your research director resume
It is through creativity that we express ourselves. And trust us, it’s important to show at least a bit of your personality if you want to leave a strong first impression.
But what are the ways to add creativity to your Research Director resume? Well, you can either go for a colorful and engaging template, or you could add some out-of-the-box sections, such as ‘life philosophy’ or ‘what my typical day looks like’.
It’s up to you! Just make sure that the level of creativity matches the position, the company, and the industry you’re applying for.
What makes a great research director resume: key takeaways
- Choose a resume layout that sends the right message across and fits your current career situation;
- Create a resume header that shows your desired job title, and easy to find contact numbers;
- Be specific about your experience, accomplishments and future goals in your summary;
- Feature detailed metrics and specific examples that show the impact you made in your previous roles when describing your experience;
- List soft skills backed by examples;
- Add all of your technical skills and certifications that you have and match the job description;
- Show off a dash of personality in your resume that will demonstrate your culture fit and the right mix of hard and soft skills.
