Find it difficult to describe your skills/experience to a recruiter? At WorkClass.co, we receive an overwhelming number of requests for resume writing workshops. To better help all the production operators in their job search, we have compiled a list of DO and DON’T(s) in building an operator resume. Without further ado, let’s review the pointers and questions behind resume writing.

Why Do I Need A Good Resume?

Most of the readers must be wondering why an entry-level job like a production operator needs a good resume. Will the recruiter even read the resume? The answer is YES and NO.

Many Human Resource (HR) executives use the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) in their recruitment. ATS is a recruiting software that shortlists job applicants based on the criteria and guidelines specified by a company. One shocking fact of ATS is that it rejects 75% of the applicants. This means only 25% of the lucky job applicants get their resume viewed by the HR executives.

To help the production operators in their job search, WorkClass.co interviewed the HR(s) from the manufacturing and production industries. We found out that the structure of the resume decides the fate of a job applicant.

What Are The Sections In A Resume?

As mentioned in the previous section, the ATS has a pre-installed algorithm that selects resumes with a clear structure. From our interviews, most HR(s) pointed out the sections they are looking for below:

• Header
• Personal Information
• Profile Title
• Summary/Objective
• Key Skills
• Professional Experience
• Education
• Certifications (if any)
• Awards & Recognition (if any)
• Additional Information (if any)

Some sections are redundant for job seekers with no experience. For instance, professional experience and awards are not applicable for first-timers. However, inexperienced operator job seekers can beef up their Objective and Key skills section. Things like their prior technical training in technical institutes and classes can describe a person’s familiarity with certain machines. The main point is to display your skillset to be relevant to the company.

After looking at the structure of a production operator’s resume, the ATS will automatically scan for resumes with a clear bullet structure and parallel listing. For those interested in how to write bullet points in their resume, visit this resume writing blog to know the sentence structure you should adopt.

The last stage of ATS screening is to analyse the numbers in the resume. A well-written resume has well-elaborated statistics and evidence behind the claims.

How To Write With A Clear Objective?

Resumes that did not make it to the HR(s) are those with sloppy job description, work history, education and summary sections.

Here are some DO and DON’T(s) for resume writing specified by the HR(s):

Summary Section

Always be specific in your bullet points. ATS will note the number of times you include statistics in bullet points. From the table above, it is always good to write how many years of experience you have in the industry. Also, be specific in quantifying the contribution done for your previous company. Your detailed explanation will help the recruiter to understand your value to their company.

Experience

Back to the same issue, try to quantify your experience. Ensure that there is some sort of numbers to make your claims more trustworthy. For instance, “able to mend 3-4 machines to meet quota” sounds better than “hit quota”. Give some explanation or numbers to solidify your words. An important piece of advice is to not fake the numbers, HR can call your previous employer to check your claims.

Education

Most job applicants will do a sloppy job in this section since it is an entry-level job. The HR(s) have commented that they would still want to see an explanation about the technical skills of the applicants. Write it down in your resume. There is no point in keeping your certificates hidden from the employer.

Skills

There are some applicants who omit the whole skills section. The HR(s) comment that those resumes will be trashed by ATS. If you want to earn a chance for an interview, try to put some soft skills in at least. There needs to be evidence of effort placed into engaging the recruiter.

Where To Build A Simple and Effective Resume?

Be sure to use WorkClass.co’s resume builder to craft an ideal production operator resume. Try out these tips and tricks, and you can find visible differences in your interview call-ups.

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