Tailoring guide
Biologist resume keywords and example
Biologist postings come from government agencies, environmental consultancies and labs, and they split between field and lab work. Field roles read for species identification, survey protocols, permits, GIS and regulatory work such as NEPA and Endangered Species Act reviews, while lab roles read for methods such as PCR and microscopy. Credentials such as Certified Wildlife Biologist from The Wildlife Society help in some fields. Below are the keywords that recur, a sample summary, skills grouped by type, and example bullets across seniority levels.
Updated 14 November 2026. Keyword research current as of November 2026, sourced from public ATS keyword guides, not Weydr's own usage data.
Biologist keywords that repeat in job postings
- Field Surveys
- Species Identification
- Data Collection
- GIS / ArcGIS
- NEPA
- Endangered Species Act (ESA)
- Habitat Assessment
- Wetland Delineation
- Technical Report Writing
Only include the ones that are true for you. A keyword you can't back up in an interview costs more than it gains.
Sample professional summary
Wildlife biologist with a BS in biology and 4 years at an environmental consulting firm. Leads bird, bat and amphibian surveys under federal and state permits, maps habitat in ArcGIS Pro and writes biological assessments for NEPA and ESA Section 7 reviews. Holds a valid driver's license and is comfortable with remote, multi-day field work.
Illustrative example. Swap in your own years, domain, tools and results.
Skills to list on a biologist resume
Hard skills
- Survey design and protocols
- Species identification
- Habitat assessment and mapping
- Wetland delineation
- Biological assessments and permit reports
- Statistical analysis of field data
- Specimen collection and lab processing
Soft skills
- Working safely in remote field conditions
- Clear technical writing
- Coordination with agencies and clients
- Leading small field crews
- Careful record keeping
Tools
- ArcGIS Pro
- QGIS
- R
- Survey123 or Field Maps
- GPS units
- Acoustic monitoring equipment
A tailored bullet, before and after
Did field work and wrote reports.
Led breeding bird and bat acoustic surveys across 12 project sites, mapped habitat in ArcGIS Pro and wrote 6 biological assessments supporting ESA Section 7 consultations for transportation projects.
Example resume bullets by seniority
Illustrative examples: the companies, numbers and outcomes are made up to show the structure (action, scope, tool, result). Use your own real figures.
Entry level
- Worked as a seasonal field technician, completing point-count bird surveys and recording data in Survey123 on a tablet.
- Processed water samples for macroinvertebrate identification in the lab, keying specimens to family level.
Mid level
- Completed wetland delineations for 10 development sites and drafted the reports submitted to the Army Corps of Engineers.
- Analyzed 3 seasons of amphibian survey data in R and presented findings to the state wildlife agency.
Senior
- Managed the biology team on a pipeline project, scheduling 8 field staff and reviewing every report before client delivery.
- Served as the permitted biologist for endangered species handling on 3 projects, training crews on the permit conditions.
Gaps candidates miss most
- Taxa and survey methods you know well, named specifically
- Regulatory work such as NEPA, ESA or Clean Water Act permitting, if it applies
- Field logistics such as permits held, remote work, driving and safety training
Common biologist resume mistakes
- Writing "biologist" with no focus, when postings ask for wildlife, aquatic, botany or lab work.
- Listing coursework instead of field seasons and survey hours.
- Leaving out GIS and data analysis tools, which most postings name.
- Skipping report writing, often the main deliverable in consulting.
- Including permit numbers or sensitive species locations on the résumé.
Before you stuff in keywords
- Does ATS really reject 75% of résumés?: what the research says about ATS filtering.
- How to tailor your résumé to a job description: what the research says about ATS filtering.
- What an ATS résumé checker can and can't tell you: what the research says about ATS filtering.
- Tailoring a résumé to a job description: a worked example: what the research says about ATS filtering.
- How to explain an employment gap on your résumé: what the research says about ATS filtering.
- How to write a cover letter for a specific job: what the research says about ATS filtering.
- Résumé summary examples, and how to write your own: what the research says about ATS filtering.
- How long should a résumé be?: what the research says about ATS filtering.
- How to write a career change résumé: what the research says about ATS filtering.
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