MightyRecruiterA grader is a construction equipment operator who works with heavy machinery in the construction of roads, buildings, bridges and more. He or she works in all types of weather and can get pretty dirty or greasy from the nature of the job, and some projects will require irregular hours, such as road building which is done at night. Be sure to note the working conditions when you write the grader job description.
After completing high school or earning an equivalent degree, graders and other equipment operators usually pick up skills while working on the job, which is similar to an apprenticeship. Some may learn job skills while attending a vocational school.
Generally, graders learn to operate a variety of construction equipment. To learn more about what graders do on the job and how to create a winning job posting, refer to the grader job description template that follows.
Grader Job Summary
When you were little, did you “play construction?” Did you love getting dirty and making roads and buildings with your dump trucks and bulldozers? We did, and we’re still loving it! But we don’t play anymore; we’re doing the real thing. If you’re still enthusiastic about building things, come be part of our team. We’re looking for someone who can grow with us, someone who stretches themselves and takes on new responsibilities. You might start out as a heavy equipment operator, but you could end up being the foreman or move into other areas of our construction business. The biggest requirements we have are a willingness to learn and to be a part of a team. We’ll throw in the part where you get paid to play in the dirt again.
Job Responsibilities
- Operate equipment to avoid utility lines, equipment and other workers
- Adjust hand-wheels and pedals to control blade and bucket attachments, as well as scrapers and swing booms
- Coordinate machine actions to move and position loads; learn and follow both hand and audio signals from other crew members and know how to give signals to others
- Operate a variety of heavy equipment such as graders, trucks, power cranes and shovels to move rocks, dirt and other materials
- Maneuver equipment with attached blades in successive movements across work areas in order to move rocks, vegetation or topsoil and to spread and level terrain
- Operate bulldozers and tractors to clear land, mix sludge, trim backfills, and build roadways or parking lots; repair and maintain heavy equipment and make emergency adjustments as needed and aid in major repairs
- Operate snowplows and other equipment to remove debris and snow from roads and parking lots; operate loaders to rip asphalt, remove stumps, rough-grade land, bury refuse and perform general cleanup tasks
- Choose bulldozer blades and other attachments and connect them to tractors using hitches; connect hydraulic hoses, mechanical links, belts and more, including power takeoff shafts, with tractors
Job Skills and Qualifications
Reqiured:
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Teamwork attitude and extreme safety consciousness
- Full use of hands and feet to feel and control machine movements
- Ability to perform work in all weather conditions, including extreme heat and cold
Preferred:
- Moderate on-the-job experience
- Decision-making abilities to interpret plans and prevent costly mistakes
Grader Job Responsibilities
Finding a new grader for your organization means understanding the role of strong job responsibilities in the job description and then revising yours to stand out. Luckily, there are some clear best practices you can use as you put together your grader job description. Following those practices will ensure your description has a complete list of grader job responsibilities. As the most text-heavy portion of your description, it needs to be clear and information-rich to be useful to jobseekers.
Start by making sure you have reduced the role to between six and eight core job responsibilities. This will make it easier to organize them. Order those bullet points from the most important to the least, and then revise them so they are in active language. Make sure that the final version of each has an active verb that specifically states what action you will expect the jobseeker to perform to complete the entries. Following this formula not only helps you to make sure you have all the important information, it also makes the grader job description easy to read. Here are some examples of job responsibilities in this format.
- Measure the physical characteristics of various agricultural goods and/or forestry products
- Sort products according to classification by those physical characteristics
- Package and ship graded products to fulfill customer orders in a timely manner
- Record grade information on company worksheets and on identifying tags on the products
Grader Job Specifications
You need to make sure candidates have complete training and the experience to make good judgments whenever your organization is hiring. When hiring graders, it means ensuring that your job skills and qualifications section of the job description is complete. As you write your individual grader job specifications for this section, it is important to remember a few key ideas to help you organize the information effectively.
Jobseekers read through your grader job description to determine if their background has qualified and prepared them to do the job, and this section functions as a checklist of the essential skills and training they will need to possess if they hope to get hired. Make it easy to understand these skills by keeping your descriptions concise, using active language and choosing industry-specific terms qualified candidates should understand. It also helps to do your research into the role to make sure you have not overlooked any important skills or qualifications. Discuss your grader job description with those currently engaged in the role, and check out examples of individual job specifications like the ones below to guide your process.
- Strong visual inspection skills
- Strong written communication skills
- Agricultural and forestry grading certification
- The ability to repeatedly lift in excess of 50 lbs.
