INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Welder positions are at a -2% growth rate, which is negative. With that said, there are currently 1,035,400 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to decrease by -17,800 to 1,017,600 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the Welder jobs was $38,270 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $26,460, and the highest 10% more than $60,010.
Our conclusion? The Welder job market is facing competition due to decreasing demand.
Top Welder sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
How to write a Welder resume experience section
Welder Resume’s Job Experience Checklist:
- Use 4-6 bullet points per job title;
- Don’t go further than a decade behind when describing your job history, unless you’re applying for an executive position;
- Combine job responsibilities as well as achievements with numbers in results when you describe your past work;
- Start each sentence with a power verb and avoid overused buzzwords;
- Use either C-A-R or S-T-A-R methodology, when describing your experience.
The work experience samples below come from real Welder resumes that got people hired at top companies. You can use them as an inspiration to build your own resume:
- Engaged in a team of competent welders responsible for the assembly and equipping of TTX Well Cars
- Provided leadership to the team which led to a 10% increase in production in delivering Rail Cars on a daily basis
- Acquired Intermediate Shop Safety and Welding Knowledge
- Auto operator and sliding door installation at the Seton in Kyle, Texas.
- Installed and remodeled access control at St. David's Hospital.
- Field welded hollow metal elevations at the University of Texas Student Activity Center in Austin, Texas.
- Lead metal fabricator, welder and fitting work
- Creative restoration work for historical site exhibits
- Supervised installation of large structures produced in-house
- Performs Manual Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW).
- Uses Proper Filler for Specific Material Thickness Such Us
- ER, 70S2 P.1 through P.NO. 15F, P.NO. 34 and P.NO. 41 through P.NO.49.
- Applies proper Filler Metal Size, for specific Material Thickness.
- Does proper Handling and storage of Welding consumables
- Applies pre-Heating requiring sound Weld in which applying specific Information
- In the (WPS) such as voltages range current ampere, Travel speed welding tech.
- Ensures that Housekeeping is done within the limit of work area.
- Weld according to blueprint and fixture directions.
- Layout, position, align and fit components into weld fixtures.
- Examine weld for bead size and other specifications.
- Fabricated aluminum, steel, and stainless steel products for environmental and military applications
- Interpreted blueprints and design docs, performed lay-outs
- Basic metal fabrication / shop duties
- Obtained in-house AWS certifications for aluminum and sst in 3G position
- All work had to pass rigorous inspection before delivery to customer
- Performed TDC flange and slip & dry flange installations at commercial client facilities
- Welded overhead hoods and ventilation equipment for commercial kitchen applications
- Basic troubleshooting and repair
- Ensuring smooth work operation by collaborating with the project manager and welding supervisor.
- Measures, mark, cut, bend, smoothen and bore hole on a metal components then weld materials in flat, horizontal, vertical and overhead position.
- Maintaining safety guidelines, organizing and cleaning welding equipment regularly.
- Monitoring inventory level of materials to notify the level of shortage.
- Reading and interpreting blueprints and production drawings in order to layout welding projects.
- Measures and marks work pieces using straightedges, rules and calipers.
- Cut and smoothen metal components using plasma cutters, portable grinders, lathe and milling machine.
- Bore hole through metal work pieces using drill press and weld materials in flat, horizontal, vertical and overhead position.
- Adjust gas gauges to set the flow rate of shielded gas and conduct hydrostatic x-ray and tolerance test to assest specific weld quality and standard.
- Use micrometers and calipers to inspect rages, groove and gap allowance.
- Used OVERHEAD CRANE to move, load, hold and transport, heavy welding materials and equipment needed for a smooth/flexible operation at the work site.
- Maintaining safety guidelines, organize and clean welding equipment and monitor inventory level of materials to notify supervision of stock shortage.
- Weld and fabricate fitting
- Precision cut material with power saw
- Inspect grooves, angles and gap allowances with micrometer
- Respond to service call quickly and professionally
- Prepare broken parts for welding by properly groovig and scarfing surfaces
- Set up equipment and weld parts according to welding chart specification and type
- Being a team leader in our group
- Sharing my knowlegde to my co worker when it comes to welding and fabrication
- Commitment to the company and to my designation as welder
- Lay out, fit, and fabricate all metal components
- Ensure quality work through extensive knowledge of metallurgy, welding techniques, and engineering requirements
- Work alongside engineers for safety of large structures and bridges
PRO TIP
Check the Welder job description for inspiration. Look for similarities between your employer’s values and your experience.
Action Verbs for your Welder Resume
Recommended reads:
Welder Resume Skills’ Tips & Tricks to Impress Recruiters
Resume Skills Section Checklist:
- Ensure your hard skills section (including technologies) are exactly matching the job description.
- Don’t simply list your soft skills. Apply the “show, don’t tell” principle - let your job achievements speak for themselves.
- Find a way to showcase your skills beyond the skills section.
- Your resume’s skill section is important to ATS systems - so don’t skip it.
