Top 12 Roustabout Skills to Put on Your Resume

Oil and gas work moves fast, breaks hard, and rewards people who come prepared. A resume that flashes the right roustabout skills doesn’t just get read; it gets a call back. Below, you’ll find the core abilities hiring managers watch for, with clear reasons they matter and practical ways to sharpen them so you can hit the deck ready to work.

1. Rigging

Rigging means setting, securing, and moving loads with slings, shackles, chains, blocks, and hardware. On a rig or yard, it’s the choreography behind every lift, the difference between smooth motion and chaos.

Why It's Important

Every heavy move rides on good rigging. Safe lifts protect people, equipment, and schedule. Bad rigging? It bites fast.

How to Improve Rigging Skills

Know your gear: Sling types, hitch configurations, working load limits, inspection criteria. No guesses.
Do the math: Calculate sling angles, load share, and center of gravity. Plan the path before a shackle turns.
Signal and communicate: Use standardized hand signals and brief the team. One voice, one plan.
Inspect relentlessly: Tag out damaged rigging. Check hooks, latches, eyes, and stitching every time.
Use taglines and controls: Keep hands off pinch zones. Control swing and rotation with taglines.
Train and certify: Complete recognized rigger/signalperson training and refresh regularly.

Precision builds confidence. Confidence builds safe lifts.

How to Display Rigging Skills on Your Resume

2. Welding

Welding fuses metals—repairing brackets, fabricating guards, patching structures. Processes you’ll see: stick (SMAW), MIG (GMAW), and TIG (GTAW), each with its moment.

Why It's Important

Equipment cracks, frames bend, time keeps ticking. Welding keeps assets in service and the operation moving.

How to Improve Welding Skills

Master the basics: Joint prep, fit-up, amperage/voltage settings, travel speed, and electrode/filler choice.
Practice across positions: Flat, horizontal, vertical, overhead. Real work rarely sits pretty.
Understand materials: Carbon steel versus stainless, preheat needs, distortion control, and weld procedures.
Protect yourself: Ventilation, eye and skin protection, fire watch. Burns and fumes don’t negotiate.
Qualify and document: Earn process-specific qualifications and keep records current.

Clean prep, steady hands, sound joints. That’s the game.

How to Display Welding Skills on Your Resume

3. Forklift Operation

Operating a forklift means moving pipe, pallets, and gear safely through tight quarters and unpredictable terrain, often with people and other equipment in play.

Why It's Important

Efficient material movement shrinks delays and injuries. It also protects high-value equipment from dings that turn into downtime.

How to Improve Forklift Operation Skills

Get properly certified: Complete employer-authorized training and evaluations; refresh on schedule.
Inspect before use: Brakes, forks, mast, tires, fluids, alarms, seat belt—no exceptions.
Respect capacity and stability: Know the data plate, keep loads low, and mind the stability triangle.
Navigate deliberately: Control speed, sound the horn at blind spots, use spotters when vision is limited.
Adapt to conditions: Ramps, slick decks, wind, and uneven surfaces change the rules—adjust or stop.

Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast.

How to Display Forklift Operation Skills on Your Resume

4. Crane Signaling

Crane signaling is the common language between the load and the operator—hand signals and radio calls that keep big iron moving precisely.

Why It's Important

One confused signal can swing a load into trouble. Clear direction keeps people out of harm’s way and protects the lift plan.

How to Improve Crane Signaling Skills

Learn the standard set: Use recognized hand signals and stick to them. No improvisation mid-lift.
Establish line of sight: If you can’t see, use radios. Confirm channels and call signs before the pick.
Brief the lift: Review roles, path, wind limits, blind spots, taglines, and stop conditions.
Practice drills: Short, regular simulations sharpen timing and clarity under pressure.
Use the right comms: Intrinsically safe radios for hazardous areas; do radio checks; keep messages short and unambiguous.

When in doubt, stop the lift. Reset. Then proceed.

How to Display Crane Signaling Skills on Your Resume

5. HAZMAT Handling

HAZMAT handling covers identification, storage, transfer, and disposal of hazardous substances—fuels, chemicals, acids, and more—without harming people or the environment.

Why It's Important

Spills spread quickly. Vapors ignite. Proper controls prevent injuries, fines, and production halts.

How to Improve HAZMAT Handling Skills

Know the hazards: Read Safety Data Sheets, labeling, and compatibility charts before you touch a container.
Wear the right PPE: Gloves, goggles, face shields, respirators, chemical suits—match protection to the substance.
Store correctly: Segregate incompatibles, use secondary containment, and label clearly.
Practice spill response: Drill with absorbents, neutralizers, and overpack drums; control sources and report fast.
Follow procedures: Apply HAZCOM and, where applicable, HAZWOPER requirements. No shortcuts.

Prepared teams turn incidents into non-events.

How to Display HAZMAT Handling Skills on Your Resume

6. Mechanical Maintenance

Mechanical maintenance keeps equipment alive—inspection, lubrication, adjustment, and repair that stop small problems from turning into major breakdowns.

Why It's Important

Unplanned downtime burns money. Good maintenance extends life, boosts reliability, and protects people working near the machinery.

How to Improve Mechanical Maintenance Skills

Standardize checks: Use inspection routines and checklists; catch wear, leaks, and misalignment early.
Schedule preventive work: Follow OEM intervals and tailor to duty cycles. Track tasks in a log or system.
Lubricate correctly: Right lubricant, right amount, right interval. Keep it clean—contamination kills.
Use proper tools: Calibrated torque wrenches, pullers, alignment tools. Guesswork damages parts.
Lockout/Tagout: De-energize and verify zero energy before touching moving parts.
Upskill: Learn fundamentals of vibration, temperature trends, and failure modes; improve troubleshooting speed.

