How to Write a First-Class Resume for Construction Jobs

Building a Quality Resume to Construct Your Career

You want to advance your career in construction jobs, but haven’t had any luck in securing an interview. You know you have the experience, the skills, and the knowledge to work well in construction jobs. But there’s a roadblock preventing you from even reaching the interview room.

If your applications are unsuccessful, it is most likely that your resume isn’t working for you. Astoundingly, your resume only has 7.4 seconds to impress a hiring manager. With high levels of applications, you must ensure your resume cuts to the chase and highlights all the reasons the hiring manager should choose you.

In this article, you’ll learn how to polish your resume to make every one of those 7.4 seconds count, and compels the employer to interview you and find out more.

The Job of a Resume

Your resume has one purpose – to earn you an interview. How you construct your resume will make a huge impact on that snapshot view the hiring manager has of you. Follow these tips to ensure you make every second count.

Personalize to Each Job

It’s important to personalize your resume for each job application. If you don’t demonstrate the unique skillset the hiring company desires, you risk being culled before you’ve had a chance to prove your ability in an interview. Make sure you:

• Refer to the company specifically
• Acknowledge their values and mission, and your aligned compatibility
• Customize details to match what the employer needs

Use Keywords

To help ensure they only interview candidates with the right skillset, hiring managers use systems that only bring forward resumes that include relevant keywords to the role.

Examine the job description. Identify relevant keywords (for example: forklift license, or project management). Ensure they are highlighted in your list of skills and abilities, so the system identifies you as a competent applicant.

Focus on Your Skills

Present your skills in a clear and concise area of the resume, so that the hiring manager’s attention is drawn to them.

List these skills, and don’t forget to highlight keywords in bold. Exclude any skills that are irrelevant to the position. If you’re not sure, keep them, but demote them to the bottom of your list.

This way, the hiring manager will identify you as a key candidate with just a glance.

Include Your Work Experience

Your employment history is a crucial focal point for employers and hiring managers. You should list it in reverse chronological order, with your current or most recent employer first.

Clearly set out your employment with job title, company name, and your employment dates (MM/YY) – and a brief outline of your responsibilities and any achievements.

Key points to note are:

• There is no need to include outdated, detailed employment from decades ago
• Do not try to disguise employment gaps or you’ll lose trust immediately – instead, briefly declare and explain them (i.e., redundancy)

Keep It Short

Consider a resume as a facts sheet of your relevance to the role. You must grab a hiring manager’s attention:

• It should be no longer than two pages
• Avoid paragraphs
• Use short sentences
• Use bullet points whenever possible
• Include white space in between segments

Set the foundations with the facts the employer needs to know. That’s what will you get you an interview, leaving the employer wanting to know more.

Formatting and Proofreading

The crucial facts are in, and the fluff has been discarded. It’s time to make the final touches:

• Box your list of skills into a bordered section on one side
• Ensure plenty of white space in between
• Highlight and underline titles
• Highlight keywords and achievements (certificates, licenses, figures, etc.) in bold

Finally, make sure your resume is free of any spelling or grammatical errors. Get a friend or professional to read it through with fresh eyes.

3 Things to Avoid on Your Resume

Here are three things that will see you lose out on an interview for construction jobs:

• Fancy font – There’s no need, it’s distracting, it’s unclear, and may even be completely incompatible to the hiring manager’s software.
• Adjusted margins – If you shrink the margins to cram more information on, you’re at risk of printing margins hacking into your resume. Keep them set to one inch.
• Fluff – Your resume is not a story. You’ll lose interest quickly. Remember that less is more.

Are You Resume Ready for Construction Jobs?

Your resume is a powerful tool to get the attention of hiring managers. You know you have the skills and ability to fill this construction job. Your success could depend upon how you present yourself on paper.

Using a staffing agency will help support your job search for construction jobs. They know which vacancies will be well suited to you professionally and personally. We are more than happy to review your resume and give you some professional advice, before putting you in front of the best construction jobs today.

Contact Everest Recruitment. Let’s start building your next steps in your career in construction now.