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A construction project manager's job description and responsibilities include project planning, coordinating resources, managing budget - all in order to deliver construction projects on time and within scope and budget. All the long run requires both technical skills and leadership skills. It takes great teamwork to bring a construction project into life, but it also takes a great construction project manager to direct people to achieving the goal.
Just like how a project manager determines the success of the construction project, so is a great resume a key to land a construction project manager role.
Creating a resume could be a daunting task if you don’t know how to start. Even for a senior construction project manager with a series of experience, it’s somewhat tricky to fit all the experiences into a one page long resume.
But worry no more because in this article, we are going to break down the steps of building a great construction project manager resume!
A CV records every detail of someone’s education accomplishments and professional experiences. It is usually used during academic application, especially in the science related fields. The length of a construction project manager CV might be over two pages and extends as it grows overtime.
On the other hand, a resume only highlights relevant information for a specific job position and therefore is more commonly required during the job application process. The content of a professional construction project manager/construction supervisor resume should fit within two pages length, and the content should be carefully crafted according to specific job requirements.
A successful construction project manager resume convinces recruiters that you have adequate project management skills, construction expertise, and leadership abilities to do the job. You can showcase all these qualifications you have by carefully crafting your construction project manager resume with the right format.
Of all 4 types of resume formats (reverse chronological, functional, hybrid, and targeted), the reverse chronological format is the most commonly used one. It sorts out one’s construction project management experience from the latest to the earliest.
💡 Tip: Do some research on the company and the specific job position you are applying to customize your resume for that construction project manager job. The extra effort to build your resume will surely be worth it!
After deciding the format you want to use, try looking for some construction project manager resume templates with the chosen format. Pick the consistent sections from the references you collect. Analyze the “strong parts” as well as the “weak parts” from those templates to customize your own construction project manager resume.
Read through the job description to get some keywords regarding the required qualifications and tie them into the construction project manager template you’ve chosen. This way you can surely stand out among other candidates.
A well-written construction project manager cover letter complements the candidate’s resume. Contrarily, a good resume sent alone without a cover letter might sink the job application. A cover letter acts as an introduction written by the applicant to sincerely address his/her interest in the role and the qualifications they have for the construction project manager job.
📝 Further reading: New to writing a cover letter? Check out Cake’s Blog for a step by step guide to write a construction project manager cover letter.
Avoid looking unprofessional by leaving word errors on your construction project manager resume. Beware of spelling, grammar, alignment, and spacing. The goal is to deliver an easy to read and error-free construction project manager resume.
An ideal construction project manager resume consists of some following body parts:
✍🏻 Purpose: This is the most basic section in any construction project manager resume that should provide recruiters essential key information about the candidate.
The Must-Have Information:
The Don’t-Bother-to-Include:
📍 Avoid looking unprofessional by mentioning irrelevant information on the early stage, salary negotiation is only necessary to be discussed during the interview.
A professional title below your name announces your expertise in the construction project management role.
Resume headline example for a residential construction project manager resume:
A construction project manager resume summary is like an elevator pitch to the whole resume. It highlights your qualifications, experiences, and your most valuable skills. A good construction project manager resume summary should give a quick insight to your entire construction supervising journey within 6 seconds.
Examples of construction project manager resume summary that catches recruiters’ attention:
Results-driven construction project manager with 5+ years of experience in residential and commercial building projects. Completed 12 residential projects and 8 commercial developments with a combined sum of $2.5 million below budget. Enthusiast in taking the next career step as a senior construction project manager.
A construction project manager resume objective puts emphasis on your career goals instead of your skills and expertise.
Resume objective example for construction manager:
Highly motivated construction project management graduate looking to secure an assistant construction project manager role at Shaffold Construction. Experienced in planning and managing projects at private residential construction sites in Denver. Adept at cost-saving, creative problem solving, negotiation, and utilizing resources.
So, is it better to put a resume summary, or a resume objective in your construction project manager resume?
Generally speaking, construction project managers usually have accumulated experiences, so a resume summary is the best and most commonly one used to advance your resume.
💬 Note: If you are lacking construction management experience, writing a career objective for construction project manager will be favorable to adding value into your resume.
Both the ATS and hiring managers will browse through your construction project manager skills in the resume to consider your qualifications. This is definitely a chance to show off, but remember, be concise and relevant.
