That this Charles Dickens metaphor is still relatable speaks to an unchanged element of our modern material world: “Life is made of ever so many partings welded together.” Three centuries later, there is no shortage of opportunities available for job seekers with an impressive welder resume.
Let us help you confidently pursue the best welder jobs out there with a resume that is sure to fire up interest from hiring managers. Resume.io can be your most powerful tool right now. In addition to its comprehensive resources for all professionals looking for a change, we offer more than 350 occupation-specific resume examples and corresponding resume writing guides.
This resume guide and welder resume example will cover these topics:
- What welders do and what the job market looks like
- How to write a welder resume
- The best welder resume format
- Advice on each section of your resume: header, summary, work history, skills, and education
- Professional layout and design hints for creating a visually flawless resume.
What do welders do?
Welders are construction and/or repair specialists that use welding equipment to fuse together or weld various materials (mostly metal). From shipbuilding, aerospace fabrications and automobile manufacturing to building and bridge construction and pipe installations, virtually all industries rely on the superior strength of welding to permanently bond metal components.
Need some ideas to put together your resume? Get inspired by these other resume samples and writing guides
Welder job market
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the number of welder jobs (including cutters, solderers and brazers) is expected to increase overall by 2% from 2021 to 2031, slower than the average for all occupations. Employment prospects and competition for the best jobs depend on skill level and training in new technologies, as well as willingness to relocate. Aging infrastructure is a factor in market demand for workers qualified to help rebuild bridges, highways, and buildings. Although the overall outlook for job market growth may be unremarkable, robust demand and competition in the welding labor force favors those with advanced skills and experience.
BLS data indicates the median annual wage for welders was $47,010 in May 2021. The lowest 10% percent earned less than $$31,350 and the highest 10% earned more than $63,660. Wages vary with the worker’s experience and skill level, the industry, and the size of the company.
The truth on welder pay lies somewhere in the middle of entry-level reality and skewed media hype about top earning potential, according to industry expert Dan Davis.
“A welder has to put in the time under the hood if he or she wants to maximize the craft’s earning potential,” Davis wrote in a November 2019 article for The Fabricator, a leading North American metal forming trade magazine. “A welder can make a decent living, even at the entry level, but he or she generally won’t be earning top dollars right off the bat. Like any job, most have to start at the bottom.”
Seeking to put misleading mainstream media headlines into perspective, he cited instances where six-digit annual income figures — what a qualified underwater welder might earn – have been touted out of context in reports about the skilled labor shortage. Similarly, the median annual wage for welders is often misrepresented as being the starting rate.
Nonetheless, labor shortages are a valid enough concern for many employers to aggressively increase wages to attract entry-level welders.
How to write a welder resume
The first thing you need to think about when writing a welder resume is which elements it should contain. The welder resume parts you’ll be putting together are as follows:
- Header
- Summary (sometimes called profile or personal statement)
- Employment history
- Skills
- Education
Before looking at ways to gain an edge in each specific section of your welder resume, let’s look at these general rules that you need to revisit each and every time you apply for a new job.
- Research to learn everything you can about the job, the employer and the workplace. Scrutinize the job requirements listed for the posted vacancy, focusing on skills and duties. Investigate everything you can about the organization, job setting and working conditions.
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Tailor the content, style, language and tone of your welder resume to what this employer is looking for. Forget the idea of using exactly the same resume again. Your goal is to have a functionally adaptable document that’s easy to customize. Every time a new opportunity arises, a new version is ready to create.
- Optimize with keywords throughout your resume, consistent with steps 1 and 2 above. When submitting your resume online, assume it will be screened by automated applicant tracking systems (ATS) software. Most larger organizations rely on digital technology to screen dozens or hundreds of job applications and exclude the least suitable matches. Algorithms scan each resume for keywords reflecting job requirements and rank it against all others. Only the highest-ranking resumes pass through this filter for review by human hiring staff.
Best resume format for a welder
If your work history follows a linear pattern of employee positions, the most commonly used chronological resume format will likely work best for structuring your welder resume content. In the employment history section, your highlights are organized by employer / workplace in reverse order from most recent to earliest dates.
If you are new to the workforce, changing careers, or have a diverse occupational background, it’s worth taking a look at alternative resume formats. Working largely on a self-employed contract basis might be a reason for considering a functional resume structure. This would emphasize your specialized welding skills and/or training, rather than employers. Or it might focus on specific large-scale building or infrastructure projects that showcase your skills and experience. A functional or hybrid (combination) resume format can also be adapted to your specific job goals or special interests by reflecting on the most relevant background highlights.
