Machine Operator resume example & writing guide

What is a machine operator’s job?

A machine operator is a professional who has expertise and experience in configuring, maintaining, and operating specific types of equipment and machinery. They ensure that equipment is running at peak efficiency and capacity. Machine operators oversee the equipment's functioning, quality check, and timely maintenance. 

Why use this machine operator resume example?

Check out our example machine operator resume to see how a good and concise resume summary should be written. The main objective of your summary or introduction is to grab the interest of your potential employer. You should talk about your years of experience, specialties, and areas of expertise. Also, throw in a couple of highlights from your career to demonstrate your capabilities

For someone who is just starting a career as a machine operator, then you will focus on your education, training, and skills. You can take a different approach with your introductory paragraph and make it into an objective statement. Take a look at our website for other resume examples that have objective statements. You will see that an objective statement often includes a sentence about your career goals and the type of organization you would like to work for. Make these relevant to the specific job you’re applying for, and take advantage of the opportunity to show you are a perfect match for them.

When writing out your job experience, keep the descriptions short. Just one paragraph. Include the relevant and most important job responsibilities you had. You don’t have to list out everything you did. You don’t want to bore the reader with mundane tasks, and you must keep your paragraph relatively brief.

The most important thing to include in your work experiences is recognition and achievements. Create a bulleted list right below your paragraph about the job. List out all the great things you did at that job. Accomplishments with numbers are the most effective way to show the impact of your efforts. How many machines did you work on and operate? How much revenue did you bring in? Did you improve efficiency or output? These are just a few examples. Also include any awards, certificates, or other recognition you may have received for your work.

How to write a great machine operator resume

We already talked about the summary, skills, and experience sections. Some other tips to make your machine operator stand out are:

1. For any of your job activities or accomplishments, use action verbs. Action verbs are words that strongly convey that you did something. Avoid words like “managed” or “responsible for” and “duties include”. Use good action verbs like operated, inspected, ensured, determined, maximized, or improved.

2. Look at the job description for the position you’re applying for and make note of the tasks and skills required. Identify the keywords and use those in your experience descriptions and list of skills. This will make your resume stand out and show that you’re a great fit for the job.

3. Speaking of keywords, most companies use application tracking systems (ATS) to scan resumes and weed out resumes that don’t meet the right criteria. The way you make sure that your resume doesn’t get rejected is to include all the right keywords and terms. Make sure you spell them just like they have in their job description.

4. Keep your resume format clean and simple. This not only makes it easier to read for human beings, but it also ensures that the ATS can correctly process your resume.

5. Lastly, keep your resume short. One page, two at most. This is especially difficult if you have a lot of experience. Don’t include anything that is over ten years old. Employers generally don’t pay much attention to anything older than that, and it can potentially show your age. It’s okay to list older experiences if you have room. Just make each job one line with the title, company, and dates worked.

Which key skills are relevant for a machine operator resume?

As a machine operator, you probably have a lot of very specific and technical skills. These would be considered hard skills. However, almost every job also requires soft skills like communication, teamwork, and coaching. These are great to include on your resume too. Have a good mix of skills, but don’t make the list too long. About ten to twelve items are about the most you should have. More than that and the reader will get bored or lose track of what skills you have.

Below is a list of solid skills for a machine operator’s resume:

• Active listening

• Analytical

• Attention to detail

• Blueprints, schematics, and manuals

• Coaching and mentoring

• Communications

• Heavy equipment

• Integrity

• Problem-solving

• Self-starter

• Teamwork