Top Skills for your Welder resume
- Fresh Water Generator Maintenance
- Arduino
- tig
- tap & die
- fitting
- Communication
- Attention to details
- Caution
- Organisation
- Punctuality
PRO TIP
When picking skills to feature in your resume, make sure they'll be relevant to the position you’re applying to. The point of listing skills is for you to stand out from the competition. Stay away from repetitive, meaningless skills that everyone uses in their resumes. Or else, they’ll backfire and make you look like an average candidate.
Welder Resume Header: Tips, Red Flags, and Best Practices
CHECKLIST For Your Welder Resume Header
- Your name and surname in a legible and larger resume font
- The job title you’re applying for or your current job title as a subheading to your name
- Link to your portfolio or online profile, such as LinkedIn
- Address (City and State for the US; just your city for rest of the world)
- Email address
- Headshot (required or welcomed in the EU; not required and sometimes frowned upon in the US)
Stick to popular email providers such as Gmail or Outlook. And use these professional formats to create your username:
- first.last@gmail.com
- last.first@gmail.com
- firstlast@gmail.com
- f.last@gmail.com
- first.l@gmail.com
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Some companies, states, and countries have policies about identifying information like photos on your Welder resume. Be sure to check all the relevant rules before submitting yours. If you’re in doubt, you can always try contacting the company’s HR department to ask for their policy.
Welder Resume Summary Best Practices
Checklist: What to include in your Welder resume summary:
- Years of experience;
- Highlight top 3 skills and proficiencies;
- One big professional accomplishment you’re most proud of, that you can tie with the aforementioned skills;
- Use short, direct sentences - but no more than three - to keep the HRs interested.
Resume Summary Formula:
PRO TIP
Read the job description carefully and understand what the hiring company is exactly looking for. After that, write your summary accordingly while highlighting your potential and ability to be the best at that job.
Recommended reads:
Listing Your Education, Certifications and Courses
Resume Education Section Checklist:
- Ensure your hard skills section (including technologies) are exactly matching the job description.
- Don’t simply list your soft skills. Apply the “show, don’t tell” principle - let your job achievements speak for themselves.
- Find a way to showcase your skills beyond the skills section.
- Your resume’s skill section is important to ATS systems - so don’t skip it.
Top Certifications for your Welder resume
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
There are dozens of certifications that you can claim as a Welder. But, some are more effective than others. That’s why you mustn’t include every certificate other applicants might have. Try instead to earn and list a few of the difficult ones.
Welder Resume: Additional Writing & Formatting Tips
There are three basic resume formats you can choose from:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional resume format;
- Hybrid (or Combination) resume format;
The most optimal format for your particular case will depend on your years of experience, as well as whether you’re switching industries or not.
Reverse chronological resumes are best suited for experienced individuals who are sticking to their industry. The experience section takes a central place, and its bullets contain your responsibilities and achievements, coupled with numbers and results.
Functional resumes are used by less experienced jobseekers or career changers. Note that it’s not a format that recruiters prefer, as most are used to the classic chronological alignment. Instead of a list of job titles, functional resumes focus on your skills, and through what experiences you gained them.
Hybrid resumes are great for both experienced and entry-level candidates, as well as career changers. They combine the best of both worlds - most often in a double column format, where one side of the content is focused on your experience, whereas the other - on your skills, strengths, and proudest moments.
Welder Resume Summary best practices
Here are more resume tips regarding your layout and style:
- Clear and legible 12p resume font size;
- Use 10’’ resume margins - that’s default for a great resume design;
- Use a one-page template resume length if you’ve got less than 10 years of experience; otherwise, opt for a two-page resume;
- Save your resume as PDF before sending it to the recruiter.
To take it a step further, check out how your resume can stand out without leaning too much on the creative side.
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Sometimes you’ll want to go after a job which requires more experience than you have. Instead of using a typical Welder resume layout, you can use a creative layout. Getting noticed is the most important challenge and a creative resume layout might help you get invited for an interview as most of other accountants have boring resume designs.
Other sections to include in your resume
Depending on the type of company (corporation or start-up; innovative or traditional), job seniority level and your location, you may want to include more sections to your Welder resume:
Welder Resume: How to Make Yours More Creative & Stand Out
When you send your resume to a potential employer, chances are it's the fiftieth one they've seen that day. That's why you need to make your Welder resume stand out for the right reasons. That means showing your personality, not just your professional experience. Employers are far more likely to remember a candidate who seems like a genuine person and not a robot. Do this by including your passions (which is also a great place to demonstrate skills on a resume), share your favorite books, or even what your usual day looks like.
What Makes a Great Welder Resume: Key Takeaways
- Choose a resume layout that sends the right message across and fits your current career situation;
- Create a resume header that shows your desired job title, and easy to find contact numbers;
- Be specific about your experience, accomplishments and future goals in your summary;
- Feature detailed metrics and specific examples that show the impact you made in your previous roles when describing your experience;
- List soft skills backed by examples;
- Add all of your technical skills and certifications that you have and match the job description;
- Show off a dash of personality in your resume that will demonstrate your culture fit and the right mix of hard and soft skills.
