Top 12 Laboratory Supervisor Skills to Put on Your Resume
A standout resume for a laboratory supervisor role should zero in on the skills that prove you can steer complex operations, guard data integrity, and keep the bench humming without chaos. Technical mastery matters. So does judgment, communication, and calm control when things wobble. Hiring teams want both—hands-on science and steady leadership.
Laboratory Supervisor Skills
- LIMS (Laboratory Information Management System)
- PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction)
- GLP (Good Laboratory Practices)
- HPLC (High-Performance Liquid Chromatography)
- GC-MS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry)
- ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay)
- ISO 17025 (International Standard for Testing and Calibration Laboratories)
- NGS (Next Generation Sequencing)
- Flow Cytometry
- Spectrophotometry
- Bioinformatics
- Quality Control
1. LIMS (Laboratory Information Management System)
A Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) is the nervous system of a lab—tracking samples, managing workflows, controlling access, capturing metadata, and preserving audit trails. It underpins compliance and pulls chaos into clean order.
Why It's Important
For a Laboratory Supervisor, LIMS keeps operations traceable and efficient. It reduces manual errors, standardizes processes, and proves data integrity when auditors knock. Less friction. More throughput.
How to Improve LIMS (Laboratory Information Management System) Skills
Practical ways to sharpen LIMS performance and adoption:
Streamline data entry: Roll out barcoding, templates, and electronic capture. Kill duplicate typing. Lock formats where it makes sense.
Integrate systems: Connect instruments, ELNs, ERP, and reporting. One source of truth, not five spreadsheets arguing.
Customize workflows: Map LIMS steps to how your lab actually works. Short paths for routine, guardrails for high-risk steps.
Security and compliance: Enforce role-based access, e-signatures, and full audit trails. Review permissions regularly. Patch promptly.
Train relentlessly: Short, frequent sessions. Role-specific tips. New-hire onboarding plus refreshers when methods change.
Gather feedback: Create a simple channel for user pain points. Fix small annoyances fast; they compound.
Monitor performance: Use dashboards and reports to spot bottlenecks, overdue tasks, and error hotspots. Tweak and re-test.
Do this well and LIMS becomes a force multiplier—quiet, dependable, scalable.
How to Display LIMS (Laboratory Information Management System) Skills on Your Resume
2. PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction)
PCR amplifies specific DNA sequences, transforming a whisper of template into a readable, testable signal. It underpins diagnostics, genotyping, cloning, and more.
Why It's Important
Speed, specificity, and sensitivity—PCR delivers them all. When decisions hang on a fragment of DNA, PCR is the lever.
How to Improve PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) Skills
Make reactions cleaner, stronger, and repeatable:
Primer design: Use trusted design tools (e.g., Primer3) and screen for hairpins, dimers, and off-target hits. Balance GC content and Tm.
Template quality: Extract clean DNA/RNA and verify purity and concentration (NanoDrop or fluorometric methods). Degraded in, ambiguous out.
Reagents and mixes: High-quality master mixes curb pipetting noise and batch variability. Fresh aliquots beat freeze–thaw fatigue.
Annealing temperature: Run gradient or adopt touchdown PCR to sharpen specificity without tanking yield.
Mg2+ tuning: Adjust MgCl2 to balance activity and fidelity. Small changes, big effects.
Hot-start, high-fidelity enzymes: Use hot-start polymerases; for precision work, consider high-fidelity options (e.g., Q5, Phusion).
Cycle parameters: Avoid overcycling. Right extension times for amplicon length prevent smearing and junk bands.
Electrophoresis checks: Confirm size and specificity on agarose gels before scaling or sequencing.
Instrument and pipette upkeep: Calibrate thermocyclers and pipettes. Drift erodes reproducibility.
How to Display PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) Skills on Your Resume
3. GLP (Good Laboratory Practices)
GLP sets the ground rules for credible non-clinical studies—governance, documentation, training, equipment, and data integrity that stand up to scrutiny.
Why It's Important
Reliable data come from disciplined systems. GLP protects validity, supports accreditation, and ultimately safeguards people and the environment.
