How to Make a Welder Resume from Zero
Welding is a trade-based career, and as such, experience and skills are the most critical factors for recruiters. You’ll want your resume to highlight the welding techniques you know, the projects you’ve worked on, and the tools you can use.
Furthermore, you want a resume that shows you are a detail-oriented person that can solve problems as needed.
If you are not sure how to write a resume that paints that picture, you can just follow our tips and examples.
For starters, a great welder resume should have all the following sections:
- The header
- A resume summary
- An overview of your work experience
- A recap of your education
- A breakdown of your skills
- Additional sections such as certifications, languages, or projects
If you don’t have a lot of work experience, you can substitute the resume summary for a resume objective. As for the actual work experience section, you can do away with it and focus more heavily on your skills, goals, and any welding projects you’ve done that could help showcase your talents.
A welding resume that’s customized for the job you are applying to will do much better than a general one. Here are some tips to help you personalize your resume for each occasion:
- Pay attention to the keywords and action verbs used by the hiring manager in the job description. Mirror these words naturally in your resume to get past any applicant filtering systems they may use.
- Tailor your resume for each specific job as much as possible. This could mean changing the format, switching the order of your skills based on relevance, or replacing some of the additional sections for others that are more important based on context.
- Make sure your resume is concise and to the point, as it shouldn’t be longer than one page.
- Make sure to check for and correct any grammar or spelling errors.
What Should a Welder Resume Look Like?
While welder resumes tend to follow the same structure, there are different formats you can choose depending on what you want to highlight.
The three format options you can use are:
Reverse Chronological
First on the list is the most popular format choice, and for a good reason. The reverse-chronological format highlights your work experience, starting from your current or most recent job, then working its way back. For a welding resume, where your skills and experience should be the star of the show, this makes the most sense. It provides a good overview of what you can handle based on objective work experience.
Functional
The functional format is a better choice for entry-level welder resumes. Instead of focusing on work experience, this format highlights your transferable skills and knowledge, while also leveraging your objectives. It’s commonly used for welders new to the industry, or people changing careers.
Combinational or Hybrid
Last but not least, we have the combinational or hybrid format. As the name implies, this format combines aspects of both options by including a balance of work experience and transferable skills. While this might sound like the best choice, you have to remember that a resume needs to be concise. Choose this format if you feel that your work experience alone doesn’t provide enough background but be mindful of your resume’s length.
As for the resume’s design layout, you should adhere to the following guidelines:
- Margins: one inch on all sides.
- Font style: use a neutral font like Calibri, Arial, Times New Roman, or Cambria.
- Font size: 10 to 12pts.
- Line spacing: Either 1.0 or 1.15.
- Resume length: No longer than one page.
One of the most important aspects of a resume is that it’s concise and easy to read. Following the above should help you accomplish that in terms of layout.
Dos and Don’ts for the Header and Contact Section
It’s very important that your header section and contact information are formatted properly, as these are the first things a recruiting manager will see. You can’t afford any mistakes here.
However, you don’t want to overdo it either. Remember that space is of the essence.
A solid header and contact section will include, in this specific order, your full name, job title, phone number, email, city and state where you live, and either your professional profile from LinkedIn or a personal blog or website.
This is what a good header looks like:
Great example of a header for a welder resume
CORRECTProfessional Welder
914-935-6284
j.jameson@gmail.comNew York City, New York
Linkedin.com/in/jamesjameson
Clean, professional, and concise.
And this is what you want to avoid:
Bad of a header for a welder resume
INCORRECTJames “Jimmy” Jameson
Master Welder
914-935-6284
the_weldinator@gmail.com59 W 46th Street
New York City, NY 10036
DoB 21/04/89
Linkedin.com/in/jamesthewelder
Notice how it shares more information than needed and uses a contact email that doesn’t look very professional.
You might be tempted to include a photo of yourself, but we don’t really recommend it. There are a few reasons why pictures are not a good idea. They take up space on your resume and are actually disliked by recruiters. Plus, by including a picture, you are introducing the possibility of unconscious bias or discrimination based on it.
However, in the off chance that they specifically ask you for one, make sure it’s 1.5 to 2 inches square and taken with a blank background. This picture size is commonly known as 2x2, or passport style.
