A Complete Guide to Writing a Solar Installer Resume with Examples

Though over 10,000 solar companies are registered in the USA, you’ll find very few where you could build a career as a professional solar technician.

You need an impressive solar installer resume to get a placement in such companies.

That’s where we could help you.

In this article, we have listed everything you should know about writing a perfect resume for your next solar job application.

This includes:

• A guide to choosing the right format and layout for your resume.
• Complete resume examples for beginners and experienced technicians.
• Examples of experience, professional summary, and skills sections.
• Pro resume tips to stand out.

Check out our modern resume templates for solar professionals to create your resume in 10 minutes.

Entry-level Solar Installer Resume Example

Aren’t you looking for a solar installer resume? Check out the other technician resumes. We have a list of 400+ resume guides for different professionals.

• Maintenance technician resume
• Technician resume
• Plumber resume
• Electrician resume

Solar Installer Salary & Employment Rates

The average solar installer earns $51,000/ year 💰according to payscale.com.

In addition, some of the jobs offer service charges, incentives, and bonuses to encourage talented and hard-working technicians.

Writing a Solar Installer resume from Scratch

Not all solar installer resumes are manually inspected by a hiring manager.

To reach the hiring manager, your resume should pass an automatic screening which is called ATS (applicant tracking system).

Writing your resume keeping both these steps in mind is important.

When writing a resume from scratch, you should be aware of the resume layout and format.

Here’s a way to skip this section. Try one of our ready-to-fill resume templates which are already optimized for ATS and human screening.

Solar Installer Resume Layout

In simple terms, the layout of your resume is the plan you write down on paper to create your resume.

It should include the section headings, subheadings, and other important information you are planning to include.

By having a layout, you will save time and you won’t miss any important detail from the resume.

This is the layout we recommend for a solar installer resume:

• Header
• Professional Summary
• Experience
• Education
• Skills
• Additional sections (certificates, languages, and interests)

Solar Installer Resume Format

The format you pick affects your experience section and its structure.

We recommend you write your experience section in a way that is easy to understand for a hiring manager. They spend about 5-7 seconds on one application and you need to make sure you provide a smooth read throughout.

There’re 3 standard formats in use:

Functional (skill-based) resume format: In this, you should first write the key solar installer skills your hiring manager expects and provide example scenarios and projects where you applied that skills.

This is a great way to showcase your project experience.

Reverse chronological resume format: In this, you should first write your most recent solar installing experience and state the previous work experience in reverse chronological order.

This is a commonly used format by many solar installers and other technical professionals. In fact, hiring managers are very much familiar with this format making this one of their favorites.

Further, this format showcases your latest experience first. That’s something most recruiters are concerned about.

Therefore, we recommend you use the reverse chronological format in your resume as much as possible.

Hybrid resume format: This is a combination of the above two formats.

We have composed a complete guide to different resume formats if you are interested in reading more.

Start Solar Installer Resume With a Header

The resume header should consist of your name and contact information.

This is a short section but you should know what to write and what not to. Most applicants make the mistake of including too much information in their headers.

Check out these examples:

A good & a bad header

Consider these while writing your header section:

• Start your header with the name followed by the position you apply for.
• State your best email and mobile number – these are what they use to contact you. Double-check them.
• If you have a LinkedIn account, put the link.
• Avoid writing your full mailing address – instead, state the City.

Professional Summary for Solar Installer Resume

From the old days of writing resumes in high school, you might have seen this section.

The only difference now is how you write it.

In modern resume writing, a professional summary is used as a hook to attract the reader. It should provide a summarized statement about the candidate, their achievements, and key skills to show the hiring manager that reading this profile further is worth their time.

Keep your professional summary to 2 sentences and about 3 to 4 lines.

Start with your most recent experience and how you achieved the results. Use numbers to increase credibility.

Check out these examples and read more about how to write a perfect resume summary in our complete guide.

Examples

Write your most impressive and relevant achievement in your professional summary. After reading this section, your hiring manager should feel that they got the right fit. In fact, it should hook them to read the rest of your resume.

Solar Installer Resume Objective

If this is the first job you’re applying for, obviously you don’t have any achievements related to solar installation to showcase in your summary.

In such a case, you could write an objective summary highlighting your interest in the field and why you would like to join the organization.

Experience Section for a Solar Installer

For any profession, the experience section makes the most contribution to their resumes. Some hiring managers only read experience sections to make shortlisting decisions.

If you have years of experience as a solar installer, good luck! But if you don’t, it doesn’t mean you can’t get the job.

We have given examples for both experienced and entry-level solar installers to crush it in their resumes.

Get inspiration from these examples and write solid experience sections better than 95% of the other resumes.

Great experience sections not just get your resume shortlisted – they give you the opportunity to negotiate your salary.

Experience section for a senior solar installer

The first example is not bad, right?

That’s what most solar technician resumes look like.

These average experience sections with roles & responsibilities don’t make your resume stand out among thousand of other resumes.

The second experience section proves it.

It’s unique and grabs the attention of a reader fast.

Here’re the components that make it better than the previous version:

• Starting each sentence with a power verb.
• Using numbers wherever applicable.
• Writing specific experiences rather than generic roles

Experience section for an entry-level solar installer

For entry-level solar installers, hiring managers’ main concern would be technical skills. Use the right keywords that describe relevant technical skills and provide credible proof of your work.

