Surgical technologist resume examples & writing guide for 2026

Three surgical technologist resumes at new CST, specialty team and lead technologist level, rendered in a real template and annotated note by note. Each one names the credential and services, and counts cases, turnover and trays.

By the Resumi editorial teamUpdated October 5, 20268 min read

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Surgical technologist resume example, mid level, rendered in the Green Academic template

Written by the Resumi editorial team for a fictional candidate. Role facts come from O*NET and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Strength band is Resumi’s optimization score, not a ranking any employer sees.

What makes this resume work

Each marker on the page has a note here. Press a marker to jump to its note. Hover a note and its marker lifts.

1
Service line in the headline
Cardiovascular and robotic surgery at a trauma center. Large hospitals hire onto service teams, and naming the team tells a manager which rooms this technologist can take on day one.
2
Specialty cases counted
One hundred and eighty open heart and 240 robotic cases in a year. Specialty volume is the proof behind the headline, and the split shows depth in both.
3
Preference cards with savings
Forty-six cards redesigned, and $38,000 a year less opened and wasted. Preference cards drive what gets opened for each case, so fixing them is real money for a surgery department.
4
Robot setup timed
Setup from 45 to 32 minutes for the da Vinci system. Robotic rooms are expensive to keep waiting, so a standardized setup is a number an OR director will remember.
5
Training that finished
Five new technologists, each scrubbing bypass alone within 6 months. Postings for higher technologist grades ask for guidance of newer staff, and the result shows the training worked.

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01The example, in full

The resume shown above, as text you can search and copy.

Thaddeus Moravec

Certified surgical technologist II, CST · Cardiovascular and robotic surgery · Trauma center

Tacoma, WAthaddeus.moravec@example.com(555) 527-8034linkedin.example.com/thaddeus-moravec

Summary

Certified surgical technologist with six years in surgery, the last four on the cardiovascular and robotic team of a Level II trauma center. Scrubbed 180 open heart and 240 robotic cases in 2025, and trains new technologists for the team.

Experience

Certified surgical technologist II, cardiovascular and robotics

Nov 2022 – Present

Commencement Bay Medical Center · Tacoma, WA

Redesigned 46 cardiovascular preference cards with the surgeons, cutting opened but unused supplies by $38,000 a year.
Completed 180 open heart and 240 robotic cases in 2025 as first scrub, including valve, bypass and robotic prostatectomy procedures.
Reduced robotic case setup from 45 to 32 minutes by standardizing draping and instrument trays for the da Vinci system.
Trained 5 new technologists for the cardiovascular team, each scrubbing bypass cases alone within 6 months.

Certified surgical technologist

Jul 2020 – Oct 2022

Puyallup Valley Surgery Center · Puyallup, WA

Completed about 1,100 orthopedic and ENT cases a year at an ambulatory surgery center, and earned the CST in 2020.

Education

Associate of Applied Science in Surgical Technology

Sep 2018 – Jun 2020

South Sound Technical College · Tacoma, WA

Skills

Clinical: Cardiovascular surgery, Robotic surgery, Preference cards, Sterile technique, Surgical instrumentation

Certifications

Certified Surgical Technologist (CST)

Jun 2020

National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting

Surgical Technologist registration (Washington)

Jul 2020

Washington State Department of Health

02Market snapshot

Median pay: $64,650 median annual pay, $65,020 in hospitals and $64,670 in outpatient care centers
Typical education: Postsecondary certificate or associate's degree in surgical technology
Job outlook: 5% growth from 2025 to 2035, faster than average
Common credentials: Certification may help in finding a job, and some employers require it

Sources: BLS OES (May 2025) · BLS OOH (2025)

03The same resume at three levels

The tinted row is the level shown above.

Entry-level
0–2 years
Education sits above the jobs, and the headline gives the CST, the Washington registration, the setting and the case count. Bullets cover cases and first-scrub share, counts, turnover and call. Clinical rotations fold to one line with the cases and sites completed.
Typical titles: Certified surgical technologist, Surgical technologist, Scrub technologist
Mid-level
3–6 years
The headline names the level, the service line and the setting. Bullets give specialty cases scrubbed, preference cards redesigned, robotic setup time and training. The surgery center years fold to one line with annual cases and the year the CST was earned.
Typical titles: Certified surgical technologist II, Cardiovascular surgical technologist, Robotics surgical technologist
Senior
7+ years
Scope replaces case counts: the size of the team, daily room assignments across a busy service, turnover time, incomplete trays, preference-card savings and new-graduate retention. The six earlier technologist years fold to one line with their annual cases and the students precepted.
Typical titles: Lead surgical technologist, Surgical services coordinator, Senior certified surgical technologist

04Summary

Weak

Dedicated surgical technologist with a passion for patient safety and a strong commitment to supporting surgeons in a fast-paced operating room environment.

