Optician Resume Example

After reading this article, you'll feel confident creating an optician resume that effectively showcases your relevant skills and experience. You'll find valuable tips on writing a resume that best showcases your unique skills and achievements. There is also extensive guidance on how to structure your resume to match the job description, and to reflect your experience levels to impress HR specialists and employers. Continue reading to find the best optician resume tips from careers experts at Jobseeker.

Core sections to include in an optician resume

Most resumes contain similar key sections, with an optician resume being no different. If you're a candidate without much experience, you may wish to present your resume in a way that draws attention to your most valuable skills. These might not be in traditional work settings, so sections like education, projects, hobbies and skills can be more prominent.

While the content and format of your resume may vary depending on your experience levels, it's important to always include the following sections:

Resume Header with Contact Details

Your optician resume header is the place to add your contact details. Start by adding your full name and underneath, include your email address, phone number and location. Adding your LinkedIn profile, if you have one, can help the employer get a better insight into your skills and industry expertise. You don't need to include any additional personal information or a photo. Keep your header clear and concise, with only the most necessary information included. Opt for a stylish, professional design that creates a strong first impression.

Only include professional, name-based email addresses in your resume header. If you have an old email address that uses nicknames, puns, references to your personal interests or anything else that could appear unprofessional, set up a new email just for your job applications. Finally, always double-check your contact details are correct and up-to-date before sending your resume.

Resume Summary

In your resume summary, write a short paragraph that highlights two or three of your key achievements and skills for optician roles. You could also call this section 'resume objective' or 'personal profile'. A resume summary covers your career experience to date, while a resume objective focuses more on your ambitions for the future. In addition, your objective should highlight why you're an ideal candidate for optician roles by showing key skills and qualities that reflect the job description.

Alternatively, write a paragraph that concentrates on your career objectives and how this role fits with your wider ambitions and progression.

A good resume summary is short and snappy, and focused on the skills and experience listed in the job description, with evidence to back it up. It will also help the reader to form their first impressions of you by providing an insight into your personality and unique qualities. See below for some great examples of what to include in your optician resume summary.

Alternatively, a poor resume summary would include bland, generic information that does little to prove your suitability for the role, while failing to provide any useful insights on you as a person or as a candidate. The visual above includes some examples of what not to do with your optician resume summary

Hard and Soft Skills

The skills section is one of the main ways to show employers you've got the skills required for optician roles. Whether your skills include optical equipment operation, communication and empathy or any other useful skills for the role, you'll want to list them here. Once more, review the job description and pick out any key optician skills listed that match yours. Focus on these skills and any other key transferable skills that make you a strong candidate for the job.

How to list hard skills on your optician resume

Under hard skills, add any specialist skills you possess that are specifically required for optician jobs. These tend to be technical skills and industry knowledge essential to the position. Furthermore, it's important to show these skills in an optician resume as they provide a strong indication of your experience in the sector. Add up to five key hard skills that show you're an ideal candidate for the role. It can also be beneficial to add context to each skill, showing how you've used it to positive effect in your career to date.

Your resume hard skills list should reflect your unique and specific industry expertise and experience, while also fulfilling the requirements listed in the job description. See the examples below for an idea of what an effective optician resume hard skills list looks like.

Soft skills on your optician resume

Soft skills are your transferable skills and personal qualities that make you a good match for an optician position and the organization. Soft skills tend to be more universal than hard skills, and can often apply to multiple jobs and industries. Indeed, without soft skills, you may struggle to adapt to optician roles or meet the standards expected of you. So make sure you include several key soft skills on your resume. In this section, add four of five transferable skills that match the job description.

An effective optician resume soft skills section should be targeted to include skills that reflect your personality and unique characteristics, while also matching the job description. The graphic below includes some examples of good resume soft skills.

Education

In your education section, include details of your most relevant optician qualifications and educational achievements.

Typically, working as an optician requires a university or college degree, which you'll need to list on your resume. If you're working in this sector, it's usually a good idea to highlight your Bachelor of Science in Optometry degree or other relevant qualifications. Focus on qualifications that showcase your lens prescription interpretation or optical equipment operation.

For each entry in this section, add the name and level of your qualification, the institution you studied at, its location and your dates of study. You can enhance this section by adding bullet points that show any outstanding grades, awards or achievements and any specialist subjects you studied. These details can make you stand out from other candidates.

Additionally, mentioning any leadership roles or any societies and clubs you participated in while studying shows proactivity and initiative.

