Trades Resume Template

Most resume builders are designed for office jobs, which is why trades resumes end up looking wrong in them. There is nowhere to put your card numbers, no room for the equipment you run, and no place for your safety record. This template is built the other way around.

Roles this covers

• Electrician
• Welder
• HVAC Technician
• Plumber
• CDL Driver
• Machine Operator
• Construction Foreman
• Warehouse Associate
• Maintenance Technician

What hiring managers in the trades look for

Trades hiring is practical. A foreman wants to know what you can run, what you are licensed for, and whether you are going to get someone hurt. Buzzwords do not help you here and they can actively hurt.

• Your phone number, large and easy to find, because these calls happen fast
• Licenses and cards with numbers and expiration dates
• Specific equipment you have operated, named by type and size
• Safety record, including recordable-free stretches
• Union affiliation and journeyman or apprentice status

Put scope in every bullet

The difference between a resume that gets a call and one that does not is usually scope. "Operated heavy machinery" says nothing. "Operated a 5-ton overhead crane on third shift with zero recordables across 18 months" says everything.

Numbers that work well here: square footage, units per day, lines run, crew size, load weights, and time on the job without an incident.

Certifications, cards, and licenses

Include the card number when you have one. A hiring manager who can verify your OSHA 30 or your CDL endorsements without calling you is a hiring manager who moves you forward faster.

• OSHA 10 or OSHA 30 with completion date
• CDL class and endorsements
• Journeyman or master license with state and number
• Welding certifications by process and position
• Forklift, aerial lift, and equipment-specific certifications
• EPA 608 for HVAC work

Common mistakes on trades resumes

• Using corporate language like "leveraged" or "synergy" that does not fit the field
• Leaving off card numbers and expiration dates
• Listing "hard worker" instead of the specific equipment you run
• Hiding your phone number in small text at the top
• Skipping your safety record when it is genuinely good

Starting out or switching trades

Apprenticeships belong on your resume. So do side jobs, volunteer builds, and work you did for family. If you framed a deck, wired a garage, or rebuilt an engine, that is hands-on experience and it counts.

List it the same way you would list a job: what you did, what you used, and how long it took.

Build one free, no card required.