Warehouse Associate Resume: Examples & Guide [10+ Tips]

When it comes to picking, packing, kitting, and keeping track of inventory, you’re nothing short of legendary. If they want the moon on a pallet rack, you’d ask, “How high?” But can you get hired? Not so much. So why is your phone so quiet? It’s your expired, damaged, warehouse associate resume.

So what’s the problem? To us, it’s obvious.

Your resume is stuffed with job duties like inbound receiving, loading and unloading, picking, and record keeping. You know who else has done those things? All the other warehouse associate job applicants.

That’s good for you, because with a few tweaks, you can stick out like a shiny gold crate on a rack of cardboard boxes.

Ready?

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Sample Warehouse Associate Resume Template

Here’s how to write your own out-of-the-box warehouse associate resume:

1. Format Your Warehouse Associate Resume Correctly

"I think we found our next warehouse associate.” You want the hiring manager to say that to her boss. The first step is a resume that looks so good, she decides to read it carefully. It’s crazy, but knowing how to lay out a resume is the first (and arguably most important) step to getting hired.

To organize your resume for warehouse associate jobs:

• Start with a space-saving resume header format.
• Don’t worry about how to write your address in a resume. All you need is your name, email, phone, and LinkedIn if you have it.
• Choose a font that’s easy to read and won’t get in the way of your skills. Arial, Georgia, and Cambria are all good resume fonts.
• Start with your most recent job, then add older jobs as you go. That’s called the reverse chronological resume format, and employers like it best.
• Save your work as a PDF, not an MS Word doc. A Word doc can look great on your computer, but not so much on the employer’s. A resume PDF file is best.
• To name your resume file, use: “Your Name - Job Title - Resume.pdf”
• How many pages for a resume for warehouse associates? One. Just tell them what fits into that page.

Should you add references to a resume? Never. See our guide: References Available Upon Request—On a Resume or Off?

2. Start with a Resume Introduction

Why do you get such frustrating and abysmal results when you ship off a resume? It’s because nobody’s reading it. Hiring managers have 150+ resumes in their inbox. That’s according to our HR statistics report. But there’s a way to make them more interested in your warehouse associate resume.

How can you do it?

With a professional resume profile. That’s a short, 3-line paragraph up top. Think of it like this. Your entire resume is a business elevator pitch. But your 3-line resume introduction is a 6-second sales pitch for your resume.

If you’re learning how to make a resume for your first job, tell them your hoped-for job title, and how you plan to help them. Add a couple transferable skills like physical fitness or teamwork. Then give your biggest achievement to date that proves one of those skills.

Sound tricky? It’s not. It’s an objective in resume form. You can build it around an achievement from school, personal projects, or from a non-warehouse job.

If you’ve been working in warehouses since before bubble wrap, you’ll have an easier time finding achievements. It’s got the same bones as a resume objective, but we call it a professional summary for resumes.

Don’t “kitchen sink” your job application. See our guide: What To Leave Out of a Resume [15+ Things]

3. Customize Your Warehouse Associate Job Description

You’ll more than double your number of job interviews if you tailor your resume to the job offer. If you don’t, your resume work experience section paints you as “a warehouse associate” in a pile of 100. If you customize, you’re “the perfect new hire. The one we’ve been searching for from the start.”

Here’s the right resume format for experience:

• Start with your job title, but word it the same as the job ad. Exact-match business job titles make a more ATS-compliant resume.
• Add your company’s name, along with your start and finish dates.
• Write about six bullet points for your most recent job, and as few as two for your oldest job. Older jobs matter less.
• Include relevant experience from the job ad. If the ad says picking, record keeping, or unloading trucks, you’d better mention them in your bullets.
• Don’t stop at warehouse associate job duties. The hiring team wants to know how well you did them. So, add job-related achievements.
• For instance, every applicant they screen will say they’ve picked, packed, or kitted. So add with 100% accuracy or 20% faster than team average.
• Don’t make up numbers, but you can estimate with words like about or symbols like 5+ or ~30%.
• Think of numbers of people you trained or collaborated with, key performance indicators (KPIs) you improved, and other metrics.
• Start your bullets with resume synonyms like improved, collaborated, or organized instead of the deadly responsible for.

