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You love your profession, but you’ve been feeling like a cog in the machine lately. So you started thinking about tweaking your career. But hold on—what about your machinist resume?
A bit worn out? Second class? Doesn’t show how great you are? It’s about time to manufacture a new one. A premium quality machinist resume that gets you high-paying jobs with the benefits you’ve always wanted.
This guide will show you:
- A machinist resume example better than 9 out of 10 other resumes.
- How to write a machinist resume that will land you more interviews.
- Tips and examples of how to put skills and achievements on a machinist resume.
- How to describe your experience on a resume for a machinist to get any job you want.
Want to save time and have your resume ready in 5 minutes? Try our resume builder. It’s fast and easy to use. Plus, you’ll get ready-made content to add with one click. See 20+ resume templates and create your resume here.
Sample Machinist Resume—See more resume samples here.
One of our users, Brittanya, had this to say:
Zety really helped me create the best resume possible. It pointed out how things could be better on my existing resume and suggested many things to be re-worded or removed.
Do you need a machine operator resume or something else? See these guides:
- CNC Machine Operator Resume Sample & Guide
- Heavy Equipment Operator Resume & Guide
- Forklift Operator Resume & Guide
- Warehouse Resume Sample & Guide
- Machine Operator Resume Sample & Guide
- Mechanic Resume Sample & Guide
- Maintenance Resume Sample & Guide
- Pipefitter Resume Sample & Guide
- Automotive Technician Resume Sample & Guide
- Best Resume Examples for All Professions
Machinist Resume Sample
Ashley Moss, Machinist
ashley.q.moss@gmail.com
linkedin.com/in/ashleyqmoss
940-453-7065
Professional Summary
Efficient machinist with 5+ years of experience, skilled in tooling and changeover. Seeking to deliver quality machining at Rakiomed. At Dallas Hubless, consistently exceeded production targets by 10% or more. Beat the factory average defect rate by 15% through improved machine maintenance and monitoring.
Work Experience
Machinist
Dallas Hubless, Inc.
May 2015–May 2019
- Regularly beat production goals by more than 10%.
- Delivered all work with 15% less defects than the facility average, thanks to strict attention to machine monitoring and maintenance.
- Installed an air filter on my lathe that reduced downtime by 35%. Addition was adopted by entire factory, saving an estimated $225,000 a year in maintenance costs.
- Assisted with design of quick changeover drive that saved 10 hours a month in setup time.
Materials Handler
Clay Miles Fabrication
Jan 2014–Feb 2015
- Assisted with lathe operation during busy times.
- Performed daily light maintenance on manually operated lathes.
Education
2009–2013 Teneha High School
Graduated with H.S. Degree
- Excelled in shop and technical classes.
- Played on varsity baseball team.
Skills
- Hard skills: Manual lathe operation, monitoring, maintenance, Kaizen
- Soft skills: Teamwork, time management, efficiency, problem solving
Activities
Volunteer builder, Habitat for Humanity
Girls’ little league coach 1x per week.
Here’s how to write a machinist resume that gets jobs:
1. Select the Best Machinist Resume Format
Machinists operate precision equipment to create milled parts in manufacturing shops. Non-CNC machinists use manual machines that aren’t controlled by computer code. A machinist resume must show skills in manual lathe operation, machine monitoring, and light maintenance, as well as teamwork, time-management, and effciency.
You work with precision.
Prove it with your machinist resume format.
There are a few different resume layouts, but the best resume format for job puts your last position first.
It’s the chronological resume template. To make it yours:
- Put your name and title (Machine Operator) in the heading of your resume.
- Add other personal information on your resume like phone and email.
- Use a professional resume font like Cambria or Georgia.
Pro Tip: Should you use PDF resume format? Yes—unless the hiring manager says not to in the job offer. PDFs travel better than MS Word format resumes for machinist jobs.
2. Write a Machinist Resume Objective or Resume Summary
You’ve suspected this all along—
The hiring team won’t really read your machinist resume.
They’ll glance and skim.
Get them on your side fast with a one minute elevator pitch.
We call it a “profile for resumes” or a “resume summary.” It’s just a blurb up top that gives your career highlights.
Put some machinist achievements in it that display your skills in action.
In a resume for freshers looking for a first job, we call it a “career objective.”
It’s the same thing, but your achievements come from non-machinist jobs.
Pro Tip: Don’t try to tackle your summary before you’ve got something to summarize. In other words, write the top part of your resume last.
3. Calibrate Your Resume to Fit the Machinist Job Description
You know who’ll get the job?
Whoever fits it best.
Targeting resumes for machinist jobs is all-important.
Here’s how to add experience in a resume for machinist jobs:
- List your newest machinist job first.
- Install business titles in each job.
- Mount a few achievement examples to show your skills at work. Example: “beat production goals.”
- Plug in some numbers like “15%” or “10 hours” to send a strong message about your machinist skills.
Pro Tip: Don’t put the hiring staff asleep at the switch. Keep them in the game with strong resume words like beat, installed, or assisted.
4. Spin Up Your Machinist Resume Education Section
Do they care about your education in a machinist resume?
Yes.
But not the way you think.
Here’s how to put education on a resume:
Show your school name, graduation date, and degree title.
But then show off a few more skills.
If you were on a sports team, that proves fitness. Did you do a school project with a plasma cutter? That’s another good addition.
5. Show Machinist Skills in Your Resume
Use this machinist resume skills list.
It has hard and soft skills both:
Machinist Resume Skills
Hard Skills:
- Manual lathe operation
- Machine monitoring
- Light machine maintenance
- Kaizen
- Kanban
- Quality control
- Setup reduction
- Troubleshooting
- Engine lathes
- Bench lathes
- Speed lathes
Soft Skills:
- Teamwork
- Time management
- Efficiency
- Dependability
- Problem solving
- Critical thinking
- Spoken & written communication skills
- Coordination
- Physically fit
But—
List the few you’re really good at, and that the job ad really needs.
Pro Tip: Not sure how to list technical skills on resume? Put them in a skills section, with added proof of usage in your resume bullet points.
Making a resume with our builder is incredibly simple. Follow our step-by-step guide, use ready-made content tailored to your job and have a resume ready in minutes.
When you’re done, our professional resume builder will score your resume and our ATS resume checker will tell you exactly how to make it better.
6. Add Other Sections to Your Machinist Resume
What resume sections do you need besides experience and education?
None. But—
Extra sections in a machinist resume help a lot.
Pick from:
- Activities
- Associations like NTMA
- Side projects
- Resume language skills
- Volunteer tasks
- Supervisor compliments
- Hobbies and interests
- Fitness
- Volunteer work on a resume
Pro Tip: Want tips for how to add certifications to a resume? Put them under “Education” in their own dedicated section.
7. Send a Cover Letter With Your Machinist Resume
Nope.
But you should almost always send one.
For a machinist resume cover letter, use the proper cover letter format. That’s three paragraphs that each do a different job:
- In your cover letter intro paragraph, put your most easily-remembered machinist moment. Example: “When I saved an estimated $225,000…”
- In paragraph #2, add other goodies that show passion and job competence.
- With your cover letter ending, tease something like an explanation of how you cut machine downtime by 35%.
- Is my cover letter too long? If it’s more than half a page, it should be shorter.
Following up on a job application is a great way to get interviewed. If they forgot about you, a reminder once a week can get you in the door.
Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here’s what it may look like:
That’s it!
That’s how to write a resume for machinist jobs.
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