Home Marine Biologist Resume template
Marine Biologist resume template
A clean starting structure with example content grounded in what marine biologists actually do day to day, not generic filler. Download and replace the bracketed placeholders with your own details.
Which resume format should you use?
Reverse chronological
You have a steady work history. This is the format almost every recruiter and ATS expects by default.
Functional
You're changing fields or have gaps in your employment. Leads with skills rather than a job-by-job timeline.
Combination
You're early career or have worked consistently but for only a few employers. Blends a skills summary with a shorter chronological history.
This template uses the reverse chronological format: the one most marine biologists should default to, since most Australian recruiters and ATS software expect it.
Professional summary
Marine biologist with field and laboratory experience across ecosystem monitoring, sample analysis and stakeholder reporting. Comfortable working from research vessels, dive sites and the lab bench, and translating biological data into findings that inform conservation and fisheries decisions. Postgraduate trained with strong statistical and GIS skills.
Key skills
- Field research and sampling
- Laboratory analysis
- Data analysis and statistical modelling
- Environmental assessment
- SCUBA diving (research collection)
- GIS mapping
- R and Python for data analysis
- Spectrophotometry
- Written and technical reporting
- Problem solving
Experience: example bullet points
- Ran field surveys and specimen collection across coastal and offshore sites, maintaining chain-of-custody and sample integrity for downstream lab analysis
- Processed and analysed biological samples using spectrophotometry and statistical software, identifying population trends across multiple monitoring seasons
- Co-authored research reports and manuscript drafts on ecosystem health, contributing to peer-reviewed publication
- Maintained long-term observational datasets on habitat condition and species abundance, flagging significant shifts to project leads
- Advised government and industry stakeholders on conservation and management options, translating technical findings into plain-language recommendations
- Mapped habitat and survey data in GIS to support environmental impact assessments and reporting to regulators
Education
Bachelor degree in marine biology, marine science or zoology, with most practitioners going on to complete an honours year or postgraduate degree (Masters or PhD) for research and senior field roles.
Keywords an ATS is likely to scan for
Applicant tracking systems match your resume against terms in the job ad before a person ever sees it. Only include the ones that actually apply to your experience, but if a term below matches something you've done, use the same wording the job ad uses.
- Marine biologist
- Marine science
- Environmental impact assessment
- EPBC Act
- Fisheries management
- GIS
- R statistical software
- Python
- SCUBA (AS 2299 dive standards)
- Biodiversity monitoring
- Peer-reviewed publication
- Conservation management
- Marine Parks Authority
- CSIRO
- State environment department
Getting past ATS screening
- Match the specific skills, certifications and terms used in the job ad, not just your own wording for the same thing.
- Keep formatting simple: no tables, text boxes, columns, headers/footers or graphics. Parsers frequently drop content placed in these.
- Submit as .docx or PDF unless the job ad specifies otherwise.
- Use standard section headings (Experience, Education, Skills) rather than creative alternatives.
- List your core skills and technical competencies in their own section so a keyword scan can find them instantly.
This is a starting point, not a guarantee of interviews. Tailor every bullet point to your own real experience and the specific job ad.