Read more: How to Describe Yourself on a Resume the Right Way

4. Package Your Warehouse Associate Resume Education Section 

You know you need a resume education section. But writing a generic section is like having a Toyota Stand-Up Rider forklift and never using it. For an eye-catching resume, you need to use your education as more proof of your oh-so-valuable warehouse associate skills.

Follow these resume tips:

• To list a degree on your resume start with the degree title. Add your school name and date of graduation.
• If you don’t have a degree, add high school to your resume, or your G.E.D.
• Now comes the good part. In an entry-level warehouse associate resume, add relevant coursework that shows skills like work ethic or organization.
• Even better? Include accomplishments like student group memberships or commendations from teachers.
• Should GPA go on resumes? Only if it’s nosebleed-level.

Read more: How to List Unfinished College on a Resume

5. Prove the Warehouse Associate Skills the Company Wants

What are the right skills to list on resume for warehouse associate jobs? That depends on the job posting. If it wants picking, light equipment maintenance, and documentation, you’d better add those to your skills list. But your skills list and the rest of your resume should work together.

Here's how to add warehouse associate skills to a resume:

• The skills from the job ad are your resume keywords. Put those in your list of 5–10 skills.
• Write your list with about half hard skills and half soft skills. (Soft skills are things like interpersonal skills or communication skills.)
• To get racks full of interviews, plug your skills list into your other resume bullets. How? By finding work and school achievements that sell your skills.

Here are a few hard skills examples for warehouse associates, followed by soft skills:

Warehouse Associate Resume Skills

• Picking
• Packing
• Image scanners
• Laser scanners
• Inventory management systems
• Record keeping
• Light maintenance
• Unloading trucks
• Cleaning equipment
• Shipping
• Forklift operation
• Pallet jack operation
• Physically fit
• Can lift over 50 pounds
• OSHA guidelines
• Interpersonal skills
• Organizational skills
• Problem-solving skills
• Time management skills
• Stress management
• Teamwork skills
• Computer skills
• Verbal and written communication skills
• Adaptability
• Active listening

Pro Tip: Warehouse associates earn from $22K to $36K per year. You can max out your salary with a resume that proves your worth in every bullet point.

When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional resume template here for free.

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6. Add Extras to Your Warehouse Associate Resume

By now, you know everything in your resume should prove a skill the job requires. You can add more evidence with bonus bullet points below your experience and education sections. Think of ways you’ve used the right skills outside of work. Do you belong to associations or do home projects?

Here are some ideas for “other” sections in a resume for warehouse associate jobs:

• List home projects like assembly or maintenance.
• Include resume volunteer experience, especially if it proves your problem-solving or collaboration skills.
• Add any warehouse certifications you have. Certifications for a resume for warehouse associate jobs include forklift driving or even a driver’s license.
• Does the company have workers who speak Spanish or Chinese? Knowing how to put languages on a resume can get you hired.
• If your resume is coming up short, you can even add a hobby or two to round it out. Look through a list of hobbies, interests, and activities for a resume to get ideas.

Read more: How to Improve Your Resume

7. Write a Cover Letter for Your Warehouse Associate Resume

Do I need a cover letter for my resume? Yes, yes, yes. Letters seem outmoded, but they tell the manager you care about the job. Without a warehouse cover letter, you look like you’re knocking on every door on the block and hoping someone answers. To get interviewed, write a resume cover page that makes them feel special.

Start with good cover letter structure:

• The right format for a cover letter is between three and five paragraphs, with a hook, achievements, and a call to action.
• How to start cover letter: Mention the warehouse associate job title in the first sentence and something you like about the job in the first paragraph.
• In your middle paragraph(s), put the spotlight on two or three of the best achievements in your resume.
• When closing a cover letter, mention a couple more skills and ask if they have time to chat next week.
• To follow up on a job application, send a 2-line email each week with your resume and letter as attachments. Stop sending after a month goes by.

Read more: Cover Letter Title

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

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That’s it!

That’s everything you need to write a warehouse associate resume that ships!

Thanks for reading! Still fuzzy on how to write a UPS-worthy warehouse associate resume? Give us a shout in the comments section!