What does a Paperhanger do?

Cover interior walls or ceilings of rooms with decorative wallpaper or fabric, or attach advertising posters on surfaces such as walls and billboards. Day to day that includes work like smooth strips or sections of paper with brushes or rollers to remove wrinkles and bubbles and to smooth joints and Trim rough edges from strips, using straightedges and trimming knives.

What skills should a Paperhanger put on a resume?

O*NET rates Active Listening, Coordination, and Speaking 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 Paperhanger list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes A-Systems JobView, Construction Software Center EasyEst, Corel Painter, Electronic data interchange EDI software, and Google Docs. 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 Paperhanger work?

O*NET records 20 titles for this occupation, including Bill Poster, Paper Hanger, Wallpaper Hanger, and Bill Board Poster. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Paperhanger need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 54% 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 Paperhanger 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.

Paperhanger resume example

A resume for a Paperhanger needs to show the work itself: cover interior walls or ceilings of rooms with decorative wallpaper or fabric, or attach advertising posters on surfaces such as walls and billboards. Day to day that means work like this: smooth strips or sections of paper with brushes or rollers to remove wrinkles and bubbles and to smooth joints; trim rough edges from strips, using straightedges and trimming knives. 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.

Bill Poster
Paper Hanger
Wallpaper Hanger
Bill Board Poster
Hanger
Vinyl Hanger
Wall Covering Contractor
Wall Covering Installer
Wallpaper Installer
Advertising Installer
Advertising Poster
Bill Poster Installer
Billboard Poster
Paperhanging Interior Decorator
Poster
Vinyl Installer
Wall Paper Hanger
Wallcovering Hanger

O*NET records 20 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.

Smooth strips or sections of paper with brushes or rollers to remove wrinkles and bubbles and to smooth joints.
Trim rough edges from strips, using straightedges and trimming knives.
Trim excess material at ceilings or baseboards, using knives.
Check finished wallcoverings for proper alignment, pattern matching, and neatness of seams.
Mark vertical guidelines on walls to align strips, using plumb bobs and chalk lines.
Cover interior walls and ceilings of rooms with decorative wallpaper or fabric, using hand tools.
Apply adhesives to the backs of paper strips, using brushes, or dunk strips of prepasted wallcovering in water, wiping off any excess adhesive.
Measure and cut strips from rolls of wallpaper or fabric, using shears or razors.
Place strips or sections of paper on surfaces, aligning section edges and patterns.
Fill holes, cracks, and other surface imperfections preparatory to covering surfaces.
Measure surfaces or review work orders to estimate the quantities of materials needed.
Apply sizing to seal surfaces and maximize adhesion of coverings to surfaces.

20 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.

Smooth strips or sections of paper with brushes or rollers to remove wrinkles and bubbles and to smooth joints, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Trim rough edges from strips, using straightedges and trimming knives, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Trim excess material at ceilings or baseboards, using knives, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Check finished wallcoverings for proper alignment, pattern matching, and neatness of seams, 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.

A-Systems JobView
Construction Software Center EasyEst
Corel Painter
Electronic data interchange EDI software
Google Docs
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Word
On Center Quick Bid
PlanSwift
Turtle Creek Software Goldenseal

Tools and equipment

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

Aluminum straightedges
Border holdups
Break off knives
Broad knives
Chalk line markers
Double cutting wallpaper knives
Drywall power sanders
Electric bucket heaters
Extension ladders
Hand trowels
Laptop computers
Laser levels

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.

A-Systems JobView
Construction Software Center EasyEst

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
02Coordination
03Speaking

Knowledge areas

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

Customer and Personal Service
Building and Construction
Mathematics
Mechanical
Administration and Management
Public Safety and Security

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.

54%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
24%Less than a High School Diploma
18%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 Paperhanger do?: Cover interior walls or ceilings of rooms with decorative wallpaper or fabric, or attach advertising posters on surfaces such as walls and billboards. Day to day that includes work like smooth strips or sections of paper with brushes or rollers to remove wrinkles and bubbles and to smooth joints and Trim rough edges from strips, using straightedges and trimming knives.
What skills should a Paperhanger put on a resume?: O*NET rates Active Listening, Coordination, and Speaking 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 Paperhanger list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes A-Systems JobView, Construction Software Center EasyEst, Corel Painter, Electronic data interchange EDI software, and Google Docs. 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 Paperhanger work?: O*NET records 20 titles for this occupation, including Bill Poster, Paper Hanger, Wallpaper Hanger, and Bill Board Poster. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Paperhanger need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 54% 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 Paperhanger 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.