How To Write a Quality Control Resume
Create a detail-packed, error-free quality control (QC) resume by leveraging your analytical and project management skills and following some tried-and-true resume-writing advice. This guide covers everything from how to write a professional profile to which action verbs might work well for your resume.
Tailor your resume for each application to speak directly to the employer’s needs. Spend some time proofing your document before you send it out, too, as employers may not want to consider a QC professional who can’t control the quality of their own resume.
- Entry-level
- Mid-career
- Senior-level
1. Create a profile by summarizing your quality control qualifications
Chances are, most QC resumes will mention analytics or being detail-oriented. Convey those traits in the professional design and details of your resume, leaving your initial profile for more unique details. You might include your years of experience or an impressive credential — a Master Black Belt in Six Sigma, for example.
Adapt this introductory paragraph for every resume to capture an employer’s interest. Keep it short — a few sentences at most — and tease some of your accomplishments to ensure the employer wants to read the rest of your document.
Senior-Level Profile Example
Diligent and organized Quality Control Specialist with nearly 12 years of advancement and experience.
Entry-Level Profile Example
A Quality Control Inspector with entry-level experience specializing in quality assurance, QMS, internal audits, and communication. Adept at interfacing with diverse cross-functional teams to identify product defects and maintain compliance with quality standards.
2. Create a powerful list of your quality control experience
Assume every other qualified QC professional will have quality assurance (QA) and control work listed on their resume. Consider how you can quantify achievements to stand out from that crowd and demonstrate the value you can bring to an employer.
For example, don’t simply mention that you have a certification in Six Sigma. Bring those skills into your professional experience section with bullet points such as, “Implemented Six Sigma tools, including control charts, to increase process control and reduce defective outcomes by 82%.”
Senior-Level Professional Experience Example
Quality Control Specialist, Learning Solutions Inc., Atlanta, GA
August 2016 – Present
- Coordinate with the product management and development team to create quality control procedures for education products generating over $3.5M in annual revenue
- Collaborate with customer success team to evaluate quality metrics, review customer response, perform quality audits and root cause analysis, and establish new QA protocols to prevent recurrence, resulting in a 15% increase in customer satisfaction
- Perform inspections on products to ensure consistency with quality standards, including packaging, labeling, and product functionality
Entry-Level Professional Experience Example
Quality Control Inspector, Toyota Dealership, Cincinnati, OH
August 2021 – Present
- Conduct quality control inspections of new and used automobile products and create reports on product condition, defects, and potential risk
- Perform physical inspections of automotive vehicles, including capturing images and analyzing product quality issues
- Ensure compliance with quality control standards during vehicle audits
- Provide training to three new hires on quality assurance procedures, audit processes, and company policies
3. List your education and certifications relevant to quality control
Educational credentials help build credibility for your expertise as a QC professional. They can also help you demonstrate knowledge of specific industries or processes. For example, if you’re applying for a QC position in a food service manufacturing plant, a degree in food service science is extremely relevant.
List your most pertinent credentials first, but include other potentially impressive degrees and certifications. They can help establish technology, leadership, or other skills that might be important to the employer.
Education
Template
- [Degree Name]
- [School Name], [City, State Abbreviation] | [Graduation Year]
Example
- Bachelor of Science (B.S.) Food Science
- University of California, Los Angeles, CA | 2016
Certifications
Template
- [Certification Name], [Awarding Organization], [Completion Year]
Example
- Certified Quality Auditor (CQA), American Society for Quality, 2021
4. List your quality control skills and proficiencies
Listing skills on your resume — and including them in your experience section — creates more context for an employer about your qualifications.
For example, you might say you have five years of QC experience. If you also mention your process control, continuous improvement, and manufacturing experience, it helps employers understand your QC work.
You can find some common QC skills listed below. However, incorporate your unique skills, especially if they align with what the employer seems to need most in an applicant.
| Key Skills and Proficiencies | |
|---|---|
| Audits | Compliance |
| Continuous improvement | Cross-functional collaboration |
| Data analysis | Internal audits |
| Laboratory protocols | Manufacturing |
| Process control | Process improvement |
| Product development | Product testing |
| QA | QC |
| Quality audits | Quality inspections |
| Quality management systems (QMS) | Quality metrics |
| Research and development (R&D) | Six Sigma |
| Team management | Validation |
| Vendor management | |
How To Pick the Best Quality Control Resume Template
Choose a template that helps you convey attention to detail and organization, as these are inherently important traits for QC professionals. A clean, professional template also helps put employers’ eyes on your qualifications.