How to Demonstrate Your Experience in Welding
This is the core of a welding resume. Here’s where you show that you got what it takes to do the job. In the welding industry, your work experience is a presentation card that backs up your skills and knowledge for hiring managers.
By looking at your previous jobs and projects, they can know what kind of skills you have, and whether they fit the criteria they need.
You’ll want to follow the reverse-chronological format for this section. That means starting from your most recent job and doubling back. You’ll want to include the name of the place, your position, the length of time you worked there, and 3 to 5 of your accomplishments or responsibilities during that time. Here are some examples of what that looks like:
Example for Juniors
If you have limited work experience, it could look something like this:
Pipetron Construction
2021-Current
Performed welding to resolve flaws in structures.
Assessed welded surfaces to determine defects.
Completed a $50.000 welding project 2 days ahead of schedule.
Example for Seniors
For seniors, your work experience section might look like this:
Welder Supervisor
2015-Current
Trained a team of 5 junior welders and increased project completion by 15%.
Improved work quality by 20%.
Consistently completed projects 20% faster than the average welder.
Describe Your Welding Education
For the education section, you’ll normally focus on the welder courses or programs you’ve taken, starting with the most recent one. You’ll need to include the program’s name, the name of the place where you took it, the years you studied, your GPA, and the relevant tests you took.
Good example
CORRECTAmerican Welding Society
2010-2012
3.0 GPA
Relevant tests: Structural steel welding
The Most Sought-After Skills on a Welder Resume
As with any trade-based career, welding is a profession centered around your individual skills. As such, you’ll want to make sure that the hiring manager gets a good picture of what you can do just by looking at your resume. However, that doesn’t mean you should list every single thing you know. You’ll want to focus first and foremost on the skills that are relevant for the specific job you are applying to.
As a welder, you’ll be expected to read and understand blueprints for projects that you’ll handle. Precision is also fundamental, as well as having an eye for detail. Not to mention that you need to show you know the specific welding techniques or technologies used in that particular industry.
The best way to show that is by providing a list of skills that combines both hard and soft skills. Hard skills are those you train for or learn through studying, such as welding techniques, tool handling, or the use of industry-specific software. On the other hand, soft skills are related to who you are as a person and are more about your mental and physical capabilities.
A good skills section will have both types, while still focusing on the skills that connect the most with the application’s requirements.
These are some of the most sought after hard and soft skills for the welding industry:
Hard Skills for Welders
There are many welding processes and techniques to learn, as well as training to undergo. Among the hard skills a welder can have, you’ll find the following:
- ISO9001 trained
- FCAW
- SMAW
- GMAW
- Oxy-Fuel welding
- Pipe welding
- 35 to 3/32 wiring
- Robotic welding handling
- Design skills
Soft skills for Welders
When it comes to personal and interpersonal skills, a good welder should have the following:
- Attention to detail
- Collaboration and communication
- Problem solving
- Math skills
- Time management and organization
- Steady hands and good hand-eye coordination
- Physical and mental endurance
- Dexterity, mobility, and flexibility
- Ability to learn new technologies and techniques
Write a Winning Professional Summary
According to studies, recruiters spend between 6 to 8 seconds looking at a resume, so you have to make every second count. How can you do that?
By writing a killer resume summary.
Your resume summary is your sales pitch. It's a short 2 to 3-lines paragraph that provides the hiring manager with a specific, brief, and objective look at who you are and what you can do.
You’ll want to throw an eye-grabbing detail in there to ensure that they keep reading, such as one of your accomplishments with numbers to back it up.
Here are some examples of what a good resume summary looks like:
CORRECTProfessional welder with 7+ years of experience in MIG, TIG, and flux welding. Improved project completion at Metalworks Inc. by 15% and trained 5 junior welders during my tenure. Work efficiently with an eye for detail.
CORRECTMotivated junior welder with 1+ years of experience. Experienced with completing projects with speed without sacrificing quality. Skilled in FCAW, GMAW, and oxy-fuel welding.
INCORRECTExperienced account manager interested in a new position. I have worked with sales and customer relationships for years. I think this experience would make me a good fit for your company.
