You help uphold the foundation of countless building projects—and sometimes you lay the concrete down, too! Your skills with power tools, codes and regulations, and heavy machinery enable you to get the job done, and done well.
But how do you use all your job skills, work experiences, and relevant personal traits to create a cover letter and build a jaw-dropping resume that will get you the job you crave?
Don’t worry; we’ve done this before. After years of helping laborers like you, we’ve developed 7 general laborer resume examples to help you pave the way to your success!
Why this resume works
- Show the recruiter how comfortable you are adhering to safety regulations and maintaining accuracy for your work.
- An effective general laborer resume should not only provide your expertise in using a variety of tools but also how your safety efforts helped minimize potential accidents.
Why this resume works
- Remember that your attention to detail and skillful use of tools can help you showcase your ability to match the position’s demands. Go one step ahead and capitalize your crafting and installation skills in your skilled laborer resume from your previous roles.
- When you pick the right skills to highlight for example achieving an impressive first-time-right installation rate, you can impress the recruiter despite having less direct experience.
Why this resume works
- Even when you feel on edge about your scant job experience, you can still sparkle your entry level general labor resume by playing up your wins and takeaways from relevant projects. Dexter has got it all figured out.
- By showcasing his wins as a workshop attendee and participant in bricklaying and tool safety projects, respectively, he possibly crushes a huge chunk of the competition and the chances of the hiring manager giving him the cold shoulder.
Why this resume works
- Given all the risks of being a warehouse worker, hiring managers are looking for candidates who can stay on top of things in their manual labor resume. Ready to impress? It’s time to bring your leadership prowess and initiative into focus.
- Let phrases like “Harnessed Lincoln Electric’s Power MIG 210 MP for welding tasks on-site, enhancing structural integrity and cutting rework costs by $1,864” and “Championed for the use of Raymond Forklift Technology to move an average of 126 pallets per day” call the shots in your manual labor resume’s work history. Soon, the recruiter could be raising a glass to your new job.
Why this resume works
- A powerful metric you can leverage for creating a compelling concrete laborer resume is your ability to keep rework and accidents at a minimum.
- When you demonstrate your vigilant skills such as reducing unforeseen breakdowns, you give the recruiter an idea of your supervising abilities.
Why this resume works
- With technology advancement creeping into every industry, you want your farm laborer resume to paint a picture of a tech-savvy, results-driven professional. That shouts to recruiters that you’re efficient, competent, and deserving of the open role.
- Rogers leveraging weather data from AcuRite sensors to mitigate a risk that could have cost Sagura Farms $4,132 in yield losses makes for an excellent inspiration here. And as if that wasn’t enough, he also mentions using data from Decagon sensors to up water conservation by 11% at Shamrock Farms. Now, wouldn’t a side-column list of those agricultural software you’re well-versed in look peachy?
Why this resume works
- The last thing you expect potential employers to look at when reviewing your asphalt laborer resume are typos, grammatical errors, and awkward phrases. And yet, they could be the key factors determining whether you receive that long-awaited email or call.
- Double-check your piece for grammatical mistakes that could torpedo your chances. Take it as making your masterpiece as spotless as a freshly laid asphalt road. A second pair of eyes could be handy, so why not rope in a friend to identify errors you might have missed?
Related resume examples
Adjust Your General Laborer Resume According to the Job Description
No two laborer’s jobs are quite the same, so you’ll want to pay close attention to the job description. See what you’re actually applying for. Does the job emphasize the operation of heavy machinery? Or are you more likely to be working with power tools and chemical compounds?
Whatever the “heart” of the job is, make sure you reflect it in your resume! Don’t pitch the wrong skills to the wrong job ad. Instead, write down various job skills and work experiences that you can switch out for various jobs.
Need some ideas?