You can easily customize the right template, so choose something you can work with. Avoid extra design elements and complicated formatting if you’re not well-versed in word processing or page design. A template with well-defined sections for your experience, skills, and education is also important because such designs support scannability and help you remember to include all the relevant information.
Quality Control Text-Only Resume Templates and Examples
- Entry-level
- Mid-career
- Senior-level
Alisha Thomas
(123) 456-7890
[email protected]
123 Your Street, Los Angeles, CA 12345
Profile
A Quality Control Specialist with five years of experience within the food science industry, specializing in quality audits, food safety, and R&D. A proven track record of leading process improvement initiatives to refine production procedures and increase product quality.
Professional Experience
Quality Control Specialist, Impossible Foods, Los Angeles, CA
August 2018 – Present
- Develop and implement QA policies across the facility to ensure compliance with food safety regulations and quality control standards
- Interface with suppliers to perform quality audits on raw ingredients to maintain gluten-free and kosher certifications for plant-based meat products
- Oversee a team of five quality assurance and quality control technicians, deliver training on internal QC processes and QMS and provide continual mentorship
Quality Control Specialist, Beyond Meat, San Francisco, CA
May 2016 – August 2018
- Performed quality assurance audits of products and raw ingredients to ensure alignment with packaging labels, food safety standards, and quality requirements
- Developed product descriptions of microbiological and chemical properties, packaging requirements, ingredients, and allergens
Education
Bachelor of Science (B.S.) Food Science
University of California, Los Angeles, CA September 2012 – May 2016
Key Skills
- Quality Control
- Food Safety
- Quality Management Systems (QMS)
- R&D
- Product Packaging
Frequently Asked Questions: Quality Control Resume Examples and Advice
What are common action verbs for quality control resumes?-
Using strong, relevant action verbs makes your resume more dynamic and easier to scan, capturing the attention of specific employers. Starting bullet points with verbs also establishes interesting narrative-building that helps employers better understand your experience.
As a QC professional, you might use verbs in phrases such as “audited 40% of outcomes and made recommendations to decrease error rates by 50%” or “documented QC processes to support training 12 new QC employees.”
The options below are highly relevant to QC work, but you can also incorporate some of your own relevant action verbs:
| Action Verbs | |
|---|---|
| Analyzed | Audited |
| Conducted | Controlled |
| Coordinated | Enhanced |
| Ensured | Evaluated |
| Facilitated | Implemented |
| Improved | Inspected |
| Investigated | Managed |
| Performed | Recommended |
| Standardized | Supported |
| Validated | Yielded |
How do you align your resume with a job description?-
Hiring managers are busy. They often scan resumes in a few seconds to decide if they’re worth a second look. Automated application processes can be even more dismissive, dumping your resume to the side before a person sees it if the document doesn’t contain enough relevant information.
To avoid this problem, align your resume with job descriptions by looking for specific employer requirements you meet. Then, include those items on your resume using the same words the employer does. For example, if the employer wants someone with experience in “continuous process improvement,” use the entire phrase at least once with specific examples instead of simply listing process improvement in your skill section.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that the job market for QC inspectors is expected to decline by about 4% through 2032. However, that’s only one aspect of this market, and aligning your resume with employer preferences can increase your chances of getting noticed and hired for the jobs that are out there.
What is the best quality control resume format?-
Most QC professionals should choose a reverse chronological resume format. Resumes presented in this format put an emphasis on your experience and share information about your past positions, presenting the most recent on top and the oldest at the bottom.
This format makes it easy for hiring managers to scan your resume and immediately get an idea of your career story. They can see your growth in the QC space and past jobs that may have informed your knowledge of certain industries and processes. More importantly, employers can quickly see you have kept up over the years with current best practices and technology related to QC.
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