Phlebotomist job description: duties, skills and qualifications.

Core duties

16

O*NET task statements

Preparation

Job Zone 3 of 5

medium preparation

Typical entry education

Postsecondary nondegree award

BLS 2025–35

Median pay

$45,230

BLS May 2025

1. Confirm the identities of patients by verifying their personal information. importance 4.9 of 5
2. Match laboratory requisition forms to specimen tubes. importance 4.8 of 5
3. Dispose of contaminated sharps, in accordance with applicable laws, standards, and policies. importance 4.8 of 5
4. Dispose of blood or other biohazard fluids or tissue, in accordance with applicable laws, standards, or policies. importance 4.8 of 5
5. Collect specimens at specific time intervals for tests, such as those assessing therapeutic drug levels. importance 4.8 of 5
6. Draw blood from veins by vacuum tube, syringe, or butterfly venipuncture methods. importance 4.7 of 5
7. Organize or clean blood-drawing trays, ensuring that all instruments are sterile and all needles, syringes, or related items are of first-time use. importance 4.7 of 5
8. Enter patient, specimen, insurance, or billing information into computer. importance 4.7 of 5
9. Conduct standards tests, such as blood alcohol, blood culture, oral glucose tolerance, glucose screening, blood smears, or peak and trough drug levels tests. importance 4.7 of 5
10. Process blood or other fluid samples for further analysis by other medical professionals. importance 4.6 of 5
11. Provide sample analysis results to physicians to assist diagnosis. importance 4.6 of 5
12. Document route of specimens from collection to laboratory analysis and diagnosis. importance 4.5 of 5
13. Monitor blood or plasma donors during and after procedures to ensure health, safety, and comfort. importance 4.5 of 5
14. Explain fluid or tissue collection procedures to patients. importance 4.5 of 5
15. Transport specimens or fluid samples from collection sites to laboratories. importance 4.4 of 5
16. Draw blood from capillaries by dermal puncture, such as heel or finger stick methods. importance 4.0 of 5

Work activities O*NET rates most important here: Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Assisting and Caring for Others, Working with Computers, Documenting/Recording Information and Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships.

Also part of the job

Supplemental tasks O*NET lists for this occupation: less central than the core duties above, and not done in every job.

• Draw blood from arteries, using arterial collection techniques.
• Collect fluid or tissue samples, using appropriate collection procedures.
• Determine donor suitability, according to interview results, vital signs, and medical history.
• Calibrate or maintain machines, such as those used for plasma collection.

Knowledge areas: Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Administrative, Education and Training and Computers and Electronics.

Software O*NET lists for this occupation: Microsoft Office software, MEDITECH software, JavaScript, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Word. These are examples O*NET records for the job, not a list of tools every employer uses or a checklist of what you must know.

• Education: BLS lists a postsecondary nondegree award as the typical entry-level education.
• Experience: BLS lists no work experience in a related occupation as typical to enter.
• Training on the job: BLS lists no typical on-the-job training once hired.
• Preparation: O*NET places the job in Job Zone 3 of 5 (medium preparation). Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations.
• Licenses and certifications: not listed here. A license is a legal requirement set by a state; a certification is a credential from a private or professional body. Rules vary by state and employer, and a missing entry on this page does not mean none is required: check with your state's licensing board and see how to become a phlebotomist.

In O*NET's data, “high school diploma or the equivalent (such as a ged)” and “post-secondary certificate” were reported equally often (40% each) by O*NET's occupation experts for this occupation, so no single level is the most common.

Job title: Phlebotomist
[Company] · [City, State] · [Full-time or part-time] · [Pay range, where your state requires one]

About the role
[Company] is hiring a Phlebotomist to draw blood for tests, transfusions, donations, or research.
[One sentence on your team and why this role matters.]

What you will do
- Confirm the identities of patients by verifying their personal information.
- Match laboratory requisition forms to specimen tubes.
- Dispose of contaminated sharps, in accordance with applicable laws, standards, and policies.
- Dispose of blood or other biohazard fluids or tissue, in accordance with applicable laws, standards, or policies.
- Collect specimens at specific time intervals for tests, such as those assessing therapeutic drug levels.
- Draw blood from veins by vacuum tube, syringe, or butterfly venipuncture methods.
- Organize or clean blood-drawing trays, ensuring that all instruments are sterile and all needles, syringes, or related items are of first-time use.
- Enter patient, specimen, insurance, or billing information into computer.

What we are looking for
- [Education: BLS lists a postsecondary nondegree award as typical for this occupation; set the level this role truly needs]
- [Experience: BLS lists no related work experience as typical to enter; set what this role needs]
- Strength in service orientation, social perceptiveness and speaking
- Working knowledge of Customer and Personal Service and English Language
- [Software your team uses, e.g. Microsoft Office software or MEDITECH software]
- [Any license or certification your state or company requires]

[Schedule, benefits and how to apply]

Illustrative: every name, employer, school, date and number in these samples is fictional or a bracketed placeholder. Replace each bracket with your own true details; never copy a result you did not achieve.

Not a real job posting. This template is TryHired's illustration built from government occupational data. It is not an opening at any employer, and no employer wrote it.

The median annual wage was $45,230 in May 2025. The median hourly wage was $21.75. BLS estimates about 143,540 jobs in this occupation in the U.S.

BLS projects employment of phlebotomists to grow 6.8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 18,000 openings a year over that period, including openings to replace workers who leave.

See the full phlebotomist salary breakdown by percentile, state and metro.

• Read a real phlebotomist posting next to the core duties above. Duties it repeats, such as “Confirm the identities of patients by verifying their personal…”, tell you what that employer weighs most; anything it adds is specific to that team.
• Tailor your resume to the posting, not to this page: describe only phlebotomist work you have actually done, with your own results.
• Prepare a story for each of the top-rated skills (service orientation and social perceptiveness); phlebotomist interview questions turns them into practice questions.