Top 12 Craftsman Skills to Put on Your Resume
Crafting a standout resume in the skilled trades calls for proof. Show the hands-on grit and the design brain. Blend top craftsman skills so hiring managers see range, precision, and the spark that makes your work stick in memory.
Craftsman Skills
- AutoCAD
- SketchUp
- Woodworking
- Metal Fabrication
- 3D Printing
- Laser Cutting
- CNC Machining
- Upholstery
- Welding
- Pottery
- Glassblowing
- Leatherworking
1. AutoCAD
AutoCAD is computer-aided design software for creating exacting 2D drawings and detailed 3D models—great for planning, visualizing, and refining projects before materials ever meet tools.
Why It's Important
It locks in accuracy. Clean dimensions, tight tolerances, clear documentation—your builds start right and stay right. Complex ideas become sharable drawings clients and collaborators can read at a glance.
How to Improve AutoCAD Skills
Make speed and consistency your north star.
Learn keyboard shortcuts to shave seconds from every command and compound those gains over an entire drawing.
Customize your workspace with tailor-made tool palettes, ribbons, and quick-access commands that match your flow.
Master layers, blocks, and xrefs so edits ripple cleanly across files without chaos.
Use templates and standards for title blocks, dimension styles, lineweights, and plotting. Consistency sells professionalism.
Practice parametric constraints to keep geometry locked and intelligent when changes come late.
Stay current with new features and refine your plotting pipeline for crisp print sets and lightweight PDFs.
Stronger habits turn tricky drawings into dependable build instructions.
How to Display AutoCAD Skills on Your Resume
2. SketchUp
SketchUp is intuitive 3D modeling for quick concepting, layout, and visualization. Ideal for woodworking, interiors, exhibits, and any craft where seeing the space helps you solve it.
Why It's Important
Ideas turn into clear shapes, fast. You test proportions, iterate in minutes, and communicate designs clients can instantly grasp.
How to Improve SketchUp Skills
Group and component everything so geometry doesn’t stick; reuse components to stay nimble.
Dial in scenes and tags for clean presentations and quick design toggles.
Learn solid tools for boolean operations and watertight models ready for fabrication.
Adopt extensions that match your craft—cut lists, layout tools, or rendering when you need realism.
Model to real-world scale and use accurate materials so estimates and fit are trustworthy.
Practice fast sketch-to-model workflows to jump from concept to detail without stalling.
Small modeling disciplines pay off in clean builds and confident approvals.
How to Display SketchUp Skills on Your Resume
3. Woodworking
Woodworking shapes, joins, and finishes timber into furniture, fixtures, sculpture—functional pieces with soul, engineered to last.
Why It's Important
It marries hand skill with design judgment. Grain, joinery, proportion—each choice shows in the final piece, every time.
How to Improve Woodworking Skills
Build fundamentals: square stock prep, sharp tools, and clean layout lines solve half your problems before they appear.
Level up joinery: dovetails, mortise and tenon, dowels, and modern knock-down fittings—choose the right joint for the load and lifespan.
Understand wood movement so seasonal change doesn’t split your work. Design allowances, floating panels, proper grain orientation.
Finish like a pro: surface prep, dye vs. pigment, wiping varnish vs. hardwax oil, and dust control for glass-smooth results.
Document builds with cut lists, jigs, and notes. Your future self will thank you.
Safety habits baked in: guards, push sticks, hearing and dust protection, and sane workholding.
Repeat the basics until they’re invisible—then go wild on details.
How to Display Woodworking Skills on Your Resume
4. Metal Fabrication
Metal fabrication cuts, bends, machines, and joins metals into assemblies and structures—artistic, architectural, or industrial.
Why It's Important
Precision and durability. You can shape strong, clean parts that hold tolerance, take abuse, and look sharp doing it.
How to Improve Metal Fabrication Skills
Master layout with center punching, scribing, and gauge blocks so holes and bends land where they should.
Refine cutting across saws, shears, plasma, and abrasive methods; pick the process that preserves edge quality and minimizes cleanup.
Control distortion through fixturing, staggered welds, and heat management.
