Agricultural Equipment Operator resume example

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

• Equipment Operator
• Farm Equipment Operator
• Loader Operator
• Rake Operator
• Baler Operator
• Cutter Operator
• Hay Baler
• Packing Tractor Machine Operator
• Sprayer
• Windrower Operator
• Ag Equipment Operator
• Agricultural Farm Equipment Operator
• Agricultural Plow Operator
• Agriculture Equipment Operator
• Baler
• Bean Picker Machine Operator
• Berry Picker Machine Operator
• Broomcorn Thresher

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

• Load and unload crops or containers of materials, manually or using conveyors, handtrucks, forklifts, or transfer augers.
• Mix specified materials or chemicals, and dump solutions, powders, or seeds into planter or sprayer machinery.
• Spray fertilizer or pesticide solutions to control insects, fungus and weed growth, and diseases, using hand sprayers.
• Observe and listen to machinery operation to detect equipment malfunctions.
• Manipulate controls to set, activate, and adjust mechanisms on machinery.
• Operate or tend equipment used in agricultural production, such as tractors, combines, and irrigation equipment.
• Adjust, repair, and service farm machinery and notify supervisors when machinery malfunctions.
• Attach farm implements such as plows, discs, sprayers, or harvesters to tractors, using bolts and hand tools.
• Load hoppers, containers, or conveyors to feed machines with products, using forklifts, transfer augers, suction gates, shovels, or pitchforks.
• Direct and monitor the activities of work crews engaged in planting, weeding, or harvesting activities.
• Operate towed machines such as seed drills or manure spreaders to plant, fertilize, dust, and spray crops.
• Weigh crop-filled containers, and record weights and other identifying information.

17 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

• Load and unload crops or containers of materials, manually or using conveyors, handtrucks, forklifts, or transfer augers, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
• Mix specified materials or chemicals, and dump solutions, powders, or seeds into planter or sprayer machinery, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
• Spray fertilizer or pesticide solutions to control insects, fungus and weed growth, and diseases, using hand sprayers, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
• Observe and listen to machinery operation to detect equipment malfunctions, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

• Farm Management Software Hay and Crop Manager
• Martens Farms Farm Site Mate
• Martens Farms Farm Trac
• Microsoft Access
• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft PowerPoint

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

• 2-point sprayers
• 3-point sprayers
• Air carts
• Air drill seeders
• Air reels
• Air seeders
• All terrain vehicle ATV discs
• All terrain vehicle ATV harrows
• All terrain vehicle ATV manure spreaders
• All terrain vehicle ATV plows
• All terrain vehicle ATV post hole diggers
• All terrain vehicle ATV rakes

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

• Farm Management Software Hay and Crop Manager
• Martens Farms Farm Site Mate

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

1. 01Operation and Control
2. 02Operations Monitoring
3. 03Troubleshooting
4. 04Active Listening
5. 05Equipment Maintenance
6. 06Quality Control Analysis
7. 07Repairing

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

• English Language

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

• 57%Less than a High School Diploma
• 19%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
• 14%Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Little or No Preparation Needed”. Some of these occupations may require a high school diploma or GED certificate.

Little or no previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, a person can become a waiter or waitress even if he/she has never worked before.

Common questions

What does a Agricultural Equipment Operator do?

Drive and control equipment to support agricultural activities such as tilling soil; planting, cultivating, and harvesting crops; feeding and herding livestock; or removing animal waste. Day to day that includes work like load and unload crops or containers of materials, manually or using conveyors, handtrucks, forklifts, or transfer augers and Mix specified materials or chemicals, and dump solutions, powders, or seeds into planter or sprayer machinery.

What skills should a Agricultural Equipment Operator put on a resume?

O*NET rates Operation and Control, Operations Monitoring, Troubleshooting, Active Listening, and Equipment Maintenance among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Agricultural Equipment Operator list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Farm Management Software Hay and Crop Manager, Martens Farms Farm Site Mate, Martens Farms Farm Trac, Microsoft Access, and Microsoft Excel. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Agricultural Equipment Operator work?

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Equipment Operator, Farm Equipment Operator, Loader Operator, and Rake Operator. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Agricultural Equipment Operator need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 57% reported their level of education as "Less than a High School Diploma". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Agricultural Equipment Operator role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

• Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse
• Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tender
• Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tender
• Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tender
• Warehouse Worker
• Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic