The “Standout Seven” Skills Framework for Biostatisticians

To help your resume pass ATS filters, I’ll use what I call the Standout Seven Skills framework. These are the core technical and analytical capabilities that directly match what hiring teams (and their ATS software) are scanning for.

But instead of guessing, I’ll show you how to reverse-engineer job descriptions to identify the most relevant skills—then plug those right into your resume where they’ll do the most work.

Here’s How to Do It:

1. Find two job descriptions for roles you’d be genuinely excited to land (ideally from your top companies).

2. Copy the full job descriptions into a document or AI tool.

3. Use AI or your own analysis to pull out recurring, high-priority skills that match your own experience.

You can do this manually, or you can use a free tool like ChatGPT or Claude to accelerate the process.

🔍 Example: A biostatistician applies to a clinical trial analytics role. Most descriptions list “SAS programming,” “regression modeling,” and “data cleaning” in the top 5 bullet points. Those are likely high-priority skills that should appear in your resume—ideally near the top.

This isn’t about tricking the system—it’s about aligning your strengths with the needs of the role. And trust me, this one tweak alone can move your resume from the “meh” pile to the “let’s interview” list.

How to Use AI to Identify Your Standout Seven Skills (Optional but Powerful)

To make this easy, you can use a pre-written prompt and paste it into a free AI tool like ChatGPT or Claude. Here’s how:

1. Go to your preferred AI platform.

2. Copy and paste the prompt: 

“Pretend you are an applicant tracking system. Review these job listings. Extract the most important skills and keywords from these job posts. I have also included a couple of my unique strengths. Analyze these in comparison with the job listings. List the seven most important skills that are relevant to these roles.”

1. Insert your two job descriptions and two of your unique strengths into the template.

2. Let the AI analyze and generate a custom list of Standout Seven Skills based on your target jobs.

✅ Pro Tip: The closer your resume language mirrors the key qualifications in the job description (without copy-pasting them word-for-word), the better your chances of getting flagged as a top match by the ATS.

Bottom line: Your resume isn’t just a summary of what you’ve done—it’s a strategic document designed to get past both algorithms and real people. Nail this step, and you’ll instantly improve your chances of landing interviews.

💡 Action Step: Identify Your Standout Seven

Find two job descriptions, paste them into ChatGPT using the prompt above, and generate your custom list of seven standout biostatistics skills. Add them to your resume’s Skills section and weave them into your bullet points where relevant.