Top 12 Embryologist Skills to Put on Your Resume

In embryology, the right skills don’t just look good on a resume—they signal precision, judgment, and steady hands under pressure. The list below distills core competencies that hiring teams scan for, with crisp reasons they matter and practical ways to sharpen them. Keep it focused, keep it real, and make every line of your experience count.

Embryologist Skills

1. IVF (In Vitro Fertilization)
2. ICSI (Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection)
3. Embryo Culture
4. Cryopreservation
5. Micromanipulation
6. Embryo Biopsy
7. PGT (Preimplantation Genetic Testing)
8. Time-Lapse Imaging
9. Sperm Preparation
10. Oocyte Retrieval
11. Embryo Grading
12. Laser Assisted Hatching

1. IVF (In Vitro Fertilization)

IVF is the laboratory process of fertilizing an oocyte with sperm outside the body, followed by embryo culture and transfer to the uterus.

Why It's Important

IVF anchors the entire ART workflow. It enables controlled fertilization, standardized culture, and careful selection—turning biology into measured, repeatable steps that raise the odds of pregnancy.

How to Improve IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) Skills

1. Refine culture systems: Stable pH, temperature, osmolality, and gas (low oxygen, controlled CO2). Validate incubator performance and media lot-to-lot.

2. Strengthen gamete handling: Minimize exposure outside incubators, reduce shear stress, and keep temperature rock steady from retrieval to insemination.

3. Optimize sperm selection: Apply morphology- and function-based methods (e.g., density gradients, swim-up, hyaluronic acid binding) where appropriate.

4. Use evidence-led embryo selection: Combine morphologic/morphokinetic criteria and clinical context; consider PGT when indicated.

5. Adopt vitrification protocols: For surplus oocytes/embryos, validated vitrification and warming workflows protect future chances.

6. Audit everything: Track fertilization rates, blastulation, implantation, and live birth outcomes; close the loop with structured QA/QC.

7. Keep learning: Workshops, proficiency programs, and peer reviews sharpen technique and judgment.

How to Display IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) Skills on Your Resume

2. ICSI (Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection)

ICSI is the direct injection of a single sperm into the oocyte cytoplasm to achieve fertilization.

Why It's Important

When sperm quality or previous fertilization failure blocks the door, ICSI opens it—precisely, consistently, with minimal oocyte trauma when done well.

How to Improve ICSI (Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection) Skills

1. Perfect the injection routine: Smooth membrane rupture, gentle cytoplasmic entry, and consistent positioning. Practice builds muscle memory.

2. Upgrade sperm selection: High-magnification review, motility checks, and hyaluronic acid binding can enrich for competent sperm.

3. Protect the oocyte: Limit exposure time and temperature drift. Use fresh pipettes and calibrated micromanipulators.

4. Consider Piezo assistance: Helpful in oocytes with tough zona or membranes; validate before clinical use.

5. Post-ICSI care: Rapid return to stable culture conditions; avoid unnecessary movement or light exposure.

6. Continuous training and QC: Monitor oocyte survival, fertilization, and embryo development; peer review borderline cases.

How to Display ICSI (Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection) Skills on Your Resume

3. Embryo Culture

Embryo culture nurtures embryos outside the body using tightly controlled media and conditions from fertilization to transfer or cryostorage.

Why It's Important

Culture is the cradle. Tiny drifts in conditions—oxygen, pH, temperature—echo in embryo quality, implantation, and cumulative live birth.

How to Improve Embryo Culture Skills

1. Control the microenvironment: Low oxygen (about 5–6%), verified CO2, stable temperature, and minimal VOCs in the lab.

2. Match media to stage: Single-step or sequential—use validated protocols, monitor osmolality, and handle swiftly.

3. Limit disturbance: Reduce door openings, consolidate checks, and use warmed, low-light work practices.

4. Leverage time-lapse carefully: Gain continuous insight without removing embryos from incubation; interpret data with caution.

5. Standardize annotation: Clear morphologic and morphokinetic criteria improve consistency across staff.

6. Trend outcomes: Blastulation, aneuploidy rates (when tested), implantation, and live birth—use the data to refine.

How to Display Embryo Culture Skills on Your Resume

4. Cryopreservation

Cryopreservation freezes reproductive cells and embryos at ultra-low temperatures to pause biology and preserve potential.

