After you finish your STEM project, think about all the skills you’ve gained or improved. If you’re thinking about what you’d like to do after secondary school; unique opportunities, internships or scholarships you’d to apply for; or your future career path, it’s helpful to keep a list of your accomplishments. Doing a STEM project helps your build skills and provides experiences that you can include in applications or your portfolio or résumé.

Here are some skills and experience you may have gained doing your STEM project, and examples of how to explain them in a résumé or application. All these skills may not fit with every opportunity or job, so only include the ones that make sense.

Remember: If you want to use any of these examples, you need to write them in your own words, with specific details about your own experience.

Hard Skills (technical, measurable abilities)

• Scientific equipment – the specific technical equipment you learned to use
  • E.g. “Skilled in using light microscope, centrifuge and autoclave, including equipment calibration and sterilization.”
• Scientific processes – the processes you learned and followed doing your project
  • E.g. “Experienced in experimental design, including troubleshooting and conducting multiple trails.”
• Coding – the specific code languages and platforms you used
  • E.g. “Proficient in Python, using Django web framework and a Linux server environment to code an app for teachers to track bullying incidents at schools.”
• Software – the specific software you used for your project (e.g. managing data, prototype design, statistical analysis, etc.)
  • E.g. “Experienced in using MATLAB for algorithm development and data analysis to identify brain tumours from MRI images.”
• Training or certification – any training or certificates you received doing your project
  • E.g. “Received Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) training in an environmental biology lab.”
• Research – your ability to do good research and evaluating the quality of a source
  • E.g. “Skilled in conducting extensive academic research, evaluating sources and managing a bibliography.”
• Data analysis – your ability to analyze data, draw conclusions and present information
  • E.g. “Adept at data analysis, identifying trends, processing data, and using graphing software to present results.”
• Project management – your ability to manage all aspects of your project and keep it on track
  • E.g. “Excels at managing complex projects involving research, consulting with experts, organizing materials, measuring results, and developing reports, while following a strict timeline.”

Soft Skills (personal and interpersonal abilities)

• Resilience – how you overcame issues with your project and tried again when things didn’t go the way you thought they would
  • E.g. “Demonstrated resilience in overcoming obstacles in conducting research on algae blooms in local lakes.”
• Problem Solving – how you solved issues that came up during your project using creativity and determination
  • E.g. “Solved complex problems related to designing and testing a prototype for a fall sensor for seniors.”
• Critical thinking – how you critically analyzed your resources, data, problem solved and drew conclusions
  • E.g. “Skilled at critically assessing information and identifying new evidence-based conclusions.”
• Organization – your ability to maintain organization in managing all aspects of your project, including working with others,
  • E.g. “Organized and managed a database to train a machine learning model on identifying skin cancer.”
• Responsibility – how you took responsibility for all parts of your project and saw it through from beginning to end
  • E.g. “Led the execution of a research project, taking responsibility for liaising with experts, managing experimental processes, collecting data, and report writing.”
• Teamwork – if you did a partner project, or worked with a mentor or experts, how you successfully worked with those people
  • E.g. “Successfully worked with a research partner and scientific mentor, working collaboratively to overcome issues and develop a 3D printed prosthetic hand innovation.”
• Time management – how you kept on track with all aspects of your project and met deadlines
  • E.g. “Met deadlines by managing timelines and competing priorities throughout research project execution.”
• Public speaking – your ability to speak in front of others with confidence
  • E.g. “Confident in public speaking and sharing engaging presentations with a diverse audience.”
• Communication – the skills you developed in writing or speaking with people about your project and your results
  • E.g. “Effectively communicated scientific research and results to educators, judges and members of the public, adjusting content to match the audience.”

 

Doing a STEM project helps you build technical STEM skills and life skills you can use anywhere!

Tip:

Check out this easy way to create a professional resume, with the Government of Canada’s free Job Bank templates. They even have youth and recent graduate templates, for people with limited work experience.