Construction CV: Example & Tips

Ensure your CV format is structured to best highlight your unique experience and life situation.

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How to write a construction CV

Before you begin writing, make sure you know how to write a CV in a way that best emphasises your strengths.

Before you begin writing, make sure you know how to write a CV in a way that best emphasises your strengths.

To get hired for your dream role in the construction industry, you’ll need to market yourself to employers in the same way you’d promote yourself to clients.

Here are four essential tips to give your construction CV a perfect finish:

1. Showcase your construction skills

Employers in construction need well-rounded, multi-talented workers. So they’re prioritise any applicant who has the right balance of skills on their CV to do the job well. That balance includes hard and soft skills.

Your hard skills are the technical abilities you’ve learnt through training and practical expereince. You need the right hard skills in construction to be able to work safely, efficiently, and with time and budget constraints.

Here are hard skills to include on your construction CV:

• Industry knowledge
• Flexible planning
• Construction estimation software such as Procore, Estimate Rocket, and STACK
• Negotiation
• Financial management
• Risk management
• Project management software such as Contractor Foreman, PlanSwift, CoConstruct, and Trimble Viewpoint

Soft skills, such as verbal communication, determine how you go about working with clients, colleagues, and site staff.

Here are some examples of soft skills for your construction CV:

• Adaptability
• Interpersonal skills
• Problem solving
• Teamwork
• Leadership

2. Plan out a clear format for your construction CV

Planning and layout are just as important in your construction CV as they are in your clients’ projects. Make sure your CV format is visually appealing, with a bold title, clear headings, and good use of white space to lead employers easily through your statements.

Typically, CVs are written in a reverse chronological structure, which means you talk about your most recent experience first. If you already have experience working in the construction industry, put your work experience section after your personal statement.

You can list your relevant construction job experience starting with your current or most recent role and then working your way backwards. After that, write down your education, including any certificates you hold related to the construction industry. List your skills, and round off with your hobbies and interests to showcase more of your personality.

Having trouble constructing your construction CV? Use an online CV maker, and you’ll be able to finish it in a just a few minutes. And use a cover letter maker to get your cover letter done just as quickly.

3. Use strategic keywords

Job-specific keywords align your CV with the specific opportunity that you’re targeting. They’re also useful for helping your CV pass the applicant tracking systems (ATS) employers use to identify qualified job applicants.

Good keywords to add to your construction CV include:

• commercial construction
• general maintenance
• carpentry
• concrete work
• plumbing
• painting
• flooring installation
• roofing
• electricity
• demolition
• excavation
• crew management
• project management
• health and safety
• power tools
• equipment maintenance
• driving licence
• customer service

Tailor your keywords to the job by looking at the job advert and doing some research on the employer. Highlight the areas of your experience that make you the perfect candidate for the construction role they’re looking to fill.

4. Write a powerful construction CV personal statement

Your construction CV should open with a powerful CV personal statement — a concise section persuading employers to keep reading the rest of your application. Your personal statement is one of the first things the recruiter will read about you, so ensure it demonstrates all of your strengths.

In your personal statement, explain:

• who you are
• what experience or qualifications you have
• what you’ve achieved in previous positions
• your career aspirations in relation to this new role

Remember to emphasise your accomplishments rather than your daily tasks. After all, the employer already knows what duties they expect from the role — your aim is to persuade them you’d get the best results. So include some facts and figures from your work experience CV section to further demonstrate your expertise.

Here’s an example of a well-built construction personal statement:

Need more ideas?

Our library of CV examples has hundreds of tailored CVs you can use to fine-tune your job application and stand out from other applicants.

Construction job outlook in 2024 — things to know

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), construction workers in the UK earn an average annual salary of £26,833.

You can find information about the gender pay gap for construction workers on the ONS’ website.

Data source: The Office for National Statistics, an agency of His Majesty’s Government. The information contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 and reflects the ONS’s most recent salary (1/11/2023), gender pay gap (4/2023), and skills shortage data (6/2022).

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