Machine Operator Resume: Downloadable Template & Guide

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As a Machine Operator, you’re used to configuring the equipment under your care, but do you know how to optimize the capability of your resume? Our professional resume templates can help you ensure your career is running at full capacity!

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A Machine Operator’s job is full of precision, careful thought, and dedication. But writing a resume that translates these commitments to the page can be tricky, just like operating heavy machinery.

To land a good job, you’ll need a resume that wows, as it’s your best tool for communicating your enthusiasm and competence. 

But wait. You’ve got all these skills ready for writing a solid Machine Operator resume, and yet not everyone can translate that well onto paper to ultimately land a job.

If this sounds like you, you’ve landed on the right side of the internet! 

In this Machine Operator resume guide, we’ll show you how to take your resume writing from a complicated process to a simple assembly line operation. 

Here’s what we’ll cover:

• The best format for your resume, including a Machine Operator resume template that you can download for free.
• How to describe your work experience more effectively, complete with examples
• Tips for writing an entry-level Machine Operator resume objective and work experience section.
• The top skills that every Machine Operator or Heavy Equipment Operator resume needs
• How to add extra sections for a well-rounded resume

Later, when you’re done reading this guide, try our free resume builder tool for a 14-day trial to help you build your resume 10x faster.

You can also look at our repertoire of professional resume templates to inspire your resume.

Moreover, if you’re interested in more specialist machinery in a specific trade, head on over to our Welder resume template and advice.

Before we go into the guide, here’s a Machine Operator resume sample to get you started. 

This Word downloadable resume template can help set you up for success:

Resume Example

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[Derek Kennedy]

[Machine Operator]

[Newark, NJ 15656 |  123-567-4890  |  dkennedy@randomemail.com]

>> Summary <<
Production Machine Operator with 9+ years of experience monitoring and operating production machines. Proficient at finding and fixing defects, as well as operating forklifts. Seeking to improve the speed of the product moving process as a machine operator in Gerard Enterprises.

Professional Experience

Production Machine Operator

Third Hard Tea | Newark, NJ

October 2020 – Present

• Identified a process error that led to an annual 18% efficiency increase for all products.
• Monitor production equipment for faults and alert supervisors of any problems.
• Operate and monitor carton-making, sealing, packing, or palletizing equipment

Machine Operator

Stucker Industries, Inc. | Newark, NJ

June 2017 – September 2020

>> Education <<
High School Diploma, Kent High School, Denver, 2017

>> Skills <<

• Soft Skills: OSHA Compliance, Problem-solving, Decision-making, Troubleshooting, Critical Thinking, Active Listening
• Hard Skills:  Hydraulics, Forklift Operation, Microsoft Office, Pneumatic Tools, SAP Software

>> Certifications <<

• Machining Level 2 Certificate, 2019
• OSHA Safety Certification, 2018

Generally, there are three types of resume formats that you can choose from: functional, reverse chronological, and hybrid (or combination. 

Choosing which type is best used will be based on your job search and career path. 

• The functional resume highlights your skills.
• A reverse chronological resume highlights your experience starting with the most recent and working backwards.
• The hybrid or combination format combines both of these, with the skills list placed above the work experience section. 

If you have a mix of different types of employment in your careers, like freelance jobs or various positions working for different organizations as needed, then use the functional resume format. 

If you’ve got the usual employment format where you work for companies full-time only, use the reverse-chronological format. 

But when you have a mix of both career situations, use the combination format for your Heavy Equipment Operator resume.

For most candidates seeking work in machine operation, a combination resume format is the best choice.

Resume Layout and Formatting Tips

Your format determines how you place your resume headings, including:

• Heading with name, contact information
• Resume introduction (summary, objective, profile, or summary of qualifications) 
• Work history describing relevant past accomplishments
• Skills in machinery operation and safety
• Academic qualifications as required
• Additional sections such as certification, references, volunteering history, etc. 

Aside from the order of these headings, your resume must also meet formatting standards.

These include writing your resume in legible fonts (size 11 to 12), using bold type and headings draw attention to key areas, and balancing this with white space to improve the reader’s experience.

Once everything is done, save your Machine Operator resume or Heavy Equipment Operator resume in PDF format. This makes it easier for it to be scanned correctly by ATS (Applicant Tracking Software), and viewed correctly regardless of different computer operating systems. 

What’s more, if you’ve got another company to apply to, you can easily edit the resume later in a word processed document format. 

With our resume builder tool to create your resume, you’ll have the option of downloading your resume in both formats. 

If you don’t want to use our time-saving tool, we also have an array of Google doc resume templates that you can open, download and edit on your own.

Your key introduction to the recruiter lies in your resume introductory paragraph that comes at the top of your document, just under your biodata. 

The most common resume introductions are resume summaries and resume objectives. 

A resume summary is meant for candidates with practical Machine Operator or heavy equipment operation experience within a workplace setting. 

