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Transportation Inspector resume example

A resume for a Transportation Inspector needs to show the work itself: inspect equipment or goods in connection with the safe transport of cargo or people. Day to day that means work like this: prepare and submit reports after completion of freight shipments; inspect shipments to ensure that freight is securely braced and blocked. 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.

  • Cargo Surveyor
  • Marine Cargo Surveyor
  • Marine Surveyor
  • Petroleum Inspector
  • Inspector
  • Admeasurer
  • Cargo Inspector
  • Container Inspector
  • Damaged Freight Inspector
  • Freight Car Inspector
  • Freight Inspector
  • Freight Service Inspector
  • Heavy Check Inspector
  • Loading Inspector
  • Locomotive Inspector
  • Maintenance Inspector
  • Marine Cargo Broker
  • Marine Cargo Inspector

O*NET records 36 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.

  • Prepare and submit reports after completion of freight shipments.
  • Inspect shipments to ensure that freight is securely braced and blocked.
  • Record details about freight conditions, handling of freight, and any problems encountered.
  • Advise crews in techniques of stowing dangerous and heavy cargo.
  • Observe loading of freight to ensure that crews comply with procedures.
  • Recommend remedial procedures to correct any violations found during inspections.
  • Inspect loaded cargo, cargo lashed to decks or in storage facilities, and cargo handling devices to determine compliance with health and safety regulations and need for maintenance.
  • Notify workers of any special treatment required for shipments.
  • Direct crews to reload freight or to insert additional bracing or packing as necessary.
  • Check temperatures and humidities of shipping and storage areas to ensure that they are at appropriate levels to protect cargo.
  • Determine cargo transportation capabilities by reading documents that set forth cargo loading and securing procedures, capacities, and stability factors.
  • Read draft markings to determine depths of vessels in water.

17 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.

  • Prepare and submit reports after completion of freight shipments, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Inspect shipments to ensure that freight is securely braced and blocked, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Record details about freight conditions, handling of freight, and any problems encountered, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Advise crews in techniques of stowing dangerous and heavy cargo, 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
  • Email software
  • Google Android
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Office software
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Microsoft Word
  • Web browser software

Tools and equipment

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

  • Automatic samplers
  • Bottom samplers
  • Calibrated measuring tapes
  • Calipers
  • Cargo scales
  • Centrifugal testers
  • Desktop computers
  • Digital cameras
  • Grease guns
  • Hand magnifying lenses
  • Handheld computers
  • Hydrometers

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.

  • Google Android
  • 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.

  1. 01Critical Thinking
  2. 02Reading Comprehension
  3. 03Speaking
  4. 04Writing
  5. 05Active Listening
  6. 06Monitoring
  7. 07Time Management
  8. 08Judgment and Decision Making
  9. 09Complex Problem Solving
  10. 10Coordination

Knowledge areas

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

  • Transportation
  • English Language
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Mathematics
  • Public Safety and Security
  • Administration and Management
  • Law and Government
  • Mechanical

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Considerable Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Common questions

What does a Transportation Inspector do?
Inspect equipment or goods in connection with the safe transport of cargo or people. Day to day that includes work like prepare and submit reports after completion of freight shipments and Inspect shipments to ensure that freight is securely braced and blocked.
What skills should a Transportation Inspector put on a resume?
O*NET rates Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Writing, 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 Transportation Inspector list?
Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Acrobat, Email software, Google Android, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft Office software. 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 Transportation Inspector work?
O*NET records 36 titles for this occupation, including Cargo Surveyor, Marine Cargo Surveyor, Marine Surveyor, and Petroleum Inspector. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Transportation Inspector 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.