Welder Resume: Examples & Guide (2026)
Læs denne guide på danskA welder resume is screened for credentials and capability first: your welding certifications, the processes you run, and the materials and positions you can weld to code. After that, shops want a clean safety record and evidence you produce quality work that passes inspection the first time.
Here is how to structure a welder resume that gets you to the test plate and the job.
What employers screen for first
- Certifications: AWS certs, and the codes you weld to (e.g. D1.1, ASME Section IX).
- Processes: MIG (GMAW), TIG (GTAW), stick (SMAW), flux-cored (FCAW).
- Materials and positions: carbon steel, stainless, aluminum; flat through overhead (1G–6G).
- Safety and quality: a clean record and a high first-pass inspection or X-ray rate.
How to structure a welder resume
- Header: name, location, phone, and email.
- Certifications: AWS certs, codes, processes, and positions qualified, list these high.
- Summary: years welding, your strongest processes, and a standout result.
- Experience: each shop with work type, materials, and quality/output outcomes.
- Skills: processes, materials, positions, blueprint reading, and inspection.
- Education and trade/technical school last.
Skills and keywords to include
Match the posting’s wording. If it names "TIG" and "stainless", those exact terms should appear in your skills and at least one bullet so the ATS and shop lead both catch them.
- Processes: MIG/GMAW, TIG/GTAW, stick/SMAW, flux-cored/FCAW, pipe welding.
- Materials & positions: carbon steel, stainless, aluminum; 1G–6G, all-position.
- Codes & certs: AWS D1.1, ASME Section IX, API 1104, certified weld inspector (CWI) familiarity.
- Skills: blueprint and weld-symbol reading, fit-up, grinding, NDT/X-ray, OSHA safety.
Resume bullet examples
Weak: "Welded parts and assemblies for the shop."
Strong: "Ran TIG and MIG on stainless and aluminum assemblies, passing 98% of welds on first X-ray inspection over 3 years."
Weak: "Worked safely and met deadlines."
Strong: "Maintained a 0-incident safety record across 8,000+ shop hours while exceeding daily fabrication quotas by 15%."
Examples by process and level
Shops screen a MIG production job, a TIG pipe job, and a first welding job on different evidence. Adapt your summary to the process the posting names:
MIG production welder: throughput and consistency win. Summary: "MIG (GMAW) welder with 6 years in high-volume carbon-steel fabrication; hold a 98% first-pass inspection rate while running 10-15% over daily quota." Name the wire sizes, fixtures, and robotic/semi-auto cells you have run.
TIG / pipe welder: codes and positions are the screen. Summary: "TIG (GTAW) pipe welder certified 6G to ASME Section IX on stainless and chrome; 100% X-ray pass rate across 2 shutdown seasons." List every code, position, and material you are qualified on, current and verifiable.
Entry-level welder: lead with school certs and test plates. Summary: "AWS SENSE-trained welder, passed D1.1 3G/4G plate tests on carbon steel; 800 booth hours across MIG, TIG, and stick." Add any shop, fab, or mechanical work that proves you show up and grind through repetitive work safely.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Leaving certifications, processes, and qualified positions off the top of the page.
- No quality numbers, first-pass or X-ray rates prove your work holds up.
- Omitting the materials, codes, or positions the shop names in the posting.
- No safety record where safety is a primary screen.
Quick checklist
- Certifications, processes, and positions visible in the top third.
- Materials and codes clearly stated and matched to the posting.
- Bullets show quality (inspection/X-ray rate) and output.
- A clean, verifiable safety record is present.
- One page is plenty for most welders; clean, ATS-readable layout.
Ready to build yours? Browse more resume examples, start from a free Applygrid resume template, keep it ATS-friendly, and pair it with a tailored letter from our AI cover letter generator.
Frequently asked questions
What should a welder resume look like?
One page, clean single-column layout, with certifications, processes, and qualified positions in the top third where both the ATS and the shop lead see them first. Then experience with quality numbers (first-pass or X-ray rates), a skills row matching the posting, and education last. No graphics or logos: license and cert details must be selectable text.
What are the duties of a welder on a resume?
The standard duties are reading blueprints and weld symbols, setting up equipment, running your processes (MIG, TIG, stick, flux-cored), inspecting welds, and maintaining a safe work area, but list them with numbers, not as duties. "Passed 98% of welds on first X-ray inspection" beats "inspected welds for quality" on every screen.
What is a good summary for a MIG welder resume?
Two or three lines with your process and years, the materials you run, and one quality or output number: "MIG (GMAW) welder with 6 years in high-volume carbon-steel fabrication; 98% first-pass inspection rate while exceeding daily quota 10-15%." Swap in TIG, stick, or pipe codes to match the posting.
How do I write a welder resume with no experience?
Lead with your training certs and passed test plates: the school, the processes, the positions (for example D1.1 3G/4G), and your booth hours. Add any hands-on work that proves reliability, shop labor, mechanics, construction, and state you are ready to take a weld test on day one. Shops hire entry-level welders on the test plate, not the resume, so your job is to earn the test.
Applygrid builds the ATS-friendly resume builder and AI cover letter generator behind these guides. We write from hands-on experience with how applicant tracking systems parse resumes, what recruiters actually screen for, and what gets job seekers to the interview.
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