What does a Office Machine Operator do?

Operate one or more of a variety of office machines, such as photocopying, photographic, and duplicating machines, or other office machines. Day to day that includes work like read job orders to determine the type of work to be done, the quantities to be produced, and the materials needed and Deliver completed work.

What skills should a Office Machine Operator put on a resume?

O*NET rates Operation and Control, Operations Monitoring, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, and Critical Thinking 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 Office Machine Operator list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, and Eko. 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 Office Machine Operator work?

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Office Machine Operators, Except Computer, Copy Center Operator, Copy Machine Operator, and Key Operator. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Office Machine Operator need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 68% 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 Office Machine 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.

Office Machine Operator resume example

A resume for a Office Machine Operator needs to show the work itself: operate one or more of a variety of office machines, such as photocopying, photographic, and duplicating machines, or other office machines. Day to day that means work like this: read job orders to determine the type of work to be done, the quantities to be produced, and the materials needed; deliver completed work. 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.

Office Machine Operators, Except Computer
Copy Center Operator
Copy Machine Operator
Key Operator
Machine Operator
Copy Technician
Graphics Production Specialist
Printing Services Coordinator
Reprographics Technician
Braille Coder
Braille Duplicating Machine Operator
Business Machine Operator
Check Embosser
Check Writing Machine Operator
Coin Machine Operator
Coin Rolling Machine Operator
Coin Wrapping Machine Operator
Collating Machine Operator

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.

Read job orders to determine the type of work to be done, the quantities to be produced, and the materials needed.
Deliver completed work.
Place original copies in feed trays, feed originals into feed rolls, or position originals on tables beneath camera lenses.
Sort, assemble, and proof completed work.
Operate office machines such as high speed business photocopiers, readers, scanners, addressing machines, stencil-cutting machines, microfilm readers or printers, folding and inserting machines, bursters, and binder machines.
Complete records of production, including work volumes and outputs, materials used, and any backlogs.
Compute prices for services and receive payment, or provide supervisors with billing information.
Set up and adjust machines, regulating factors such as speed, ink flow, focus, and number of copies.
Load machines with materials such as blank paper or film.
Monitor machine operation, and make adjustments as necessary to ensure proper operation.
Clean machines, perform minor repairs, and report major repair needs.
File and store completed documents.

18 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.

Read job orders to determine the type of work to be done, the quantities to be produced, and the materials needed, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Deliver completed work, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Place original copies in feed trays, feed originals into feed rolls, or position originals on tables beneath camera lenses, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Sort, assemble, and proof completed work, 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.

Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Photoshop
Eko
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft Publisher
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Word
Multi-line optical character reader OCR software

Tools and equipment

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

Automated microfilm processors
Automatic labeling equipment
Barcode scanners
Computer data input scanners
Computer form printers
Copy machines
Embossing machines
Form separators
Graphic plotters
High speed impact printers
Inkjet facsimile machines
Lithographic presses

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
02Operations Monitoring
03Reading Comprehension
04Active Listening
05Critical Thinking
06Judgment and Decision Making
07Monitoring
08Speaking
09Time Management

Knowledge areas

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

English Language
Customer and Personal Service
Production and Processing
Computers and Electronics

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.

68%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
17%Bachelor's Degree
9%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 Office Machine Operator do?: Operate one or more of a variety of office machines, such as photocopying, photographic, and duplicating machines, or other office machines. Day to day that includes work like read job orders to determine the type of work to be done, the quantities to be produced, and the materials needed and Deliver completed work.
What skills should a Office Machine Operator put on a resume?: O*NET rates Operation and Control, Operations Monitoring, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, and Critical Thinking 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 Office Machine Operator list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, and Eko. 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 Office Machine Operator work?: O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Office Machine Operators, Except Computer, Copy Center Operator, Copy Machine Operator, and Key Operator. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Office Machine Operator need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 68% 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 Office Machine 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.