Home Toolmaker Resume template
Toolmaker resume template
A clean starting structure with example content grounded in what toolmakers 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 toolmakers should default to, since most Australian recruiters and ATS software expect it.
Professional summary
Toolmaker with hands-on experience machining precision components, dies and fixtures to micron-level tolerances. Comfortable reading complex CAD models and blueprints and translating them into working tools for automotive, aerospace and consumer goods production. Known for methodical problem solving when a die or tool doesn't perform as designed.
Key skills
- Blueprint and CAD interpretation
- Die, jig and fixture design
- CNC milling and lathe operation
- Tool and cutter grinding
- Surface grinding
- Precision measurement (calipers, micrometers, hardness testing)
- Fusion 360 and AutoCAD
- Metallurgy and materials selection
- Fault diagnosis on tooling
Experience: example bullet points
- Machined tool components to tolerances within a few microns using CNC mills and lathes, reducing rework on finished dies
- Designed and fabricated custom jigs and fixtures for new production runs, cutting setup time for machine operators
- Diagnosed a recurring die failure on a stamping line and modified the design, extending tool life between regrinds
- Inspected completed tools with micrometers, calipers and hardness testers, catching out-of-tolerance parts before they reached the production floor
- Read and interpreted CAD models and technical drawings to plan fabrication sequences for new tooling orders
Education
Certificate III in Engineering (Toolmaking Trade) completed through a trade apprenticeship, typically around four years combining on-the-job training with TAFE study; many toolmakers later add a Certificate IV in Engineering or Diploma of Engineering (Advanced Trade) for design and supervisory work.
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.
- Toolmaking
- CNC machining
- CAD/CAM
- AutoCAD
- Fusion 360
- Dies, jigs and fixtures
- Tool and cutter grinding
- Surface grinding
- Precision measurement
- Hardness testing
- Metrology
- AS/NZS manufacturing standards
- Trade apprenticeship
- TAFE
- Metal fabrication
- Blueprint reading
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.