Careers Resources for Bioscientists
Whether you're a student, researcher, technician, educator, or professional working in the biosciences, understanding and communicating your skills is an important part of career development. The resources below have been developed by the Royal Society of Biology to help you identify your technical and transferable skills, reflect on your experiences, and confidently articulate your strengths in applications, CVs, interviews, and professional conversations.
These resources have been designed for people at all career stages. They can help you recognise the value of skills developed through education, research, employment, volunteering, and other experiences within and beyond the biosciences.
Resources
The CV Checklist provides guidance on reviewing and refining a reverse-chronological CV for many graduate, professional, and non-academic roles. Covering content, structure, presentation, and tailoring, it is designed to help you communicate your experience, skills, and achievements effectively.
This resource can help you:
- ensure your CV is clear, concise, and relevant to the role.
- highlight your technical and transferable skills effectively.
- present research, education, and work experience appropriately for your target audience.
- identify common omissions and areas for improvement.
While many of the principles are widely applicable, CV requirements can vary between sectors, employers, and career stages. For example, academic, research, and specialist CVs may require a different structure or additional sections. Use this checklist as a guide and adapt it to the requirements of your chosen field.
The Skills Audit is a practical self-assessment tool that helps you identify and evaluate the skills you have developed through your studies, research, work experience, and wider activities.
This resource can help you:
- recognise the breadth of skills you already possess.
- identify areas for further development.
- reflect on experiences that demonstrate your capabilities.
- build confidence when discussing your skills with employers.
The Skills Guide provides practical guidance on recognising, describing, and evidencing the skills you have developed throughout your education and career. It includes examples and prompts to help you translate your experiences into strong evidence for applications and interviews.
This resource can help you:
- understand technical and transferable skills valued across the biosciences and beyond.
- learn how to evidence skills effectively using examples from your own experiences.
- communicate your abilities clearly in CVs, applications, and interviews.
- translate research, academic, and specialist experiences for different audiences.
Download the Skills Guide
How to use the careers resources
We recommend using the Skills Audit to identify your skills, the Skills Guide to help describe and evidence them, and the CV Checklist to review how effectively your experience and skills are presented in your CV.
These resources are intended as guides rather than prescriptive rules. Career paths, sectors, and individual circumstances vary, so you should adapt the advice, frameworks, and examples to suit your own goals and circumstances. Think of them as a starting point for reflection and professional development, returning to them as your career develops. In particular, expectations for CVs can differ significantly between academic, research, industry, and other professional settings, and the CV Checklist should be used as a guide rather than a universal template.
Careers consultations
Explore bioscience careers
Not sure whether you want to go into the biosciences? Find out what a career in bioscience could look like with these handy resources.