Resume header
Your attention to detail will not go unnoticed with a distinctive header design that helps give your resume a put-together look. The impact is reinforced when your cover letter header matches. The strength of this key job application element goes beyond esthetic appeal. By prominently displaying your name and contact information in an eye-pleasing manner, hiring managers can easily get in touch later to set up an interview.
Welder resume summary example: immediate sparks
The summary (also known as the profile or personal statement) is where your welder resume sparks instant attention, just as in the resume example we're referring to in this guide. Every word counts in this synopsis of your qualifications. With emphasis on your skills, training, experience and personal attributes, the summary captures key resume highlights without duplicating the wording. In just two or three tightly written statements, your goal is to persuade the hiring manager that you are the best welder for this job.
There’s no need for complete sentences starting with “I am” or “I did;” that’s understood. Launch straight into dynamic action verbs, adding bold adjectives and adverbs carefully and sparingly for impact only. Your language should be clear, descriptive, dynamic and solid. Aim to come across as strong and energetic in a straightforward, authentic and self-assured tone.
Ultimately, your welder resume summary should concisely and precisely capture “who I am,” “what I’ve done” and “what equipped me to do it well.” Mention soft skills and possibly a relevant welder certification, along with the hard skills most essential to the position you’re seeking.
Below is a welder resume summary example you can customize for your own job application.
Reliable and dedicated Welder with 10+ years of experience in creating and repairing industrial and commercial parts. Demonstrated expertise and attention to detail, ensuring precision in high-quality workmanship while adhering to safety standards. Strong work ethic and proven track record of meeting project deadlines and exceeding productivity goals.
Employment history sample: equipped with experience
Following the usual chronological structure, your current/most recent job appears first and your earliest job comes last, going back no more than four or five positions. If your employment history has gaps or deviates from welding or trades work, the most relevant jobs should take precedence.
Each job entry starts with the employer name, location and when you worked there. Below that is a bullet point list of descriptive highlights. While treating each as an element of your welder success story, take the employer’s perspective in terms of how your contributions benefited the organization, project or customers.
Focus on work results and accomplishments, rather than duties or responsibilities. Use specific and direct language. Action verbs in the simple past or present tense: “fused,” “welded,” “created, “constructed” or “repaired,” not “responsible for the fabrication / repair of.” Be sure to mention leadership or team functions in the same manner: “Oversaw,” “directed” or “assessed,” rather than “responsible for ...”
Cite measurable outcomes wherever possible, perhaps in terms of production volume, quality control indicators, scheduled turnaround time and deadlines and responses to emergency or urgent demands.
Below is a welder resume employment history sample.
Welder at Aaron Enterprises, Dallas
September 2016 - December 2023
- Collaborated with a team of welders, fabricators, and engineers to complete large-scale projects ahead of schedule.
- Demonstrated expertise in welding stainless steel, aluminum, and carbon steel, producing esthetically flawless and structurally sound welds.
- Consistently maintained a defect rate below 1.2%, meeting stringent quality standards and client requirements.
- Achieved a 20% reduction in setup time by optimizing work processes and improving workflow.
- Contributed to an average team welding efficiency of 92% by minimizing waste and rework, saving the company $6,000+ annually
- Recognized for having a spotless safety record by implementing protocols to maintain a safe working environment.
Junior Welder at Miller Manufacturing, Austin
September 2013 - August 2016
- Assisted senior welders in assembling and welding metal components for manufacturing assembly line equipment
- Worked under close supervision of the welder foreman, learning and executing the best welding methods.
CV skills example: blazing success
Hard skills - core competencies for welding tasks — take precedence in this CV section. Keeping it concise and laser-focused, due to page space limitations, can be challenging for welders with a long list of skills. Think back to what we emphasized earlier about tailoring your CV to the specific welding position you are seeking. Not every skill is always applicable or as important every time.
Making your own master list makes it easier to be selective when customizing your resume skills section for each welding job you apply for. Create a separate document capturing all the competencies that come to mind while brainstorming. Keep it handy as a running list to update constantly. Then for each new version of your welder resume, analyze the job requirements and pick out the best-fitting skills. Remember this also improves your resume’s chances of passing through the ATS filter.
