8 Warehouse Skills for Resume Building: What Employers Want to See

When you are considering careers, a career in warehouses is an excellent choice. Global supply chain issues have increased the demand of warehouse employees. Pursuing a warehouse career can certainly be a prosperous road to take.

After you’ve decided to land a job in the warehouse industry, take the time to nail your resume. Just because you already have a resume created doesn’t mean it will do well when you apply to warehouse jobs.

In order to stand out against all the other applicants, create a resume tailored to the skills warehouse employers are looking for. Warehouse employers are facing continuous issues in the industry, and they have a list of valid concerns. A great resume can help you land a job in the field by showcasing skills that respond to the concerns of warehouse employers.

What are Warehouse Employers Concerned About?

Before we jump into the top warehouse skills to list on your resume, it makes sense to first try to understand the concerns of employers in the field. After learning a bit about the issues in the industry, you’ll learn about the warehouse skills to include on your resume to put employers at ease. When you understand their warehouse problems, you can create a stronger resume responding to their needs.

Here are some current issues in the warehouse industry:

• Labor shortages: There aren’t enough warehouse employees to keep operations running smoothly.
• Inventory inaccuracies: Inaccurate inventories causes problems when it comes to selling out of products or having too much.
• Redundant processes: Poor time management of the warehouse due to redundant processes increases the cost of labor and causes delays.
• Customer expectations: Shoppers expect increasingly higher standards for deliveries.
• Communications: In a fast-paced warehouse, employees need to be communicated with to understand operations.
• Product damage: Damaged products lead to unhappy customers and a bad brand reputation.
• Handling returned items: Poor record keeping in regards to handling returned items means employees have to take more time to resolve queries.

Now that you understand more of what warehouse employers are concerned about, let’s go cover the basics of what warehouse skills are.

What are Warehouse Skills?

Warehouse skills are a mix of technical skills and soft skills. Technical skills are extremely specific to the job. For example, operating specific machinery is a technical skill. Soft skills, on the other hand, are more general and applicable to a variety of jobs.

Many warehouse skills, especially technical ones, will be taught on the job. Experience is a great way to learn. However, many warehouse employees also hold a college degree or certifications to help them learn skills.

Even if you’re lacking in warehouse experience and education, you probably have other skills that employers are looking for. Even skills that you’ve picked up from jobs in other industries can help you beef up your resume for a warehouse position.

Here are the top resume skills for warehouse workers:

8 Warehouse Skills for Resume Building

First, we will cover hard skills that are important in the warehouse industry:

• Computer literacy: As the warehouse industry grows increasingly automated, computer literacy is an excellent skill to include on your resume. While there are some warehouse jobs that don’t need this skill, you can increase your chances of getting hired for a technical warehouse job by including it.
• Technical certifications: If you have a forklift, pallet jack, or any other certification for machinery used in the warehouse, don’t hesitate to include it on your resume. For example, operating packing and sorting machinery, or the equipment used to transport heavy boxes.
• OSHA certifications: If you’re certified in technical warehouse machinery, then chances are you hold OSHA certifications. OSHA is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration responsible for protecting employees against workplace hazards. OSHA certifications can be a great way to stand out against other applicants.
• Speed: Accurate warehouse operations are essential, but employees also have to be efficient. Highlighting your ability to not only do the job tasks, but also do them quickly, will catch the attention of warehouse employers.

Here are the soft skills that are essential to include on your resume:

• Effective communication: Communicating with employers, coworkers, and clients will be a part of your everyday life when working in a warehouse. Highlight your ability to be a team player and your customer service skills, and you will impress employers.
• Problem-solving skills: When problems arise in the warehouse, employers need to be able to trust their employees to respond to the issues. Problem-solving skills are essential to stand out in the warehouse industry.
• Organizational skills: Employees that are organized and detail-oriented benefit the warehouse by decreasing mistakes made and time wasted. These are excellent skills to highlight on your resume.
• Learning aptitude: Demonstrate your ability and willingness to continuously learn, and you’ll win the heart of warehouse employers. You will often be learning new skills on the job, and employers want to see that you will be able to absorb new knowledge.

Although soft skills might seem “cheesy” or unimportant, don’t underestimate the value of including them on your resume. Soft skills are valued more than hard skills, because they’re more challenging to teach than hard skills.

Your Resume is Key

Even if you have all the top warehouse worker skills, they need to be communicated on your resume well. Just because you have a great background, a great resume isn’t guaranteed if it’s not crafted effectively. Contrastingly, if you have any gaps in your education or experience, a great resume crafted by experts can help you overcome those.

Success landing a warehouse role starts with a resume curated for the industry.

Ready to create a resume that lands you in high-paying warehouse positions? We can help with our resumes specifically tailored for warehouse careers!