Licenses and Certifications

Under certifications and licenses, add any further qualifications that show you're a good fit for the job. These might be licenses that show you're qualified to operate certain equipment, or certifications that give you the edge over candidates with otherwise similar career history. Therefore, make sure you list the dates of your certifications and licenses so employers can see they're up-to-date and valid.

See below for some suggestions of relevant certifications for an optician resume:

Work Experience

Under your work experience section, add any jobs you've had in the past that are relevant to the position of an optician. List each relevant role in reverse-chronological order starting with your current or most recent role. Add your job title, the organization name, its location and the dates you worked there.

Also include some bullet points for each job mentioned, showcasing your achievements so the employer can see the impact you made on the company. Pay attention to the job description and make sure each point is relevant to optician roles.

A good resume work experience section includes your most relevant previous jobs and highlights your key achievements in each role. To make the best possible impression on hiring managers, make sure each entry in your work experience section references skills and experience listed in the job description, and shows how you added value to each role with quantifiable evidence and outcomes. See the examples below for some ideas of what a great resume work experience looks like.

In the graphic above, you'll see some examples of less effective resume work experience sections. Ineffective work experience sections tend to focus too much on everyday responsibilities over skills and achievements. If you use vague descriptions of activities and fail to back up your achievements with evidence, you're likely to fail to make an impact on the reader.

Optional Sections

To provide further information on your suitability for the role, you could add some optional sections to an optician resume. Add any of the sections below that help you showcase your key skills and experience.

Hobbies and Interests

Hobbies and interests can be a useful way of showing your skills and experience beyond your work and education. Hobbies can help you show different sides of your personality and make your resume more memorable to hiring managers. They're ideal to include if you're a junior candidate who might lack real world optician experience. Only include hobbies and interests that showcase your personality and personal qualities, and add something different to your application.

Voluntary Work

If you're lacking relevant optician work experience, volunteer work can help to show you still have the relevant skills. Add any voluntary roles, including your position, the name of the organization, the dates of your voluntary work and a brief explanation of your responsibilities and achievements.

References

Although it's rare to include references on an optician resume, some employers may ask for it. Don't add references unless they're specifically mentioned by the employer in the job advert. Be sure to prepare your referees in advance, so they've agreed to provide a reference and are ready to be contacted.

Best words to use in an optician resume

Add strong verbs to your work experience section to show the hiring manager the impact you made in your previous roles. Add strong verbs from the list below to create a greater impact with your work experience section.

Jobseeker's resume templates were created by careers experts to help you produce a professional resume in minutes. You can also find cover letter templates to complete an eye-catching job application that gets you noticed.

Example of an optician resume

Now that you know everything that needs to go into your optician resume, let's review an example resume that you can use as a guide when creating your own:

Making an ATS-friendly resume

Applicant tracking systems (ATS) are increasingly taking responsibility for the management and processing of job applications, helping hiring practices to become more efficient. This can include screening resumes by scanning and ranking each application according to how closely it matches the job description. When you're writing your optician resume, there are several things you can do to make sure your resume stands the best chance of passing the ATS stage.

Here are a few quick tips for creating an ATS-friendly resume:

• Use a traditional resume layout, such as a reverse-chronological or functional format. This will mean your resume includes all the necessary sections, in the expected order.
• Use keywords throughout your resume that reflect the job description, so ATS resume scanners can recognize a strong connection between your skills, and those in the job description.
• Include clear headings in each section that match the traditional resume structure and format. This will make it easier for the ATS software to scan your resume.
• Use a resume design that includes clean, professional design elements to give your content space to breathe. This might include clear, readable fonts, subtle color accents and simple design elements.
• Use concise language to keep the length of your resume to between one and two pages. This will make it easier to scan for ATS applications.

Key takeaways for your optician resume

The key to a strong resume is to showcase your relevant skills and achievements through your work experience and other activities. Select a resume format that suits your experience levels and the job you're applying for, and make sure you tailor your resume for each application.

Jobseeker has a wealth of resume tools, including resume templates and examples, to help you create a winning job application. Sign up today to get started. To make the best possible impression with your applications, write a cover letter with the help of Jobseeker. You can also find plenty of expert-designed cover letter examples for inspiration.

Sources:

(1) Writing a Resume, California Department of Human Resources: https://www.calhr.ca.gov/employees/Pages/resume-tips.aspx

(2) Resumes, Cover Letters and Job Applications, New York State Department of Labor: https://dol.ny.gov/resumes-cover-letters-and-job-applications