Whether you’re applying for a Quantity Surveyor job, a Labourer position on site or an Engineering role, the first step is to make sure you have an up-to-date CV. Having a CV that reflects your experience and skillset is key to getting an interview as an employer will then be able to judge your CV in line with their job description, to see if you’re a good fit.
What is a CV?
A CV, or curriculum vitae, is a written overview of your skills, education, and work experience and can also be known as a résumé. This summary of your experience is sent to prospective employers to give a snapshot of yourself ahead of them potentially inviting you in for an interview.
What do I include in a construction CV?
Every CV is different and personal in nature but try to include this key information:
- Your personal details (name, address, phone number, email) – make sure you include an up-to-date phone number/email that you monitor in case the employer tries to contact you
- Personal statement – nothing too lengthy, just a brief personal summary of who you are, what you’re looking for and why this job appeals to you
- Information relevant to the job ad – if the job description states the job is for an immediate start, make sure to include if you’re immediately available or on a notice period. Remember you’re trying to make the employer’s job as easy as possible by showing you tick all the boxes.
- Relevant key skills – make these relevant to the job you’re applying for and use examples.
- Work experience – include the dates you worked at each job (with the most recent at the top) with your job title and the company you worked for plus a description of the responsibilities you had, tasks you completed, any major projects you worked on
- Education and qualifications (listed in reverse chronological order)
- Hobbies and interests – these aren’t essential, but they give a flavour of who you are outside of work.
- References – List 2 references with their name, contact details and their relationship to you. It’s always worthwhile giving your references the heads up that you’ve listed them on your CV so they’re fully prepared if they’re contacted by your potential employer. Of course, if you don’t want to include these until needed you can simply state ‘references available upon request’.
How long should a CV be?
Remember a CV is just a snapshot of your experience to help get you an interview with a potential employers. Once you’re in front of your potential employer you can then expand more in your interview. A CV needs to include highlights of your career tailored around the key points above, where as your covering letter and interview are the opportunities for more detailed information.
We would suggest never having a CV longer than 2 pages, keep it short, sweet and to the point. Put yourself in the employer’s shoes reading numerous CVs for each position, if you can set your CV out to contain all the information they need to know in a simple format they can quickly see if you’re a perfect fit for the job.
Need more CV advice? Get in touch with our expert team who will help make sure you’re maximising your CV potential and also advise you on the current roles we have to fit your job search. Contact us on 0330 024 1342 or upload your CV here.