Strong

The credential, the service line, the setting, specialty case counts and training. An OR manager can match each with an open role. The weak version promises safety and support without a specialty, a setting or a single case.

05Bullets

Weak

Assisted surgeons during procedures by passing instruments and maintaining the sterile field.

Strong

Redesigned 46 cardiovascular preference cards with the surgeons, cutting opened but unused supplies by $38,000 a year.

A named piece of OR work, the service, the partners and a saving in dollars. A manager can ask how waste was tracked and which items came off the cards. The weak bullet describes what every technologist does on every case, with no service, no team, no number and no result, so every applicant in the pile could send it unchanged.

06Skills and keywords

Clinical

Cardiovascular surgery (in the example)
Robotic surgery (in the example)
Preference cards (in the example)
Sterile technique (in the example)
Surgical instrumentation (in the example)
Surgical counts
Orthopedic surgery

Licenses and certifications

Certified Surgical Technologist (CST) (in the example)
Surgical Technologist registration (Washington) (in the example)
Basic Life Support (BLS)

Filled chips appear in the example above.

Paste a job description and Resumi shows which of these your resume already covers.

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07Mistakes to avoid

No services or specialties named
Fix: General, orthopedic, cardiovascular, neuro, robotic and trauma rooms need different skills. Name the services you can scrub alone in the headline, because hospitals hire onto service teams and postings list the teams by name.
No case count anywhere
Fix: A surgical technologist's experience is measured in cases. Give cases a year or in total, by service, and how many you scrubbed as first scrub, so a manager can tell what you can handle without help.
Safety claims with no measure
Fix: A claim like reduced contamination risk by 45% matches nothing an OR records. Use what the department does track, such as correct counts, discrepancies caught, turnover time, incomplete trays or supply waste, with the number of cases behind it.
Credential and state left vague
Fix: Write CST after your name only once you hold it, and give its date. Name the state registration or license where your state requires one, and note BLS, because postings often require all three and screen on them first.
Lead work buried in duties
Fix: Preference cards, precepting students, training new staff and working with sterile processing are lead work. Give each a number, such as cards rebuilt, technologists trained or tray errors cut, so a manager sees you are ready to run a service.

08Format and template

One column, reverse-chronological order and standard section headings, with every figure written as text. Put CST, your state credential and the services you scrub in the headline. Give cases by service and the measures your OR tracks. List the certificate and state credential with dates. This example uses Green Academic. The same content works in Standard, Warm Classic and Beige Border.

Shown above: Green Academic

StandardFree
Warm Classic
Beige Border

09Questions surgical technologists ask

What is the CST, and how do I list it on a resume?

The Certified Surgical Technologist credential comes from the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting. NBSTSA describes a four-hour exam of 175 questions, 150 of them scored, and says the credential is preferred or required by most employers and required by many states. Write CST after your name and in your headline, then list it with its date beside any state registration and BLS.

What numbers should a surgical technologist put on a resume?

Give cases a year or in total, by service, and the share you scrubbed as first scrub. Add counts kept or discrepancies caught, room turnover time, robotic setup time, incomplete trays and preference-card savings. Leads should add the size of the team, rooms covered and new staff retained. Always give the case count behind a rate, so a manager can tell a habit from a good week.

How should a new graduate surgical technologist write a resume?

Put your accredited program first, then clinical rotations with the number of cases and the services you scrubbed. NBSTSA says CST candidates complete about 120 cases in real operating rooms, so give your own total. List the CST or your exam date, any state registration and BLS. Practitioners in the field argue for properly trained, certified technologists, so name your accredited program clearly.

Should I list on-call experience on a surgical tech resume?

Yes, if you have it. Hospital postings ask technologists to take assigned call, including after hours, weekends and holidays, and to respond within the department's time limit. A line showing how often you took call, for which services, and from when tells a manager you can cover a trauma or emergency case alone at night, which is often the hardest shift to fill.

Which certifications help a surgical technologist?

The CST comes first, and some employers also accept the NCCT Tech in Surgery credential. Most hospital postings require Basic Life Support, and some states require a registration or license, such as Washington's surgical technologist registration. Experienced technologists can add NBSTSA's surgical first assistant credential to move into assisting. List each credential with its date, and keep the CST current, since some employers tie senior grades to holding it.

How do I move from surgical technologist to lead technologist?

Show the lead work you already do. Precepting students, training new technologists, rebuilding preference cards, coordinating with vendors and sterile processing, and covering a specialty all count. Give numbers for each. Lead postings ask technologists to precept, educate staff on new supplies, act as the liaison on instruments and help with room assignments, so a resume showing those with results reads as ready.

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Surgical technologist resume examples & writing guide for 2026