Adopt CAD/CAM to speed repeatability and tighten tolerances; clean DXFs mean cleaner parts.
Deburr and finish like it matters—chamfers, passivation when needed, and coatings that match the environment.
Lean thinking: reduce rework, standardize hardware, label parts, and build simple jigs that earn their keep.
Safety with PPE, ventilation, and proper material handling. No shortcuts.
Efficient shops build better parts—and bid smarter.
How to Display Metal Fabrication Skills on Your Resume
5. 3D Printing
3D printing turns digital models into physical parts layer by layer. Rapid prototypes, custom jigs, short-run products—complex shapes with minimal tooling.
Why It's Important
Fast iteration, intricate geometry, and on-demand production. You try more ideas, earlier, and keep only what works.
How to Improve 3D Printing Skills
Calibrate first: bed level, Z offset, flow rate, and E-steps. A tuned machine is half the battle.
Know your materials: PLA for ease, PETG for toughness, ABS/ASA for heat, nylons and CF blends for strength. Dry filament for consistent results.
Dial temperatures and speed to reduce stringing and warping; slower passes for fine features, higher temps for layer adhesion.
Choose layer height wisely: small layers for detail and fit, larger for speed and utility parts.
Orient parts to strengthen load paths; add fillets, chamfers, and ribs to fight layer delamination.
Support and infill strategy: minimal supports with good contact settings; match infill patterns to the forces at play.
Post-process when you care about the finish: sanding, primers, vapor smoothing (with proper safety), heat-set inserts.
Maintain the machine: clean nozzles, lubed rails, snug belts, fresh PEI or glue where needed.
When the printer hums, your design loop tightens—and projects move.
How to Display 3D Printing Skills on Your Resume
6. Laser Cutting
Laser cutting uses a focused beam to cut or engrave wood, plastics, leather, textiles, and metals with crisp edges and delicate detail.
Why It's Important
It’s fast, repeatable, and ultra-precise. Perfect for intricate patterns, inlays, signage, and production parts that need consistency.
How to Improve Laser Cutting Skills
Prep materials flat, clean, and protected. Residue and warp cause inconsistent cuts and scorching.
Tune power, speed, and frequency per material and thickness; keep a swatch library with your proven settings.
Maintain optics: clean lenses and mirrors, verify alignment, and keep air assist steady to reduce flare and char.
Optimize paths in software: combine lines, sort inside-first then outside, and minimize head travel.
Test scraps before committing. One pass of dialing saves a sheet of stock.
Ventilation and filtration matched to the material. Health first, clarity second.
The better your settings notebook, the better your output—job after job.
How to Display Laser Cutting Skills on Your Resume
7. CNC Machining
CNC machining drives tools with code for exact, repeatable parts. Wood, metal, plastics—complex curves and sharp pockets, done with science.
Why It's Important
Accuracy without fatigue. You scale one-offs into runs, keep tolerances tight, and make assemblies that fit the first time.
How to Improve CNC Machining Skills
Refine CAM strategies with adaptive clearing, rest machining, and stepdowns that protect tools and time.
Choose the right cutters: coatings, flute count, geometry, and stickout tuned to your material and ops.
Lock down workholding: vises, soft jaws, vacuum fixtures, tabs—rigid setups crush chatter.
Track feeds and speeds with a proven baseline; listen for chip load health and watch chip color.
Probe and measure often. Zero offsets cleanly, verify critical features, and document inspection steps.
Maintain machines: lubrication schedules, tram checks, ball screw inspections, and clean coolant.
Simulate and verify toolpaths to avoid collisions and wasted stock.
Quiet spindles, bright chips, tight tolerances—the trifecta.
How to Display CNC Machining Skills on Your Resume
8. Upholstery
Upholstery rebuilds comfort: frames, springs, webbing, padding, and textiles united into seats and surfaces that invite use.
Why It's Important
Comfort, durability, and style converge here. Restoration or new build, upholstery sets the tone and extends a piece’s life.
How to Improve Upholstery Skills
Master foundations: spring tying, webbing patterns, tack spacing, and corner builds that won’t sag.
Cut and sew precisely with grain-aligned panels, consistent seam allowances, and pattern matching that disappears.