How to Improve GLP (Good Laboratory Practices) Skills
Training and competency: Formal onboarding, method-specific qualifications, and periodic assessments. Document everything.
Current SOPs: Author clear SOPs, review them on a schedule, revise when methods or regulations change, and version-control them.
Quality assurance: Independent audits, study-based inspections, and corrective action tracking that actually closes the loop.
Equipment control: Calibration, preventive maintenance, and service records. Label status. Quarantine suspect instruments fast.
Complete records: Contemporaneous entries, legible and attributable. Raw data preserved. Deviations documented with rationale.
Risk management: Map process risks and mitigate—redundant checks for high-impact steps, change control for method shifts.
Culture and communication: Encourage speaking up, fast issue escalation, and cross-team clarity. Quality thrives on transparency.
How to Display GLP (Good Laboratory Practices) Skills on Your Resume
4. HPLC (High-Performance Liquid Chromatography)
HPLC separates, identifies, and quantifies components in complex mixtures using a high-pressure liquid phase and a stationary phase. Detection can be UV-Vis, fluorescence, or mass spectrometry. It’s the workhorse of QC and R&D.
Why It's Important
Speed, resolution, and reproducibility make HPLC indispensable across pharma, food, and environmental testing. It protects quality and informs development.
How to Improve HPLC (High-Performance Liquid Chromatography) Skills
Column selection and care: Match stationary phase, particle size, and dimensions to your analytes. Use guards. Flush, store properly, and track usage to extend life.
Mobile phase optimization: Adjust pH, solvent strength, and buffers to sharpen peaks. Degas and filter to prevent bubbles and particulates. Use gradients for complex matrices.
Sample preparation: Filter and, when needed, perform cleanup (e.g., SPE) to reduce matrix effects and protect columns.
Method development: Systematically tune flow rate, temperature, gradient profile, and injection volume. Design experiments to converge quickly on robust conditions.
Instrument maintenance: Replace seals, pistons, and lamp sources on schedule. Clean injectors and autosamplers. Verify pump performance and detector linearity.
Quality controls and training: System suitability tests, retention time windows, and check standards each run. Keep operators sharp on both theory and troubleshooting.
How to Display HPLC (High-Performance Liquid Chromatography) Skills on Your Resume
5. GC-MS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry)
GC-MS couples gas chromatography’s separation with mass spectrometry’s identification. It’s razor-specific for volatile and semi-volatile compounds, even in gnarly matrices.
Why It's Important
When you need confident IDs and tight quantitation, GC-MS delivers—key for forensics, environmental work, and pharma impurity profiling.
How to Improve GC-MS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry) Skills
Routine care: Swap septa, liners, and o-rings regularly. Keep the source clean. Maintain vacuum health. Tune on a schedule.
Method refinement: Optimize oven ramps, split/splitless parameters, and carrier gas flow. Balance separation with runtime.
Sample preparation: Reduce background with clean extracts. Choose SPME, LLE, or SPE based on analyte chemistry and sensitivity needs.
Column choice and upkeep: Select stationary phase suited to polarity and boiling points. Trim the inlet end when contamination creeps in.
Software and libraries: Keep acquisition and processing software current. Use high-quality spectral libraries and verify matches with retention indices.
Quality checks: Run blanks, continuing calibration verifications, and internal standards. Set acceptance limits and act when drift appears.
Team proficiency: Train operators on diagnostics—leaks, ghost peaks, mass calibration—and document fixes that work.
How to Display GC-MS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry) Skills on Your Resume
6. ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay)
ELISA is a plate-based method that detects and quantifies proteins, antibodies, antigens, and hormones via enzyme-linked antibodies and colorimetric, fluorescent, or chemiluminescent readouts.
Why It's Important
It’s specific, sensitive, and scalable—perfect for diagnostics, vaccine work, and QC where confidence in concentration matters.
How to Improve ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) Skills
Antibody quality: Validate pairs for sandwich formats. Check cross-reactivity and affinity. Lot-qualify when feasible.
Coating conditions: Dial in concentration, buffer, time, and temperature. Overcoating can increase background; undercoating kills sensitivity.
