Grip resume template
A clean starting structure with example content grounded in what grips 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 grips should default to, since most Australian recruiters and ATS software expect it.
Professional summary
Experienced grip with a focus on safe, efficient camera support and rigging on film and television sets. Comfortable rigging cranes, dollies and tripods, securing lighting rigs and maintaining equipment to keep production days on schedule. Works well with camera and lighting departments to solve problems quickly and keep sets safe.
Key skills
- Hand and power tool work
- Plant and equipment operation
- Worksite safety management
- Camera dollies
- Cranes and jibs
- Camera tripods
- Lighting stands
- Rigging hardware
- Physical stamina and dexterity
- Problem solving
- Written communication
- Attention to detail
- Working at heights
- Load calculations and safe rigging practices
- Maintenance and repair of grip equipment
Experience: example bullet points
- Rigged and operated camera cranes and dollies on [genre] productions, reducing average setup time from [X] to [Y] minutes per shot.
- Secured lighting and rigging equipment across a [number]-person crew, maintaining a zero-incident safety record over [number] shoot days.
- Maintained and repaired grip equipment, cutting unplanned downtime from [X] days to [Y] days per production.
- Collaborated with camera and lighting departments to plan and execute complex shots, ensuring all rigging met site-specific safety requirements.
- Assessed outdoor locations for crane placement, calculating load limits and preparing ground conditions to allow safe operation on uneven surfaces.
- Trained [number] junior crew members in safe handling of stands, hardware and power tools, improving overall team readiness.
Education
Certificate III or IV in Live Production and Technical Services, or a Diploma of Screen and Media, plus on-set training; some grips enter with a Year 12 qualification and industry experience.
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.
- Grip
- Key Grip
- Dolly Grip
- Best Boy Grip
- Camera crane
- Camera dolly
- Rigging hardware
- Working at Heights
- White Card
- Rigging ticket
- Dogging ticket
- Work Health and Safety Act
- SafeWork NSW
- Film and TV production
- On-set safety
- Load restraint
- Screen Australia
- Australian film industry
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.