Why It's Important

It unlocks flexible treatment, safer stimulation strategies, and better cumulative outcomes. Frozen cycles often rival fresh—sometimes surpass them.

How to Improve Cryopreservation Skills

1. Prioritize vitrification: Ultra-rapid cooling minimizes ice; pair with equally rapid warming to protect viability.

2. Tune cryoprotectants: Balance permeating and non-permeating agents; time exposures precisely to limit toxicity.

3. Stage-specific protocols: Cleavage-stage and blastocyst-stage embryos aren’t twins—adjust loading, timing, and devices accordingly.

4. Standardize warming: Swift, stepwise dilution prevents osmotic shock; pre-warm solutions and confirm temperatures.

5. Post-warm recovery: Rapid return to optimized culture; allow adequate re-expansion before assessment or transfer.

6. Inventory and traceability: Bulletproof labeling, double witnessing, and tank monitoring safeguard precious samples.

How to Display Cryopreservation Skills on Your Resume

5. Micromanipulation

Micromanipulation uses precision tools under the microscope to manipulate gametes and embryos for procedures like ICSI, assisted hatching, and biopsy.

Why It's Important

It’s finesse work. Millimeter tools, micron movements—success hinges on steadiness, calibration, and repeatable technique.

How to Improve Micromanipulation Skills

1. Practice deliberately: Regular drills on test material build speed and control without sacrificing care.

2. Optimize ergonomics: Chair height, arm rests, eye line—reduce strain to keep hands calm and precise.

3. Calibrate equipment: Pipette angles, holding pipette suction, and stage movement must be predictable.

4. Record and review: Video capture tricky cases; analyze technique with peers to spot subtle errors.

5. Keep tools pristine: Replace tired pipettes, clean optics, and maintain lasers to manufacturer specs.

6. Stay current: New pipette designs, piezo devices, and workflow tweaks can quietly lift outcomes.

How to Display Micromanipulation Skills on Your Resume

6. Embryo Biopsy

Embryo biopsy removes a small number of cells—commonly trophectoderm cells at the blastocyst stage—for genetic testing prior to transfer.

Why It's Important

When genetic information guides care, a precise biopsy yields high-quality DNA with minimal impact on embryo potential.

How to Improve Embryo Biopsy Skills

1. Favor blastocyst biopsy: Trophectoderm sampling generally preserves the inner cell mass and provides robust DNA.

2. Standardize laser use: Consistent pulse settings and contact times protect cell viability and junctions.

3. Coordinate with genetics: Align biopsy cell count, tubing, and labeling with the testing lab’s requirements.

4. Limit manipulation: Keep embryos warm and quickly return them to stable culture or vitrify promptly post-biopsy.

5. Dry-run workflows: Practice on non-viable samples to refine timing, tool handling, and handoffs.

6. Track outcomes: Link biopsy metrics to amplification success, aneuploidy rates, implantation, and live birth.

How to Display Embryo Biopsy Skills on Your Resume

7. PGT (Preimplantation Genetic Testing)

PGT evaluates embryos for genetic issues before transfer. Subtypes include PGT-A (aneuploidy), PGT-M (monogenic conditions), and PGT-SR (structural rearrangements).

Why It's Important

Used for the right indications, PGT can reduce transfer of affected embryos, shorten time to pregnancy, and lower miscarriage risk.

How to Improve PGT Skills

1. Biopsy quality first: Adequate cell number, clean tubing, and precise labeling underpin reliable results.

2. Validate platforms: Ensure your testing workflows are verified with known controls and periodic proficiency checks.

3. Integrate counseling: Collaborate with genetics and physicians so patients understand indications, limits, and results.

4. Refine selection policies: Combine PGT results with embryo morphology and patient priorities; avoid one-size-fits-all decisions.

5. Audit end-to-end: From biopsy to reporting to outcomes—seek mismatches and tighten the chain.

How to Display PGT (Preimplantation Genetic Testing) Skills on Your Resume

8. Time-Lapse Imaging

Time-lapse systems capture embryo development continuously inside the incubator, creating a visual record without repeated dish handling.

Why It's Important

It reveals hidden dynamics—cleavage timings, symmetry, irregular events—that static checks can miss, potentially informing selection.