Blocking strategy: Test blockers (BSA, casein, specialized formulations) to cut nonspecific binding without suppressing signal.
Consistent washing: Use optimized wash buffers and volumes. Consider automated washers for reproducibility.
Detection chemistry: Choose substrate and detection mode based on required dynamic range and sensitivity.
Sample handling: Standardize collection, storage, and dilution. Freeze-thaw cycles quietly sabotage assays.
Assay optimization: Tune incubation times, temperatures, and reagent volumes. Start from kit/manufacturer guidance, then refine.
Quality controls: Include positive/negative controls and calibrators on every plate. Track plate effects and inter-run variability.
Data analysis: Use robust curve fitting (e.g., 4PL/5PL) and apply replicates wisely. Flag outliers with rules, not hunches.
Team training: Teach troubleshooting—edge effects, high background, weak signal—and maintain concise quick-reference guides.
How to Display ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) Skills on Your Resume
7. ISO 17025 (International Standard for Testing and Calibration Laboratories)
ISO 17025 defines the requirements for competent, consistent testing and calibration. It frames both the management system and the technical backbone of the lab.
Why It's Important
Accreditation signals trust. Results become defensible, comparable, and recognized internationally. That credibility is currency.
How to Improve ISO 17025 (International Standard for Testing and Calibration Laboratories) Skills
Know the standard: Understand each clause—scope, impartiality, competence, method validity, traceability, reporting.
People and proficiency: Define competency requirements, maintain training matrices, and use proficiency testing to validate performance.
Document control: Centralize procedures, control versions, and ensure current documents are the only ones in use.
Equipment control: Calibrate with traceability to national/international standards. Maintain service histories and status labels.
Method validation: Establish accuracy, precision, specificity, detection limits, linearity, and robustness before routine use.
Internal audits and reviews: Schedule impartial audits. Hold management reviews that drive real corrective and preventive actions.
Nonconformance handling: Investigate root causes, implement fixes, and verify effectiveness. Close the loop every time.
Customer feedback: Capture, analyze, and act. Improvements that matter often start at the client interface.
Accreditation engagement: Work closely with your accreditation body. Prepare evidence, coach staff, and treat assessments as opportunities.
Stay current: Track updates to ISO 17025 and related standards. Adjust procedures promptly.
How to Display ISO 17025 (International Standard for Testing and Calibration Laboratories) Skills on Your Resume
8. NGS (Next Generation Sequencing)
NGS reads massive volumes of DNA or RNA quickly and economically, enabling whole genomes, exomes, and targeted panels with depth and detail once unimaginable.
Why It's Important
From rare variant detection to pathogen surveillance and oncology profiling, NGS unlocks data that power precision decisions.
How to Improve NGS (Next Generation Sequencing) Skills
1. Optimize Sample Preparation
- Use validated extraction methods and QC every input (yield, integrity, purity). Garbage in is analysis pain later.
2. Enhance Library Preparation
- Right kit for the sample type and amount. Nail size selection, adapter ligation, and cleanup to curb bias.
3. Implement Rigorous Quality Control
- Check libraries with electrophoretic profiles (e.g., Bioanalyzer/TapeStation) and quantify with qPCR or fluorometry.
4. Optimize Sequencing Parameters
- Choose platforms and read lengths aligned to your goals (short reads for breadth; long reads for structure). Set depth to the application, not habit.
5. Build Computing Strength
- Plan storage, CPUs/GPUs, and backup. Automate pipelines. Document versions to keep analyses reproducible.
6. Leverage Bioinformatics Toolchains
- Adopt well-maintained workflows for alignment, variant calling, and QC (e.g., GATK-style pipelines, Galaxy-like frameworks). Containerize to reduce “it worked on my machine.”
7. Continuous Staff Training
- Hands-on workshops for wet lab and dry lab teams. Cross-train to bridge gaps between sequencing and analysis.
8. Data Management Best Practices
- Track samples with LIMS, enforce metadata standards, and formalize archiving. Think retrieval before you need it.
