What does a Rigger do?

Set up or repair rigging for construction projects, manufacturing plants, logging yards, ships and shipyards, or for the entertainment industry. Day to day that includes work like test rigging to ensure safety and reliability and Signal or verbally direct workers engaged in hoisting and moving loads to ensure safety of workers and materials.

What skills should a Rigger put on a resume?

O*NET rates Operation and Control, Active Listening, Coordination, Critical Thinking, and Monitoring 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 Rigger list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Autodesk AutoCAD, Autodesk Maya, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Outlook, 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 Rigger work?

O*NET records 29 titles for this occupation, including Machinery Erector, Machinery Mover, Motor Rigger, and Gantry Rigger. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Rigger need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 63% 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 Rigger 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.

Rigger resume example

A resume for a Rigger needs to show the work itself: set up or repair rigging for construction projects, manufacturing plants, logging yards, ships and shipyards, or for the entertainment industry. Day to day that means work like this: test rigging to ensure safety and reliability; signal or verbally direct workers engaged in hoisting and moving loads to ensure safety of workers and materials. 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.

Machinery Erector
Machinery Mover
Motor Rigger
Gantry Rigger
Hand Rigger
Heavy Lift Rigger
Marine Rigger
Rigging Fabricator
Ship Rigger
Acrobatic Rigger
Boat Rigger
Certified Rigger
Crane Rigger
Fly Rail Operator
Gear Repairer
Grip
High Rigger
Hook Tender

O*NET records 29 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.

Test rigging to ensure safety and reliability.
Signal or verbally direct workers engaged in hoisting and moving loads to ensure safety of workers and materials.
Control movement of heavy equipment through narrow openings or confined spaces, using chainfalls, gin poles, gallows frames, and other equipment.
Tilt, dip, and turn suspended loads to maneuver over, under, or around obstacles, using multi-point suspension techniques.
Select gear, such as cables, pulleys, and winches, according to load weights and sizes, facilities, and work schedules.
Dismantle and store rigging equipment after use.
Attach loads to rigging to provide support or prepare them for moving, using hand and power tools.
Manipulate rigging lines, hoists, and pulling gear to move or support materials, such as heavy equipment, ships, or theatrical sets.
Align, level, and anchor machinery.
Load machines onto trucks to prepare for transportation.
Attach pulleys and blocks to fixed overhead structures, such as beams, ceilings, and gin pole booms, using bolts and clamps.
Fabricate, set up, and repair rigging, supporting structures, hoists, and pulling gear, using hand and power tools.

14 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.

Test rigging to ensure safety and reliability, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Signal or verbally direct workers engaged in hoisting and moving loads to ensure safety of workers and materials, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Control movement of heavy equipment through narrow openings or confined spaces, using chainfalls, gin poles, gallows frames, and other equipment, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Tilt, dip, and turn suspended loads to maneuver over, under, or around obstacles, using multi-point suspension techniques, 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.

Autodesk AutoCAD
Autodesk Maya
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Outlook
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 hand wrenches
Allen wrench sets
Beam type torque wrenches
Chain hoists
Channellock pliers
Dial caliper gauges
Electric winches
Electronic levels
Flat cold chisels
Floor drill presses
Gear pullers
Gin poles

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.

Autodesk Maya
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.

01Operation and Control
02Active Listening
03Coordination
04Critical Thinking
05Monitoring
06Operations Monitoring
07Reading Comprehension
08Complex Problem Solving
09Judgment and Decision Making
10Speaking

Knowledge areas

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

Mechanical
Public Safety and Security
Production and Processing
Customer and Personal Service
Administration and Management
Design
English Language
Education and Training

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.

63%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
21%Less than a High School Diploma
16%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 Rigger do?: Set up or repair rigging for construction projects, manufacturing plants, logging yards, ships and shipyards, or for the entertainment industry. Day to day that includes work like test rigging to ensure safety and reliability and Signal or verbally direct workers engaged in hoisting and moving loads to ensure safety of workers and materials.
What skills should a Rigger put on a resume?: O*NET rates Operation and Control, Active Listening, Coordination, Critical Thinking, and Monitoring 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 Rigger list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Autodesk AutoCAD, Autodesk Maya, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Outlook, 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 Rigger work?: O*NET records 29 titles for this occupation, including Machinery Erector, Machinery Mover, Motor Rigger, and Gantry Rigger. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Rigger need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 63% 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 Rigger 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.