Small fixes on time prevent big fixes at the worst time.

How to Display Mechanical Maintenance Skills on Your Resume

7. Hydraulic Systems

Hydraulics convert fluid pressure into force—lifting, clamping, steering, drilling. Hoses, pumps, valves, cylinders, all humming under pressure.

Why It's Important

Heavy equipment depends on healthy hydraulics. Precision and power hinge on clean fluid, tight seals, and solid controls.

How to Improve Hydraulic Systems Skills

Guard against contamination: Filter aggressively, keep reservoirs sealed, and sample fluid. Cleanliness is a life-extender.
Control temperature: Monitor heat; size coolers properly; don’t run hot and thin.
Inspect hoses and fittings: Look for abrasion, bulges, leaks, and damaged guards; replace before failure.
Verify pressures: Set relief valves correctly; use gauges to diagnose sluggish or jerky motion.
Work safely: Bleed stored pressure, use shields, and protect against injection injuries. Treat pinhole leaks seriously.

Clean, cool, dry, and tight—hydraulic fundamentals in four words.

How to Display Hydraulic Systems Skills on Your Resume

8. Pneumatic Tools

Pneumatic tools run on compressed air—impact wrenches, chipping hammers, sanders. Light, tough, and built for repetitive work.

Why It's Important

Air tools deliver power without sparks and shrug off harsh conditions. Big output, quick service, less weight in the hand.

How to Improve Pneumatic Tools Skills

Maintain the air system: Use filter-regulator-lubricator units, drain water traps, and keep hoses clean.
Check connections: Secure couplers, use whip checks, and repair leaks that steal performance.
Match pressure to the tool: Set regulators to spec; too high shreds seals, too low stalls work.
Operate within limits: Don’t force tools; choose the right size and socket/bit for the job.
Protect the user: Gloves, eye/ear protection, and anti-vibration practices reduce fatigue and injury.

Dry air, right pressure, happy tools.

How to Display Pneumatic Tools Skills on Your Resume

9. Safety Protocols

Safety protocols are the habits and systems that prevent injuries—PPE, permits, lockout, gas detection, and the daily discipline to stop when something’s off.

Why It's Important

Roustabout work packs risk. Strong safety culture keeps crews whole and operations steady.

How to Improve Safety Protocols Skills

Plan the work: Complete JSAs/JHAs, identify hazards, assign controls, and review before starting.
Use permits: Hot work, confined space, working at height—follow the permit-to-work process, not your hunch.
Enforce PPE: Helmets, gloves, eye/face protection, FR clothing, harnesses, and respirators as required.
Control energy: Lockout/Tagout and verify zero energy on electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, and pneumatic sources.
Detect and monitor: Test for H2S and flammables where applicable; ventilate and alarm.
Speak up: Stop-work authority for everyone; report near misses; hold short toolbox talks often.

Routine wins the day. Consistency keeps you safe.

How to Display Safety Protocols Skills on Your Resume

10. Pressure Washing

Pressure washing blasts mud, grease, and salt from decks and equipment so inspections are clean and footing is solid.

Why It's Important

Clean surfaces reduce slip hazards, reveal defects early, and keep equipment running cooler and longer.

How to Improve Pressure Washing Skills

Choose the setup: Match PSI and GPM to the job; hot water for oil/grease, cold for general grime.
Pick the nozzle wisely: Narrow jets for stubborn spots, wider fans for coverage. Start gentle, then tighten up.
Use detergents right: Apply, let dwell, agitate if needed, then rinse top-down to avoid streaks.
Protect people and assets: Maintain standoff distance; shield bearings, seals, and electricals; manage overspray.
Mind safety and environment: Wear eye/hand protection, watch for kickback and slips, and contain run-off per site rules.

Let chemistry work so pressure doesn’t have to.

How to Display Pressure Washing Skills on Your Resume

11. Firefighting Basics

Firefighting basics cover recognizing hazards, raising the alarm, attacking incipient fires with the right extinguisher, and supporting evacuation and response.

Why It's Important

In a high-energy, flammable environment, seconds matter. Early action can stop a small fire from becoming an emergency.

How to Improve Firefighting Basics Skills

Know fire classes: A, B, C, D, and K—match the extinguisher to the fuel.
Practice the PASS method: Pull, Aim, Squeeze, Sweep. Short bursts, watch for reflash.
Stage and inspect gear: Extinguishers charged, hoses accessible, alarms tested, exits clear.
Control hot work: Permits, gas testing, fire watch, and post-work monitoring.
Drill the plan: Muster points, ESD systems, comms procedures, and roles—muscle memory saves time.

Fight only what you can handle; if not, isolate and evacuate.

How to Display Firefighting Basics Skills on Your Resume

12. Offshore Survival

Offshore survival blends training, awareness, and grit—sea survival, first aid, firefighting, and helicopter escape skills tailored to remote installations.

Why It's Important

When help is far and conditions are wild, preparation closes the gap. It protects you, your crew, and the mission.

How to Improve Offshore Survival Skills

Complete core training: BOSIET/FOET with HUET and EBS. Refresh before expiry.
Stay fit and ready: Strength, endurance, and swimming competence make emergencies survivable.
Know the site: Study alarms, escape routes, lifeboat stations, and emergency roles on each asset.
Master the kit: Lifejackets, immersion suits, liferafts, radios—don quickly, operate correctly.
Build resilience: Manage fatigue, seasickness, and stress; communicate early if you’re struggling.

Calm thinking under pressure—your quiet superpower offshore.

How to Display Offshore Survival Skills on Your Resume

Top 12 Roustabout Skills to Put on Your Resume