How to Improve Time-Lapse Imaging Skills

1. Protect the environment: Use low-light, calibrated systems and keep dishes sealed; stability beats spectacle.

2. Standardize annotation: Clear, lab-wide rules for morphokinetic markers improve reproducibility.

3. Avoid overcalling: Treat models and algorithms as decision support, not oracles; align with clinical outcomes.

4. Train regularly: Periodic calibration of observers reduces variability and drift over time.

5. Measure impact: Compare selection accuracy and implantation across time-lapse and conventional workflows.

How to Display Time-Lapse Imaging Skills on Your Resume

9. Sperm Preparation

Sperm preparation enriches motile, morphologically competent sperm and removes debris and seminal plasma for IVF, ICSI, or IUI.

Why It's Important

Cleaner inputs, better outcomes. Good prep reduces ROS exposure, concentrates functional sperm, and improves fertilization potential.

How to Improve Sperm Preparation Skills

1. Choose method wisely: Density gradients, swim-up, or combined approaches—tailor to semen profile.

2. Guard physiology: Maintain 37°C, stable pH, and minimal light; pre-warm plastics and media.

3. Reduce oxidative stress: Work efficiently, cap tubes, and consider antioxidant-supplemented media when indicated.

4. Validate media and consumables: Lot testing and documentation prevent silent performance dips.

5. Standardize counts and QC: Track recovery, motility, DNA fragmentation trends, and post-prep yield.

6. Keep protocols tight: Centrifuge speeds, times, and volumes matter; deviations creep into results.

How to Display Sperm Preparation Skills on Your Resume

10. Oocyte Retrieval

Oocyte retrieval is performed by a physician using transvaginal ultrasound-guided aspiration. Embryologists support the procedure by rapidly identifying, assessing, denuding, and safeguarding oocytes in the lab.

Why It's Important

Fast, gentle handling preserves oocyte competence. From tube to dish, every second and every degree matters.

How to Improve Oocyte Retrieval Skills

1. Streamline handoff: Tight OR-to-lab coordination, labeled tubes, and pre-warmed stations prevent delays.

2. Enhance oocyte ID and denudation: Consistent enzymatic exposure and careful pipetting protect the cumulus and oolemma.

3. Monitor temperature closely: Warm stages, warmed media, and quick workflows keep oocytes stable.

4. Adapt to stimulation protocols: Expect variation in cumulus expansion and maturity; adjust handling accordingly.

5. Track KPIs: MII rates, degeneration post-ICSI, and fertilization outcomes inform technique tweaks.

How to Display Oocyte Retrieval Skills on Your Resume

11. Embryo Grading

Embryo grading evaluates morphology and development to rank embryos for transfer or cryostorage, often using established cleavage and blastocyst scoring systems.

Why It's Important

Good grading guides smart choices—fewer transfers, better timing, stronger chances per attempt.

How to Improve Embryo Grading Skills

1. Standardize criteria: Align the team on definitions for fragmentation, symmetry, ICM/TE quality, and blast expansion.

2. Use morphokinetics judiciously: Time-lapse adds nuance; integrate it with conventional morphology, not instead of it.

3. Calibrate observers: Regular interobserver exercises reduce variability and sharpen thresholds.

4. Link grades to outcomes: Continuously test whether your grading predicts implantation and live birth in your population.

5. Explore decision support: Tools and models can assist, but human oversight and clinical context stay in charge.

6. Protect assessment conditions: Warmed microscopes, low light, and quick evaluations keep embryos safe while you judge.

How to Display Embryo Grading Skills on Your Resume

12. Laser Assisted Hatching

Laser Assisted Hatching thins or opens the zona pellucida with a precision laser to aid hatching prior to implantation.

Why It's Important

In select scenarios—thick zona, advanced maternal age, previous implantation failures—LAH may help. Precision is everything.

How to Improve Laser Assisted Hatching Skills

1. Dial in laser settings: Calibrate pulse duration and power for consistent openings without collateral damage.

2. Select cases carefully: Apply clear indications; avoid routine use when not supported by patient factors.

3. Protect the embryo: Minimize exposure time, keep media warmed, and avoid direct heating of the blastomeres.

4. Maintain equipment: Regular service and verification protect both embryos and outcomes.

5. Review results: Track implantation and live birth after LAH versus matched controls to confirm benefit.

How to Display Laser Assisted Hatching Skills on Your Resume