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Forest and Conservation Worker resume example

A resume for a Forest and Conservation Worker needs to show the work itself: under supervision, perform manual labor necessary to develop, maintain, or protect areas such as forests, forested areas, woodlands, wetlands, and rangelands through such activities as raising and transporting seedlings; combating insects, pests, and diseases harmful to plant life; and building structures to control water, erosion, and leaching of soil. Day to day that means work like this: check equipment to ensure that it is operating properly; fight forest fires or perform prescribed burning tasks under the direction of fire suppression officers or forestry technicians. 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.

  • Forest Ranger
  • Forestry Support Specialist
  • Tree Farmer
  • Tree Planter
  • Christmas Tree Farmer
  • Conservation Officer
  • Field Laborer
  • Forest Resource Specialist
  • Park Maintainer
  • Reforestation Worker
  • Blister Rust Eradicator
  • Box Chipper
  • Box Cutter
  • Brusher
  • Chemical Sprayer
  • Chopper
  • Christmas Tree Farm Worker
  • Christmas Tree Grader

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.

  • Check equipment to ensure that it is operating properly.
  • Fight forest fires or perform prescribed burning tasks under the direction of fire suppression officers or forestry technicians.
  • Perform fire protection or suppression duties, such as constructing fire breaks or disposing of brush.
  • Confer with other workers to discuss issues, such as safety, cutting heights, or work needs.
  • Maintain tallies of trees examined and counted during tree marking or measuring efforts.
  • Explain or enforce regulations regarding camping, vehicle use, fires, use of buildings, or sanitation.
  • Operate skidders, bulldozers, or other prime movers to pull a variety of scarification or site preparation equipment over areas to be regenerated.
  • Spray or inject vegetation with insecticides to kill insects or to protect against disease or with herbicides to reduce competing vegetation.
  • Thin or space trees, using power thinning saws.
  • Identify diseased or undesirable trees and remove them, using power saws or hand saws.
  • Select or cut trees according to markings or sizes, types, or grades.
  • Prune or shear tree tops or limbs to control growth, increase density, or improve shape.

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.

  • Check equipment to ensure that it is operating properly, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Fight forest fires or perform prescribed burning tasks under the direction of fire suppression officers or forestry technicians, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Perform fire protection or suppression duties, such as constructing fire breaks or disposing of brush, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Confer with other workers to discuss issues, such as safety, cutting heights, or work needs, 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.

  • Database software
  • ESRI ArcGIS software
  • Geographic information system GIS software
  • Geographic information system GIS systems
  • IBM Lotus 1-2-3
  • IBM Lotus Notes
  • Leica Geosystems ERDAS IMAGINE
  • Microsoft Access
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Office software
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Microsoft Project
  • Microsoft Windows

16 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

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

  • Backhoes
  • Backpack sprayers
  • Brush hogs
  • Chain saws
  • Claw hammers
  • Dibblers
  • Directional compasses
  • Dump trucks
  • Electronic measuring devices
  • Epicormic knives
  • Fire plows
  • Fire trucks

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.

  • Geographic information system GIS systems

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. 01Critical Thinking
  2. 02Monitoring
  3. 03Active Learning
  4. 04Active Listening
  5. 05Coordination
  6. 06Judgment and Decision Making
  7. 07Reading Comprehension
  8. 08Speaking

Knowledge areas

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

  • Public Safety and Security
  • English Language
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Administration and Management
  • Geography
  • Biology

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.

  • 44%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
  • 23%Bachelor's Degree
  • 20%Master's Degree

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 Forest and Conservation Worker do?
Under supervision, perform manual labor necessary to develop, maintain, or protect areas such as forests, forested areas, woodlands, wetlands, and rangelands through such activities as raising and transporting seedlings; combating insects, pests, and diseases harmful to plant life; and building structures to control water, erosion, and leaching of soil. Day to day that includes work like check equipment to ensure that it is operating properly and Fight forest fires or perform prescribed burning tasks under the direction of fire suppression officers or forestry technicians.
What skills should a Forest and Conservation Worker put on a resume?
O*NET rates Critical Thinking, Monitoring, Active Learning, Active Listening, and Coordination 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 Forest and Conservation Worker list?
Software recorded for this occupation includes Database software, ESRI ArcGIS software, Geographic information system GIS software, Geographic information system GIS systems, and IBM Lotus 1-2-3. 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 Forest and Conservation Worker work?
O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Forest Ranger, Forestry Support Specialist, Tree Farmer, and Tree Planter. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Forest and Conservation Worker need?
In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 44% 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 Forest and Conservation Worker 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.