9. External Benchmarking
- Join inter-lab comparisons and EQA programs. Validate pipelines with reference materials and published datasets.
How to Display NGS (Next Generation Sequencing) Skills on Your Resume
9. Flow Cytometry
Flow cytometry interrogates single cells in a fluid stream, measuring multiple parameters at insane speed. Count, phenotype, sort—one instrument, many answers.
Why It's Important
It turns complex cell populations into actionable data, fast. Clinical labs, bioprocessing suites, and research cores rely on it daily.
How to Improve Flow Cytometry Skills
Standardize end-to-end: Harmonize sample prep, staining panels, compensation, and gating strategies. Write playbooks and stick to them.
Quality control: Daily instrument QC with beads. Track PMT voltages, CVs, and fluorescence stability over time.
Instrument care: Schedule deep cleans, fluidics maintenance, and regular calibrations. Keep a log and investigate drift early.
Education: Train on panel design, spillover, and controls (FMO/isos). Reinforce good habits with quick refreshers.
Data analysis: Use advanced tools for high-parameter data (dimensionality reduction, clustering) when appropriate—and validate biologically.
Collaboration: Share panels, templates, and QC data across teams. Peer reviews of gates catch bias and blind spots.
How to Display Flow Cytometry Skills on Your Resume
10. Spectrophotometry
Spectrophotometry quantifies analytes by measuring light absorbance at defined wavelengths. Apply Beer–Lambert once you’ve got clean baselines and linear regions.
Why It's Important
It’s quick, reliable, and foundational—core for concentration checks, enzyme kinetics, purity assessments, and QC.
How to Improve Spectrophotometry Skills
Calibration and maintenance: Use traceable standards. Verify wavelength accuracy and photometric linearity. Keep cuvettes pristine.
Sample preparation: Standardize dilutions, solvents, path length, and mixing. Temperature control matters more than most think.
Training: Teach baseline correction, blank selection, and when to pivot to fluorescence or other modalities.
Quality control: Run controls and duplicates. Establish acceptance criteria and address drift quickly.
Data handling: Integrate with LIMS or validated spreadsheets. Lock calculation templates to avoid stray edits.
Instrumentation strategy: Match instrument specs (bandwidth, stray light, photometric range) to the application. Upgrade when data demands outgrow hardware.
Feedback loop: Gather operator input. Minor workflow tweaks often yield major consistency gains.
How to Display Spectrophotometry Skills on Your Resume
11. Bioinformatics
Bioinformatics stitches computation to biology—turning raw sequences, expression matrices, and proteomic spectra into interpretable, decision-ready insights.
Why It's Important
Modern labs generate oceans of data. Bioinformatics keeps it navigable—reproducible pipelines, clean metadata, and credible results.
How to Improve Bioinformatics Skills
Strengthen pipelines: Standardize workflows with version-controlled, containerized tools. Track parameters and references.
Refresh toolsets: Keep libraries and packages current. Validate upgrades against known datasets before production use.
Cross-functional teamwork: Pair biologists with data scientists and statisticians. Better models, better questions, better answers.
Invest in training: Build core skills in R/Python, statistics, and data hygiene. Short courses, code reviews, and shared templates help a lot.
How to Display Bioinformatics Skills on Your Resume
12. Quality Control
Quality Control ensures methods, instruments, and outputs meet defined specifications so results can be trusted—day after day.
Why It's Important
Accurate, reproducible data protect patient safety, product quality, and scientific credibility. QC is the guardrail.
How to Improve Quality Control Skills
Standardize procedures: Use validated methods and controlled documents. Deviation paths should be rare and well-justified.
Ongoing training: Refresh staff on fundamentals and changes. Competency checks keep skills sharp.
Instrument control: Calibrate and maintain on a schedule. Label status. Remove failing gear from service immediately.
QC checks: Controls, duplicates, spikes, and trend charts. Catch drift before it bites.
External proficiency: Participate in inter-lab comparisons to benchmark and uncover blind spots.
Continuous improvement: Root-cause analysis, corrective actions that stick, and metrics that show progress.
How to Display Quality Control Skills on Your Resume
