Skilled trades resume examples

Licenses first, then the work

In the trades, a license or certification is often the first filter, and sometimes a legal one: a contractor cannot send an unlicensed plumber to a job alone, and a refinery will not badge a welder without current qualifications. Put your licenses where a reader sees them in the first five seconds: in the summary, in a certifications section near the top, or in the sidebar of a two-column layout. Give the license class, the state or body that issued it, and the year.

Then show what you can do with it. A foreman hiring a journeyman wants to know the kind of work (residential, commercial, industrial, service), the size of the jobs and whether you have run a crew.

Numbers that work in the trades

Trades resumes rarely have revenue figures, and they do not need them. Use the numbers your trade already counts: apprenticeship hours, square footage, project value, tons of steel, feet of conduit, calls a day, first-time fix rate, callbacks or comebacks, inspection pass rate, flat-rate hours, X-ray acceptance, days without a recordable. “Installed 1,100 high-bay fixtures in a 210,000 sq ft warehouse, finished 9 days early” tells a contractor more than “experienced in commercial lighting”.

Safety numbers count too. Zero recordables over thousands of hours, a competent-person role or the toolbox talks you lead show a contractor you will not cost them a claim.

Keep it short and plain

One page is right for most tradespeople, including experienced journeymen. Two pages make sense for project managers, superintendents and estimators with a long list of projects. Skip photos, skill bars and decorative designs: many contractors still print resumes, and large employers run them through applicant tracking systems that need plain text.