If you’re applying for an internship having no idea of solar installation, write about your related education or any other project you have been involved in. Do not keep this section blank.

Boost Your Solar Installer Resume with Education

In most cases, recruiters do not mention a minimum education level to apply for a solar installer job. However, having a basic education would come in handy.

Most employers prefer to hire technical people with a formal education background.

Mention your high school education.

If you have attended any technical college for further studies, that would be an advantage.

If you don’t have much experience to fill in your experience section, give priority to your education section by expanding on the key learnings. Otherwise, keep it short.

Top Skills for Solar Installer Resume

The skills section of your resume helps you in the ATS test as well as to showcase to the hiring manager that you’re the right fit.

Identify the right set of skills to list on your resume.

Carefully read the job advertisement and pick the skills your employer is already looking for. These are the key terms they will feed to the ATS to shortlist applications.

Pick 5-7 key skills that align with your profile.

Use a mix of soft and hard skills required for the job.

Soft skills are personality traits such as leadership, communication, and teamwork.

Hard skills are technical skills required to perform the tasks of a solar installer.

Following are lists of typical solar installer skills listed in job descriptions.

Soft skills:

• Leadership
• Organization skills
• Problem-solving
• Communication skills
• Attention to detail
• Analytical skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Willingness to travel
• Customer service skills
• Teamwork

Hard skills:

• Reading electrical drawings
• Electrical wiring
• Solar arrays designing
• Electrical equipment handling
• Assemble solar modules
• Maintain solar photovoltaic
• Energy requirement calculations
• Site assessment
• Safety regulations
• Hand tools
• CAD software
• Microsoft Office
• Weather sealing
• Installing solar panels

Additional Sections for A Solar Installer Resume

Give your hiring manager a pleasant surprise with a couple of additional sections.

These are ideally short sections with specific information that attracts the reader’s attention.

They further help the recruiter make a shortlisting decision when there’re multiple candidates with the same qualifications or experience.

Make your profile a unique one with the right sections.

Here’re a few sections you could use on your resume. Do not limit yourself to these. Any information that is relevant or adds value to your profile could be worth including in your resume. The number of additional sections will depend on the space you have.

Computing Skills

Your basic computer literacy would come in handy for a job in solar panel installation as you'll be working with computerized systems for design, installation, and testing.

If you have completed any online course, crash course, or attended a class for Microsoft Office, programming, or computer systems, you could list them here.

Skill certifications

Check whether the job advertisement mentions any skill certifications.

Some solar installation jobs require candidates to have certain skill certifications. Some States have mandatory certification requirements to work as a solar technician.

Languages

If you are proficient in a couple of languages, that would make your profile stand out.

As a solar technician, you might have to deal with clients who speak different languages. Though English would be enough to communicate with clients in most cases, an employee who could deal with the clients in their preferred language would always be given priority.

Interests

Mention your interests if they support you directly or indirectly to perform your job as a solar installer.

Any of your interest that indicates your physical fitness or technical knowledge would be valuable additions.

Pro Resume Tips for Solar Installers

Here are some Pro Tips to help you improve your solar installer resume:

• Write an error-free resume – use a grammar and spell-checking tool before sending.
• Use a resume template with multiple columns to save space. Check out some of the modern resume templates here.
• Keep your resume to one or two pages.
• Acquire demanding skills through certification courses. Find out what is in demand in the market by reading job advertisements.

Summary:

• Start your resume with the header. Include your name and contact information.
• Write a compelling resume summary.
• Stand out with an experience section that is beyond your job roles and responsibilities.
• State the education qualifications in short.
• Write a list of soft and hard skills.
• Make a pleasant surprise with relevant additional sections.

Reinforce Your Resume with A Cover Letter

Don’t forget to add a cover letter to your job application.

Some job advertisements mention this while some won’t. Still, we recommend you write a cover letter if you’re really interested in the job.

Most recruiters take applications with cover letters more seriously.

In your cover letter, state your key skills and mention what you could bring to the table to solve the most troubling issues for the employer. Talk about how you did that in your previous job.

Use specific information and numbers.

Keep your cover letter to about half a page with 3-4 short paragraphs.

Check out our cover letter templates to create your cover letters faster.

FAQ

What does a solar installer do?

Solar panel installers mainly place solar photovoltaic systems on the roofs of buildings and houses. Their job involves answering client inquiries and identifying their requirements, designing solar systems and deciding the number of panels for a project, installation, maintenance, testing, and troubleshooting.

Some of the responsibilities are client facing and most are technical. The ideal candidate needs to have completed a technical certificate course in solar technology or panel installation with field experience as mentioned in the job advertisement.

How do I get a solar installer job?

If you’re interested in getting a solar installer job, there’re mainly two ways:

• You could complete a certificate course from a recognized institution and enter the job market or start an internship. Most institutions provide support to land your first internship.
• Look for a company that offers internships for freshers. There you could learn fieldwork on the job working with a team of experienced technicians.

However, basic knowledge of electrical engineering, solar technology, and electrical safety would be required to work in any job.

Check the best Resume Templates for Your Resume