And a resume objective is usually better for entry-level Machine Operators who do not yet have any/enough practical experience in the field. 

Both options provide a professional introduction and summarize information from the rest of your resume.

The best first step to writing a resume summary or objective is to write the rest of your resume. 

Hold on! Think about it. 

Your resume summary or objective introduces you and everything in your work history, skills, professional or free certifications, and education. It should reflect the rest of your resume. 

If you don’t yet have the rest of the sections down, how will you accurately summarize and introduce yourself as the best candidate?

You can only summarize what already exists. 

Once you’ve written the rest, pick your best achievements, most valuable skills, and the most relevant parts of your work experience and highlight them in your Machine Operator resume objective or summary. 

List the:

• Years of experience, 
• Professional title/Qualification name
• Achievements in previous employment
• Relevant skills
• Career goal in line with the company’s goal, if you’re writing an objective

Want to see an example of how this looks in practice? Check the next sections.

Machine Operator Resume Summary Example

Let’s look at two examples of a Machine Operator resume summares for experienced candidates.

This resume summary is a bit creaky around the joints. It’s lacking powerful actions verbs or adjectives that could add weight to it.

Let’s see another summary sample that runs more smoothly.

Now, this is how you write a Machine Operator resume summary! Words like ‘highly commended’, and increasing or reducing measurable feats make it a much stronger example.

But wait! What about if you don’t have much machine operating experience in the workplace? 

Let’s see how you can write an entry-level Machine Operator objective.

How to Write an Entry-Level Machine Operator Resume Objective

As earlier mentioned, a resume objective is more suited to entry-level Machine Operator applicants and those with little practical experience.

While the goal of a resume summary is to showcase career accomplishments, skills, and qualifications, a resume objective focuses on your career goals, education, achievements and personality traits that suit the role.

Here’s what you should focus on:

• Outline your academic qualifications and achievements
• Include your work experience if you have any, inclding volunteering and internships, whether paid or unpaid.
• Lay emphasis on your career goals and what you hope to offer the company you’re applying to.

Let’s see how these work in practice for you.

Entry-Level Machine Operator Resume Objective Samples

Here are two examples of how to write an entry-level Machine Operator resume objective:

Of course, this isn’t totally bad, but it could be made stronger. 

A hiring manager would probably want to find another candidate more enthusiastic about the job and who outlines how they can benefit the company. 

For a step up, let’s look at a better example of how to write your objective.

From this example, you can tell that this candidate is enthusiastic about learning on the job. 

Despite the few months of experience, they put their all into keeping to schedules, learning new things, and even getting awarded by a superior. 

This example shows promise, and every organization would want an employee like that. We wouldn’t be surprised if their email is filled with interview invitations.

Your resume’s experience section is where you can make an impact by detailing your previous work experience. Make sure you mention your accomplishments in executing your responsibilities within each job. 

Include manufacturing operator skills or other equipment operator or manfuacturing operator roles you may have had, as they are relevant to machine operation.

It should follow this format:

• Professional job title
• Name of organization and location
• Date employment began and ended. If you still work there, replace the end of employment with “present.”
• 3-5 bullet-listed accomplishments from that job

That might seem easy, but the part that gets complicated is when it comes down to actually describing your machine operating work accomplishments and experience. 

Most people list it out starting with phrases like “responsible for,” like they’re writing the job description for a job listing.

None of that will get you the job you need in today’s market. 

Instead, you’ll need every point to sound exciting while providing information to the reader. 

How? 

Quantify your achievements by using numbers and percentages. These make your impact from each job measurable and easily understandable.

Furthermore, the hiring manager can picture what impact you might have in their company seeing as you made progress in your previous employment. 

How You Word Your Experience Matters

Depending on your experience, it can be as simple as operating a total of 500 hours of forklift operation. Think of anything from the most mundane task to the most applauded.

Include anything you would also include in a manufacturing operator resume too, as the roles are pretty closely related. 

Next, use active verbs like initiated, interpreted, minimized, adjusted, etc., rather than “responsible for.” 

Struggling to think of things to include or words to use when updating your resume with these work entries? Take a look at the job posting. 

After reading over a Machine Operator job description, resume writing becomes much more straightforward: simply use the language from the posting to construct thos descriptive bullet points. 

This will help you write an interesting experience section and link your qualifications to the job you want.

Machine Operator Resume Examples: Experience

Let’s compare sample Machine Operator resume experience sections.

Between both examples, only one made good use of metrics and active verbs. The second example was able to describe their accomplishments more excitingly. 

You need to make your words more engaging to keep the reader glued till the end. It’s an effort that’s well worth it; after all, they might love your application and jot your name down for an interview call! 

Remember not to overlook the Machine Operator job description for ideas on how to write your resume for the job you want. The employer has likely clearly spelled out what they want, so all you have to do is show that you’re just that.

