What skills should a Faller put on a resume?

O*NET rates Operation and Control, Critical Thinking, Monitoring, Operations Monitoring, and Judgment and Decision Making 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 Faller list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Assisi Compiler, Assisi Software Assisi Inventory, Assisi Software Assisi Manager, Assisi Software Assisi Resource, and BCS Woodlands Software The Logger Tracker. 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 Faller work?

O*NET records 28 titles for this occupation, including Logger, Timber Cutter, Timber Faller, and Tree Faller. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Faller need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 56% 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 Faller 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.

Faller resume example

A resume for a Faller needs to show the work itself: use axes or chainsaws to fell trees using knowledge of tree characteristics and cutting techniques to control direction of fall and minimize tree damage. Day to day that means work like this: stop saw engines, pull cutting bars from cuts, and run to safety as tree falls; appraise trees for certain characteristics, such as twist, rot, and heavy limb growth, and gauge amount and direction of lean, to determine how to control the direction of a tree's fall with the least damage. 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.

Logger
Timber Cutter
Timber Faller
Tree Faller
Cutter Operator
Sawyer
Tree Feller
Tree Topper
All-Round Logger
Arborist
Arborist Assistant
Arborist Climber
Arborist Representative
Axman
Certified Arborist
Chain Saw Operator
Climbing Arborist
Cross Cut Sawyer

O*NET records 28 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.

Stop saw engines, pull cutting bars from cuts, and run to safety as tree falls.
Appraise trees for certain characteristics, such as twist, rot, and heavy limb growth, and gauge amount and direction of lean, to determine how to control the direction of a tree's fall with the least damage.
Saw back-cuts, leaving sufficient sound wood to control direction of fall.
Clear brush from work areas and escape routes, and cut saplings and other trees from direction of falls, using axes, chainsaws, or bulldozers.
Measure felled trees and cut them into specified log lengths, using chain saws and axes.
Assess logs after cutting to ensure that the quality and length are correct.
Determine position, direction, and depth of cuts to be made, and placement of wedges or jacks.
Control the direction of a tree's fall by scoring cutting lines with axes, sawing undercuts along scored lines with chainsaws, knocking slabs from cuts with single-bit axes, and driving wedges.
Trim off the tops and limbs of trees, using chainsaws, delimbers, or axes.
Select trees to be cut down, assessing factors such as site, terrain, and weather conditions before beginning work.
Maintain and repair chainsaws and other equipment, cleaning, oiling, and greasing equipment, and sharpening equipment properly.
Insert jacks or drive wedges behind saws to prevent binding of saws and to start trees falling.

18 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.

Stop saw engines, pull cutting bars from cuts, and run to safety as tree falls, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Appraise trees for certain characteristics, such as twist, rot, and heavy limb growth, and gauge amount and direction of lean, to determine how to control the direction of a tree's fall with the least damage, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Saw back-cuts, leaving sufficient sound wood to control direction of fall, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Clear brush from work areas and escape routes, and cut saplings and other trees from direction of falls, using axes, chainsaws, or bulldozers, 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.

Assisi Compiler
Assisi Software Assisi Inventory
Assisi Software Assisi Manager
Assisi Software Assisi Resource
BCS Woodlands Software The Logger Tracker
BCS Woodlands Software Woodlands Tracker
ESRI ArcView
Geographic information system GIS systems
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft Word

Tools and equipment

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

All terrain vehicles ATV
Auger bits
Boom boats
Caulk boots
Chain flail delimbers
Chain saw chaps
Chain saws
Climbing belts
Combi cans
Debarking tools
Diameter tape measures
Digital tachometers

What this job rates as most important

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

01Operation and Control
02Critical Thinking
03Monitoring
04Operations Monitoring
05Judgment and Decision Making

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.

56%Less than a High School Diploma
44%High School Diploma, or the equivalent

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 Faller do?: Use axes or chainsaws to fell trees using knowledge of tree characteristics and cutting techniques to control direction of fall and minimize tree damage. Day to day that includes work like stop saw engines, pull cutting bars from cuts, and run to safety as tree falls and Appraise trees for certain characteristics, such as twist, rot, and heavy limb growth, and gauge amount and direction of lean, to determine how to control the direction of a tree's fall with the least damage.
What skills should a Faller put on a resume?: O*NET rates Operation and Control, Critical Thinking, Monitoring, Operations Monitoring, and Judgment and Decision Making 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 Faller list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Assisi Compiler, Assisi Software Assisi Inventory, Assisi Software Assisi Manager, Assisi Software Assisi Resource, and BCS Woodlands Software The Logger Tracker. 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 Faller work?: O*NET records 28 titles for this occupation, including Logger, Timber Cutter, Timber Faller, and Tree Faller. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Faller need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 56% 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 Faller 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.