
Lab Assistant
Wood Dale, ILFull-time / Contract$18/hrSeen 3 days agoSeen in employer's feed 3 days ago
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At a glance
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Job overview
The Laboratory Assistant supports clinical laboratory operations by receiving, processing, preparing, and maintaining specimens for testing. The role contributes to timely diagnostic services through specimen handling, routine equipment and quality activities, recordkeeping, and laboratory safety procedures. It offers a full-time Tuesday-through-Saturday overnight schedule in Wood Dale, with contingent employment and a potential pathway to hire.
Skills & qualifications
Skills
Qualifications
Benefits
Full job description
If you're looking to build a career in healthcare and enjoy working in a fast-paced laboratory environment, this is an excellent opportunity to play a vital role behind the scenes of patient testing. As a Laboratory Assistant, you'll help ensure specimens are processed accurately and efficiently, supporting critical diagnostic services that impact patient care every day.
Location: Wood Dale, IL
Pay Rate: $18.00 per hour, plus shift differential ($1.50 per hour for 3rd shift)
Employment Type: Contingent with potential pathway for hire
Schedule: Tuesday through Saturday, 7:00 PM - 3:30 AM
Why This Role Matters
This position supports laboratory operations by ensuring specimens are accurately received, processed, prepared, and maintained for testing. Your attention to detail and commitment to quality will help facilitate timely and accurate diagnostic results.
What You'll Do
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Sort, receive, and process incoming specimens
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Centrifuge specimens, print labels, record data, and maintain temperature logs
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Prepare specimens for testing, including aliquoting samples, building worklists, and checking specimen integrity
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Prepare reagents and media as needed
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Perform routine instrument maintenance and quality assurance/quality control activities
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Investigate and resolve pending specimen issues, including locating missing samples
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Maintain departmental records and specimen storage systems
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Decontaminate work areas and properly dispose of biohazardous materials
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Change gas cylinders and perform weekly radioactive wipe tests
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Operate laboratory computer systems and other departmental equipment
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Follow all PPE requirements and laboratory safety procedures
What We're Looking For
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A current, up-to-date resume
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Ability to meet compliance requirements
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High school diploma or equivalent
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Medical assistant training is helpful
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Math and science coursework preferred
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Ability to prioritize tasks and manage multiple responsibilities efficiently
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Strong attention to detail and ability to retain learned procedures
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Ability to communicate professionally and work collaboratively with coworkers and customers
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Basic computer skills and comfort working with laboratory systems
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Must be eligible and provide proof of eligibility to work in the US
What's In It For You
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Gain valuable experience in a clinical laboratory environment
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Opportunity to develop healthcare and laboratory operations skills
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Steady full-time schedule with consistent hours
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Competitive pay plus shift differential
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Potential pathway to long-term employment
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Work as part of a collaborative team supporting patient care
Benefits for Manpower Associates (Upon Eligibility)
Upon completion of waiting period associates are eligible for:
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Medical and Prescription Drug Plans
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Dental Plan
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Supplemental Life Insurance
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Short Term Disability Insurance
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401(k)
About ManpowerGroup, Parent Company of: Manpower, Experis and Talent Solutions
Manpower® is a global leader in contingent staffing and permanent resourcing, providing companies with strategic and operational flexibility and creating talent at scale. Our specialized recruiting teams assess and guide talent into meaningful, sustainable employment, while our PowerSuite technology enables deeper insight and smarter matching, helping candidates find opportunities that align with their strengths, experience, and career goals.
In this constantly shifting world, our flexible workforce solutions provide companies with the business agility needed to succeed. Manpower is part of the ManpowerGroup® (NYSE: MAN) family of brands, which also includes Experis and Talent Solutions. For more information about Manpower, follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, X and Instagram.
ManpowerGroup is committed to providing equal employment opportunities in a professional, high quality work environment. It is the policy of ManpowerGroup and all of its subsidiaries to recruit, train, promote, transfer, pay and take all employment actions without regard to an employee's race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, religion, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable law.
How this job compares
Set against the 778 open Laboratory Assistant jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 10, 2026.
- Pay
- This posting$18/hr
- US median$19–26/hr362 hourly ranges
This rate, $18/hr, is 18% below the US median midpoint ($22/hr) — in the lowest quarter of Laboratory Assistant hourly ranges across the US.
- Openings
- Olive Jobs lists 15 open Laboratory Assistant jobs in Illinois and 778 across the US. Under 1% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
- Hiring the most across the US
- HCA Healthcare56 open
- AdventHealth39 open
- Sutter Health32 open
- Experience
- Laboratory Assistant postings that state a minimum ask for 1 year of experience at the median; the middle half ask for 1 to 2 years (241 postings).
- Education
- This posting asks for a high school diploma; 497 of the 778 open Laboratory Assistant jobs (64%) ask for a high school diploma or higher.
Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 10, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.
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