What skills should a Furniture Finisher put on a resume?

O*NET rates Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Monitoring, Judgment and Decision Making, and Operations Monitoring 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 Furniture Finisher list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes DuPont ColorNet, DuPont Spies Hecker Wizard, Intuit QuickBooks, Microsoft Office software, and Web browser software. 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 Furniture Finisher work?

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Finisher, Lacquer Sprayer, Sprayer, and Finish Repair Worker. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Furniture Finisher need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 61% 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 Furniture Finisher 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.

Furniture Finisher resume example

A resume for a Furniture Finisher needs to show the work itself: shape, finish, and refinish damaged, worn, or used furniture or new high-grade furniture to specified color or finish. Day to day that means work like this: brush, spray, or hand-rub finishing ingredients, such as paint, oil, stain, or wax, onto and into wood grain and apply lacquer or other sealers; fill and smooth cracks or depressions, remove marks and imperfections, and repair broken parts, using plastic or wood putty, glue, nails, or screws. 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.

Finisher
Lacquer Sprayer
Sprayer
Finish Repair Worker
Hand Sander
Sander
Sealer Sander
Stain Sprayer
Stain Wiper
Antique Finisher
Antique Refinisher
Antiquer
Cabinet Finisher
Caner
Chair Finisher
Finish Patcher
Finish Sprayer
Frame Repairer

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.

Brush, spray, or hand-rub finishing ingredients, such as paint, oil, stain, or wax, onto and into wood grain and apply lacquer or other sealers.
Fill and smooth cracks or depressions, remove marks and imperfections, and repair broken parts, using plastic or wood putty, glue, nails, or screws.
Smooth, shape, and touch up surfaces to prepare them for finishing, using sandpaper, pumice stones, steel wool, chisels, sanders, or grinders.
Remove accessories prior to finishing, and mask areas that should not be exposed to finishing processes or substances.
Remove old finishes and damaged or deteriorated parts, using hand tools, stripping tools, sandpaper, steel wool, abrasives, solvents, or dip baths.
Treat warped or stained surfaces to restore original contours and colors.
Select appropriate finishing ingredients such as paint, stain, lacquer, shellac, or varnish, depending on factors such as wood hardness and surface type.
Mix finish ingredients to obtain desired colors or shades.
Remove excess solvent, using cloths soaked in paint thinner.
Examine furniture to determine the extent of damage or deterioration, and to decide on the best method for repair or restoration.
Distress surfaces with woodworking tools or abrasives before staining to create an antique appearance, or rub surfaces to bring out highlights and shadings.
Stencil, gild, emboss, mark, or paint designs or borders to reproduce the original appearance of restored pieces, or to decorate new pieces.

22 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.

Brush, spray, or hand-rub finishing ingredients, such as paint, oil, stain, or wax, onto and into wood grain and apply lacquer or other sealers, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Fill and smooth cracks or depressions, remove marks and imperfections, and repair broken parts, using plastic or wood putty, glue, nails, or screws, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Smooth, shape, and touch up surfaces to prepare them for finishing, using sandpaper, pumice stones, steel wool, chisels, sanders, or grinders, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Remove accessories prior to finishing, and mask areas that should not be exposed to finishing processes or substances, 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.

DuPont ColorNet
DuPont Spies Hecker Wizard
Intuit QuickBooks
Microsoft Office software
Web browser software

Tools and equipment

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

Adjustable hand clamps
Adjustable handwrenches
Air compressors
Automatic nail guns
Baking ovens
Barrel tumblers
Belt sanders
Canister-type face masks
Computer numerically control CNC spray painting machines
Cordless power drills
Dipping tanks
Electric buffers

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.

01Active Listening
02Critical Thinking
03Monitoring
04Judgment and Decision Making
05Operations Monitoring
06Speaking
07Time Management

Knowledge areas

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

Production and Processing
Mechanical

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.

61%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
36%Less than a High School Diploma
3%Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school

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 Furniture Finisher do?: Shape, finish, and refinish damaged, worn, or used furniture or new high-grade furniture to specified color or finish. Day to day that includes work like brush, spray, or hand-rub finishing ingredients, such as paint, oil, stain, or wax, onto and into wood grain and apply lacquer or other sealers and Fill and smooth cracks or depressions, remove marks and imperfections, and repair broken parts, using plastic or wood putty, glue, nails, or screws.
What skills should a Furniture Finisher put on a resume?: O*NET rates Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Monitoring, Judgment and Decision Making, and Operations Monitoring 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 Furniture Finisher list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes DuPont ColorNet, DuPont Spies Hecker Wizard, Intuit QuickBooks, Microsoft Office software, and Web browser software. 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 Furniture Finisher work?: O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Finisher, Lacquer Sprayer, Sprayer, and Finish Repair Worker. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Furniture Finisher need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 61% 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 Furniture Finisher 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.