Top Surgical Tech sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers & results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
How to write a Surgical Tech resume experience section
Surgical Tech Resume Experience Section: Ultimate Checklist
- Use no more than 4-6 bullet points per position;
- List relevant positions and situations that add value to your application;
- Describe situations, tasks, actions, and results (the S-T-A-R method);
- Remember to include numbers in whatever form you like (e.g. the number of projects you’ve finished);
- Begin each bullet point with an action verb.
The work experience samples below come from real Surgical Tech resumes that got people hired at top companies. You can use them as an inspiration to build your own resume:
- Maintained 100% accuracy in counting surgical instruments and supplies before and after surgeries.
- Assisted with over 500 surgeries, including spays, neuters, and tumor removals.
- Managed inventory of surgical supplies and equipment, resulting in a 20% reduction in waste and loss.
- Developed and implemented new sterilization procedures for surgical instruments, resulting in a 15% reduction in cleaning time.
- Assisted with over 1,000 patient exams, including administering medications and treatments.
- Provided exceptional customer service to clients, resulting in a 98% satisfaction rating.
- Implemented a new system for tracking and ordering supplies, resulting in a 25% reduction in waste and overstocking.
- Trained and mentored new hires, resulting in a 50% reduction in training time and increased team efficiency.
- Implemented a new sterilization process for surgical equipment, resulting in a 20% reduction in surgery wait times
- Managed inventory of surgical equipment, ensuring adequate supply levels, and reducing inventory cost by 15%
- Created and maintained surgical logs, resulting in improved record-keeping accuracy by 25%
- Provided excellent patient care and client service, resulting in a 95% satisfaction rating on patient surveys
- Assisted with daily medical procedures such as administering medication, monitoring vital signs, and taking X-rays
- Maintained cleanliness and orderliness of the clinic, resulting in a 30% improvement in overall cleanliness rating
- Handled and restrained animals during procedures and examinations, ensuring their safety and minimizing stress
- Answered client questions and concerns, resulting in a 90% satisfaction rating on customer service surveys
- Prepared and positioned patients for surgical procedures resulting in successful surgical outcomes.
- Managed surgical instruments and equipment inventory resulting in streamlined surgical procedures.
- Maintained aseptic technique during surgical procedures resulting in zero postoperative infections.
- Assisted with medical procedures resulting in accurate diagnoses and effective treatment plans.
- Managed hospital inventory resulting in optimized stock levels and streamlined procedures.
- Provided client education resulting in increased client satisfaction and loyalty.
- Maintained clean and comfortable living conditions for boarded pets resulting in high satisfaction rates.
- Administered medications and provided special diets to pets resulting in improved health and comfort.
- Assisted groomers with bathing and brushing resulting in smooth and efficient grooming procedures.
PRO TIP
The person reading your Surgical Tech resume will be busy, make sure you never waste their time with fluff.
Action Verbs for your Surgical Tech Resume
Recommended reads:
Writing a Strong Skills Section for Your Surgical Tech Resume
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 surgical tech resume
Sterilization Techniques
Surgical Instrumentation
Anatomy Knowledge
Medical Terminology
Operating Room Safety
Surgical Sutures
Surgical Draping
Patient Positioning
Surgical Scrubbing
Surgical Equipment Maintenance
Attention to Detail
Teamwork
Time Management
Adaptability
Problem Solving
Communication Skills
Stress Management
Critical Thinking
Interpersonal Skills
Decision Making
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.
Surgical Tech resume header: tips, red flags, and best practices
Checklist: Writing a resume summary that makes you stand out
- Keep it short and use well-structured sentences;
- Mention your total years of experience in the field and your #1 achievement;
- Highlight your strengths and relevant skills;
- Add keywords from the company’s website or the job description.
Resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
When writing a resume summary or objective, avoid first-person narrative.
Recommended reads:
How to write a Surgical Tech resume
There are three basic resume formats you can choose from:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional resume format;
- Hybrid (or Combination) resume format;
The most optimal format for your particular case will depend on your years of experience, as well as whether you’re switching industries or not.
Reverse chronological resumes are best suited for experienced individuals who are sticking to their industry. The experience section takes a central place, and its bullets contain your responsibilities and achievements, coupled with numbers and results.
Functional resumes are used by less experienced jobseekers or career changers. Note that it’s not a format that recruiters prefer, as most are used to the classic chronological alignment. Instead of a list of job titles, functional resumes focus on your skills, and through what experiences you gained them.
Hybrid resumes are great for both experienced and entry-level candidates, as well as career changers. They combine the best of both worlds - most often in a double column format, where one side of the content is focused on your experience, whereas the other - on your skills, strengths, and proudest moments.
Don’t miss our resume format checklist:
- Go for a traditional easy-to-read resume font sized 10-12p;
- Don’t risk it: choose standard 1-inch resume margins;
- Make sure your Surgical Tech resume fits in one to two pages;
- Save your resume in PDF to avoid having it edited by someone else.
Looking for more tips? Check out our job-winning guide for crafting a resume that gets you remembered!