What skills should a Hoist and Winch Operator put on a resume?

O*NET rates Critical Thinking, Monitoring, Operations Monitoring, Time Management, and Active Listening 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 Hoist and Winch Operator list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word. 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 Hoist and Winch Operator work?

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Hoist Operator, Hoistman, Material Handler, and Service Operator. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Hoist and Winch Operator need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 41% 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 Hoist and Winch 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.

Hoist and Winch Operator resume example

A resume for a Hoist and Winch Operator needs to show the work itself: operate or tend hoists or winches to lift and pull loads using power-operated cable equipment. Day to day that means work like this: move levers, pedals, and throttles to stop, start, and regulate speeds of hoist or winch drums in response to hand, bell, buzzer, telephone, loud-speaker, or whistle signals, or by observing dial indicators or cable marks; start engines of hoists or winches and use levers and pedals to wind or unwind cable on drums. 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.

Hoist Operator
Hoistman
Material Handler
Service Operator
Winch Derrick Operator
Air Hoist Operator
Air Lift Operator
Boat Hoist Operator
Boat Loader
Boat Puller
Bridge Rigger
Building Rigger
Cable Operator
Cable Way Operator
Cage Operator
Cage Tender
Casing Puller
Cemetery Vault Installer

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.

Move levers, pedals, and throttles to stop, start, and regulate speeds of hoist or winch drums in response to hand, bell, buzzer, telephone, loud-speaker, or whistle signals, or by observing dial indicators or cable marks.
Start engines of hoists or winches and use levers and pedals to wind or unwind cable on drums.
Observe equipment gauges and indicators and hand signals of other workers to verify load positions or depths.
Operate compressed air, diesel, electric, gasoline, or steam-driven hoists or winches to control movement of cableways, cages, derricks, draglines, loaders, railcars, or skips.
Move or reposition hoists, winches, loads and materials, manually or using equipment and machines such as trucks, cars, and hand trucks.
Select loads or materials according to weight and size specifications.
Signal and assist other workers loading or unloading materials.
Attach, fasten, and disconnect cables or lines to loads, materials, and equipment, using hand tools.
Apply hand or foot brakes and move levers to lock hoists or winches.
Oil winch drums so that cables will wind smoothly.
Climb ladders to position and set up vehicle-mounted derricks.
Repair, maintain, and adjust equipment, using hand tools.

13 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.

Move levers, pedals, and throttles to stop, start, and regulate speeds of hoist or winch drums in response to hand, bell, buzzer, telephone, loud-speaker, or whistle signals, or by observing dial indicators or cable marks, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Start engines of hoists or winches and use levers and pedals to wind or unwind cable on drums, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Observe equipment gauges and indicators and hand signals of other workers to verify load positions or depths, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Operate compressed air, diesel, electric, gasoline, or steam-driven hoists or winches to control movement of cableways, cages, derricks, draglines, loaders, railcars, or skips, 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.

Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Word

Tools and equipment

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

Adjustable wrench sets
Bulk weighing systems
Conveyor belt systems
Electric hoists
Electric winches
Elevating platforms
Fork-grapples
Gas powered hoists
Grease dispensing guns
Hoisting cables
Lifting slings
Load clamps

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.

Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Word

What this job rates as most important

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

01Critical Thinking
02Monitoring
03Operations Monitoring
04Time Management
05Active Listening
06Operation and Control
07Complex Problem Solving
08Judgment and Decision Making
09Social Perceptiveness
10Speaking

Knowledge areas

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

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.

41%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
27%Less than a High School Diploma
24%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 Hoist and Winch Operator do?: Operate or tend hoists or winches to lift and pull loads using power-operated cable equipment. Day to day that includes work like move levers, pedals, and throttles to stop, start, and regulate speeds of hoist or winch drums in response to hand, bell, buzzer, telephone, loud-speaker, or whistle signals, or by observing dial indicators or cable marks and Start engines of hoists or winches and use levers and pedals to wind or unwind cable on drums.
What skills should a Hoist and Winch Operator put on a resume?: O*NET rates Critical Thinking, Monitoring, Operations Monitoring, Time Management, and Active Listening 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 Hoist and Winch Operator list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word. 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 Hoist and Winch Operator work?: O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Hoist Operator, Hoistman, Material Handler, and Service Operator. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Hoist and Winch Operator need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 41% 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 Hoist and Winch 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.

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.