Home Leather Goods Maker Resume template
Leather Goods Maker resume template
A clean starting structure with example content grounded in what leather goods makers actually do day to day, not generic filler. Download and replace the bracketed placeholders with your own details.
Which resume format should you use?
Reverse chronological
You have a steady work history. This is the format almost every recruiter and ATS expects by default.
Functional
You're changing fields or have gaps in your employment. Leads with skills rather than a job-by-job timeline.
Combination
You're early career or have worked consistently but for only a few employers. Blends a skills summary with a shorter chronological history.
This template uses the reverse chronological format: the one most leather goods makers should default to, since most Australian recruiters and ATS software expect it.
Professional summary
Leather Goods Maker with hands-on experience in cutting, stitching, finishing and assembling leather items for small-batch and bespoke production. Skilled in both hand techniques and machine work, with a focus on durable, well-finished goods that meet specification. Comfortable working from patterns and design files, and used to inspecting work at every stage to keep quality consistent.
Key skills
- Craft and handmade production
- Hand and power tool work
- Fabrication and finishing
- Visual design
- Inventory management
- Adobe Illustrator
- CAD pattern-making software
- Leather sewing machine
- Hand tools (awls, knives, chisels)
- Attention to detail
- Customer service
Experience: example bullet points
- Cut leather components from patterns using a clicking press, hand knives and chisels, nesting pieces to reduce offcuts by two to three hides per 20-hide batch.
- Stitched leather components by hand and machine, including saddle stitching on wallets and flatbed machining on bag panels, completing up to 30 small goods per week to specification.
- Finished edges by bevelling, sanding, burnishing and waxing, achieving a smooth sealed edge that passed quality inspection without rework.
- Assembled and attached hardware such as buckles, D-rings, rivets and magnetic snaps, testing each closure and alignment before final sign-off.
- Inspected finished products against specification sheets, identifying stitching flaws, uneven edges and hardware faults, and returning items for rework before dispatch to keep customer returns near zero.
- Repaired and restored customer leather goods, including strap replacements, stitching repairs and hardware upgrades, maintaining a turnaround of three to five days.
Education
Year 12 or equivalent is common, with many makers completing a Certificate III in Leather Goods Production or a related traineeship; some build on this with a Diploma of Fashion and Textiles or a design degree.
Keywords an ATS is likely to scan for
Applicant tracking systems match your resume against terms in the job ad before a person ever sees it. Only include the ones that actually apply to your experience, but if a term below matches something you've done, use the same wording the job ad uses.
- Certificate III in Leather Goods Production
- leather goods
- hand stitching
- saddle stitching
- edge finishing
- clicking
- skiving
- leather sewing machine
- CAD pattern-making
- Adobe Illustrator
- WHS
- manual handling
- quality assurance
- inventory management
- bespoke orders
- leather repair
- kangaroo leather
- riveting
- hardware attachment
- pattern making
Getting past ATS screening
- Match the specific skills, certifications and terms used in the job ad, not just your own wording for the same thing.
- Keep formatting simple: no tables, text boxes, columns, headers/footers or graphics. Parsers frequently drop content placed in these.
- Submit as .docx or PDF unless the job ad specifies otherwise.
- Use standard section headings (Experience, Education, Skills) rather than creative alternatives.
- List your core skills and technical competencies in their own section so a keyword scan can find them instantly.
This is a starting point, not a guarantee of interviews. Tailor every bullet point to your own real experience and the specific job ad.