Choose materials wisely: foam densities, natural vs. synthetic fills, abrasion ratings, and cleanability that fit the use case.
Edge work like piping, double-needle stitching, and crisp pleats elevates the whole piece.
Repair frames before fabric—glue-ups, fasteners, and reinforcements keep upholstery from masking structural issues.
Build a reference kit: staple counts, fabric stretch notes, and thread/needle combos that you trust.
Comfort is engineered. A good chair looks good; a great one disappears beneath you.
How to Display Upholstery Skills on Your Resume
9. Welding
Welding fuses metals or thermoplastics with heat, pressure, or both—MIG, TIG, stick, and beyond—so parts become one.
Why It's Important
Strong joints, clean lines, repairs that hold. From sculpture to structure, welding unlocks permanence.
How to Improve Welding Skills
Dial in settings for each process and material: amperage, voltage, wire speed, gas flow, and electrode choice.
Prep religiously: clean joints, proper bevels, tight fit-up, and solid tacking to control distortion.
Control puddle and travel: watch the keyhole, maintain angles, and keep a steady arc length.
Practice positions (flat, horizontal, vertical, overhead) so real jobs don’t surprise you.
Test and inspect: bend tests, etch checks, and visual criteria for undercut, porosity, and fusion.
Protect yourself: helmets with proper shade, ventilation, sleeves and gloves, and clean cable management.
Repeat passes, better beads, fewer reworks—confidence follows.
How to Display Welding Skills on Your Resume
10. Pottery
Pottery shapes clay into useful and beautiful forms—handbuilt or wheel-thrown—then fires and finishes them to endure.
Why It's Important
Tactile design thinking. Material science meets touch, and function rides along with form.
How to Improve Pottery Skills
Centering and consistency: practice cylinders until heights and wall thicknesses repeat on command.
Refine trimming for footrings and weight balance; remove mass where the hand expects lightness.
Glaze testing: keep a tile library, map thickness, and learn how oxides and temperatures shift color and texture.
Control drying with even airflow and timing to avoid warping and cracking.
Learn your kiln: firing schedules, soak times, and atmosphere tweaks that unlock your recipes.
Ergonomics for handles, rims, and spouts—function first, then flourish.
Clay remembers. Treat each step as final—because it will show.
How to Display Pottery Skills on Your Resume
11. Glassblowing
Glassblowing shapes molten glass with air, gravity, and tools—gather, blow, marver, reheat—until form meets intention.
Why It's Important
Precision in motion. Unique pieces, functional or wild, that only heat and breath can make.
How to Improve Glassblowing Skills
Build heat control: work time and temperature cycles so the glass stays alive but obedient.
Practice core moves: gathers, pulls, punts, and clean breaks—smooth mechanics free your focus for design.
Tool discipline with jacks, blocks, shears, and paddles; the right touch at the right moment.
Team communication for assists and handoffs; timing matters as much as technique.
Anneal properly: strain relief in the kiln prevents heartbreak later.
Safety and ventilation squared away—heat, shards, and chemicals managed with care.
Fluid control, crisp intent. That’s the game.
How to Display Glassblowing Skills on Your Resume
12. Leatherworking
Leatherworking turns hides into goods—cutting, dyeing, stitching, embossing—for bags, belts, wallets, sheaths, and footwear that age with grace.
Why It's Important
Durable, repairable, personal. Craft and utility stitched into everyday objects.
How to Improve Leatherworking Skills
Choose the right leather: full-grain vs. top-grain, veg-tan vs. chrome-tan, thickness to match the job.
Cut clean with razor-sharp knives, pricking irons aligned, and square edges ready for finishing.
Stitch with confidence: consistent spacing, saddle stitch tension, and thread selection that lasts.
Edge finishing—bevel, burnish, dye, and seal—so pieces feel as good as they look.
Dye and finish with test swatches; layer lightly, let it cure, and protect with waxes or resoles as needed.
Template and fixture repeatables for speed and accuracy on production runs.
Repair mindset: hardware swaps, restitching, conditioning—stand behind what you make.
Attention to small edges makes the whole piece sing.
How to Display Leatherworking Skills on Your Resume