Soft skills - personal traits or behaviors that make you a good employee and co-worker — should not be overlooked on a welder resume. These reflect your positive interactions with others, as well as problem-solving abilities and judgement, adaptability to changing circumstances or instructions, regard for others’ safety, dependability to work overtime and other such attributes. If you don’t have enough room on the resume skills list, try incorporating descriptions of how you applied certain skills, either in your summary or employment history section as statements.
Industry experts cited in this The Fabricator article stressed the importance of soft skills as a welder recruitment and retention factor.
“Employers don’t just want warm bodies that can lay down a consistent bead. They need someone who is punctual, intellectually curious, and works well with others.”
Hiring decisions often favor candidates who might climb the ladder to become shop managers or foremen.
“When they find that right skilled worker, they should be interested in keeping him or her around. That’s a symbiotic relationship that should keep both employer and welder happy.”
Check out our welder resume sample for the skills section below.
- Effective Time Management
- Ability to Multitask
- Ability to Work Under Pressure
- TIG Welding
- MIG Welding
- Fabrication
- Critical Thinking
Welder resume education example: applied knowledge
Not having college degrees to list on your welder resume doesn't make the education section any less important. The better qualified you are for the most desirable jobs, the more effort and attention this resume space deserves to catch the hiring manager’s attention.
A high school diploma or equivalent may be enough for some inexperienced welders to land entry-level work. Otherwise, job seekers have likely acquired training from current or previous employers, and perhaps also completed formal technical school training or credentialing programs. This may be a hiring requirement, if not preferred, by many employers reviewing welder job applications.
In reverse chronological order, from highest to lowest levels, list any relevant welder training you received from technical-vocational courses during high school and at postsecondary institutes, including community colleges, and private trade schools or programs.
Continuing education courses and workshops in specialized areas — from blueprint reading and chemistry to metallurgy and computer applications — also belong here. Mention scholarships, special achievements, internships and apprenticeships, along with association memberships.
Welding certifications should appear prominently in the education section. Notably, the American Welding Society offers the Certified Welder designation, and special certifications such as Certified Welding Inspector and Certified Robotic Arc Welding. The Institute for Printed Circuits programs are applicable to electronic industry suppliers.
If you have more than one or two welder certifications, consider creating a custom list in the education section. In some instances, it might make sense to mention a certification in the summary and/or include it in your skills list, depending on relevance to the job being sought.
Below is the education section from our welder resume example.
Structural and Pipe Welding, Texas State Technical College, Waco
June 2013 - August 2013
High School Diploma, Austin High School, Austin
September 2009 - May 2013
Resume layout and design: seamlessly melded
Strive for a visually seamless result when your welder resume is put together, just as you would with a work task. Each section flows logically into the next, and together they look proportionally balanced — in relation to each other and to the surrounding white space offsetting the text.
Keep it neat and simple, streamlined and uncluttered, so hiring managers can readily see what they are getting and find it easily. That means at a glance, which otherwise might be all the time a reader chooses to spend before setting your resume aside and moving on to the next.
An impeccably clean, reader-friendly layout and formatting allows your qualifications to shine through on your resume. When it comes to font style and size, text formats and possible graphic elements or touches of color, the choices are yours, but as you can see in our resume sample — visuals have a considerable impact.
There are no strict rules, nor any shortcuts, to a resume design that’s eye-catching but not overblown. But there are sure-fire ways to make the process easy and failsafe.
Consider using the Resume.io builder tool with one of our expert-tested resume templates, Take your pick from a wide selection of designs, click to download and start entering your own replacement text. All of the toughest layout, design and formatting tasks will take care of themselves.
Key takeaways for a welder resume
- While overall job market growth for welders is relatively slow, critical shortages of adequately qualified workers favors those with advanced skills and experience. An excellent welder resume is essential to compete for the best jobs.
- The most impressive resumes are tailored to specific job and employer requirements, which requires highly skilled welders to be selective in emphasizing what is directly applicable.
- Customizing your welder resume for each job application also helps you include the right keywords to pass through the automated applicant screening software.
- The absence of college degrees does not diminish the importance of your resume’s education section, as you can always highlight courses, certifications etc.
- Use resume examples as the foundation for your writing and ideas, this will save you loads of time.
- Leave the layout design and formatting details up to the experts, by using one of our professionally designed resume templates.
