How to write a resume for skilled trades and construction jobs

Trades resumes also run on specifics an office resume never mentions: project types, the tools and equipment you operate, safety training, and whether you can read plans. Listing those plainly matters more than polished wording.

What people hiring in skilled trades and construction usually look for

In general terms. Every employer is different, so read each posting closely.

• Your trade and level, plus any license or apprenticeship status, stated in the first lines.
• The kinds of projects you have worked on: residential, commercial, industrial, new construction, remodel or service.
• Tools, equipment and machinery you can run, and any operator cards or certifications you hold.
• Safety training and a record of working safely, described in your own words without claims you can't support.
• Whether you can read blueprints or schematics, lay out work, and take direction or lead a crew.
• Reliability signals: a valid driver's license if the job needs one, your own tools if the posting asks, and willingness to travel to job sites.

How to structure a trades resume

• Trade, level and licenses at the top. Your headline can simply be your trade and level, followed by a licenses and certifications section.
• Projects, not just employers. Under each job, name the project types and your role on them. If you worked through a union hall or staffing agency, list that and the main contractors you were sent to.
• Tools and equipment. A short list grouped by type (power tools, test equipment, heavy equipment). Recruiters search for these words.
• Apprenticeship and training. List the program, the sponsor or local, your year or completion date, and classroom hours if your program recorded them.

Three layouts cover most situations, each in one column with standard headings:

• Journeyman and Experienced: Licensed or experienced tradespeople with a steady work history. Order: Summary, Licenses, Cards and Certifications, Work Experience, Tools and Equipment, Apprenticeship and Training.
• Project Portfolio: Foremen, leads and tradespeople whose best evidence is the projects they built. Order: Summary, Licenses, Cards and Certifications, Selected Projects, Work Experience, Tools and Equipment.
• Apprentice and Entry Level: Apprentices, pre-apprentices and career changers coming into the trades. Order: Summary, Apprenticeship and Training, Tools and Equipment, Work Experience, Licenses, Cards and Certifications.

Example bullet structures

These are structures, not real results. Replace every [placeholder] with your own facts, and leave out any number you can't back up.

• Installed [systems or components] on [number] [residential, commercial or industrial] projects, from rough-in to [final stage].
• Read [blueprints, schematics or specs] to lay out [work type] for [project type].
• Troubleshot and repaired [equipment or system] for [type of customers or sites], working [alone or with a crew of number].
• Operated [equipment, e.g. a forklift, excavator or lift] under [certification or card you hold].
• Led a crew of [number] on [project type], coordinating with [other trades or the general contractor] to keep [schedule item] on track.

Action verbs for this field

Summary structures

• [Level, e.g. Journeyman] [trade] with [number] years on [project types]. Licensed in [state, if licensed]; [safety training] current. Strong in [two skills from the posting].
• [Trade] apprentice in year [number] of [program], with hands-on work in [tasks]. Reliable, safety-minded and ready for [type of work].

More structures by situation (career change, returning after a layoff, new graduate) are on our resume summary examples page.

Common mistakes

• Hiding your trade and level in the middle of a paragraph instead of the first line.
• Listing employers without the project types or your role on them.
• Leaving out the tools, equipment and test instruments you use every day, which are the words recruiters search for.
• Claiming a license level or card you are still working toward; say "in progress" with an expected date instead.
• Writing long paragraphs. Short bullets are easier for a superintendent to read on a phone.

Do it yourself, or have it done

Questions

Other resume guides: cdl and truck driver, teacher and education, administrative and office, and the career services page. Got laid off? See what to do after being laid off.

General information, not career, legal or employment advice. We are not career counselors, and nothing here promises interviews, offers or a particular result.