List your construction project management skills on your resume like this:
✅ Hard Skills:
✅ Soft Skills:
Follow these guidelines when putting together your construction project manager experience and responsibilities for resume:
And here are the examples on how to write your construction project manager experience on resume:
Construction Project Manager
Jan 2018 - Present | Shaffold Construction, Denver, CO
Key Qualifications & Responsibilities:
Key Achievement: Achieved a total sum of $2.5 below budget in 3 years.
When filling the education section in your construction project manager resume, make sure you provide comprehensive information regarding the details of your education background. Describe the relevant experience that matches the job requirements.
Education
BS in Construction Project Management
Colorado States University, Fort Collins, CO (2014)
GPA: 3.8/4
Awards: Certified MAUD Sustainable Construction
For construction project manager jobs, these valuable extra points might boost up your resume:
For construction project manager jobs, these valuable extra points might boost up your resume:
🔎 Tip 1: Customize your resume for the construction project manager job.
Analyze the job requirements and match them to your skills and qualifications. Follow by making a list of your most-relevant accomplishments, and exclude irrelevant parts.
🔎 Tip 2: Use Keywords from the construction project manager job description in your resume.
Craft the useful keywords attentively and naturally to enhance the visibility of your construction project manager resume to the hiring managers.
🔎 Tip 3: Quantify results on your construction project manager resume.
Explain your points clearer by adopting numbers and statistics where possible.
🔎 Tip 4: Choose an ATS-friendly construction project manager resume format.
It gets your construction project manager resume through the applicant tracking system and increases the chance to be seen by hiring managers.
🔎 Tip 5: Adopt resume action words.
The action words you use in each bullet point of the construction project manager experience section on your resume shouldn’t be repetitive. Pick the right action verbs for each description to achieve high efficacy.
🔎 Tip 6: Increase the chance of being noticed by building your online portfolio.
Utilizing platforms like LinkedIn or Cake is extremely useful for construction project managers to show potential clients the works they have completed. Attach your company link or private constructions projects to your profile.
Cake is an online resume builder that helps job seekers build professional construction project manager CVs.
Writing a cover letter might seem tedious, but you can nail it by following these simple steps.
These are the structures of a construction project manager cover letter:
🏷️ Contact details
Include your full name, email address, mobile number, and address if necessary. You can also add links to your professional pages like LinkedIn or Cake if needed.
🏷️ Introduction
Start with a polite and proper greeting by including the hiring manager’s name. This is an important step to make an authentic impression on the hiring manager, so don’t bother to take initiative looking through the company’s website if the hiring manager’s name is not provided. Follow by briefly introducing yourself: your full name, current role, and expertise/education background afterwards.
🏷️ Motivation
Next, elaborate the reasons why you are interested in joining the company. This is a good chance to show how deep you understand the company to resolute your intention. You can point out how your career objective for the construction project manager job matches the company’s value.
🏷️ Qualification
Beware that this is the main body of your construction project manager cover letter which is all about promoting yourself. Besides elaborating the qualities and skills you have for the job, tell the hiring managers the value you want to bring to the job. Put your top few accomplishments and try explaining by numbers and statistics.
🏷️ Closing
Finally, close your cover letter by expressing your gratitude to the hiring managers for spending time reading your cover letter. Do mention if there is any resume, portfolio or other relevant document attached. Sign your full name at the end of the letter and congrats you’ve done writing your construction project manager cover letter!
Goal-oriented construction project manager with 6-year experience
(+1)000-1718
[email protected]
linkedin.com/mathiaswhite
cakeresume.com/mathiaswhite
Results-driven construction project manager with 5+ years of experience in residential and commercial building projects. Completed 12 residential projects and 8 commercial developments with a combined sum of $2.5 million below budget. Enthusiast in taking the next career step as a senior construction project manager.
Shaffold Construction, Denver, CO
Construction Project Manager
January 2019–Present
Elite Construction, Denver, CO
Assistant Construction Project Manager
September 2014 - December 2018
Key Qualifications & Responsibilities
Class of 2014, BS in Construction Project Management
Colorado States University, Fort Collins, CO (2014)
GPA: 3.8/4
Awards: Certified MAUD Sustainable Construction
Hard skills:
Soft skills:
CPM Construction Project Management Institute - January 2019
NEMA Construction Project Management Membership
--- Originally written by Elonike Verina ---
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