Resume template · Updated October 2026
Resume template for a skilled trade career
Short answer
Catalyst suits a qualified tradesperson because it starts with work experience and prints no summary, so your latest job, the equipment you work on and your record come first. Put your main certification or license in the headline. The fictional sample is an HVAC technician with nine years, from installer to lead service tech, applying for commercial service work.
Download the skilled trade career sample
Ray is a fictional HVAC service technician. Replace every detail with your own before you send it.
The files are made in your browser by Resumity's own exporters, from this sample. The builder opens it as your own resume: click any line to replace it. Free plan, no watermark.
Why Catalyst suits a skilled trade career resume
Catalyst opens on work experience with no summary, which suits a tradesperson whose last job, its equipment and its call volume are what a service manager wants to see first. Its large left-aligned name and teal headings over full-width rules separate jobs, skills and certifications clearly on a one-page resume.
Second choice: Leslie. Leslie also puts experience ahead of skills but keeps a summary; choose it if you are switching trades or moving into estimating or supervision and need two lines to explain.
What goes in each section, in Catalyst's order
Catalyst prints its sections in a fixed order, the same in the PDF and the Word file. Here is that order for this sample, and what to put in each section.
- Work Experience. Each job should say what you worked on (split systems, heat pumps, rooftop units), how much (calls a day, installs a week) and how safely. Show the climb from helper or installer to lead, because moving up is the story a trade resume tells.
- Skills. Group skills by system and task: diagnostics, refrigerant recovery, controls, brazing. A service manager reads this row to judge whether you can take a van out alone, so name the equipment and test instruments you handle every week.
- Education. The trade school certificate, or the classroom part of your apprenticeship, with the school and year. After several years in the field, one line is enough.
- Certifications. EPA 608, state or local licenses, OSHA cards and manufacturer certifications, each with the year. Catalyst prints this near the bottom of the page, so the one a posting requires also goes in the headline under your name.
- Manufacturer and safety training. A short list of manufacturer and safety training with dates shows you keep up with new equipment. Keep only courses that match the jobs you are applying for.
The sample resume as text
The same content as the files above, so you can copy a line or compare it with your own.
Ray Delgado
HVAC Service Technician, EPA 608 Universal
San Antonio, TX | ray.delgado@example.com | (210) 555-0164
Experience
Lead Service Technician, Lone Star Comfort Services, San Antonio, TX (03/2020 to Present)
- Diagnose and repair residential and light commercial systems, averaging five to six service calls a day.
- Service rooftop units up to 15 tons for 12 restaurant and retail accounts on quarterly maintenance contracts.
- Ride along with and train two first-year technicians on diagnostics and refrigerant recovery.
- Recover and recharge refrigerant and complete the job log on every call.
- No recordable safety incidents since joining in 2020.
HVAC Installer, Alamo Air and Heat, San Antonio, TX (06/2017 to 02/2020)
- Installed about four residential split systems and heat pumps a week as part of a two-person crew.
- Brazed line sets, set equipment pads and ran condensate lines to the company's install checklist.
- Promoted from helper to installer after the first year.
Manufacturer and safety training
- Variable-speed heat pump installation and service, manufacturer training center, 2024.
- Rooftop unit economizers and controls, distributor training course, 2025.
- Arc flash awareness, company safety training, 2023.
Education
Certificate, HVAC Technology, Mission Ridge Technical College (05/2017)
Certifications
- EPA Section 608 Universal Technician Certification, EPA-approved certifying organization (2017)
- OSHA 10-Hour Construction, OSHA Outreach Training Program (2021)
Skills
Diagnostics and troubleshooting, Refrigerant recovery and charging, Brazing, Thermostat and controls wiring, Preventive maintenance, Digital manifold gauges, Recovery machine, Combustion analyzer, ServiceTitan work orders, Explaining repairs to customers, Training junior techs
How to make the sample yours
Write the headline as title plus credential
With no summary on Catalyst, "HVAC Service Technician, EPA 608 Universal" does that job. An electrician might write "Journeyman Electrician" with the state that issued the license; use the exact name on your card.
