A construction worker resume has to do something a job site already proves: show you can be trusted to work hard, work safe, and finish the job. Hiring managers and superintendents skim for the things that keep a crew moving, namely your trade skills, your certifications, the kinds of projects you've worked, and a clean safety record.
OSHA 30-certified construction worker with 8+ years on commercial and residential job sites. Completed 40+ projects on or ahead of schedule with a perfect safety record across 6,000+ hours. Skilled in concrete, framing, and site prep, and trusted to lead small crews and run heavy equipment.
" They quantify the work: square footage completed, projects delivered on schedule, zero recordable incidents, tons of material moved. Certifications matter too, so an OSHA 10 or OSHA 30 card, a forklift or scaffold ticket, or a flagger certification belongs near the top where it gets noticed fast.
Many contractors and staffing firms now screen applications through an ATS before a human reads them, so the exact terms in the posting, whether that's "concrete finishing," "blueprint reading," or "site safety," need to appear in your resume word for word. This page gives you a complete, recruiter-tested construction worker resume example you can read top to bottom, plus a section-by-section guide for writing your own, whether you're a new laborer or a seasoned tradesperson.
Use the example as a template, swap in your own numbers and certifications, and mirror the keywords from the job you're chasing.
An OSHA 30 card, forklift or scaffold ticket, or flagger certification can be the difference between a callback and the trash pile. List your active certifications in your summary or a dedicated line near the top, not buried at the bottom. Superintendents need to know who can legally do the work today.
Swap "poured concrete" for "poured and finished 90,000+ square feet of foundation concrete with no failed inspections." Use real numbers: square footage, project count, crew size, deadlines hit, material saved. Numbers prove you do the work at a pace and quality a contractor can count on.
On a job site, safety is productivity. If you have a clean record, say so plainly: "zero recordable incidents over 3,000+ hours." Mention fall protection, PPE enforcement, and OSHA standards. A worker who keeps the crew safe keeps the project on schedule, and that's what gets hired.
If the job calls for "concrete finishing," "blueprint reading," or "site safety," use those exact words in your skills and bullets. Many contractors screen resumes through software first, so mirroring the posting's language helps you clear the filter and reach a human.
List the hand tools, power tools, and heavy equipment you can run: skid steers, forklifts, concrete saws, nail guns. The more you can operate safely, the more useful you are on any given day, and the more a foreman can hand you without supervision.
Mirror the exact terms from your target job description. The ATS matches strings, so the words in the posting belong in your resume.
Per year. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics – Construction Laborers and Helpers (OOH)
How long should a construction worker resume be?
One page is right for nearly everyone in the trades. Lead with your certifications, your strongest projects, and a clean safety record. A tight one-pager that a foreman can scan in under a minute beats a long history that buries what you can actually do.
Do I need an OSHA certification on my resume?
If you have one, absolutely list it, and put it where it's easy to find. An OSHA 10 or OSHA 30 card is one of the first things many contractors look for, and on some sites it's required to even step foot on the job. If you don't have one yet, getting OSHA 10 is a low-cost way to make your resume stronger.
What if I don't have a high school diploma?
You can still get hired. Focus the resume on your hands-on experience, projects, certifications, and safety record, which matter more to most contractors than formal schooling. List any trade courses, apprenticeships, or on-the-job training you've completed instead.
How do I get past the ATS as a construction worker?
Use the exact trade terms from the job posting, such as "concrete finishing," "framing," "OSHA 30," or "forklift operation," in your skills and bullets. Keep a clean single-column layout, save as a PDF unless told otherwise, and skip tables, columns, and graphics that the parser can mangle.
What's the most common construction worker resume mistake?
Listing vague duties instead of measurable work. "Helped with concrete" tells a hiring manager nothing. "Poured and finished 90,000+ square feet of foundation concrete with no failed inspections" shows your scope, skill, and reliability in a single line.
