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Industrial Truck and Tractor Operator resume example

A resume for a Industrial Truck and Tractor Operator needs to show the work itself: operate industrial trucks or tractors equipped to move materials around a warehouse, storage yard, factory, construction site, or similar location. Day to day that means work like this: move levers or controls that operate lifting devices, such as forklifts, lift beams with swivel-hooks, hoists, or elevating platforms, to load, unload, transport, or stack material; move controls to drive gasoline- or electric-powered trucks, cars, or tractors and transport materials between loading, processing, and storage areas. 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.

  • Fork Truck Driver
  • Forklift Driver
  • Forklift Operator
  • Spotter Driver
  • Checker Loader
  • Fork Lift Technician
  • Lift Truck Operator
  • Shag Truck Driver
  • Tow Motor Operator
  • Truck Driver
  • CAT Driver
  • CAT Operator
  • CAT Skinner
  • CAT Tender
  • CAT Tractor Operator
  • Hy Lift Driver
  • Hy Lift Operator
  • Carry All Driver

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 or controls that operate lifting devices, such as forklifts, lift beams with swivel-hooks, hoists, or elevating platforms, to load, unload, transport, or stack material.
  • Move controls to drive gasoline- or electric-powered trucks, cars, or tractors and transport materials between loading, processing, and storage areas.
  • Manually or mechanically load or unload materials from pallets, skids, platforms, cars, lifting devices, or other transport vehicles.
  • Position lifting devices under, over, or around loaded pallets, skids, or boxes and secure material or products for transport to designated areas.
  • Inspect product load for accuracy and safely move it around the warehouse or facility to ensure timely and complete delivery.
  • Weigh materials or products and record weight or other production data on tags or labels.
  • Perform routine maintenance on vehicles or auxiliary equipment, such as cleaning, lubricating, recharging batteries, fueling, or replacing liquefied-gas tank.
  • Operate or tend automatic stacking, loading, packaging, or cutting machines.
  • Turn valves and open chutes to dump, spray, or release materials from dump cars or storage bins into hoppers.

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 or controls that operate lifting devices, such as forklifts, lift beams with swivel-hooks, hoists, or elevating platforms, to load, unload, transport, or stack material, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Move controls to drive gasoline- or electric-powered trucks, cars, or tractors and transport materials between loading, processing, and storage areas, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Manually or mechanically load or unload materials from pallets, skids, platforms, cars, lifting devices, or other transport vehicles, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Position lifting devices under, over, or around loaded pallets, skids, or boxes and secure material or products for transport to designated areas, 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.

  • Argos Software ABECAS Insight WMS
  • ATMS StockTrack PLUS
  • Autodesk AutoCAD
  • BarControl Enterprise Manager iBEM
  • IntelliTrack Warehouse Management System (WMS)
  • Inventory management software
  • Inventory management systems
  • Lilly Software Associates VISUAL DCMS
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Office software
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Microsoft Word
  • Motek Priya
  • RedPrairie DLx Warehouse

18 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.

  • Banding equipment
  • Belt conveyors
  • Booms
  • Bridgeplates
  • Bulk liquid trucks
  • Cantilever trucks
  • Combination vacuum lifts
  • Container reach stackers
  • Container top handlers
  • Counterbalanced front/side loader lift trucks
  • Crane attachments
  • Dockboards

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.

  • Warehouse management system WMS
  • secure cargo
  • Argos Software ABECAS Insight WMS
  • ATMS StockTrack PLUS

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. 01Operation and Control
  2. 02Operations Monitoring
  3. 03Coordination
  4. 04Equipment Maintenance
  5. 05Time Management
  6. 06Troubleshooting

Knowledge areas

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

  • Mathematics

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.

  • 73%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
  • 23%Less than a High School Diploma
  • 4%Some College Courses

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 Industrial Truck and Tractor Operator do?
Operate industrial trucks or tractors equipped to move materials around a warehouse, storage yard, factory, construction site, or similar location. Day to day that includes work like move levers or controls that operate lifting devices, such as forklifts, lift beams with swivel-hooks, hoists, or elevating platforms, to load, unload, transport, or stack material and Move controls to drive gasoline- or electric-powered trucks, cars, or tractors and transport materials between loading, processing, and storage areas.
What skills should a Industrial Truck and Tractor Operator put on a resume?
O*NET rates Operation and Control, Operations Monitoring, Coordination, Equipment Maintenance, and Time Management 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 Industrial Truck and Tractor Operator list?
Software recorded for this occupation includes Argos Software ABECAS Insight WMS, ATMS StockTrack PLUS, Autodesk AutoCAD, BarControl Enterprise Manager iBEM, and IntelliTrack Warehouse Management System (WMS). 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 Industrial Truck and Tractor Operator work?
O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Fork Truck Driver, Forklift Driver, Forklift Operator, and Spotter Driver. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Industrial Truck and Tractor Operator need?
In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 73% 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 Industrial Truck and Tractor 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.