Count from your work orders
Service calls per day, installs per week, tonnage, accounts on a maintenance contract: numbers from your own records make the page concrete. Round them down rather than up.
Lead with the equipment of the job you want
Moving from residential to commercial? Put any rooftop unit, controls or light commercial work near the top of your current job, even if it was a small share of your calls, and list related training.
Give credentials in a form that can be checked
List each license or certification by its full name, the issuing body or state and the year. Add a license number only when the posting asks for it.
State the practical requirements you meet
If the posting asks for a clean driving record, your own hand tools or on-call availability, add a line confirming each one, either as a final bullet under your current job or in the training list.
Keywords to keep where they are true
Terms this kind of resume is usually searched for. Use the posting's exact wording, and only for work you have done.
- HVAC service
- preventive maintenance
- diagnostics and troubleshooting
- refrigerant recovery
- EPA 608 Universal
- heat pumps
- rooftop units
- split systems
- brazing
- controls wiring
- work orders
- customer service
- OSHA 10
- on-call
Mistakes to avoid
- Generic bullets such as "Repaired AC units", which could describe a first-year helper. Name the systems, the volume and the result.
- Keeping a required certification only at the bottom of the page. If a posting names it, it belongs near your name as well.
- Claiming a license level you have not reached yet, such as journeyman status while you are still an apprentice.
- Long duty paragraphs. Short bullets with equipment, numbers and safety record are faster to read between service calls.
How the sample PDF reads in text extractors
We exported this sample with Resumity's PDF exporter in Chrome on 2026-10-29 and read the file back with three open-source text extractors. This shows whether software that turns a PDF into text can recover it; it is not a test of any commercial applicant tracking system. How we test templates.
| Extractor | Name, email, phone | Headings | Bullets intact |
|---|---|---|---|
| pdf.js 4.10.38 | All found | 5 of 5 | 8 of 8 |
| pdftotext (Xpdf) 4.00 | All found | 5 of 5 | 8 of 8 |
| pypdf 6.13.0 | All found | 5 of 5 | 8 of 8 |
Frequently asked questions
Do tradespeople need a resume?
It helps whenever you apply online, through a staffing agency or to a larger contractor that compares candidates on paper. One page with your jobs, equipment, certifications and licenses is enough.
How should I list EPA 608 certification on a resume?
Give the type (Type I, II, III or Universal) and the year. The EPA says Universal covers servicing all types of equipment and that Section 608 credentials do not expire, so no renewal date is needed.
Do HVAC technicians need a license?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics says nearly all HVAC technicians need EPA certification in refrigerant handling, and some states and localities also require a license. Check the rules where you work and list what you hold by its exact name.
Should my finished apprenticeship stay on my resume?
Yes, as the job it was, with the employer and dates, and the classroom part under education. After several years of journey-level work it can shrink to a single line.
How do I show I am ready to move from residential to commercial work?
Put any commercial jobs first in your current role's bullets, list commercial equipment and controls training in skills and the training list, and name commercial service in the headline.
Will applicant tracking systems read this Catalyst PDF?
The sample PDF read back with its contact details, all 5 section headings and all 8 bullets intact in three open-source text extractors (pdf.js, pdftotext and pypdf). Commercial systems such as Workday, Greenhouse or Taleo were not tested, and each employer configures its own.
Guides and templates for this resume
Sources, checked 29 October 2026
We opened every page below on that date. Pay, rules and requirements change, so check the source before you rely on a detail.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook: Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers (The EPA requires nearly all HVAC technicians to be certified in proper refrigerant handling; some states and localities also require HVAC technicians to be licensed.)
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Section 608 Technician Certification Requirements (Lists Type I, II, III and Universal certification (Universal covers servicing all types of equipment) and states that Section 608 credentials do not expire.)