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What is “Research Experience,” According to HR Specialists
When applying for grad school, a Ph.D. program, or a STEM-related job, you might see “research experience” mentioned as a requirement. But what counts (and doesn’t count) as research experience on job applications?
We surveyed 17 HR professionals via a LinkedIn poll to determine what they expect when requiring candidates to have “research experience.” It turns out that “research experience” has a very broad meaning; it mostly indicates that the candidate must be able to analyze data and use his critical thinking to develop new solutions.
Let’s take a closer look at the result of the survey!
Here’s What 17 HR Specialists Mean When They Ask for Research Experience
We asked 17 HR specialists on LinkedIn whether they would agree or disagree with the following statements regarding research experience. Here are the results:
| Statement | HR Specialists’ Opinion |
|---|---|
| A published scientific paper counts as research experience | 100% of HR Specialists agree |
| Previous experience in R&D or a lab counts as research experience | 100% of HR Specialists agree |
| A dissertation or thesis counts as research experience, even though it was not published in a scientific journal | 94.1% of HR Specialists agree |
| A job as a research assistant counts as research experience | 94.1% of HR Specialists agree |
| Undergraduate research projects count as research experience | 88.2% of HR Specialists agree |
| Proven data analysis skills and critical thinking counts as research experience | 70.5% of HR Specialists agree |
| An internship relevant to the industry counts as research experience | 58.8% of HR Specialists agree |
Now, let’s take some time to discuss the results and why HR specialists have different opinions about research experience.
Research Experience Has a “Broad Meaning” for Most Employers
Recruiters need to ensure that candidates can perform the duties mentioned in the job description.
In the case of research experience, it means that you can collect, record, and analyze data for research purposes. This is why any research project you participated in would be helpful in your application, even if it is not directly related to the same field of study.
However, Research Experience Has a More Specific Meaning for Universities And R&D Departments
On the other hand, if you are applying to grad school or Ph.D. programs, you might need to show more laser-focus, subject-specific research experience.
For example, students applying for research programs in virology must show their hands-on research on any virology-related issue. Faculty members are interested in your ability to understand the topic and want to see your previous results in a research group in that major area of study.
Skills to Mention When Applying for a Position That Requires Research Experience
When submitting your job application, the ATS algorithms will compare it to the job description to see if it matches the position. If it doesn’t, your application will be thrown in the trash without a recruiter having laid eyes on it.
This is why it is important to mention relevant keywords in your resume. Here are keywords you can mention to increase your chances of passing the ATS screening:
- Data collection: A big part of carrying out research is collecting data. You’ll be a valuable company member if you excel in this area and can easily gather and get information from people.
- Critical thinking: Also known as analytical skills, critical thinking is crucial for examining data and drawing conclusions. This helps employees to translate mere information into solutions and new products.
- Problem-solving skills: In your bid to do research, many hindrances will arise. Your ability to solve problems and think of plans B and C is invaluable.
- Communication skills: Strong communication, oral and written, is critical in every area. You must be able to ask the right questions when gathering information and then communicate your findings to others clearly.
How To Include Research Experience in Your Resume
It’s important to look at the job description or application form to see what kind of research skills are required.
For instance, if you are preparing to join a medical school, read the school’s mission statement and find out how many accepted students in the recent past had research experience. List the research-related skills the employer/school is looking for and take it from there.
As a note, there are two more things you MUST do when listing your research experience:
- Include your mentor information (name, position, department, university, and area of research). This shows you worked under the authority of a faculty member, and it helps even more if your mentor is well known in that field.
- Quantify your research. Summarize your accomplishments concerning the research project. Numbers and quantities give the employer a better picture of your impact on the research. Instead of saying that you entered data, say that you entered data for a study involving 250 patients. Also, you “transcribed 1000 pages of interviews” instead of “transcribed interviews.”
How to Make Semester Projects And College Research Count as Research Experience
Semester projects are part of your coursework or curriculum, and might not be seen as research experience. However, if you were part of a special group of students who did lab research with your professor during off-hours, you can put that as research experience.
You will need a recommendation letter from your professor or any other proof to show you were part of a special research project.
Final Thoughts
While you don’t need relevant research experience to qualify for medical/grad school or a job, it helps your chances. Knowing what counts as research experience will help you formulate your resume and applications in a way that works for you.
Hopefully, the above information has helped you separate the chaff from the wheat, and now you know what to do next. If you don’t have the necessary experience, find a program you can join as soon as possible under the guidance of a field expert and start your journey.
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About The Author
Nathan Brunner is a labor market expert.
He is the owner of Salarship, a job board where less-skilled candidates can find accessible employment opportunities.
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What is exactly meant by “research experience” in grad application?
Do all examples of the list above count as research experience? Or which ones do? If so, what are they?
Which ones are more important and provide competitive advantage for getting accepted to good university?
59.7k 18 18 gold badges 185 185 silver badges 280 280 bronze badges 141 1 1 gold badge 1 1 silver badge 4 4 bronze badgesI can confirm that RA experience and published work counted as research experience when I applied to my PhD.
3 Answers 3
I would say all of those count as “research experience”. Which ones will be most valued depends on the nature of the program you’re applying to, and the exact nature of the work you did. In general, though, the more independent your work was, the better, and the more generic it was, the worse. So if you were a research assistant but all you did was photocopy documents, that will not earn you many points. If you were a research assistant who, e.g., conducted experiments, did fieldwork, participated in lab meetings, whatever, those will be worth more. If you actually contributed to the writing of papers or presentation at conferences, even better.
As a rule of thumb, the more that what you did was something other people could not have done (i.e., it required your special expertise, not just “more hands’), the “better” it is.
Most of the applicants for PhD positions (after bachelor, different for master) don’t have much research experience or have even written a paper as first author, more common would be poster at a conference. So if you have to show something here over average, list it in your application.
As professors get sometimes over 100 applications for PhD positions, more importantly list in bullet points what you experience handling distinct scientific methods is (technical terminus and usage time, e.g. electron microscopy on biological objects for one year or matlab scripting on neural networks for 6 months). As soon as you have worked for several weeks with a distinct technique, list it as research experience (name – object – duration)
This profile of your expertise is in the end to my experience more important to a professor/distinct position than a higher number of posters/papers of a distinct candidate, because it depends more on your team/advisor/co-workers if you publish before PhD a lot