15 popular general laborer skills
- Wood Forms
- Concrete Brushes
- OSHA
- Concrete Saws
- Claw Hammer
- Cordless Drill
- Nail Gun
- Welding Torch
- Wire Stripper
- Pipe Wrench
- Router
- Concrete Vibrator
- Code Compliance
- Circular Saws
- Accurate Measurements
Your general laborer work experience bullet points
Now, as valuable as that job description is, you want to go beyond it instead of just repeating parts of it back to the recruiter. Leverage your experiences in the laborer setting, whether they involve working for a company or excelling at trade school.
Use metrics to substantiate your statements of how successful you’ve been, too! Tell the reader what you did, why, and how it made an impact (in numbers). Quantifiable data gives your credibility a huge boost.
Write your resume with active verbs and language, too. Show that you care about the job and that you show up to each concrete pour or stud installation with your best foot forward.
- Budget savings in dollars indicate your finesse and efficiency with project materials
- Positive employee scores show that you’ve worked well with teammates and supervisors
- Improved customer return percentages show that your work is just plain good
- Reduced turnover rates thanks to your strategic thinking show strong coordination skills
See what we’re talking about?
- Supervised the regular maintenance of the concrete pump, resulting in a 37% decrease in unforeseen equipment breakdowns
- Operated the walk-behind power trowels, contributing to the successful completion of 51+ large-scale projects with efficiency that reduced time-to-completion by an average of 3 days
- Customized around 277+ fabrication projects, leveraging router skills to craft intricate designs which boosted client satisfaction rates by 58%
- Adhered to safety regulations by making proper use of hard hats and other safety equipment, maintaining a zero-accident record
- Carefully measured materials for renovation projects, facilitating accurate installations and reducing material waste by an average of 19%
9 active verbs to start your general laborer work experience bullet points
- Maintained
- Repaired
- Oversaw
- Facilitated
- Streamlined
- Installed
- Customized
- Operated
- Supervised
3 Tips for Writing a General Laborer Resume if You Don’t Have Much Experience
- Think of previous projects
- If your experience section feels a bit “thin,” you can always reference notable projects you worked on. These could be internships, school projects, or even volunteer labor. Experience doesn’t have to be paid to gain you some sweet skills!
- Use a career objective
- A resume objective, or objective statement, provides a concise overview of why you want the job and how you’re qualified for it. Reference the job description here to drop super relevant qualifications like “concrete pouring” or “circular saws.” Choose thoughtfully so you don’t repeat these traits later in your resume!
- List relevant academic awards
- If you earned some recognition in school for a really high GPA, or you were top of the class in a workshop that fits with your resume, add that in! You can place it next to your education unless you racked up a handful of achievements that warrant their own section.
3 Tips for Writing a General Laborer Resume if You Already Have Some Experience
- Show off your best work!
- Now that you already have some experience under that tool belt, make sure you’re showing recruiters your highest points. Stick with just three or four laborer jobs for your experience section, and pick only the most impressive points for each one.
- Use reverse-chronological formatting
- Honestly, reverse-chronological formatting is always pretty great! Use this layout to put your best achievements at the top. This makes your greatness more eye-catching and reinforces a trend of learning and growth throughout your professional history.
- Leave out academic stuff
- You probably don’t need to list academic achievements on your resume anymore. They’ll just be taking up valuable space that would be better used to show off your experiences and complex skills!
Regurgitating the job requirements word-for-word is a big “Nope!” but you do want to use some of the exact skills they list to get past that ATS. Work them into your experiences and skills list organically so that they look good for recruiters after that!
If you lack experience, a resume objective can help outline your career goals and level of promise as a worker. If you’re already experienced, a resume summary could help you give a quick overview of the highlights. Sometimes, if you have enough other qualifying information, you’ll need neither!
While all three of our resume templates will work well for you, you’ll ultimately want to select the one that puts your most impressive creds front and center! If your skills or extra achievements really shine, you might want to use a side column. If your experiences are the most eye-catching, let them take center stage.
