What skills should a Machinist put on a resume?

O*NET rates Operation and Control, Critical Thinking, Monitoring, Operations Monitoring, 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 Machinist list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes 3D Printing software, Armchair Machinist software, Autodesk AutoCAD, Autodesk Fusion 360, and Autodesk HSMWorks. 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 Machinist work?

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including CNC Machinist, Computer Numeric Controlled Machinist, Maintenance Machinist, and Tool Room Machinist. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Machinist need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 36% 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 Machinist 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.

Machinist resume example

A resume for a Machinist needs to show the work itself: set up and operate a variety of machine tools to produce precision parts and instruments out of metal. Day to day that means work like this: calculate dimensions or tolerances, using instruments, such as micrometers or vernier calipers; machine parts to specifications, using machine tools, such as lathes, milling machines, shapers, or grinders. 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.

CNC Machinist
Computer Numeric Controlled Machinist
Maintenance Machinist
Tool Room Machinist
Computer Numerically Controlled Machinist
Gear Machinist
Machine Repair Person
Manual Lathe Machinist
Production Machinist
Auto Machinist
CNC Lathe Machinist
CNC Mill Machinist
CNC Swiss Machinist
Lab Machinist
Aircraft Machinist
Automotive Machinist
Carbide Operator
Computer Numerical Control Machinist

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

What people in this job call themselves

Titles reported by people actually doing this work, which is often not the title on the job posting.

CNC Machinist (Computer Numeric Controlled Machinist)
CNC Machinist (Computer Numerically Controlled Machinist)
Machinist

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.

Calculate dimensions or tolerances, using instruments, such as micrometers or vernier calipers.
Machine parts to specifications, using machine tools, such as lathes, milling machines, shapers, or grinders.
Measure, examine, or test completed units to check for defects and ensure conformance to specifications, using precision instruments, such as micrometers.
Set up, adjust, or operate basic or specialized machine tools used to perform precision machining operations.
Program computers or electronic instruments, such as numerically controlled machine tools.
Study sample parts, blueprints, drawings, or engineering information to determine methods or sequences of operations needed to fabricate products.
Monitor the feed and speed of machines during the machining process.
Maintain machine tools in proper operational condition.
Fit and assemble parts to make or repair machine tools.
Align and secure holding fixtures, cutting tools, attachments, accessories, or materials onto machines.
Confer with numerical control programmers to check and ensure that new programs or machinery will function properly and that output will meet specifications.
Operate equipment to verify operational efficiency.

29 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.

Calculate dimensions or tolerances, using instruments, such as micrometers or vernier calipers, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Machine parts to specifications, using machine tools, such as lathes, milling machines, shapers, or grinders, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Measure, examine, or test completed units to check for defects and ensure conformance to specifications, using precision instruments, such as micrometers, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Set up, adjust, or operate basic or specialized machine tools used to perform precision machining operations, 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.

3D Printing software
Armchair Machinist software
Autodesk AutoCAD
Autodesk Fusion 360
Autodesk HSMWorks
CNC Consulting Machinists' Calculator
CNC Mastercam
Computer aided design CAD software
Computer aided manufacturing CAM software
Dassault Systemes CATIA
Dassault Systemes SolidWorks
EditCNC
ERP software
G-code

35 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.

3-axis computerized numerical control CNC machines
Adjustable wrenches
Angle plates
Angled feeler gauges
Anvils
Arbor presses
Aviation snips
Ball peen hammers
Bandsaws
Beverly shears
Binocular light compound microscopes
Boring bars

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.

G-code

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
05Active Listening
06Complex Problem Solving
07Coordination
08Quality Control Analysis
09Speaking
10Troubleshooting

Knowledge areas

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

Mathematics
Mechanical
Production and Processing
Design

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.

36%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
33%Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school
17%Some College Courses

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Medium Preparation Needed”. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Common questions

What does a Machinist do?: Set up and operate a variety of machine tools to produce precision parts and instruments out of metal. Day to day that includes work like calculate dimensions or tolerances, using instruments, such as micrometers or vernier calipers and Machine parts to specifications, using machine tools, such as lathes, milling machines, shapers, or grinders.
What skills should a Machinist put on a resume?: O*NET rates Operation and Control, Critical Thinking, Monitoring, Operations Monitoring, 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 Machinist list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes 3D Printing software, Armchair Machinist software, Autodesk AutoCAD, Autodesk Fusion 360, and Autodesk HSMWorks. 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 Machinist work?: O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including CNC Machinist, Computer Numeric Controlled Machinist, Maintenance Machinist, and Tool Room Machinist. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Machinist need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 36% 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 Machinist 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.