Phlebotomist resume skills. The words recruiters search for.
The 19 skills, tools and credentials that come up in phlebotomist job posts, sorted by type, and how to put them in bullets a recruiter believes.
By Nazir Elmurodov, Founder, LaunchCV · Updated
/ The list
Keywords by type. Use only the ones that are true for you.
Hard skills · 13
- Phlebotomy (used in Renee's sample resume)
- Venipuncture (used in Renee's sample resume)
- Capillary collection (used in Renee's sample resume)
- Specimen collection (used in Renee's sample resume)
- Specimen processing (used in Renee's sample resume)
- Order of draw (used in Renee's sample resume)
- Blood cultures (used in Renee's sample resume)
- Patient identification (used in Renee's sample resume)
- Aseptic technique (used in Renee's sample resume)
- Pediatric draws (used in Renee's sample resume)
- Glucose tolerance tests (used in Renee's sample resume)
- Infection control (used in Renee's sample resume)
- HIPAA (used in Renee's sample resume)
Tools & software · 2
- Centrifuge (used in Renee's sample resume)
- LIS (used in Renee's sample resume)
Licenses & certifications · 3
- CPT (NHA) (used in Renee's sample resume)
- PBT (ASCP)
- BLS (used in Renee's sample resume)
Soft skills · 1
- Customer service (used in Renee's sample resume)
18 of 19 appear in Renee's sample resume. See where
/ How to use them
Put keywords in bullets, not just in a skills list.
A skills list tells the software you have a skill. A bullet shows a recruiter what you did with it.
Specimen collection
Weak: Skills: Specimen collection
Strong: Perform specimen collection for 45–60 patients a shift at a walk-in patient service center, including pediatric and geriatric draws
Order of draw, Centrifuge
Weak: Skills: Order of draw, Centrifuge
Strong: Follow the CLSI order of draw on multi-tube orders, then centrifuge, aliquot and package specimens for courier pickup
Glucose tolerance tests, LIS
Weak: Skills: Glucose tolerance tests, LIS
Strong: Run glucose tolerance tests and timed draws, and enter requisitions and collection times in the LIS
Blood cultures, Aseptic technique
Weak: Skills: Blood cultures, Aseptic technique
Strong: Collected blood cultures with aseptic technique; our team's contamination rate fell from 3% to under 2% after I helped rewrite the skin prep checklist
Strong bullets come from Renee's sample resume and our phlebotomist bullet examples. Names and figures are illustrative.
/ Use them honestly
Keywords get you found. Proof gets you hired.
Mirror the job post's wording for skills you really have. If a phlebotomist post asks for Phlebotomy and you've used it, say Phlebotomy, in the post's spelling, and show where.
Mirror the job post's wording
If a phlebotomist post says "Venipuncture", write "Venipuncture", not a near-synonym — as long as it's accurate. Recruiters search for the post's exact term.
Only claim what you can back up
Expect to be asked about every term you list. If you couldn't spend two minutes on Phlebotomy — what you did and what changed — leave it out.
Show it in a bullet
A skills list says you know Specimen collection. A bullet like the one under Phlebotomy Technician in the example above shows what you did with it.
No stuffing, no hidden text
Repeating a word or hiding keywords in white text doesn't make you a better match. A person reads the resume in the end.
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/ Questions
Phlebotomist keywords, answered.
Something else? support@launch-cv.com
How many keywords should a phlebotomist resume have?
There's no magic number. Renee's sample resume uses 18 of the 19 terms on this page — the ones that fit that job. Cover what your post asks for that you can back up, each where it fits; repeating a keyword doesn't help.
Should I copy keywords exactly from the job post?
Use the post's wording for skills you really have. If a phlebotomist post says "Phlebotomy", write "Phlebotomy" rather than a synonym, so a recruiter searching for that term finds you. Don't add skills you don't have just because the post lists them.
Where should keywords go on my resume?
In your summary, a short skills section and, above all, the bullets under each job, where you show what you did with the skill. In Renee's sample, Phlebotomy is in the summary and Specimen collection shows up in a bullet under Phlebotomy Technician. Plain text in the body of the page is easiest for applicant tracking systems to read.
Which tools should I list on a phlebotomist resume?
The ones you've used and the post mentions. Common ones in phlebotomist posts include Centrifuge and LIS. Name the tool in the bullet where you used it, not only in the skills list.
How should I list CPT (NHA) and PBT (ASCP) on my resume?
Spell them the way the job post does, and include both the abbreviation and the full name if you have room. Put licenses and certifications in their own section or next to your education, and only list ones that are current.
Keywords for related roles
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