What does a Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenter do?

Cut, shape, and assemble wooden articles or set up and operate a variety of woodworking machines, such as power saws, jointers, and mortisers to surface, cut, or shape lumber or to fabricate parts for wood products. Day to day that includes work like verify dimensions or check the quality or fit of pieces to ensure adherence to specifications and Produce or assemble components of articles, such as store fixtures, office equipment, cabinets, or high-grade furniture.

What skills should a Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenter put on a resume?

O*NET rates Operations Monitoring, Quality Control Analysis, Monitoring, Operation and Control, and Critical Thinking 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 Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenter list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Autodesk AutoCAD, Computer aided design CAD software, Computer estimation software, Computerized maintenance management system CMMS, 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 Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenter work?

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Cabinet Assembler, Cabinet Installer, Cabinetmaker, and Frame Builder. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenter need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 62% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenter 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.

Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenter resume example

A resume for a Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenter needs to show the work itself: cut, shape, and assemble wooden articles or set up and operate a variety of woodworking machines, such as power saws, jointers, and mortisers to surface, cut, or shape lumber or to fabricate parts for wood products. Day to day that means work like this: verify dimensions or check the quality or fit of pieces to ensure adherence to specifications; produce or assemble components of articles, such as store fixtures, office equipment, cabinets, or high-grade furniture. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

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.

Cabinet Assembler
Cabinet Installer
Cabinetmaker
Frame Builder
Cabinet Builder
Double End Tenon Operator
Framer
Woodworker
Accordion Maker
Antique Furniture Repairer
Antique Repairer
Boat Oar Maker
Bow Maker
Cabinet Maker
Cabinet Professional
Cabinet Worker
Carpenter
Chair Maker

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.

Verify dimensions or check the quality or fit of pieces to ensure adherence to specifications.
Produce or assemble components of articles, such as store fixtures, office equipment, cabinets, or high-grade furniture.
Measure and mark dimensions of parts on paper or lumber stock prior to cutting, following blueprints, to ensure a tight fit and quality product.
Set up or operate machines, including power saws, jointers, mortisers, tenoners, molders, or shapers, to cut, mold, or shape woodstock or wood substitutes.
Establish the specifications of articles to be constructed or repaired, or plan the methods or operations for shaping or assembling parts, based on blueprints, drawings, diagrams, or oral or written instructions.
Attach parts or subassemblies together to form completed units, using glue, dowels, nails, screws, or clamps.
Reinforce joints with nails or other fasteners to prepare articles for finishing.
Install hardware, such as hinges, handles, catches, or drawer pulls, using hand tools.
Trim, sand, or scrape surfaces or joints to prepare articles for finishing.
Match materials for color, grain, or texture, giving attention to knots or other features of the wood.
Cut timber to the right size, and shape and trim parts of joints to ensure a snug fit, using hand tools, such as planes, chisels, or wood files.
Perform final touch-ups with sandpaper or steel wool.

20 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.

Verify dimensions or check the quality or fit of pieces to ensure adherence to specifications, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Produce or assemble components of articles, such as store fixtures, office equipment, cabinets, or high-grade furniture, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Measure and mark dimensions of parts on paper or lumber stock prior to cutting, following blueprints, to ensure a tight fit and quality product, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Set up or operate machines, including power saws, jointers, mortisers, tenoners, molders, or shapers, to cut, mold, or shape woodstock or wood substitutes, 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.

Autodesk AutoCAD
Computer aided design CAD software
Computer estimation software
Computerized maintenance management system CMMS
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Windows

Tools and equipment

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

Adjustable hand wrenches
Adjustable jigs
Angle dividers
Awls
Back saws
Band clamps
Bandsaws
Bar clamps
Bastard flat files
Belt sanders
Bench dogs
Bench grinders

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.

design furniture

What this job rates as most important

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

01Operations Monitoring
02Quality Control Analysis
03Monitoring
04Operation and Control
05Critical Thinking
06Equipment Selection
07Judgment and Decision Making
08Operations Analysis
09Speaking
10Time Management

Knowledge areas

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

Mathematics
Building and Construction
Production and Processing
Mechanical
Design
Engineering and Technology

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.

62%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
27%Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school
11%Less than a High School Diploma

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Some Preparation Needed”. These occupations usually require a high school diploma.

Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.

Common questions

What does a Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenter do?: Cut, shape, and assemble wooden articles or set up and operate a variety of woodworking machines, such as power saws, jointers, and mortisers to surface, cut, or shape lumber or to fabricate parts for wood products. Day to day that includes work like verify dimensions or check the quality or fit of pieces to ensure adherence to specifications and Produce or assemble components of articles, such as store fixtures, office equipment, cabinets, or high-grade furniture.
What skills should a Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenter put on a resume?: O*NET rates Operations Monitoring, Quality Control Analysis, Monitoring, Operation and Control, and Critical Thinking 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 Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenter list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Autodesk AutoCAD, Computer aided design CAD software, Computer estimation software, Computerized maintenance management system CMMS, 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 Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenter work?: O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Cabinet Assembler, Cabinet Installer, Cabinetmaker, and Frame Builder. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenter need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 62% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenter 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.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.