Entry-Level Machine Operator Resume: Experience Section

How you describe your entry-level Machine Operator experience differs from when you’ve had experience. 

If you don’t have any experience, it’s worth trying to get an internship or volunteer to assist a Machine Operator at a company where you’re likely to learn on the job. 

Regardless, when describing your entry-level work experience, focus more on the skill set and passion that you have rather than the things you don’t. 

There may be other candidates with the same or a higher experience level, but there’s no one with your unique viewpoint and enthusiasm for success. Let this shine through in the way you describe your experience. 

Take a look at these two examples of how to write an entry-level Machine Operator resume experience section:

As mentioned earlier, you’ve got to get in your motivation to learn on the job. 

Include how you were trained on your internship or apprenticeship and gradually performed tasks unsupervised to show that you’re a fast and efficient learner as well as trustworthy.

Writing the education section for blue-collar jobs like machine operation can be tricky. After all, there isn’t a set of certified degrees that you’ll have to study to become a Machine Operator. 

According to the BLS, the minimum academic requirement for Machine Operators is a high school diploma.  

Entry-level Machine Operators would benefit from including additional information like awards, extracurricular activities, projects and relevant coursework undertaken during high school. 

Generally, your education section should contain the following information:

• Academic qualification
• Name of the academic institution
• CGPA, if higher than general scores
• Extracurricular activities
• Awards and achievements

Machine Operator Resume Education Section

Let’s see some examples of how to structure and format your education section on your resume:

Between both of these two, only the second example does a better job of helping an entry-level candidate show that they’re truly ready for the job. 

It outlines their relevant subject, extracurricular activities, awards, and final distinction GPA. 

Here, we’re able to see that this person is an energetic go-getter who’s ready to meet goals. If this applicant wants a better chance, they’ll highlight some of this information in their resume objective.

To operate a machine, you’ll need a set of soft and technical skills and cognitive abilities first to understand the blueprint and operation instructions for various machines. 

You should also be able to pay close attention to the activities and tasks you perform to prevent accidents. 

As such, a good skills section is a key part of any resume for Machine Operator jobs.

In your skills section, you’ll need to list your soft and hard skills that relate to this profession. 

Your soft skills are transferable and general (organizational skills, for example) while your hard skills are learned specifically for this job or a related profession. 

Ideally, your list will contain a mix of both and be about 4-6 skills long.

Take some time to brainstorm the best machine operating skills to ensure that you pick out your strongest examples without cluttering up your page.

So without further ado, here are some examples:

There are many reasons an applicant might want to add an extra section or two to their resume. 

Some might want to make up for space. Another might want to compensate for the lack of official machine operating experience.

Whichever group you belong to, there are several options for you to choose from. They include:

• Certifications
• Hobbies
• Volunteering 
• Awards and recognition
• Organization memberships, etc

The key to note is that you’re not just picking whichever fits your fancy. 

Like every other thing on your resume, it has to be relevant to this application, and it ideally should demonstrate your capabilities as a Machine Operator. 

This is not the time to list singing as a hobby, even though you may be able to belt your favorite songs like no one else. 

This is where you should include going to the gym or general fitness as a hobby because operating heavy equipment requires a sane mind and a healthy body. 

Other things might be more necessary than others; because Machine Operator jobs require a high level of attention, health and safety certifications are crucial. 

If you want to operate large equipment, you need to know and implement the best safety practices in your workplace. 

Aside from that, the job requires only a high school diploma. Many applicants will have this, so a certification is a great way to set you apart.

Machine Operator Resume Sample “Other” Sections

When writing extra sections, keep the general resume writing rules discussed above in mind. 

Stick to relevant information, do not lie about things that you do not do/have not done, leave room for white space, and break down information using bullet points when possible.

Here’s an example of how to list extra sections on your resume:

Certifications

• OSHA Safety, 2019
• Forklift Operator, 2018

References

• Available upon request

Volunteering

• Youth community project – Blueprint tutorial

Hobbies

• Fitness
• Mountain climbing

Want to get started writing your interview-worthy Machine Operator resume today?

A Machine Operator has to follow a list of instructions to save time and ensure the equipment is running smoothly. 

By following the instructions in this resume writing guide and topping it off with our resume builder, you’re setting yourself up for job search success. 

Here’s a recap of what we’ve outlined so far:

• A combination or hybrid resume is the best format for your Machine Operator resume
• Use a resume template, like the one showcased in our sample resume, to help organize your content
• Always submit your resume as a PDF to avoid formatting issues 
• Use active verbs throughout to keep the reader interested 
• Quantify your achievements to show the organization you’re concerned about meeting goals 
• Communicate your passion for the job in every resume sentence

We hope this guide has helped you get the cogs turning for your own resume. Never hesitate to reach out or use our amazing resume building tools if you need more help!