How to hire cabinetmakers and bench carpenters

Job description template

Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.

[Job title] at [Company name]
[City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range]

About the role
[Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.]

What you will do
• Cut timber to the right size, and shape and trim parts of joints to ensure a snug fit, using hand tools, such as planes, chisels, or wood files.
• Establish the specifications of articles to be constructed or repaired, or plan the methods or operations for shaping or assembling parts, based on blueprints, drawings, diagrams, or oral or written instructions.
• Match materials for color, grain, or texture, giving attention to knots or other features of the wood.
• Measure and mark dimensions of parts on paper or lumber stock prior to cutting, following blueprints, to ensure a tight fit and quality product.
• Produce or assemble components of articles, such as store fixtures, office equipment, cabinets, or high-grade furniture.
• Set up or operate machines, including power saws, jointers, mortisers, tenoners, molders, or shapers, to cut, mold, or shape woodstock or wood substitutes.
• Trim, sand, or scrape surfaces or joints to prepare articles for finishing.
• Verify dimensions or check the quality or fit of pieces to ensure adherence to specifications.

What you bring
• [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any]
• [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: High school diploma or equivalent]
• Strong monitoring skills
• [Anything else you would really turn someone away for]

Pay and benefits
[Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $22.44 an hour ($46,680 a year).
[Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.]

How to apply
[Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]

Copy the template Check your finished job post

Interview questions for cabinetmakers and bench carpenters

Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.

1. Tell me about a time you had to cut timber to the right size, and shape and trim parts of joints to ensure a snug fit, using hand tools, such as planes, chisels, or wood files. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
2. Tell me about a time you had to establish the specifications of articles to be constructed or repaired, or plan the methods or operations for shaping or assembling parts, based on blueprints, drawings, diagrams, or oral or written instructions. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
3. Tell me about a time you had to match materials for color, grain, or texture, giving attention to knots or other features of the wood. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
4. Tell me about a time you had to measure and mark dimensions of parts on paper or lumber stock prior to cutting, following blueprints, to ensure a tight fit and quality product. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
5. How do you keep track of your own work quality during a busy shift or week? Give an example of catching a problem early.
6. Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?

Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.

What cabinetmakers and bench carpenters do

• Cut timber to the right size, and shape and trim parts of joints to ensure a snug fit, using hand tools, such as planes, chisels, or wood files.
• Establish the specifications of articles to be constructed or repaired, or plan the methods or operations for shaping or assembling parts, based on blueprints, drawings, diagrams, or oral or written instructions.
• Match materials for color, grain, or texture, giving attention to knots or other features of the wood.
• Measure and mark dimensions of parts on paper or lumber stock prior to cutting, following blueprints, to ensure a tight fit and quality product.
• Produce or assemble components of articles, such as store fixtures, office equipment, cabinets, or high-grade furniture.
• Set up or operate machines, including power saws, jointers, mortisers, tenoners, molders, or shapers, to cut, mold, or shape woodstock or wood substitutes.
• Trim, sand, or scrape surfaces or joints to prepare articles for finishing.
• Verify dimensions or check the quality or fit of pieces to ensure adherence to specifications.

Skills that matter most

Monitoring

Education, experience and outlook for cabinetmakers and bench carpenters

• Typical education to start: High school diploma or equivalent (BLS)
• Related work experience most have: 3 to 6 months (O*NET)
• Training on the job: Moderate-term on-the-job training (BLS)
• Job outlook: -2.9% over ten years, declining · about 6,900 openings a year (BLS)

What to pay cabinetmakers and bench carpenters

Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:

See cabinetmakers and bench carpenters pay in every state

Related hiring guides

• Model Makers, Wood
• Furniture Finishers
• Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing
• Carpenters
• Patternmakers, Wood
• Upholsterers
• Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic
• Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters
• Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic
• Model Makers, Metal and Plastic

Job duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.